Elusive Olympic gold worth a fortune for Filipino athletes

MANILA, Philippines – By law, an Olympic gold medal is practically worth a fortune for a Filipino who will win it for the very first time — P10 million from government and more from the Manny V. Pangilinan Foundation and President Duterte.

Add a house and lot from Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

“In the housing project, yes,” said Tolentino.

Filipino medalists received a windfall for their victorious campaign in the 30th Southeast Asian Games where the country emerged the overall champion for the second time in the history of the biennial meet with a record haul of 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze medals.

The POC gave an incentive for Filipino gold medal winners in the SEAG for the very first time, apart from the P300,000 they received as mandated by Republic Act 10699 or the Expanded Athletes and Coaches Incentives Act and almost the same amount from the MVPSF and Duterte.

In the Olympics, a gold is almost a hundred times more.

No less than the chief executive himself promised P100 million to bankroll the training of the 2020 Tokyo Games-bound Filipino athletes with an eye of snaring the Philippines its first ever gold in the quadrennial summer games.

Already, pole-vaulter EJ Obiena and world champion gymnast Caloy Yulo have already qualified to Tokyo and more are expected to join in, among them 2016 Rio silver medal-winning weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, world champion boxer Nesthy Petecio, World Championship runner-up Eumir Felix Marcial and skateboarder Margie Didal.

Also eyeing Olympic slots are the judokas headed by Fil-Japanaes Kiyomi Watanabe, golfer Yuka Saso and some more from track and field including Fil-Am sprinter Kristina Knott, who set a new SEAG and Philippine record in the women’s 200m.

And Tolentino is also lending a helping hand to make sure the long wait for an Olympic gold would end this year.

“The POC will partner with the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission), the government and the private sector to make sure we would achieve our goal of winning our very first Olympic gold in Tokyo,” said Tolentino.