Pia lauds world-class skateboarder Margielyn Didal: "she represents the country with pride wherever she goes"
Transcript of manifestation

Madame President, I just want to include in our acknowledgement the fact that Margie decided at a very young age to take on a sport that was very new. She did not even have an official coach at the time that she took up skateboarding, at what age? At 12, and against the wishes of her parents, [as] she was spending a lot of time on her skateboard, performing stunts.

It took a while. It was very difficult for her to continue her passion because like many athletes, even their own families worry for their future, worry for their safety when they embark on this, especially with skateboarding, which is very new, and can be very dangerous. In fact, she's here still recovering from an injury. Is it correct that you now have a titanium piece in your left ankle? Forever na ba yun doon? Okay. Wala naman daw forever, yung titanium niya. But I am saying that these are the risks that accompany the sport that she has chosen and she has represented the country many times, and I want to say, represented the country very well.

This young girl has a following internationally. Kapag naabutan niyo ang mga live niya, yung mga Instagram Live niya, parang within one minute, she has hundreds of comments from her fans all over the world. And she represents us well with pride wherever she goes, not just with her sport, but with her demeanor, carrying the qualities of a Filipino na magaling pero humble, laging nakangiti, even when she did not make it to the podium in the Olympics, she was cheering for her rivals.

And so, we are very proud to have Margielyn Didal with us. She is an honor to all Filipinos. She brings us honor, and her spirit as a young athlete shines in everything that she does. She is a Cebuana. Yun nga, if you look at the photos on her social media pages, talagang makikita mo na home-grown. Kung ano lang ang meron doon, tinalon-talon niya, may barkada lang siya doon and then obviously, from the start, she started to excel and make her own path. And now, she is our shining star in the field of skateboarding, competing all over the world. And her next venture is in LA? Tama ba, LA? She'll be LA-bound soon, even while she's still recovering, going through therapy, she'll already go there to compete.

So this girl embodies the kind of discipline that I always speak of, the kind of discipline that I say we can find in athletes, the kind of pride in the country that our athletes, especially those given the chance to compete for the country, carry with them in their hearts. So we are proud of you, Margie. And keep up the good work.

Thank you, Madame President.