Kuya Bong proud of Pinoy Olympians

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has extended his congratulations to the Filipino athletes who saw action in the 2024 Paris Olympics that resulted in the Philippines’ best finish in the quadrennial meet with two gold and two bronze medals.

Go – who also chairs the Committee on Sports – has outlined his commitment to further enhancing the country's sports programs as he praised the exceptional performances of Filipino athletes, such as Carlos Yulo, who earned two gold medals, and Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, each securing a bronze.

"Congratulations po sa ating mga atletang nanalo, headed by our golden boy, Carlos Yulo, dalawang gold medals. Bronze naman si Nesthy Petecio at si Aira Villegas," remarked Go.

The lawmaker also stressed the consistent improvement since his tenure as Senate Sports Committee chairperson began in 2019.

To recall, the country gained its first-ever Olympic gold medal courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"Nakakatuwa, since 2019, meron tayong tatlong gold na. Naging chairperson po ako ng Committee on Sports, 2019 sa Senado. Sinuportahan natin ang mga Olympics, sinuportahan po natin ang Paris Olympics, sinuportahan po natin ‘yung mga grassroots program, sinuportahan po natin ang mga atleta," he added.

In June, Go partnered with the Philippine Sports Commission to provide additional financial support worth P500,000 to each Filipino Olympian to aid their preparations for the Paris Olympics. They also provided the same amount of support to each Filipino para-athlete participating in the upcoming 2024 Paris Paralympic Games through Go’s initiative with PSC.

The senator earlier announced his intent to conduct a comprehensive post-evaluation of the efforts exerted by the government and various stakeholders in preparing and supporting our 2024 Paris Olympics delegation.

While the country celebrates its wins, there have also been some evident areas for improvement in terms of support to Filipino Olympians such as the case of the country’s golf team lacking official uniforms.

Moreover, he stressed that there must be a concerted effort to learn from past experiences, fill in gaps in current sports programs, and find more opportunities for various stakeholders to come together to help boost Philippine sports.