Romero sweetens Tokyo pot

Deputy House Speaker and sportsman Mikee Romero has sweetened the pot for Filipino athletes vying for medals in the Tokyo Olympics.

Romero, a business magnate who has donned the national colors in shooting and polo, on Tuesday announced his own set of cash incentives for what he described as “the strongest ever Philippine delegation” to the Olympics.

“Out of my company’s expenses I will also put an additional motivation of P3 million for a gold, P2 million for a silver and 1 million for a bronze,” he told the online version of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

“That is my contribution. That’s the least I can do,” he told the forum presented by San Miguel

Corporation, MILO, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

Romero, who was joined in the forum by NorthPort’s Erick Arejola, is pinning his hopes on golfer Yuka Saso, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, and skateboarder Margielyn Didal.

“Triple threat,” the Philippine Basketball Association team owner said.

Romero expects Team Philippines, which also boasts the presence of world champions Caloy Yulo of gymnastics and Nesthy Petecio of boxing, to deliver two to five medals of any color.

“I’m hoping for five. If we don’t reach two (medals), it’s not a failure, but I expect two to five medals — any color. Definitely, this is our strongest team in the Olympics,” he said.

Each gold for any Filipino athlete or athletes in Tokyo is now worth P33 million, silver P17 million, and bronze P7 million. It’s the biggest cash bonanza ever put up in the history of Philippine sports.

The Philippine Sports Commission, under the law, has put up P10 million for gold, P5 million for silver and P2 million for bronze. Business tycoons Manny V. Pangilinan of SMART, PLDT and Maynilad, and Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corporation then matched the government incentive.

Romero, who won a bronze in the 30th Southeast Games in polo, said the cash incentive would only get bigger once the medals come in.