Uy-led Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has offered P5.0 million cash reward as well as lifetime free fuel to gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, the first ever Filipino to achieve that feat in the Oympic Games.
In a statement to the media, the oil firm indicated that the reward it will extend to the Olympic gold medalist will be from its Siklab Atleta Pilipinas Sports Foundation Inc., which has been in existence since 2018.
The outpouring of financial rewards to the now-hailed as premiere Filipino athlete came after her historic win in the Tokyo Olympics on Monday (July 26) in the weightlifting competition – and it’s an honor she bagged for the country despite the very difficult journey she waded through, including lack of financial supporters then, when she was navigating her way into that monumental global sporting event.
Atty Raymond Zorrilla, senior vice president for External Affairs of Phoenix Petroleum, asserted that “I think many of us felt so much pride and joy seeing our flag being raised and our National Anthem being played, while honoring the historic win of Hidilyn Diaz.”
He added “it’s all the more special for us because she is a Phoenix athlete whose tough journey has finally given our country its first Olympic gold medal.”
On top of the cash reward, the oil firm also offered Diaz a “lifetime free fuel package” as part of the benefits that she can avail of from Phoenix Petroleum.
Zorilla claimed that when Diaz was doing her training for the Olympics, Phoenix Petroleum was among the company-supporters who extended financial assistance of P2.0 million – and that was channeled through a memorandum of agreement that the oil company had signed with the Philippine Sports Commission.
“From fuelling the dream, we now hope to fuel the inspiration with this sponsorship,” Zorrilla stressed; while expressing hope that Diaz’s win for the gold, will hopefully just be the start of good things to come for Filipino athletes.
“Our hope is that: this is only the beginning of a golden era for Philippine sports and that more entities from all sectors extend support so we can have more golds in the future,” the Phoenix executive noted.