TOKYO GAMES MEDALISTS TO RECEIVE BOUNTY FROM DU30
Servicemen-athletes Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting and Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial of boxing have been summoned to Malacañang by President Duterte, their commander in chief in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
They won’t get those customary marching orders from the President as uniformed personnel though, but instead they will be received in a courtesy call on Aug. 23 to claim their cash incentives from the government for winning medals in a historic Philippine campaign during the recent Tokyo Olympics.
Presidential pledge
Based on Republic Act (RA) No. 10699 or the expanded Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Diaz will increase her wealth by P10 million for seizing the country’s first Olympic gold medal. Silver-medal performers Petecio and Paalam will be richer by P5 million each and Marcial by P2.5 million for his bronze output.
“It is not an everyday occurrence that we receive such an honor from the citizens of the Republic of the Philippines. You went to Tokyo to fight, and I’d say you did your best,’’ Mr. Duterte told them when they arrived from the Japanese capital.
Besides the bonuses under the law, the Office of the President pledged to compensate for their efforts with an additional P3 million for Diaz, P2 million each for Petecio and Paalam and another million for Marcial.
Diaz, who was reportedly promoted recently as staff sergeant in the Philippine Air Force (PAF), also got an extra P5-million bonus from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for setting the Olympic records in the clean and jerk and total events of the women’s 55-kilogram category, hiking her earnings from the government to at least P18 million.
Best-ever Olympics
Petecio, serving in the Philippine Coast Guard, clinched the silver medal in the women’s featherweight division while the Navyman Paalam likewise snared a silver in the men’s flyweight. Marcial, an Airman first class in the PAF, placed third in the men’s middleweight.
The four medalists, who propelled the nation to its best performance in the Games since participating in the global meet 97 years ago, will bring along their coaches to Malacañang, all of whom are entitled to receive cash incentives worth 50 percent of the bonuses of their athletes from the government under RA No. 10699.
Also invited are PSC chair William Ramirez, commissioners Arnold Agustin, Ramon Fernandez, Celia Kiram and Charles Maxey.