President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hosted a special event at Malacañang on Thursday for Paris 2024 Olympic golfer Dottie Ardina and gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar.
They're not forgotten.
Olympic Games Paris 2024 golfer Dottie Ardina, along with gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar were given a warm welcome by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang--along with their cash incentives.
These athletes were notably absent from the August 13 reception and the August 14 heroes parade, where Malacañang honored two-time Olympic medalist Carlos Yulo and other Filipino Olympians.
Golfer Bianca Pagdanganan, who was also invited, could not attend the event due to training commitments abroad.
The athletes received a Presidential Citation in recognition of their outstanding performances in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. They were also given two million pesos each in cash incentives--one million from PAGCOR and one milion from the Office of the President.
[RELATED STORY: Paris 2024 Olympians receive P1M-P20M incentives in Palace welcome]
Recall that Jung-Ruivivar shared on social media how she was "really hurt" after missing out on the homecoming parade.
In a screenshot of the conversation with Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion, Levi asked early on about the homecoming but was told it was for medalists only. The three female gymnasts were not able to reach any finals of the women's artistic gymnastics event.
But nearly all of the Olympians were in attendance for the homecoming, save for the three female gymnasts and the two female golfers. Pagdanganan delivered the Philippines' best finish in Olympic golf at fourth place, while Ardina rose up to 13th. Dottie also brought up the issue of lack of uniforms--or improper ones--during their competition.
[ALSO READ: Levi Jung-Ruivivar speaks after missing out on PH Olympics homecoming: 'I was really hurt']
President Marcos clarified in an interview that a mix-up led to the delay in notifying Ardina, Finnegan, Malabuyo, Jung-Ruivivar, and Pagdanganan about the event.
"Nung nagpa-reception kami dito, wala sila dito, nagbi-biyahe, at nagka-mix up, huli na 'yung pagkasabi sa kanila, hindi na sila nakauwi. Kaya’t sabi namin, pareho naman 'yung kanilang pinaghirapan, so dapat andun din sila," he explained.
"Nasama rin natin do’n sa lahat ng pagtanggap sa ating mga Olympian na ating ginawa. Sayang lang hindi nila napuntahan 'yung parada, pero at least everything else ay nagawa. We’re happy we were able to do something extra for those that did not make it to the first round."
(With reports from News5/Maricel Halili)