Bago City gives heroes’ welcome to local athletes

Bago City gave a heroes’ welcome to local athletes who won gold medals at the recently-concluded Southeast Asian Games. Rogen Ladon, who is originally from the city’s Barangay Lag-asan, won the flyweight division after defeating Thailand’s Ammarit Yaodam; while James Palicte, a native of the city’s Barangay Sampinit, conquered the light welterweight category by beating Vietnamese boxer Nguyen Van Hai.
Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo awarded a P50,000 cash incentive to each boxer. The incentive came about after the Sangguniang Panlungsod passed a resolution, which also provided P10,000 for their trainers, who are also from Bago City.
“We are so proud of our boxing heroes,” the mayor said. “They give pride not only to Bago City but the whole country as well.”
The two are set to return to Manila ahead of tryouts for next year’s Summer Olympics, along with a scheduled courtesy call on President Rodrigo Duterte next week, December 18.
Both boxers indicated the incentives will go their respective families.
The two also said they currently do not have plans to go professional yet as they are currently focused on next year’s Olympics in Tokyo./DGB, WDJ