1996 Atlanta Olympics silver medalist Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco (Photo courtesy of DepEd)
MANILA – Twenty-five years after his shining moment in Atlanta Olympics, Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco is reaping all that he deserved to have then.
Over the weekend, the Olympics silver medalist received PHP100,000 from Bounty Agroventures Inc. (BAVI) President Ronald Mascariñas and a franchise to operate a store of flagship product Chooks-to-Go in honor of what he did for the nation's pride.
The Bago City native, who is currently based in Quezon City, personally went to the BAVI office in Pasig to receive his rewards.
Velasco has suddenly become a hot topic since the latter part of the Tokyo Olympics when he revealed in podcasts and television interviews that he has yet to completely get what he was promised after winning the Olympic silver.
"Nung matapos kong manalo ng silver sa Atlanta Olympics, yung hindi natupad yung sa Congress na PHP2.5 million pati yung sa Philippine Navy na scholarship ng dalawang anak ko. Yung bahay nandiyan na pero yung titulo wala pa. Nagpangako rin ng PHP10,000 monthly na lifetime pero isang taon lang binigay sa akin (After I won a silver in the Atlanta Olympics, among those not given to me were PHP2.5 million from the Congress and scholarships for my two sons in the Philippine Navy. The house is already there, but the title is not yet there. There was also a lifetime promise of PHP10,000 monthly, but only one year's worth of it has been given to me)," recalled Velasco.
Since the revelation, some people have stepped up in mitigating the supposed backlogs.
The Philippine government, for one, is readying PHP500,000 as a cash incentive to Velasco according to Senate Committee in Sports chairman Bong Go.
Mascariñas, whose company owns the Philippines' premier professional 3x3 league and is the major sponsor for other regional leagues like the National Basketball League and the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, was the latest to pledge.
He actually kept it a surprise and just told the retired boxer to meet him at the BAVI office.
"Natutuwa akong makita ang buhos ng parangal at gantimpala mula sa pamahalaan at lalo na sa pribadong sektor sa mga atletang nagbigay ng karangalan sa bansa nitong nakaarang Olympics. Ngunit may isang matagal nang pangakong tila nakalimutan na (I'm happy to see the outpouring of honor and reward from the government and especially the private sector to the athletes who gave honor to the country this past Olympics. However, there is one promise that has probably long been forgotten) and we’d like to be part of the solution first before we join the celebration of our heroes in the Tokyo Olympics," Mascariñas said.
Upon learning of the surprise, Velasco thought, "Kala ko nga nanalo din ako sa Tokyo Olympics e na may nagbigay sa akin ng (I thought I also win in the Tokyo Olympics because someone gave me) Chooks-to-Go."
Thanking Mascariñas, Velasco said, "Boss Ronald, talagang hulog ka po ng langit sa akin at sa buong pamilya ko dahil binigyan niyo po ako ng kabuhayan. Sana marami pa kayong matulungan na tulad ko (you are really a blessing from heaven for me and my family because you gave me a business. I hope that you can help more people like me)." (PNA)
