Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz has received her P10-M incentive from SMC's Ramon S. Ang. Handout photo.
MANILA, Philippines -- Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz on Tuesday officially received her P10-million incentive from San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president Ramon S. Ang, as well as a couple of bonuses.
Ang also gave Diaz two Chick 'N Juicy chicken rotisserie franchise outlets from San Miguel Foods, to help her and her family have a sustainable source of income. One outlet will be located at Eastwood City in Libis, while another to be set up at her home province of Zamboanga.
"We know that after winning the Olympic gold, there's a downpour of incentives both from the government and the private sector for Hidilyn and our other Olympic medalists the past few weeks. My advice to her is, of course, to be smart with her finances -- to spend and invest wisely, and to plan for the future," said Ang.
Diaz won the country's first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo when she ruled the women's 55kg weight class in weightlifting.
Her gold was part of a record Olympic haul for Team Philippines, as boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam brought home silvers, and Eumir Marcial bagged a gold. Paalam and Petecio received P5 million from Ang, and Marcial was rewarded with P2 million.
Ang assured that they will assist Diaz in her new endeavor as an entrepreneur, "so that she can also help other people in need of jobs."
"In addition to the physical stores, equipment, and training, we will also provide the initial stocks for free to get her started," he added.
The Tokyo Olympics was Diaz's fourth Summer Games stint, after having made her debut in the Beijing Games in 2008.
Ang believes that she has one more Olympic cycle in her and encouraged Diaz to go for another gold in Paris 2024.
"Hidilyn is the country's trailblazer in our successful Olympic gold medal quest. After years of heartbreaks, she came through for us and we are very thankful as a nation. We encourage her to go for another gold and inspire more athletes to believe that they can achieve more," he said.
"Her victory comes at a very crucial point in our country's history when we are grappling with a pandemic and a lot of Filipinos are looking for hope as we fight this virus and cope with the difficulties it has brought," he added.
Diaz previously said that she intends to reassess her sporting career after the 2022 Asian Games in China, where she will defend her gold medal.
Diaz and the other Filipino Olympic medalists also received incentives from the Philippine government as mandated by Republic Act 10699, as well as the MVP Sports Foundation, Cong. Mikee Romero, the Philippine Olympic Committee, and other private sponsors.
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