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