Filipino Roasted Chicken Business To Give Ailing Ex-Olympian Almost $2K Monthly Allowance

Another former Filipino Olympian has been gifted with much-needed financial aid.

A successful roasted chicken retail business in the Philippines, “Chooks-To-Go,” continues to honor Filipino sports heroes from the past.

Shortly after rewarding Olympic silver medalist Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco Jr. almost $2,000 (Php 100,000) and his own “Chooks-To-Go” stall, the company has now committed to giving Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics bronze medalist Leopoldo Serantes, a lifetime monthly allowance of the same amount, Tiebreaker Times reported.

“Just like with ‘Onyok’ Velasco, we cannot just forget the sports heroes that gave honor to our country in the past. We should continue to honor their legacy,” Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas said of the rewarding of Serantes.

“In the case of Leopoldo Serantes, we decided to give him a monthly allowance of P100,000 for the rest of his life so that he can live with dignity befitting a living hero.”

The said monthly allowance is a great help for the 59-year-old former boxer as he is currently suffering from a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Serantes is one of the childhood heroes of Velasco, who made the entire thing possible by reaching out to “Chooks-To-Go.”

“Leopoldo Serantes is a legend in boxing,” Velasco said in his native tongue. “Since our early days in the sport, he was already there. We look up to him, especially when he became an Olympian. Then he won a medal despite not being that big for a boxer, he’s short but strong.”

“I realized I should also help him by reaching out to ‘Chooks-To-Go.’ “[Because] Serantes also needs help, he really needs help.”

Further revealing the ailing Olympian’s situation, Leopoldo’s daughter Leodeila bared that she has been feeling bad about the fact that his father has brought honor to his country and it seems like it has been long forgotten.

“He needs support and it seems like he needs to look for it from others,” Leodeila said. “I pity him because he would sometimes tell me about the honor he gave his country in the past, but now, it seems like they have put it all to waste. They forgot about his legacy.”

“This is really a huge help for my father,” she added. “Now, he wouldn’t need to worry about his everyday expenses for his oxygen, for the expenses to prolong his life.”