“WE want to put that premium for our grassroots sports programs.”

Thus said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Richard Bachmann when he announced Friday the return of the Batang Pinoy (BP) and Philippine National Games (PNG) on December 17 to 22 this year.

In a press conference at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, the PSC chief said that “going around the provinces and all the sports events, we owe it to all the kids and the athletes to give them a good platform to perform in all sports. That’s one way the PSC can help, to give them that international-level of hosting from the logo to the branding.”

The two PSC-organized sporting events will be held simultaneously in Pasig City and Manila, and will feature 20 disciplines: archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball 3×3, boxing, chess, cycling, dancesport, esports, gymnastics, karatedo, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, beach volleyball, weightlifting and wushu.

Like in previous editions of the PNG, competing athletes will be from ages 18 and above, while the Batang Pinoy will introduce a new age group of 17 years old and below. Specific sub-groupings of age will be on a per sport basis.

Bachmann, who was joined in the media briefing by newly appointed Executive Director Paulo Francisco Tatad, also unveiled the new logos for BP and PNG, focusing on the colors and traditional icons of the flag, while adding elements that highlight the essence of grassroots sports talents.

“Together with Chairman Bachmann, we will do our very best in the coming months and years to increase the participation of our youth in our grassroots sports programs like the BP and PNG, and improve our facilities and infrastructure for our athletes,” said Tatad, who officially started his tour of duty on August 1.

The PSC will be partnering with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education, Philippine Olympic Committee and 20 national sports associations.

The PNG was declared the country’s centerpiece sports program through Executive Order No. 163 in 1994, while the Batang Pinoy, formerly known as the Philippine Youth Games, was created through Executive Order No. 44 in 1998.