Tokyo Olympics-bound Eumir Marcial. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Eumir Marcial, one of the four boxers who will represent the Philippines in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, lamented the state of government support he received heading into the Summer Games.
In a Facebook post, the middleweight said that the P43,000 monthly allowance he receives is not enough to cover his expenses especially when he was training in the United States.
“Mga taong walang alam sa sports tahimik nalang kayo! Hindi niyo alam ang katotohanan. Since last year noong nasa United States ako hanggang ngayon dito sa Zamboanga City tingin niyo sapat ang P43,000 monthly allowance para sa preparation para sa Olympics?” wrote Marcial.
“Do you think I can rely jan sa P43,000 para sa plane tickets, accommodation, food, coaching staff, supplements, masseur, and etc.? Lahat ng na mention sa taas provided by private sponsors and of course my own money.”
LOOK: National team boxer Eumir Marcial takes to social media to speak out against the lack of funding from the government for his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.
Read related story: https://t.co/YxCn5xPbAI pic.twitter.com/mXmziJqtEf
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) May 13, 2021
(People who know nothing about sports better keep quiet. You don’t know the truth. Since last year when I was in the United States and now that I’m in Zamboanga, you think that the P43,000 monthly allowance I get is enough for my preparation for the Olympics? Do you think I can solely rely on the P43,000 for my plane tickets, accommodation, food, coaching staff, supplements, masseur, etc.? All that I’ve mentioned were provided by private sponsors and of course by my own money.)
This was Marcial’s reaction when the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines and the Philippine Sports Commission said that they have continued extending financial support to the three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist.
PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez said in an earlier Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum that Marcial’s training allowance was always being given even though he turned professional in late 2020.
Marcial, however, questioned if the support given is truly enough and pondered that the Filipino athletes’ failure to capture a gold medal in the Olympics can be attributed to the seemingly lacking financial support from the government.
“Kung ganyan ang supporta at mentality niyo wag kayong mag hangad ng gold sa Olympics! Ngayon ang tanong ko sa sarili ko at tanong ko din sa inyo mahihina ba kaming mga Pilipinong atleta kung bakit hanggang ngayon walang nakakakuha ng gold sa Olympics o sadyang may problema na ang pag supporta galing sa inyo?!” wrote Marcial.
(If that’s your kind of support and mentality then don’t wish for an Olympic gold! Now my question to myself is, and to you also, are Filipino athletes weak that’s why until now we’ve never had an Olympic gold or we truly lack the support?!)