The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) board has approved a P100,000 medical assistance for ailing sports icon Lydia de Vega who is battling cancer.

POC chief Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino will also make a personal contribution of P100,000 for de Vega’s hospital needs.

“The news saddens me and the POC, our very own Lydia de Vega, our sports great, a Philippine treasure,” Tolentino said.

• Lydia de Vega’s family seeks support as sprint icon in critical condition

“We in the POC family, my family, are hoping and praying that she wins this fight in the same manner as she won those great races in her prime.”

De Vega is currently confined at the Makati Medical Center because of Stage 4 breast cancer.

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 but was kept under wraps. She didn’t show any sign of the dreaded disease when she joined her fellow Filipino sports greats carry the country’s colors during the opening ceremony of the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019.

• Family asks for help as PH sprint queen Lydia de Vega 'in very critical condition'