Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 24) – San Miguel Corporation president Ramon Ang personally handed a ₱10-million check to Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz.
Apart from the monetary reward, Ang said he will give the 30-year-old Olympic weightlifting champion two Chick ‘N Juicy chicken rotisserie franchise outlets from San Miguel Foods, Inc. as a gift. One outlet will be located in Eastwood City, Libis while another will be set up at her home province of Zamboanga.
“We know that after winning the Olympic gold, there’s a downpour of incentives both from the government and the private sector for Hidilyn and our other Olympic medalists the past few weeks. My advise to her is of course to be smart with her finances – to spend and invest wisely, and to plan for the future,” Ang said.
Ang emphasized that Diaz’s feat of winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal in 97 years lifted Filipinos’ spirit amid challenging times.
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“Hidilyn is the country’s trailblazer in our successful Olympic gold medal quest. After years of heartbreaks, she came through for us and we are very thankful as a nation,” the SMC boss said.
“Her victory comes at a very crucial point in our country’s history when we are grappling with a pandemic and a lot of Filipinos are looking for hope as we fight this virus and cope with the difficulties it has brought,” he added.
Ang also encouraged Diaz to gun for another gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the Philippines will mark its 100th year of participation in the quadrennial sporting event.
A longtime supporter of Philippine sports, SMC backed the Philippine team that ruled the 2019 Southeast Asian Games with a haul of 149 gold medals, 117 silvers, and 121 bronzes.
With the help of SMC, the Philippine team also won the overall championship in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games with 113 golds, 84 silvers, and 94 bronzes.
SMC also owns three professional basketball teams: San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, and Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in the Philippine Basketball Association.
