The father of teenage tennis sensation Alex Eala said his family will refuse the financial aid from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), a statement he made right after the agency claimed it has already extended P4.5-million assistance on its Facebook page.
The PSC post, which has since been deleted, included a congratulatory message from Chair Butch Ramirez and mentioned the cash assistance for Eala’s international competitions.
But it has been refuted by the Eala family through Alex’s mother Rizza’s own FB page, which maintained they have not received any reimbursement despite submitting required documents to the PSC.
She said they have documents that are “two inches thick,” including receipts and boarding passes for Alex’s tournaments. But when they followed it up, they “were given the runaround” instead.
The family has obviously had it in dealing with the PSC, which still promised to facilitate everything on Monday, a few days removed from Alex’s historic French Open campaign.
“They can give that financial assistance to other athletes who badly need it,” said Michael Eala over the phone. “We’ve come this far without them anyway.”
The PSC had acknowledged the mistake, saying its communication office based the FB post on an approved board resolution without confirming if the checks were already released.The development tinged an otherwise celebratory moment for Philippine tennis, as the 15-year-old Eala broke into the semifinals of French Open girls singles. The last time a Filipino made it that far in a Grand Slam was 35 years ago through Felix Barrientos.
“There are people calling us to say that their families gathered around for a viewing party each time Alex plays,” said Michael. “We are humbled at the support Alex is getting everywhere.” INQ