Speech by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Homecoming: Tagumpay Natin Lahat a Reception for Alex Eala, Our Athlete

Good evening everyone and welcome to the Palace on this extremely happy occasion.

Alam mo, Alex, whenever we have these programs here, I always begin by saying, it is my pleasure to receive you.

And, you know, sometimes it’s the polite thing to do.

When I say that tonight, it’s not polite. I really, really am so happy to have you here. You cannot imagine. [applause]

This is one of those occasions where I say to myself, it’s good to be President. I’m meeting our champion. [applause]

And that’s not just me. That is everybody else.

I think, I suppose, it doesn’t need repeating, but I’ll repeat it anyway.

You have brought such pride to the Philippines, to the Filipinos, and not only because of your success, but also because the grace with which you handle that success.

Because the way you play and the way you comport yourself makes us proud because you show the greatest, best qualities of Filipinos.

So you remind us why we are a great race.

We’re not only just happy to see one of ours do so well and do so well at this level of sport.

One of the, when you first, after you won, nako napuyat kaming lahat pero nanood pa rin kami. When you won the third round, the guys watching, I reminded everyone

that, you know, this is Wimbledon. Wimbledon is about as high – there’s no higher level of professional tennis than Wimbledon.

And I have been to Wimbledon several times.

It was – nasa Royal Enclosure pa kami. And sometimes those who have experienced Wimbledon will remember, you know, the strawberries and cream. And the people dressed up, and how elegant it all is, and how the English put on this great show.

But we also know, especially those of us who are involved in sport in any way, even tangentially, really well know the sacrifice and what you had to go through, the commitment that you had to go through.

And so I cannot talk about your success without talking about your parents. I can just imagine the sacrifices that you made. [applause]

To see your girl off when she was 14 years old. I had to send my children to school when they were about that age, and I know how it feels.

But yet you did it, and yet you did it because of your belief in Alex. And for that, we are all extremely, extremely grateful.

Alex, when you first started winning, when people were starting to take notice of you, I was asked, “What do you think about Alex Eala doing so well?”

And my single comment was that, “she is just getting started.” [applause]

And you know what? You proved me right. Thank you. You proved me right.

It has been, you know, I think all the plaudits, all of the achievements, we can list them all.

Everybody knows that. You can look that up. But I think one of the things that I remember after your interview, after the Swiatek game your interview and you were saying what was it the light-up shoes you mentioned?

I hadn’t thought about those things for a hundred years.

Then I remember, oo nga pala may ganoon noon.

But then you were saying how happy you were and what a great honor it was to play center court and to play against such the – well, the champion, the ex-champion now, and all that.

But you were very, very happy. And then at the end of the interview, you know what she did? She – paalis na ‘yung interviewer, hinila niya ‘yung interviewer and she said but I’m happy, but that doesn’t mean I’m satisfied.

I’m already thinking about the next one.

That is impressive. That is impressive. [applause] That is the sign of a true fighter, a true champion.

The way that you can keep your concentration, the way that you can keep your commitment.

And that, I think, that is one of the qualities that you have. That is why you have been so successful.

Because, okay, you know, when you win a big match, when you get to – you win a big tournament, you know you allow yourself to be happy for three minutes.

And then you start thinking. You’re thinking about your next match. You’re thinking about your next tournament.

And that is a sign of true professionalism. And for that, that really is impressive.

And for such a young girl, I mean, you’re 21 years old. Most 21 year olds are just — are not thinking that well and that professionally.

And, you know, the Filipinos, you know, it’s not just in the Philippines. I have to remind you, you know, we’re 110 million all over the world.

Then the hospitals around the world stopped when you play. The caregivers kept up. Hindi na pinatulog ‘yung mga alaga nila kasi manonood sila kay Alex Eala.

Everywhere around the world, we have been watching you. We’ve been willing you on, and we have been so proud of you. So proud of you.

You cannot imagine how much pride that you have brought to the Philippines, to Filipinos.

Because when we are proud of you, when we see one of ours doing so well, we’re proud of ourselves. And pagka may makilala kami mga foreigner na kaibigan namin, oh mayroon kaming champion ganito, mayroon kaming champion ganyan. Oh, bakit may Alex Eala naman kami.

‘Di ba? Can you imagine? [applause]

That’s what you brought to us. That’s what you brought to the Philippines.

So, I cannot, you know, I’m a fan, so I’m gushing, okay?

I’m sorry. I’m a real fan of yours.

And one day, I hope I will get the opportunity to watch you. Kahit na hindi Grand Slam. Kahit na anong tournament basta… Manood lang ako mag-practice ka and you will see already how hard it is that you work and how hard you continue.

And the other thing that I have to mention is that you never fail to remind everyone that you are a Filipina. [applause] You never fail to do that. [applause]

Somehow always nasisingit mo. In the video that they just showed us, you said, pagka lumalago, hindi na [hihinto.] Basta kahit papaano naisisingit mo ‘yung pagka-Filipina mo. And you know that’s very touching for all of us that you don’t forget the rest of us.

You don’t think that you are somehow left it all behind, quite the contrary. You always seem to give the impression that it is because you are a Filipina that you are doing so well, and we sincerely agree with you.

So I think – hindi ko na pahahabain ito. It’s not some political speech anyway.

But I think just to say that you know we have found in you a new champion, a champion who has made the Philippines proud, who has reminded Filipinos what a great race Filipinos are because we produce someone like you.

And that the qualities that you show the world are the best qualities of Filipinos. And for that, as President, I guess that’s what really strikes me.

But on the other hand, you do it with such grace. You are not, you know, you’re always, you know, other tennis players, they scream at the ano, they are arguing about this. You just get on with the business at hand.

You don’t know – if it’s a bad call, you don’t argue about it. You just go back and serve again and you know keep going.

And that’s why I, and I’m sure – not only everybody else here, but the entire country knows that, well, you have already begun, but you are going to keep going.

So thank you, thank you, thank you so much. [applause] We are all here. We are all behind you.

When you’re in some faraway place and maybe your friends or the Filipino community cannot all come and watch you, know, know that we are all there behind you.

Pushing sige lang. Go, go, go. Go girl, go girl, go girl.

That we’re all behind you. That the entire Filipino nation is behind you. The entire Filipino nation has come to love you because of your sweetness and grace.

In the face of difficulty, in the face of – well, maybe even sometimes adversity. I mean, think about the tie break, which when I checked. My God, that thing went on forever.

But you just, you never lost your cool. You just kept going. You just kept going. You just kept going. And you just kept going.

And that’s what we like to see. And that’s what will make you successful for very, very many years. You’ve only started. You will keep going.

We are all, 110 million of us, we are all here behind you, willing you on to greater success.

If there’s anything that we can do to help you, even for – you just say so, you have it.

Welcome, Alex.

Welcome. [applause]

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