Overflowing cash incentives await SEAG medal winners
SUBIC: No less than President Rodrigo Duterte will congratulate and award his incentive to Team Philippines after its sterling performance in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman and Chef de Mission William “Butch” Ramirez broke the news yesterday that President Duterte will meet outstanding Filipino athletes on December 18.
“We were all hoping and praying for this, but it is still a sweet surprise now that it is actually happening. I am so proud of our athletes. All of them deserve our respect and love,” said Ramirez
after a courtesy call of the Philippine surfing team at the PSC office in Manila.
Republic Act 10699 provides for cash incentives for winners of the SEA Games to receive P300,000, P150,000 and P60,000 respectively for gold, silver and bronze finishes.
On top of the reward, the President is expected to give out additional incentives of P250,000 for gold, P150,000 for silver and
P100,000 for bronze medalists.
Ramirez, who stood as the father- figure for the delegation from preparation to competition, openly expressed that the sports body prepared the athletes 18 months prior to the hosting of the multi-sport event.
According to him, only by supporting the athletes we can duplicate the “Miracle of 2005 SEA Games” where the country bagged its first overall championship in the event with a total medal haul of 112 gold, 85 silver and 93 bronze medals.
It was the first overall crown for the host Philippines in the biennial event.
Ramirez also mentioned the legacies of the games, giving emphasis on the intangible but important bequests like character and values that sports show the youth of the Southeast Asian region.
“Our athletes give them varied choices of good role models to emulate,” said Ramirez patting surfer Roger Casugay who made the headlines when he gave up his gold medal ride to save his Indonesian opponent. Casugay went on to win a gold in another event.
With Casugay beside him, the PSC chief excitedly informed that the PSC board just approved a cash reward for Casugay to acknowledge his heroism and sacrifice.
The PSC spent over P1.5 billion to fund the training, exposure and preparation requirements of the athletes.
“They deserve better venues to train and play in. The Games gave us the means to make these improvements possible,” explained Ramirez who acknowledged PAGCOR’s assistance to fund the renovation of several PSC-run facilities.
The newly- refurbished Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and the PhilSports Complex in Pasig became the home of football, gymnastics, weightlifting, taekwondo, soft tennis, lawn tennis and indoor volleyball tournaments.
“This is a result of all the sacrifice and hard work of everyone who pushed for chances at victory. This victory is very sweet given the many difficulties we had to face. This win proves that we can achieve a lot when we come together united as one team,” he furthered.