Jay-R Esquivel (Facebook)

Top leaders of the House of Representatives have chipped in to help Filipino surfing phenom Rogelio “Jay-R” Esquivel Jr. achieve more honor for the country in the international scene.

A statement from House Speaker Martin Romualdez Friday, June 23 bared that he and his wife, Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez extended an undisclosed financial assistance to Esquivel.

The amount was meant to help defray the costs of participating in sporting events.

Esquivel had just won the gold medal in the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series Padrol Longboard Classic in Bali, Indonesia. The competition was held from June 3 to 4.

“Jay-R Esquivel continues to make our country proud by winning international competitions one after another. His contributions to putting the Philippines in the world surfing map is not only honoring our country, but encouraging tourists to visit our surfing spots,” Speaker Romualdez said.

By winning the qualifying series, Esquivel punched a ticket to the WSL World Longboard Tour. He is the first ever Filipino to achieve this feat.

It was only last February when the couple personally congratulated Esquivel for winning the WSL La Union International Pro Longboard Qualifying Series.

“And now here we are again, in awe of Jay-R’s achievements in world surfing competitions, making history not only for himself but for the rest of the Filipino nation. Your accomplishments truly deserve praise and recognition,” Rep. Romualdez, chairperson of the House Committee on Accounts, said.

“Jay-R deserves all the support and recognition he can get, after making history after history in the world stage of surfing. We hope his example is followed by the youth of today and one day reach for their dreams,” the Romualdezes further said.

Last month, Esquivel was part of the team that finished fourth in the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Longboard Championship in El Salvador, just behind world surfing leaders France, Brazil and Peru. This was the Philippine longboard team’s debut in the world group competition.

Esquivel is a 2019 Southeast Asian longboard silver medallist.

He is also a record holder in the Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PCST) and the Renextop Asian Surfing Tour (RAST) since 2018.