Filipino athletes who took home medals in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia are expected to make a courtesy call to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. anytime soon to claim their incentives.
During yesterday’s weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association forum, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said the Philippine Sports Commission is still waiting for a set schedule.
Under Republic Act 10699 or “National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act,” SEA Games gold medalists are slated to receive P300,000 with silver medalists stand to get P150,000 and bronze medalists, P60,000.
“The PSC is just checking the schedule. As for the incentives, we don’t know if the President will surprise us in terms of (other) incentives,” Tolentino said.
In the latest edition of the biennial meet, the Philippines harvested 58 gold medals, 85 silver medals and 117 bronze medals for a total of 260 medals.
This is also the country’s best SEA Games finish outside of the country since the 1987 Jakarta Games where the Philippines collected 59 gold medals.
If last year’s courtesy call would be the basis, Marcos could follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and double the rewards given after a job well done in this year’s SEA Games despite the limitations set by Cambodia.
For Tolentino, this year’s SEA Games showed that the Philippines shouldn’t be taken lightly in the SEA Games after a bountiful gold medal harvest despite the sweltering heat, limited events to participate and Cambodia hiring naturalized athletes, especially in basketball, to jack up its own medal tally.
“In total, it was really a strong performance for team Philippines, especially reclaiming the gold of basketball. We leveled up,” Tolentino said.
