Marcos Jr. doubles cash incentives for Olympic medalists

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos doubled the cash incentives given by the government to medalists of the Paris Olympics as he praised them for bringing fame to the Philippines and for demonstrating the Filipino spirit.

The Presidential Communications Office said Marcos extended P20 million in cash and a Presidential Medal of Merit to double Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo. Marcos also gave P2 million each to bronze medalists Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio.

Yulo will receive a total
of P40 million while Villegas and Petecio will get P4 million each from the President.

Marcos also gave P1 million each to the rest of the Olympians and P500,000 each to their coaching teams.

Speaking during the dinner he hosted for the Filipino Olympians at Malacañang last Tuesday, Marcos said all Olympians should be recognized because of their “extremely difficult” feat.

“All of them are our athletes so let us give them (cash incentives), as long as they are Olympians. Let us give them P1 million each,” the President said in Filipino.

“If you qualify for the Olympics, that’s significant. That is an extremely difficult achievement,” he added.

Marcos, who was wearing the black “Philippines” jacket given to him during the sendoff ceremony for the Paris Olympians last June, said he stayed up late watching the competitions but it was all worth it.

“You have shown the spirit of the Filipino, the determination of a Filipino and the excellence of the Filipino spirit,” he said.

The President vowed to strengthen the mechanisms supporting Filipino athletes by establishing a formal structure to assist them in their training and development.

“If you need more cash, we’ll find some more. But I think, more importantly, I want to be part of the development of sports in the Philippines. We have been left behind,” he said.

Under the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Olympic gold medalists will receive P10 million while silver and bronze medalists will get P5 million and P2 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives added P14 million in cash reward for Yulo, while Petecio and Villegas will receive P2.5 million each.

The three Olympic medalists also got their Congressional Medal of Excellence adopted as House Resolutions 239 and 240 and signed by leaders that included Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe and Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan.

“We, in the House of Representatives, are honored by your victories and by your achievements. We want to thank every one of you. Of course, the coaches and the family that all supported you, for you have made these all possible,” Speaker Martin Romualdez said.

“This is the result of unity. We can achieve everything because of the talent of the Filipinos,” he added.

The citation is the highest award given to Filipino achievers in the fields of sports, business, medicine, science and arts and culture.

Senators also gave commendations to the Filipino Olympians through a joint resolution filed by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr.

“The historic and record-breaking achievements by the Filipino Olympians, which can be considered as the country’s best Olympics stint in history, proves that Filipinos are among the best and brightest in the global arena of sports,” the resolution read.

Business magnate and former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson has offered a P5-million reward to world-class gymnast Carlos Yulo and his family.

“The reward is a recognition for Yulo’s exemplary performance in the Paris Olympics and more so to the unity of the Yulo family and Yulo’s partner,” he emphasized.

The reward shall be accepted by the Yulo’s family and Carlos’ partner as a united front.

Yulo will also receive free flights from Philippine Airlines. He will receive 150,000 Mabuhay Miles per year for life.

Meanwhile, Villegas and Petecio were each awarded 80,000 Mabuhay Miles annually for the next three years.

The Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) will be issuing stamps honoring the three Filipino Olympian medalists.

Postmaster General Luis Carlos told The STAR they are “definitely” coming out with stamps to honor the three great Filipino athletes.

“Carlos Yulo had two gold medals and I believe that he deserves two stamps,” he said.

However, the stamps might be available by September since they need time to finalize the design and would require up to one week and a half for the public bidding before they could proceed with the printing of the stamps.

“They have brought much pride to the country. They deserve to have their names and achievements immortalized in stamps,” said Carlos.

The Manila city government is also scheduled to give a P2-million reward to Yulo, a Malate resident, on Aug. 19.

They also awarded P500,000 to Tondo-born pole vault athlete EJ Obiena, who finished fourth place in the Paris Olympics.

The city government will also propose declaring Aug. 4 as “Carlos Yulo Day,” a working holiday in honor of Yulo’s achievements in the Olympics..– Evelyn Macairan, Ghio Ong, Delon Porcalla, Rudy Santos, Sheila Crisostomo, Cecille Suerte Felipe