PARADE UNIFORM. Fashion icon Francis Libiran designed the white Barong Tagalog to be worn by the all-women Team Philippines during the opening ceremony of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia on May 5, 2023. A total of 804 Filipino athletes are joining the Games. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – Team Philippines will be represented by 50 female athletes during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) at the 60,000-seat Morodok Techo Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 5.
“This will be a first in SEA Games history as Team Philippines will be represented by an all-women delegation in the parade,” Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said in a statement released to the media on Friday.
Tolentino, chef de mission Chito Loyzaga, and the flag bearer, whose identity would be disclosed a few days before the opening, are the only men joining the Filipina athletes.
Tolentino said the Cambodia SEA Games Organizing Committee had set a limit of 50 athletes for each nation during the traditional parade of athletes.
The athletes will be waving Philippine flaglets in their Francis Libiran-designed white Barong Tagalog over black pants.
Fashion icon Libiran named his barong creation for the 32nd SEA Games “Araw.”
The Francis Libiran Araw Barong Tagalog is made of Philippine jusi fabric and materials and features intricate embroidery of the Philippine flag.
The hues of blue overlap a small bed of red as the sun and its rays encompass the entirety of the sash to truly represent every Filipino, showing off their liberty, peace, and valor.
Libiran also designed the barong worn by Filipino athletes in the 2019 Philippine SEA Games, as well as last year in Hanoi where he named his masterpiece “Agila,” which had intricate embroidery of the Philippine eagle. (PNA)
