MANILA — Filipino Olympians will be honored with a heroes’ welcome by Malacañang upon their return to the Philippines on Tuesday evening, as announced by the Office of the President on Monday.
The Filipino athletes are coming back after a historic performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they secured two gold medals and two bronze medals.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo, along with bronze medalists Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, and the rest of the Philippine Olympic team, are expected to arrive from Paris at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday via a chartered flight. They will be greeted by their families at the Maharlika Presidential Hangar at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Following their arrival, they will proceed to Malacañang Palace, where they will be received by the President and the First Lady for an awarding ceremony and dinner reception, according to Chief of Presidential Protocol Reichel Quiñones during a Palace briefing.
Quiñones noted that Tuesday’s homecoming will be “simple, but meaningful.”
“The organizing committee’s aim is to give them a heroes’ welcome that truly honors their achievements and the pride they’ve brought to the nation,” Quiñones said.
An awarding ceremony will take place at the Palace, where the President will confer certain honors. Yulo is set to receive a Presidential Medal of Merit, while Petecio, Villegas, and other athletes will be presented with Presidential Citations.
PCO Assistant Secretary Dale De Vera mentioned that the President will also announce the cash incentives for the Olympians during the welcome ceremony. “The figures will be revealed tomorrow,” De Vera said.
Addressing reports that Carlos Yulo’s family was not invited to the welcome event, Quiñones clarified that each athlete was given the choice to invite four guests of their choosing, whether family members or close friends.
“To clarify, we allowed each athlete to invite four guests. It’s entirely up to them who they want to be present,” Quiñones explained. “We told them they could have a plus four, and we left the decision to them.” She added that she does not yet know who Yulo has chosen to invite.
The athletes will also be celebrated with a homecoming parade on Wednesday afternoon, August 14.
The 7.7-kilometer motorcade, initially scheduled for Tuesday, will begin at 3 p.m. at Aliw Theater and conclude at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“The parade will start at Aliw Theater, then take a left onto Roxas Boulevard, a right onto P. Burgos, continue along Finance Road, reach Taft Avenue, make a right onto Quirino Avenue, and finally, turn onto Adriatico Street to end at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex,” De Vera explained.
The event will be live-streamed by RTVM, he added.