Around 12,300 young athletes will head to Puerto Princesa for Batang Pinoy 2024 in December, according to the City Sports Office on Monday.
“Dati ay 7,000 lang ang Batang Pinoy, ngayon ay inabot na ng 12,000 plus. Kaya ito ay malaking challenge para sa atin,” said City Sports Office (CSO) head Atty. Gregorio “Rocky” Austria on Monday, during the flag-raising ceremony at City Hall.
He stated that considerations should be made on how to supply food for the attendees and participants of Batang Pinoy due to the large number of people involved.
Despite this, officials of the youth games are fond of Puerto Princesa, having recently toured and seen the facilities.
“Hopefully, we will be having a very successful—pinaka magandang palaro sa Batang Pinoy,” he added.
Austria said that the athletes will be accommodated in various schools across the city, possibly extending to those in Barangay Irawan, due to the large number.
Batang Pinoy is returning to Puerto Princesa City after it was last held here in 2019. Due to COVID-19, the event was not conducted and was only revived in 2022 in Vigan. Last year, it took place in Manila.
Miguel Adrian Carlos from Puerto Princesa City earned the title of “Most Medaled Athlete” at the Batang Pinoy 2023. He secured seven gold medals in the boys’ under-13 category across various events, including the 20-meter, 25-meter, 30-meter, 40-meter, FITA round, Olympic round, and mixed team events.
Batang Pinoy is the national youth sports competition of the Philippines for athletes under 15 years old. It differs from Palarong Pambansa, which is a competition for student athletes, in that Batang Pinoy also includes out-of-school youth.
It was established through Executive Order No. 44, signed by then-President Joseph Estrada on December 2, 1998.
