PASIG mayor Vico Sotto, on his Facebook page, described it as “an unexpected surprise” when it was revealed on Tuesday that the city won its second straight Batang Pinoy overall title in General Santos City.
The city’s bets amassed 95 gold, 72 silver, and 87 bronze medals during the 2025 edition of the multisports event held from October 25 to 31, winning the general championship after a nip-and-tuck affair with Baguio City, which had a 91-72-74 haul.
READ: Pasig nips Baguio to win back-to-back Batang Pinoy overall title
“Kinabahan din kami over the past few days since we went back to Pasig,” said Rechie Tugawin, the coordinator of the city’s sports development office also known as Pasig City Sports, in an interview with SPIN.ph.
“Inabangan din namin. Alam din namin na magiging dikit ang laban, so hindi naman siya surprising na dikit. But we were of course pleasantly surprised to have done better than Baguio City. Kahit sa sobrang dikit ng laban na yan, nanaig pa rin ang Pasig City.”
Tugawin said Sotto was kept abreast of the happenings in GenSan, and was even the first person to be informed that Pasig had won the overall title from Philippine Sports Commission chairman Patrick Gregorio.
“I think he (Sotto) was the first to have heard about the news. Alam ko rin ay directly nakausap siya ni sir Pato. He was outside when he heard about the news," detailed Tugawin.
"Masaya naman po. Of course, we updated him since last week sa standing. At least sa internal count ng Pasig, confident kami na ‘yun ang level ng dami ng medals na makukuha ng Pasig.”
Pasig's preparations
All the hard work paid dividends, as Pasig City Sports has been preparing for the Batang Pinoy since after it won its first overall title in Puerto Princesa last year. Tugawin said their grassroots athletes have been training all year long with the city’s coaches.
To identify more athletes from the grassroots, the city also launched a competition that served as official selection tournament and tryout for their delegation called 'Pasiglympics.'
“Medyo mas maaga ang paghahanda ngayon. As soon as we heard about the venue, nilarga at kinasa na ang preparations. Pero mahalaga rin ipunto na ang preparations ng mga atleta ay hindi lamang in the last four months. Ang mga grassroots sports teams namin, year-round kasi ang training nila,” shared Tugawin
“’Yung wala pa sa grassroots program, as early as July, nakapaghanda na sila dahil nagawa namin ‘yung tryout, ‘yung selection tournament ng Pasig City na tinatawag naming 'Pasiglympics' in all 27 sports na meron ang Batang Pinoy.”
And once the Batang Pinoy came around the corner, the city went all-out in taking care of their athletes and coaches – providing them everything from allowances and uniforms to accommodations.
According to the Resolution 10-12 Series of 2025 posted on the city’s website, Pasig City granted financial assistance totalling P45 million for its participation in the Batang Pinoy 2025.
“All-out support po. Nandiyan ‘yung allowances, full set of uniforms, they have track suit set, round-neck and collared shirts. Coaches also get t-shirts each plus track suit. Lahat merong allowances, pinondohan ‘yung accommodations, including of course lahat ng pagkain at transportation from the hotel to competition venues. Kasama na rin ang suporta para sa airfare. Lahat pinondohan ng City Government of Pasig,” said Tugawin.
Speaking of accommodations, it became viral when it was discovered by netizens that Pasig athletes were staying at the Greenleaf Hotel Gensan, a four-star hotel located near SM General Santos City.
Tugawin, though, made it clear that not all athletes stayed at the posh hotel since it couldn't accommodate all 675 athletes Pasig brought for Batang Pinoy.
Nevertheless, the LGU made sure its delegates were comfortable for the entire duration of the competition.
“Hinanap lang namin ‘yung pinakamalaking hotel that was able to accommodate all of us. Although hindi naman po doon lahat kasi hindi kasya. Siksikan din naman po sila," said Tugawin.
"Hindi alam ng marami, lima per room, marami pa rin sila. But at least, they are able to sleep comfortably. There are four other hotels na pinag-stayan ng delegado ng Pasig.”
Good governance
Ever since he became Pasig mayor in 2019, Sotto has been an advocate of good governance, which has resulted into more funds for the city and its citizens – the same reason, Tugawin said, why they have topped the Batang Pinoy over the last two years, as they are able to sustain all their grassroots sports initiatives.
“Definitely,” said Tugawin, when asked if good governance in the city contributed to the overall title. “Since we were able to free up resources dahil nga sa husay ng pamamahala, na-allocate ‘yan sa pangangailangan ng atleta. The budget for the Batang Pinoy delegation team is from the Pasig City Executive Department kasi nandoon nakapaloob ‘yung sports development division.”
“’Yun ‘yung sinasabi na husayan mo ang pamamahala, gawin mong efficient, gawin mong malinis, maayos, meron ka talagang resources supposedly at makakakabalik sa tao. ‘Yung pera ng taxpayers, eto ‘yung nagma-manifest na nagagamit nang maayos, naibabalik sa mga serbisyo. Halimbawa, naibabalik sa mga atleta, getting the best support they can get from the city government.”
Due to its robust sports program, Tugawin said Pasig claimed gold medals in nearly all sports in Batang Pinoy, citing gymnastics as its biggest haul with 25, based on their own tally.
Among the top performers in gymnastics were Hillarion G. Palles (five gold, one silver, one bronze) and King Cjay M. Pernia (four gold, three silver) in men’s artistic gymnastics, Tchelzy Mei Maayo (five gold, one bronze) in women’s artistic gymnastics, and Princess Lara Aquino (three gold, two silver) in rhythmic gymnastics.
Pasig also won in the medal-rich sports of athletics and swimming, and captured multiple gold medals in others, most notably karate where it was the overall champion and table tennis, where it took four of six possible gold medals.
“Halos lahat ng sports ay dumagdag sa count ng Pasig City,” said Tugawin.
While they won another general championship, Tugawin said there are still areas for improvement, including in the sport of archery where bulk of gold medals went to Baguio City and weightlifting where it intends to produce more medalists in the future.
As he put it, “Having seen how our athletes competed, alam rin ang coaches kung saan pwede magsanay at ‘yung nakikita nilang bright spots.
"For instance in weightlifting, ang lalakas kasi talaga ng Zamboanga at Rizal, nandyan din sumasama sa malalakas ‘yung koponan ng Cebu… But one of our athletes almost made it kasi 1-kg difference sa athlete from Rizal. Ang insight namin is kaya palang sumabay. We can still improve. We know na they’ve (Rizal) trained hard under two of the best trainers right now si coach Julius [Naranjo] and Hidilyn [Diaz].”
Tugawin said there’s a lot to thank for Pasig’s success in Batang Pinoy – from their lean sports development office, to the Department of Education for letting them use their facilities for training, and to Sotto and the City Council.
“Nagpapasalamat kami sa City Council, siyempre kila Mayor Vico for giving this all-out support. Hindi sila humindi sa request ng Pasig City Sports na bigyan ng halaga ang mga atleta at nabigyan nga sila ng halaga,” he said.
The biggest appreciation goes to Pasig athletes who brought honor and glory to the city.
“’Yung pinakamalaking thanks go to the athletes and their coaches na lumaban on behalf of Pasig. Sila pa rin naman ‘yung nasa front and center ng lahat ng ito. We were just behind them," expressed Tugawin.
"We thank all of our athletes, marami sa kanila, magga-graduate na. Nakakalungkot na mawawala na sila sa team, but we are excited for them to see them grow and become elite athletes at mapasama sa national team.”
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