By Jean Malanum | Philippine News Agency
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) gifted Paris Olympics double-gold medalist gymnast Carlos “Caloy” Yulo and bronze medalist boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas with houses and lots in Tagaytay City, Cavite.
“It’s now a tradition, first Hidilyn Diaz [-Naranjo] deserved all the best for giving the country its first Olympic gold medal and now, it’s the turn of Caloy, Nesthy, and Aira to be feted with the same reward for their historic efforts,” POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said Tuesday.
POC secretary general Wharton Chan said Yulo’s two two-story houses with gazebos would sit on a 500-square-meter lot estimated at around P15 million.
Petecio and Villegas’s house, on the other hand, will rise on separate 200-square-meter lots and just like Yulo’s, will be furnished with basic amenities.
It will be Petecio’s second home in Tagaytay City after the first one she received for her silver from Tokyo 2020. She is neighbor to fellow silver medalist Carlos Paalam and bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial in the Olympic Village compound.
“All the rewards and bonuses that go our medalists’ way are well deserved. It’s not easy to medal in the Olympics; it takes years, it takes focus, discipline and determination,” Tolentino said.
“These athletes invested their lives into the sports they love and now, they’re reaping the fruits of their sacrifices,” he said.
Tolentino did not reveal the locations of the homes but would be turning over the keys to the medalist Olympians in a ceremony fit for champions.
“The POC doesn’t think twice about these rewards: an Olympic medal, regardless of color, is the most precious medal in sports,” he said.