Seven athletes from Valenzuela City who participated and won medals in the 31st South East Asian (SEA) Games in Hanoi, Vietnam last May 2022, received cash incentives from the local government on Sunday, June 5.
Incumbent Mayor and District 1 Representative-elect Rex Gatchalian, Deputy Speaker and Mayor-elect Wes Gatchalian, and District 2 Representative Eric Martinez handed over the awards to the athletes during the opening ceremony of their Inter-barangay Olympics held at the Wes Arena in Barangay Punturin.
“Itong pitong ito , nag-uwi ng mga medalya para sa ating lungsod, actually marami sa kanila returnee na. Noong una nagkaroon na sila ng medals, ngayon bumalik ulit at nadagdagan pa. Nawa’y maging inspirasyon niyo silang lahat para hindi lang sa ganitong city-level na competition kayo sasali kundi hopefully, katulad nila, sa mga international competitions katulad ng SEA Games (These seven won medals for our city, actually many of them are returnees. They already had medals before, they returned and won more medals. May they all be your inspiration so that you will not only participate in city-level competitions but hopefully, like them, in international competitions such as the SEA Games,” the mayor said.
First to receive the award was Marjorie Denise Manguiat from Barangay Dalandanan, who bagged bronze medal in the Women 4x100 LC Meter Relay Surface Swim (Fin Swimming). She recieved P50,000 cash incentive.
Next were silver medalists Noelito Jose Jr. from Barangay Dalandan, who participated in the Men’s Epee Individual event (Fencing); JM Pasco from Barangay Lawang Bato, who played for the country’s team in the Men’s Beach Handball event; and Baby Jessica Canabal from Barangay Gen. T. De Leon, who won in the Women’s Kyorugi (Teakwondo). They were awarded with P75,000.
The three gold medalists, who received P100,000 cash, were Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario from Barangay Coloong; Salic “Hadji” Imam from Barangay Paso De Blas; both were part of the Philippine team for E-Sports - Mobile Legends: Bang Bang; and Fernando Casares, from Barangay Wawang Pulo, who won in the Men’s Individual Triathlon event.
The awardees also received a replica of the “Arkong Bato,” a historical landmark in Valenzuela.
The local government said that the 33 barangays in the city each have 55 player who joined the Olympics to compete in basketball, volleyball, table tennis, chess, darts, billiards, and badminton.
The mayor reminded the participants to take the opportunity to get to know each other aside from only aiming to win in their respective games.
Earlier on the same day, the local government, led by Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian also unveiled the “Wall of Fame” at the Wes Arena to recognize the 32 athletes from Valenzuela who excelled in their respective sports and brought honor to the city.
The athletes were given a trophy, cash prize, and a replica of their portrait in the Wall of Fame.