YOU have to admire the tenacity of the blind followers of this admin. Anyone perceived to have made the slightest affront against their Dear Leader becomes a subject of their vitriol online.
Take the case of Olympian Hidilyn Diaz, the darling of Philippine sports whom the same blind supporters praised to high heavens when she won an Olympic silver medal in Rio in 2016 and an Asian Games gold medal in 2018.
After airing her frustrations on social media, asking if it would be okay to ask for help from private sponsors for her quest to qualify for Tokyo 2020, she became a target of hate.
Her being dragged into that joke of a matrix has been raised as to why she shouldn’t get any support. They also pointed out that she got millions already from the government and she should spend that for herself.
Yeah, right. Any of these DDS willing to spend their Christmas bonus on office-related improvement? Because that’s what she got when she won in the Olympic games and the Asian Games, a bonus.
They also raised the issue of her father being a member of Magdalo. Is it a crime now to be a member of a partylist? Or to be a daughter of a member of a partylist? That in another argument they’d be quick to say that the dictator’s son and daughter shouldn’t be blamed for the sins of their dictator father is lost on them. (Just as many, many things are lost on them, decency being one.)
Anyway, I was surprised why Hidilyn raised such an appeal considering that from what I know, she gets the most support among the elite athletes we have and she deserves it.
In a previous conversation with Ramon Fernandez of the Philippine Sports Commission, the agency pays for her team—including her coach, sports pyschologist and trainer. I wonder if something has changed or if what the PSC is giving her is no longer enough. If it’s not, I hope she gets what she really needs for her stint in Tokyo so all she has to concentrate on is training, not looking for funds.
I am not saying Hidilyn is getting greedy. Far from it. She’s competing against fellow lifters who are well funded and have the best facilities.
And where is the national sports association in this? The Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas of Monico Puentevella got provisional recognition from the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) because of Diaz’s international stint.
The Philippine Weightlifting Association questioned its removal from the POC roster, accusing SWP president Monico Puentevella of going behind their backs. But the PSC couldn’t afford to wait for the issue to be resolved since Hidilyn needed to compete and had to be associated with a member of the International Weightlifing Federation so she could have her ID for international events.
Hence, the SWP got provisional status.
Where are they in all of this? I hope they’d also speak out. The PSC has, in my opinion, been unfairly dragged down with the issue, and to be fair to them, they’ve done their best to support Hidilyn.
Whatever happens, I hope Hidilyn gets what she really needs.