Palace: ‘No coincidence’ PH had best Olympic performance under Duterte
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday claimed it was “no coincidence” that the Philippines achieved its best performance at the Olympics during President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, saying it’s the “first time” for the government to heavily invest in its athletes.
“Hindi coincidence na we had the best-ever performance in the Olympics including our first gold medal ever in our history under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing.
(It is not a coincidence that we had the best-ever performance in the Olympics including our first gold medal ever in our history under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.)
The Philippines had its best campaign at the Olympics after bringing home four medals —weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won gold, boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam won silver medals and Eumir Marcial won a bronze.
“The figures will bear me out pero talaga naman pong nagtanim at nag-invest ang ating Pangulo sa ating mga atleta. Sa kauna-unahang panahon po, record po ang suportang pinansyal na binigay natin sa ating mga atleta at nakita naman po natin ang naging prutas ng ganyang investment,” Roque said.
(The figures will bear me out but the President really planted and invested in our athletes. For the first time, we gave record financial assistance to our athletes and we can now see the fruits of this investment.)
“Ang tingin ko po, patuloy ang ating investment in our athletes dahil nakita naman po natin na kapag nakapaguwi ng medalya ang ating mga atleta, hindi lang tagumpay ng atleta natin ito kundi tagumpay ng buong sambayanang Pilipino.”
(I think our investment in our athletes will continue because we have seen that if they bring home medals, it’s not only their victory but the victory of the entire Filipino nation.)
“We needed those medals in this time of our history sa gitna ng pandemya. They provided us hope na kahit gaano kahirap ang buhay natin ngayon, e magwawagi rin po tayo,” he went on.
(We needed those medals in this time of our history in the middle of a pandemic. They provided us hope that matter how hard our life is right now, we will eventually win.)
The government has shelled out P2.7 billion to support Filipino athletes since the current Philippine Sports Commission board took over in 2016. At least P200 million were allocated for the preparation and competition of Team Philippines at the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics.
READ: Happy with Tokyo 2020 investment, PSC will introduce Olympic playbook
Even so, the country’s own Olympic medalists like Diaz and Marcial have previously asked for financial support for their preparations for the games.
In May, Marcial said the P43,000-monthly allowance was not enough to cover his expenses when he trained in the U.S. Diaz, in 2019, also sought sponsorships for her Tokyo Olympics preparation.
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