MANILA (UPDATED) – Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan are two of the last few remaining Filipinos in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games who are still in the position to earn more victories for the country.

After Round 3 of the women’s individual stroke event of the Games, the former is currently at joint No.13, while the latter moved up to No.23 ahead of their event’s Finals, which will be held on Saturday. 

However, aside from the prowess of the opponents of the two Filipinas in Paris, Ardina said that they are also dealing with some issues concerning the equipment and uniforms that they are using in the Olympics.

“Third day. Dikit na natin ‘to. Double-sided tape, ang saya-saya! Every day is another day,” said Ardina in a video that was posted on social media as she tried to stick the Philippine flag patch on her shirt which she eventually used for the competition proper on Friday.

(Third day. Let's stick this on with double-sided tape)

Dottie Ardina trying to stick the Philippine Flag patch on her uniform with a double-sided tape ahead of her women’s individual stroke event in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Screen-grabbed from Dottie Ardina. 

The duo wore matching shirts with the country’s flag placed on the left side of their outfits, but it apparently was not the official uniforms that they are supposed to be using.

”Ano na? Ang hirap na. Sana all, may uniform. Kami lang ang wala. Kailangan pa naming bumili ng t-shirt. Jusko, ano ba namang klaseng Olympics ‘to,” she continued.

”Shout out naman diyan sa mga walang nagbigay. Nasaan na ba yung mga uniform namin? Saan na napunta? Da-dalawa na lang kami dito, 22 na atleta, kulang-kulang pa.”

(Shout out to those who didn't get theris. Where are aour uniforms? There are just two of us in this event. We only have 22 athletes, and we don't have enough)

”Nakakahiya. Sobrang daming tao, kami lang ang walang uniform. Tuklap-tuklap pa ‘tong [patch na] ‘to.”

(It's embarrassing. There are so many people and we're the only ones without uniforms. This patch might come off.) 

Photos of Dottie Ardina showing her equipment wrapped in duct tape. Aside from this, she also shared a photo that shows part of her equipment wrapped in duct tape to cover up the labels and conform with the International Olympic Committee’s advertising restrictions with the athletes and their equipment’s brands and sponsors. 

In a statement, the Philippine Olympic Committee said it was "saddened with the issue about the attire, but we have supported our athletes unequivocally."

The POC said their initial set of apparel for the golf team was "disapproved" by the International Olympic Committee, necessitating a change with just a week before the opening ceremonies.

"Several boxes of apparel containing competition gear were sent through courier directly to Paris. However, the French customs held the package carrying the competition gear and despite the best efforts made by the officials, the gear was not released in time," the POC explained. 

Sets of competition gear were arranged to be produced locally in Paris, they added. Bianca Pagdanganan ended up wearing the adidas apparel during the practice rounds, while Ardina wore the competition uniform in the first round of women's individual stroke play.

"However, during the succeeding rounds, the athletes opted to wear their personal attire with the positive impression of sporting the Philippine flag, which our Pinay athletes managed to improvise," the POC said.

"On the issue of corruption, first of all, the set of apparel is free from the official sponsor, Adidas. There was no monetary arrangement in the supply," they added.

The POC said the situation had been "beyond our control," but also an isolated case as they celebrated the successful campaign of Filipino athletes in Paris.

Team Philippines is set to bring home two gold medals, courtesy of Carlos Yulo, and two bronzes courtesy of boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio.