Paris Paralympians to receive heroes' welcome from PBBM

MANILA – The six athletes who competed at the just-concluded Paris Paralympics will receive a heroes' welcome from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Archer Agustina Bantiloc, taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin, wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan, javelin thrower Cendy Asusano, and swimmers Angel Otom and Ernie Gawilan are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.

They will make a courtesy call at Malacañang Palace in Manila on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

"Our President is very supportive who acknowledges and recognizes the efforts of our athletes," Philippine Paralympic Committee president Michael Barredo said in a news release from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Monday.

President Marcos also honored the athletes who joined the Olympics last month.

"We express our gratitude to the President for his all-out support. Our Chief Executive made us feel really special," Barredo said.

"Our para athletes did their best at the Paris Paralympics but fell short of reaching the podium. We are proud of their valiant efforts, nonetheless. Now, it is time to return to the drawing board and establish a clear para sports pathway, from grassroots participation – especially among the youth and women – up to the elite level," he added.

The PSC fully supported the training and participation of the six Paralympians.

Asusano finished fourth in the F54 event where she registered a personal best of 15.05 meters; Otom made the finals of her two events – placing fifth in the women's 50-meter butterfly S5 event with a personal-best of 45.78 seconds, and sixth in the 50m backstroke S5 with a time of 44s – while Gawilan ranked sixth in the 400m freestyle S7 finals; Mangliwan made the 400-meter T52 finals; Bantiloc lost in the opening knockout round of the women's individual compound event; and Ganapin lost in the men's K44 -80kg round of 16.

"By leveraging local and national events like the Palarong Pambansa, Batang Pinoy, Philippine National Games, and Training the Trainers, we aim to identify, classify and nurture talent across the country," Barredo said.

Barredo said that adequate funding will expand the national training pool and strengthening representation in international competitions such as the Asean and Asian Para Games, and the Paralympic Games.

During the opening ceremony, the Philippines was acknowledged as a country that awards huge monetary incentives to medal-winning para athletes.

"We are working with Congress to increase the cash incentives of our medal-winning para athletes similar to the incentives that our athletes in the Olympics normally receive," PSC chair Richard Bachmann said.

"We are also helping institutionalize the Para PNG (Philippine National Games), so we can have a younger pool of athletes that we can actually select in the future," he said.

Before the Paralympians left for Paris, President Marcos sent his well wishes and told them that the "whole nation is with you and that you are already champions in our eyes." (PNA)