THE Philippine Sports Commission will extend assistance to track and field great Lydia De Vega, who is in critical condition as she battles breast cancer.
PSC officer-in-charge Guillermo Iroy said he has been in touch with De Vega’s daughter Stephanie Mercado-de Koenigswarter even before the latter revealed on social media that her mother has Stage 4 breast cancer.
[See Daughter reveals Lydia De Vega in critical condition]
Mercado-de Koenigswarter said Diay, 57, has been battling the disease since 2018 but never made it public.
“Since Monday, I’ve been coordinating with Paneng, her daughter. PSC will extend assistance,” said Iroy.
Iroy has also informed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of De Vega’s situation on Wednesday. De Vega is a product of the Gintong Alay program led by Marcos' estranged cousin Michael Keon as program director.
“PBBM also instructed me to extend necessary assistance when I reported to him during the courtesy call of the PNWFT,” said Iroy.
De Vega became one of the legends of Philippine sports after ruling the sprint events in the Asian Games and the Asian Athletics Championships six times. The 57-year-old De Vega was mostly based in Singapore after her retirement.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph