Diaz, Ramirez thankful despite PSC allowance cut

RIO Olympics weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz said on Saturday that she remained thankful to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) despite the 50-percent reduction of allowances for athletes and coaches due to the pandemic.

Diaz, the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist, told The Manila Times on Saturday through Instagram that she understood the government sports agency’s decision since the entire country was struggling economically.

“Alam kong mahirap sa PSC gawin ito kasi they really care for the athletes pero wala silang pagkuhanan ng budget dahil closed ang mga casinos (I know this is difficult for the PSC to do because they really care for the athletes but there’s nowhere to source the budget since casinos are closed),” conceded Diaz.

“But on my part, I really understand the decision,” she added. “This is the right decision. It’s better to receive half than none [at all]. At the end of the day, magbibigay pa rin sila ng allowance. So, kung iisipin mo, saan sila kukuha (They are still going to give an allowance. So, if you think about it, where they will get it)?”

Last Friday, the PSC announced that it would slash half of the athletes’ and coaches’ allowances from June 1 until December 2020. But the PSC reassured that they would reinstate the full allowance once things return to normal.

According to Diaz, one of the highest-paid athletes of the PSC at P45,000 per month, half of the allowance will be received by July. She only expects to receive P22,500 then.

“Tama lang naman. Mas mainam na kaysa wala. Masuwerte na kami kasi ‘yung iba ‘no work, no pay’ (That’s fair. It’s better than nothing. We’re still lucky because others are under ‘no work, no pay’ agreements),” added Diaz, who presently stays and trains in Malaysia.

Annie Ramirez, the 2019 SEA Games Jiujitsu gold medalist, also shared the same sentiments.

“Despite ‘dyan, nagpapasalamat pa rin naman po ako sa PSC kasi hindi nila kami pinabayaang mga atleta (Despite that, I’m still grateful to the PSC because they did not neglect us athletes),” said Ramirez, whose full monthly PSC allowance is P36,000.