Philippine news site Rappler said de Vega, fondly known as Diay, died yesterday.

It quoted her daughter, Stephanie “Paneng” Mercado-de Koenigswarter, as saying in a social media post late last night: “She fought the very good fight and is now at peace.”

Earlier reports had said de Vega was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and had been silently battling the disease for the past four years.

De Vega was one of the most decorated athletes in her country, winning 15 gold medals across multiple international competitions, including the SEA Games, the Asian Games and the Asian Athletics Championships.

She retired from active competition in 1994 and worked with the Philippine Sports Commission for a brief period.

Later, she became an athletics coach in Singapore for 10 years.

De Vega was one of the flag bearers when the Philippines hosted the 30th SEA Games in 2019.