POC boosts incentives for SEA Games 2019 medalists

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino announced on Saturday, December 14 that all medalists from the 2019 Southeast Asian Games will receive cash incentives from the local Olympic body.

Although Tolentino originally promised P300,000 per gold medalist, he later decided to break the prize money down specifically for individual and team golds. 

Each individual gold will be worth P200,000, while a pair who won a gold, like the archer couple of Paul Marton and Rachelle Anne dela Cruz, will receive P100,000 each. 

If a team is composed of 3 to 4 members, each member will receive P75,000, and if a team has more than 5 members, every member will receive P50,000.  

Including the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Incentives Act and President Rodrigo Duterte’s bonus for all medalists, an individual gold for Filipino athlete will now be worth P750,000.

The POC will also now reward the silver medalists P50,000 each if it was won individually or by a pair. But those with 3 or more members will be given P30,000.

All bronze medalists will receive P30,000 each. 

The grand total of POC cash incentives is P52.87 million.

“This is the first time that the POC is giving out cash incentives for SEA Games medalists,” said Tolentino. “It’s the least we can do for the athletes who sacrificed, toiled and persevered to make our countrymen proud in our hosting of the Games.” 

World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo will receive the biggest cash windfall with a total bonus of P3.25 million after amassing 2 golds and 5 silvers.

The 30th edition of the Games yielded 149 gold medals, 117 silver and 121 bronze for the host country, which gave the Philippines the overall championship. Vietnam, the next host country in 2021, was a distant second with 98 gold while third-placer Thailand managed 92.

According to the Tagaytay representative, Dennis Uy of Udenna/Phoenix and his colleagues in Congress added to previous contributions from San Miguel Corporation, the MVP Sports Foundation and the PBA.  – Rappler.com