Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte penned a letter to embattled Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers basketball player John Amores.
On Facebook, Amores shared an excerpt of the letter that reads: “Remember the lesson, not the mistake, you have a friend from the Office of the Vice President.”
The basketball player, who was suspended after he ran amok in a game against the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, expressed his gratitude to the vice president in a Facebook post with the status of “feeling blessed.”
“It was a great honor Mam thank you for those words of encouragement,” the athlete said.
“Ipapa-frame ko to as a remembrance na sa dami ng bashers at negative critics, may isang tao na ipapaalala sayo na mahalaga ka kahit ‘di mo kaano ano,” he added.
“I won’t lose hope, somewhere in between in the darkest season of my life there’s still a light,” Amores continued.
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Aside from suspension, Amores is also facing two legal cases.
Blazers’ Jimboy Pasturan and Taine Davis, two of the four players Amores punched during the game, filed a case against Amores.
Prior to this, University of the Philippines player Mark Belmonte filed a criminal complaint for “serious physical injuries” against the former JRU player.