DIGOS CITY— Two-time Olympic boxing medalist Nesthy Alcayde Petecio has praised the Municipality of Sta. Cruz for its plan to build an athletes’ village aimed at supporting the city’s homegrown talents and members of the national team.
Davao City-born Petecio, whose parents live in Barangay Tuban in Sta. Cruz, paid a courtesy visit to Mayor Jose Nelson “Tata” Sala on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, where the project was discussed.
“Nindot ang plano ni Mayor para sa mga atleta, dili lang para sa mga national athletes kundi apil sad mga student-athletes (The mayor’s plan for athletes is great, benefiting not only national athletes but also student-athletes),” Petecio said in a Messenger interview with SunStar Davao on Tuesday, January 13.
In a Facebook post after the visit, Petecio said Sala shared his plan to establish an athletes’ village in Sta. Cruz as part of the local government’s push to strengthen sports development in the town.
“Grabe suporta gyud, dili lang sa sports kundi sa tibuok Sta Cruz (He really gives strong support, not only to sports but to the whole of Sta. Cruz),” Petecio, a bronze medalist in the 2025 Thailand Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, wrote.
Petecio also disclosed that she and her younger brother, Norlan Alcayde Petecio, who is also a member of the national boxing pool, receive a monthly allowance of P10,000 each from the local government, underscoring Sta. Cruz’s financial backing for its elite athletes.
The proposed athletes’ village is expected to provide housing and training support for Sta. Cruz athletes and national team members, a move local officials see as a long-term investment in grassroots and elite sports development.
Petecio, one of the Philippines’ most decorated boxers, has won two Olympic medals and remains a central figure in the country’s boxing program, serving as both a competitor and a role model for young athletes from Mindanao and across the country. MLSA