President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. did an unprecedented in his third State of the Nation Address on Monday afternoon by putting premium on sports, especially on the campaign of 28 Filipino athletes in Paris — 22 for the Olympics and six for the Paralympics — that open this Friday in the French capital.

“Thank you, PBBM, for your kind wishes for the athletes at the Olympics,” Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said.

“It’s definitely inspiring and it’s an extreme boost to the morale not only to our athletes competing in Paris, but to the entire Philippine sports,” added Tolentino, who will fly to Paris today to oversee the Philippine Olympic campaign.

“This may be exaggerated but the President putting emphasis on sports in a very important event in his administration — something that’s never been done by past Presidents in memory — gives us the goose bumps,” added Tolentino, who, as POC head, personally suggested to Malacañang for the President to include the sports agenda in his third SoNA.

Marcos said he appreciates the effort of the Filipino athletes so it is only fitting to wish them well as they shoot for the country’s second gold medal in the Summer Games.

‘Let us wish them well and the best of luck.’

“As we speak, 28 of our finest athletes are competing in Paris now for the glory of the Philippines,” said President Marcos, drawing appreciation through a rousing clap from his audience.

“Let us wish them well and the best of luck.”

Tolentino stressed his gratitude to the Chief Executive.

 “We are very grateful to the President for showing his love and concern for sports,” Tolentino said. “And we, at the POC and Philippine sports as a whole, continuously thank his administration for relentlessly supporting sports through his financial support.”