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| The Philippines' first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz smilingly showing off the commemorative stamps introduced and released by the Philippine Postal Corporation. (Image Source: GMA News) |
The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) honored the four Filipino athletes who led the country's most successful Summer Olympics stint ever in Tokyo, Japan by having commemorative stamps for them. These were unveiled on September 18, 2021 with the country's first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, Tokyo 2020 silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial witnessing the event at the Manila Central Post Office. Aside from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics commemorative stamps, PHLPost has also unveiled a series of stamps encouraging everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
"It feels great that some of our countrymen have brought home honor and given inspiration to our nation. This is what led us here at the Philippine Post Office to issue postage stamps or seals that feature the images of the winning moments of our countrymen during the Tokyo Olympic Games," said PHLPost Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio. “The stamps featuring the winning moments of our very own first Olympic gold medalist Ms. Hidilyn Diaz and her fellow Team Pilipinas Olympic medalist and boxing champions Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio, and Eumir Marcial remind us how important they are to be recognized properly in what they are doing to keep our Philippine flag high and shining in the world of sports. The glory they have given to our nation and to the Filipino people is priceless,” he added.
For her part, Diaz stressed the importance of sending the so-called "snail mails" even at times in which you can just send letters and files through e-mail and social messaging apps. "In this time of social media and the internet, I hope we still have the space and connection similar to writing using stamps or seals," she said. "During this time of the pandemic, even if we don’t see each other, let’s continue to inspire and give hope and heroism to others. We need to discover a way to make our communication creative and deeper like what PHLPost is doing. Thank you so much for this honor. This has become part of history, not only for me or for the athletes here, but for all of us Filipinos."
