Malacañang said it was "no coincidence" that the Philippines achieved its best Olympics campaign during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a press briefing, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the current administration heavily invested billion of pesos for the country's athletes.
“Hindi coincidence na we had the best-ever performance in the Olympics including our first gold medal ever in our history under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Roque said.
With the amount of investment, Roque said it was only natural to “reap the fruit of their investment.”
“The figures will bear me out pero talaga naman pong nagtanim at nag-invest ang ating Pangulo sa ating mga atleta. Sa kauna-unahang panahon po, record po ang suportang pinansyal na binigay natin sa ating mga atleta at nakita naman po natin ang naging prutas ng ganyang investment," he added.
Roque also assured that the Duterte administration will continue to support Filipino athletes.
“Ang tingin ko po, patuloy ang ating investment in our athletes dahil nakita naman po natin na kapag nakapaguwi ng medalya ang ating mga atleta, hindi lang tagumpay ng atleta natin ito kundi tagumpay ng buong sambayanang Pilipino," he continued.
“We needed those medals in this time of our history sa gitna ng pandemya. They provided us hope na kahit gaano kahirap ang buhay natin ngayon, eh magwawagi rin po tayo," Roque stated.
The Philippines had its best campaign in history at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics with weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz winning gold followed by the bulk of the medals, two silvers from Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio, and a bronze from Eumir Marcial.
The country also emerged as the top performer in the Southeast Asian region.
The national government shelled out PHP 2.7 billion to support Filipino athletes.
