Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. is mulling the idea of contracting a Swiss sculptor to do the statue of Tokyo Olympic 2020 weightlifting gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz.
Locsin toyed on the idea as he praised Diaz for her record-breaking feat, the first-ever Filipino athlete to capture a gold medal in the Olympic’s nearly 100-year history.
“Oh my God, she is worth 1000 times her weight in Gold. The first-ever. Our country owes her an impossible to repay debt of honor,” Locsin said in a tweet Tuesday morning.
The foreign affairs chief said he wants to get the opinion of the Philippine Historical Commission about the idea of creating a sculpture and his preference for a Swiss sculptor to undertake it so it will not look like a winged reptile that exists during the Jurassic period.
“Let's hear it from the Philippine Historical Commission. And please contract a Swiss sculptor to do the sculpture; I don't want her looking like a bronze pterodactyl,” he said.
Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko also conveyed his congratulatory message to Diaz for bringing a "milestone" for the Filipino nation.
“My biggest congratulations to weightlifter Hidylin Diaz for clinching PH’s first-ever Gold Medal at the #Tokyo2020. Your hard work and perseverance all led to this historic moment. I join the Filipino nation in celebrating this milestone!” Koshikawa said in a tweet on Monday, shortly after Diaz bagged the gold medal in Tokyo.