THE 1,600-athlete strong Philippine delegation to the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand will be marching with pride and nationalism in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony on December 9 at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.

“Our athletes and officials will be clad in elegant and nationalistic parade uniforms crafted by no less than renowned designer Avel Bacudio,” Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said. “Any if not all of Avel’s designs are always dedicated and reflective of our country.”

Athletes, according to Tolentino, will wear red parade uniforms while officials and coaches will be clad in blue—both intricately designed and bearing the Philippine flag on the left chest and the POC logo on the right.

Bacudio is First Lady Lisa Araneta Marcos’s favorite designer—he held shows featuring his sports collections in Malacañang during sendoff ceremonies for national teams.

Tolentino said the POC is amazed and appreciative of Bacudio’s choice of fabric that combines piña, bamboo, water lily, abaca and saluyot fibers put together by weavers from Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga, Ilocos, Abra, La Union, Aklan and Bacolod.

“The collection represents every island of the Philippines. They are new, but they have history,” Bacudio said in a recent Mega Asia article that featured his Alas ng Pilipinas design and his Gintong Sinag, a sports luxe collection that paid tribute to the country’s athletes.

Also incorporated in the parade uniforms are the yellow and white colors of the country’s colors, Tolentino said.

Filipino athletes will compete in all 50 sports programmed by Thailand in the SEA Games that will be played in three sites—Bangkok as main hub with 32 sports plus three demonstration sports in 48 venues, Chonburi with 17 sports and one demonstration sports in 21 venues and Songkhla with nine sports and 10 venues.