Ilongga boxer Irish Magno, the first-ever Filipina to qualify for the Olympics, has lamented the Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) delayed release of their allowances.
In her now-deleted Facebook post, Magno, 29, revealed that she and other Filipino athletes have not received their allowances for two months now.
“Ang hirap magfocus para sa paghahanda ko sa Olympics kung alam mong yung pamilya mo sa probinsya halos walang makain. Masakit lang isipin lalo na’t ikaw lang inaasahan nila. Two months na walang allowance. Yan lang po inaasahan naming mga atleta. Sana magkaroon na,” she said.
The native of Janiuay town in Iloilo province is on Koh Samui, a popular island in the Gulf of Thailand, for a two-month training camp.
Magno, a silver medalist in the last Southeast Asian Games, earned her ticket to the Tokyo Olympics after winning her playoff bout in the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualification Meet in Amman, Jordan early last year.
In a report by CNN Philippines, PSC national training director Marc Velasco said allowances for Olympic-bound athletes were set to be released within March 17.
“There has been a slight delay due to annual evaluation of athletes’ lineup (qualified for allowances) that has been submitted to PSC,” he explained.
The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to run from July to August this year. It was postponed for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.IMT
