Paalam, Petecio honored to be flag bearers in Paris Olympics

Filipino Olympic silver medalists and boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio said they feel honored and blessed to be the country's flag bearers in the opening ceremony of the upcoming Paris Olympics.

The two were announced as the Philippine delegation's flag bearers last Monday.

"Sobrang honored po ako, again makakalaro ako ng Olympics and flag bearer daw ngayon. To be honest, di ko ine-expect kasi ang nasa utak ko talaga na magiging flag bearer ay si EJ [Obiena] or Carlos Yulo," said Petecio on the sidelines of Philippine Airlines' show of support to Paris-bound athletes.

"Sila po talaga so na-surprise din ako and blessed po na napili ako na isa sa magdadala ng Pilipinas bilang flag bearer."

(I feel honored to play again in the Olympics and now, I will be a flag bearer. To be honest, I did not expect this because I thought it was going to be EJ or Carlos Yulo. I really thought it would be them so I was surprised, but blessed as well that I was chosen to be one of the flag bearers.)

Olympic silver medalists and boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio on being named as the country’s flagbearers in #Paris2024 (????June 19, 2024) @gmasportsph pic.twitter.com/0faru0WrJO

— JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) June 20, 2024

For Paalam, meanwhile, this means that they will be reminded of their duty for the country.

"Sobrang thankful and sobrang saya po kasi lalaban po kami di lang para sa sarili namin. Mas masarap pa po marinig ang [anthem] pagtaas ng flag 'pag nanalo."

(I am thankful and happy because I will not only fight for myself. It's nice to hear the anthem when the flag is raised when we win.)

As of writing, 15 athletes from the Philippines have officially booked their slots to the Summer Games.

The Paris Games will open on July 26.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News