1996 Olympic Silver Medalist at last gets his rewards

MANILA – Twenty-five years after his shining moment in Atlanta Olympics, Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco is reaping all that he deserved to have then.

Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco

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.

With the country rewarding their current medalists with massive incentives and cash, it seemed only fair that their 1996 Silver Medalist Velasco should not be ignored.

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.

"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.

" 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, " I thought I also win in the Tokyo Olympics because someone gave me Chooks-to-Go."

Thanking Mascariñas, Velasco said, " 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)