President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos is set to grace this year’s Palarong Pambansa inaugurals on Saturday in Ilocos Norte.

No less than Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann confirmed to DAILY TRIBUNE that the Chief Executive will be one of the guests present for the opening ceremony at the Ferdinand Marcos Stadium in Laoag.

“I saw the invites. BBM (Marcos) is set to go there,” Bachmann said.

This year’s Palaro pays homage to the personalities in Ilocos Norte.

Apart from Marcos, the Palaro also honors legendary swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, the first Filipino Olympian to win a medal in the Summer Games.

In fact, a picture of the “Ilocano Shark” was used as inspiration for the logo of this year’s Palaro.

Bachman said it’s all systems go for the Palaro as the needs of the athletes and the national sports associations (NSA) have already been addressed.

“They’re all ready and I’m leaving for Laoag this Friday,” Bachmann said.

“Everything is solved from the beds and the equipment requested by several NSAs. I had no problems.”

The National Capital Region is gunning for its 18th straight Palaro overall title after dominating the Cebu edition last year with a 98-66-74 gold-silver-bronze medal tally.