Former Olympic boxer Leopoldo Serantes (left). PHOTO COURTESY OF CHOOKS TO GO
MANILA, Philippines—Former Olympic boxer Leopoldo Serantes is set to receive a monthly allowance of P100,000 from one of the Philippines’ main agri-venture players.
The 59-year-old Serantes, who won bronze in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, is suffering from a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is currently confined at Veterans Memorial Medical Center.
Chooks-to-Go will provide him with monthly financial assistance.
Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco, a silver medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, idolized Serantes whom he shares a weight class at light flyweight.
“Just like with Onyok Velasco, we cannot just forget the sports heroes that gave honor to our country in the past. We should continue to honor their legacy,” said Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas.
Velasco, who also received a P100,000 monthly allowance and a store, said he did not receive all the promises made to him when he took silver in Atlanta.
“In the case of Leopoldo Serantes, we decided to give him a monthly allowance of P100,000 for the rest of his life so that he can live with dignity befitting a living hero.”
Serantes, the sixth Filipino to win a medal in the Summer Games, is also a gold medalist in the 1985 Southeast Asian Games.
Velasco helped Mascariñas in tracking down Serantes after a certain Jhay San Antonio raised the concern on Facebook.
“Leopoldo Serantes is a legend in boxing, he was already there when we were just starting. He was the one whom we idolized,” said Velasco in Filipino. “When he went to the Olympics, that was when we started idolizing him. He won a medal and he wasn’t that big of a person, he’s just a small guy who won a medal through his strength.”