House and lot, again, for gold medal in Paris
PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino is again offering a house and lot—or houses and lots—to Filipino athletes who will win gold medals in the Paris Olympics.
“If I gave houses and lots to the medalists in the Tokyo Olympics, why can’t and won’t do it again for Paris,” Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said in ursday’s official launching the Poc-cignal TV partnership “Isang Daang Taon Laban Para sa Bayan: Celebrating 100 Years of Filipino Excellence in the Olympics” at Cignal’s Launchpad Building headquarters in Mandaluyong City.
Four medals—topped by Hidilyn Diaz-naranjo in women’s weightlifting, the country’s first Olympic gold medal— were clinched in Tokyo 2020, a windfall in a hundred years of Philippine Olympic participation.
e haul inspired Tolentino that he gifted Diaz-naranjo, boxing silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, and even bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial a house and lot each in Tagaytay City.
e compound where the three boxers’ homes are located is now aptly called Olympic Village.
“Our gold medalist, one or more, in Paris fully deserves this reward for their hard work, dedication and love for sport and country,” said Tolentino, also the first POC president to ever harness a month-long training camp for an Olympic participation by any Philippine delegation.
Tolentino’s incentive in Tagaytay City is one of several bonuses to athletes, the biggest of which are P10 million, P5 million and P2 million for an Olympic gold, silver and bronze medalist, respectively, in individual sports under the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, as well as separate bonuses expected from the POC and Malacañang.
e private sector also chips in a major chunk of incentives with Diaznaranjo securing product and service endorsements that reportedly breached P100 million.
Celebrating ‘Isang Daang Taon Laban Para sa Bayan’
THE campaign will not only kick off the country’s campaign in Paris but also to celebrate a century of Philippine participation in the Olympics which began with track athlete David Nepomuceno as the sole representative to the 1924 Paris Games.
“Cignal TV has always believed in the skills and talent of the Filipino athlete and this partnership only reiterates our commitment to them,” said Cignal TV and Mediaquest President and CEO Jane Basas. “We want them to know that we’re with them every step of the way.”
POC President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said: “We’re honored to have Cignal TV as our gracious partner for the Paris-bound athletes and this early, we have high hopes of another memorable showing in the Olympics.”
Cignal TV will be there chronicling the journey of the Filipino athlete through comprehensive news coverage aired and featured on the various Mediaquest platforms—cignal TV, Free-to-air and Pay Tv—and on digital and social media through One Sports, One News and News5.
Joining Basas in the launch was Cignal TV First Vice President and Head of Channels and Content Sienna Olaso.
Month-long training camp for PHL athletes in Metz
POC President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino has put in place a first in Philippine sports history—a monthlong training camp for athletes who will compete in the Paris Olympics.
“We plotted this two years ago, and we really looked for facilities that would accommodate our athletes,” Tolentino said.
Tolentino and POC secretarygeneral Atty. Wharton Chan signed a contract in January last year with La Moselle president Patrick Weiten for the training camp in Metz.
“e athletes will have everything there in Metz—training facilities, sports science and medicine, comfortable accommodation and the perfect nutrition,” said Tolentino, adding the POC intends to bring in a Filipino chef to oversee the needs of the athletes ahead of the Olympics.
Metz is an hour and
15 minutes by train from
Paris.
Training at Metz starts
June 22, a day after the official send off for Team Philippines on June 21 at the Ayuntamiento
Manila.