[1] Around 10,000 student athletes from 17 regions of the Philippines competed for the tournament, while the announced gold medalists and record breakers of this year received cash prizes for the first time.

On October 13, the officials of Department of Education and the Philippine Sports Commission have had a tedious selection and deliberation process of deciding where to host the 2013 event, taking into consideration the presentations made and the reports provided by the technical committee.

Other venues are listed below: The 56th edition of Palarong Pambansa became more known as it was partnered with the media for coverage and live updates of the sports events.

PTV-4 or People's Television Network signed an agreement with the Department of Education to provide airtime as well as to telecast the daily events of the 2013 Palarong Pambansa highlights and updates.

Aside from the Facebook fanpage ("Palarong Pambansa 2013")[8] and the Twitter account (@DepEd_PH),[9] which were updated every second, there was also the live streaming, courtesy of Ustream, to provide more coverage of the games.

A total of 200 ICT teachers in Negros Oriental were tapped to cover the various sporting events, making it the most photographed and most interactive Palarong Pambansa in history to date.

Public and private schools served as the billeting areas for athletes and coaches including medical staff and teachers.