PHILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez and commissioners thanked the six Filipino para athletes, coaches, officials and support staff after the delegation wrapped up its Tokyo Paralympic Games campaign on Sunday.
“They were exceptional and dedicated Paralympians caught in a pandemic. Despite this, they carried the flag with pride and honor,” PSC Chairman Ramirez said. “They played against the best Paralympians in the world. To qualify and participate in the Paralympics is a great honor in itself.”
Days before Team Philippines left for Tokyo, some officials and athletes tested positive for Covid-19, including para powerlifter Achelle Guion, para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin and para discus thrower Jeanette Aceveda.
Despite the unending challenges and obstacles faced by our delegation, the three remaining Paralympians—Jerrold Mangliwan im para athletics and Ernie Gawilan and Gary Bejino in para swimming—stood proud and fought well against champions from their respective sports.
Mangliwan advanced to the finals of his three events. He placed fifth and set a new personal best in the men’s 400m T52 and also broke his own best time in the men’s 1500m T52.
Gawilan placed sixth in the men’s 400m freestyle S7 and became the first Filipino para swimmer to advance to the Paralympics finals.
Bejino, on the other hand, also showed great potential come the 2024 Paris Games despite being a first-timer in the quadrennial meet.
“In spite of what happened, we take pride in these rare Filipino Paralympians. They inspire the country with their achievement,” Ramirez said. “They are our new heroes today who in spite of their conditions fought well.”
The sports agency chief also noted that in the face of the pandemic, the PSC managed to respond to the concerns of our para athletes. On August 12, Ramirez announced that each of the para athletes, coaches and officials will receive P100,000 in additional travel allowance for the Games.
With the advancement of para sports, Ramirez is calling for transformation and further development of talent identification for para athletes.
“Together with the Philippine Paralympic Committee, we hope to find training venues for our para-athletes in the national pool,” he said. “The sacrifices and resiliency of these para-athletes are beyond compare. We will support them in any way we can.”