When it rains, it pours.
Medalists in the recent 31st Southeast Asian Games will be rewarded with cash bonuses once again, this time from the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).
More than P11 million will be handed out to the medalists in the biennial meet, where the country went home with 52 gold, 70 silver and 105 bronze medals.
According to the POC, gold medals are worth P100,000 while silver and bronze are P30,000 and P10,000, respectively.
The incentives are appropriately calibrated in team events and will be deposited directly to the athletes’ bank accounts.
This means that two-time world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo, the most bemedalled Filipino athlete in the Vietnam biennial meet, will pocket around P550,000 for winning five gold and two silver medals.
Double gold medalists Rubilen Amit, Kim Mangrobang and Merwin Tan will get P200,000 each, while the dancesport pair of Sean Mischa Aranar and Ana Leonila, who won three gold medals, will equally split the total P300,000 bonus.
“The POC will always recognize the efforts of the athletes who trained, prepared and fought hard in Vietnam despite the circumstances,” Tolentino said.
“We may not have retained the overall championship, but what we saw in Vietnam was a fighting Team Philippines.”
Tolentino said the incentives were made possible by the POC’s partners—Manuel V. Pangilinan’s MVP Sports Foundation, Ramon S. Ang’s San Miguel Corp. and Charlie Gonzales’ Ulticon Builders Inc.
The bonuses came a few days after medalists paid a courtesy call at the Malacañang Palace and were also rewarded of cash incentives under the law.
President Duterte even doubled the incentives they received where every gold, silver and bronze medal are worth P300,000, P100,000 and P60,000 under the Athletes and Coaches Incentives Act.
There were 227 medalists in the Vietnam SEAG.