The 2025 Palarong Pambansa logo honors Olympian Teofilo Yldefonso, blending his iconic swimming form with Ilocos Norte’s inabel weaving heritage.
Ilocos Norte is weaving its cultural identity and athletic heritage into the upcoming 2025 Palarong Pambansa, unveiling a symbolic logo that pays tribute to the province’s sporting hero, Olympic swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso.
The newly-released logo features a pixelated human figure, inspired by Yldefonso’s iconic swimming posture, highlighting the pride of Ilocos Norte as the birthplace of the Philippines’ first Olympic medalist.
Known as the “Ilocano Shark,” Yldefonso is the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to win an Olympic medal, earning bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke in both the 1928 Amsterdam and 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
His legacy continues to inspire generations of Filipino athletes, making him a fitting symbol for the Palarong Pambansa's return to the north.
[ALSO READ: One Sports to broadcast Palarong Pambansa 2025 from Ilocos Norte]
The design also creatively incorporates the intricate inabel textile traditions of the region, with pixel patterns representing the warps and wefts of traditional weaving.
Notably, the letters “I” and “N” in the logo showcase the sinan-bola (ball-like) pattern — a signature motif from the inabel designs of National Living Treasure awardee Magdalena Gamayo.
The color palette draws from the Philippine flag, with “ILOCOS NORTE” in blue, “PALARO 2025” in red, and the tagline “NAGKAKAISANG KAPULUAN” (United Archipelago) also in red.
The 2025 Palarong Pambansa, tentatively set from May 24 to June 2, will gather over 15,000 athletes, coaches, and DepEd officials from across the country. Key venues, including the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium and Centennial Arena, are undergoing renovations in preparation for the event.
First staged in 1948, the Palarong Pambansa is the country’s largest grassroots sporting event for student-athletes. Organized by the Department of Education, it serves as a platform for discovering future sports stars and promoting unity through competition.
The 2025 games will be broadcast live on One Sports and the Pilipinas Live app.