DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio feted the athletes in the Athletes and Coaches Recognition hosted by the Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office (SDD-CMO) at The Royal Mandaya Hotel, Thursday, August 23.
Medalists in the 2018 Palarong Pambansa in Ilocos Sur and the Philippine National Games (PNG) 2018 in Cebu City received medals and cash prizes.
The gold, silver and bronze medalists claimed P10,000, P8,000 and P5,000, respectively, after Duterte-Carpio told them: "Enjoy your youth, enjoy your sports discipline and always thrive the pursuit to happiness."
SDD-CMO executive program Cindy Cruz said the incentives, given by the City Mayor's Office, was a simple way of thanking the athletes and coaches for giving pride to Davao City.
For some, the cash incentives were just a bonus but the presence of the mayor made the recognition special and memorable.
"Thankful kaayo sir kay mismo atoang buotan nga mayor ang naghatag sa award. Dako kaayo ko pasalamat especially sa atoang mayor, opportunity na ma represent ang Davao City (I am thankful that our mayor gave us the award herself and that we were able to represent the city)," PNG judo women's heavyweight gold medalist Desiree Felicida Inciso said.
Arnol Alesna, who won a taekwondo gold medal in the 2018 Palarong Pambansa, said the presence of the mayor inspired him to do his best for other competitions he will be joining.
"Happy po masyado kasi na recognize po yung pinaghirapan namin (We are happy that our efforts were recognized)," he said.
Karateka Miyuki Romaquin Tacay, who also won a gold in the PNG women's -68kg individual kumite, was overwhelmed to receive the award personally from the mayor.
"We feel honored and very happy kay naghatag jud sya ug time para sa mga athletes despite her busy schedule para suportahan mi (she gave time for us athletes despite her tight schedule to support us)," Tacay added.
