With the national elections set in May and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games 2025 happening in December, the Philippine Sports Commission is faced with the daunting task of synchronizing the schedule of the three biggest multi-sport competitions it supports.
Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann said that with a busy year ahead, the calendars of the Palarong Pambansa, the Batang Pinoy and the Philippine National Games won’t have to stand in the way of the schedules of the national polls and the biennial meet.
Bachmann said there should be no conflicts when the Palarong Pambansa is staged in May in Ilocos Norte and the SEA Games is slated to to be held in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla from December 9 to 20 in Thailand. The national elections are held in May, while Batang Pinoy and the PNG are usually staged late in the year.
“Medyo mahirap for the schedule. We will discuss this with the technical working group,” said Bachmann.
The SEA Games will feature 44 sports of 567 events.
Among the sports included are aquatic sports, athletics, archery, badminton, basketball, rowing, canoeing, cycling, fencing, football, futsal, golf, gymnastics, judo, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, weightlifting, boxing, esports, karate, and chess .
Meanwhile, the Batang Pinoy had 12,000 delegates from 177 local government units competing in 30 different sports for young athletes aged 12 to 17 years when it was held in Puerto Princesa City last November.
The Philippine National Games will be held separately this time around, unlike in 2023 when it was jointly held with the Batang Pinoy and a lot of scheduling conflicts took place.
The PNG could be held earlier, around May, but Bachmann said they will have to consider the calendar of events of the 2025 Palarong Pambansa, which will take place in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
“We’re figuring out and finding the best possible schedule for the program,” added Bachmann.
As for the Palarong Pambansa, Bachmann recently met with officials of the Department of Education, which is handling the meet.
The date has not yet been finalized, but if the Palaro is done before the national polls, the PNG will be after the elections.