Rolly Magallanes Posted on August 13, 2026 at 1:48 pm
ORMOC CITY, LEYTE — Ormoc City could soon host some of the country’s biggest youth sports competitions as the Philippine Sports Commission considers the city for the 2027 Batang Pinoy national championships.
PSC Chairman John Patrick Gregorio raised the possibility during the Eastern Visayas Sports and Youth Summit held Aug. 4 to 5.
Gregorio told Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez that the city’s sports facilities could qualify it to host national competitions.
He also pushed for more major sporting events to be held outside Metro Manila.
Gregorio said athletes from the provinces should not always have to travel to Manila to train and compete at a high level.
Holding national competitions in other parts of the country, he said, would give young athletes outside the capital more chances to compete against some of the country’s best.
Ormoc has been spending heavily on sports facilities in recent years.
Since 2022, the national and local governments have invested about P2 billion in the development of the Ormoc City Sports Complex and other sports facilities.
The complex now has a badminton center, padel courts and a skateboard facility.
A P110-million track-and-field facility is also being built in Barangay Juaton and is expected to be finished by late 2027.
Other facilities in the city include the Ormoc Fencing and Modern Pentathlon Hall, Ormoc Skate Park, Ormoc Badminton Center and an athletes’ dormitory.
Gomez said the investments are part of the city’s plan to make Ormoc a sports center for Eastern Visayas.
“We want Ormoc to be the sports epicenter of the region through proper infrastructure,” Gomez said.
He said the city hopes the facilities will help improve sports programs in the region over the next five to six years.
But Ormoc’s sports program did not begin with the construction of the new complex.
Torres-Gomez said the city started investing in athletes in 2016, when it provided free athletic shoes to members of the city delegation competing in the Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet.
The city has since improved its standing in the regional competition.
According to the city sports office, Ormoc placed third overall in 2016 and went on to win the overall championship for seven straight years.
Torres-Gomez said local governments should not wait for complete facilities before starting sports programs.
“We’re here to share everything because we want other towns to step up,” she said during the summit.
She said athletes should receive proper training and support even while facilities are still being developed.
“There is no perfect time, we only have now,” she said.
The mayor said Ormoc would not have reached its current level in sports if the city had waited for all its facilities to be completed before supporting athletes.
The possible hosting of the 2027 Batang Pinoy could give the city its biggest test yet.
It would bring young athletes from different parts of the country to Ormoc and give local athletes a chance to compete on their home ground.
The event could also give athletes from Eastern Visayas more exposure to national-level competition without having to travel to Metro Manila.
For Ormoc, the goal is to make its sports facilities useful not only for its own athletes but also for competitors from other towns and provinces in the region.
Whether the city will ultimately host the 2027 Batang Pinoy remains to be decided.
But the PSC’s interest signals that Ormoc is being considered for competitions that were once more commonly held in major urban centers.
For young athletes in Eastern Visayas, that could mean more chances to compete closer to home.
Photo courtesy: DPWH8
