The Muntinlupa City government will be giving a cash reward to Annie Ramirez, a city resident, who won a gold medal for the Philippines at the 31st Southeast Asian Games being held in Vietnam.
On May 16, the Muntinlupa City Council passed a resolution commending Ramirez for her feat of bagging a gold medal on May 14 in Jujitsu-Women's Under 62 kg category at the SEA Games against Thai Orapa Senatham.
She earned the country’s 10th gold medal at the SEA Games. She won a gold medal for the country at the 2019 SEA Games.
In addition, the City Council granted her P30,000 financial reward based on Muntinlupa City Ordinance 18-229, passed in December 2018, which grants cash incentives to athletes representing Muntinlupa in international, national, and regional competitions, and local invitational competitions.
Under the ordinance, those who win in the SEA Games will be given P30,000 for the gold medalist, P20,000 for the silver medalist and P10,000 for the bronze medalist.
“Congratulations, Ms. Annie Ramirez! May you serve as an inspiration to other Muntinlupa athletes!” City Council Majority Floor Leader Raul Corro posted on Facebook.
Ramirez paid a courtesy call on Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and the City Council members on Monday, May 16.
“Congratulations to all the athletes in this 2022 SEA Games! Hindi naging madali ang preparasyon at napakaraming pagsubok ang nag daan bago ang laban na ito pero ito na nga! Lahat ng yun nabawi pag katapos ng final match ko (My preparation was not easy and there were many challenges I went through before this match. I recovered from all of them after my final match),” Ramirez posted on Instagram.
She added, "Maraming maraming salamat sa mga tumulong at naging parte ng preparasyon namin para sa SEAGames Journey na ito, Hindi ito magiging possible if hindi dahil sa mga taong nag laan ng oras para tulungan kami sa ensayo at nag bigay ng supporta, sa mga kaibigan namin sa BJJ community mapa pinas man or amerika, sa JJFP coaches, officials & teammates, CDJJF/Team Baylon & MTFC family. Syempre sa family ko at kay Coach John (Thank you so much to those who helped and became part of our preparation for this SEA Games journey. This would not be possible if not for those people who alloted their time to help us train and gave us support, to our friends in the BJJ community in the Philippines or the US, to JJFP coaches, officals and teammates, CDJJF/Team Baylon & MTFC family. Of course, to my family and Coach John).”
“Para sa inyong lahat itong panalo ko na ito. At sa PSC, SEA Games Medical Team & POC Salamat po! Gusto ko din po pasalamatan ang butihin namin City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, City Councilors at YASDO Muntinlupa sa patuloy pong pag tulong sa mga atleta (My win is for all of you. To PSC, SEA Games Medical Team & POC, thank you! I would also like to thank our beloved City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, City Councilors and YASDO Muntinlupa for their continued help to athletes),” she said.
As of this writing, the Philippines is third in the ranking at the 31st Southeast Asian Games with 30 gold medals, 34 silvers, and 44 bronze medals.