Higher cash incentives for Philippine athletes pushed

MANILA, Philippines — With close to 400 medals won by the Philippine contingent in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, members of the national team have brought pride to the country and they deserve greater compensation from the government, Sen. Sonny Angara said yesterday.

Angara pointed out that part of the impressive medal haul were 149 gold medals – a feat that was achieved through hard work and a lot of personal sacrifice on the part of the Philippine contingent.

Angara has filed a bill seeking to increase the cash incentives for podium finishes in the SEA Games and Asian-level sporting events.

“What our national athletes achieved in the SEA Games is truly historic and should be heralded. It was not only how they performed in their respective sports, but the way they carried themselves during the games that captured the hearts of Filipinos and our ASEAN neighbors alike,” Angara said.

“With such a stellar performance, it is only fitting that our national athletes and their coaches receive higher incentives from the government as they go on to compete in other international competitions,” he said.

Angara’s Senate Bill 1225 seeks to amend Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.

Angara sponsored the law during the 16th Congress.

RA 10699 repealed the original Sports Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001 in order to provide bigger benefits to the country’s national athletes, coaches and trainers whenever they win in international competitions.

The increases as proposed in SB 1225 are for the Asian Beach Games and Asian-level competitions held at least every two years with at least 25 countries participating, and qualifying competitions for world-level and Asian-level games: gold medalists will receive a cash-incentive of P600,000 from the present P500,000; silver medalists will get P350,000 from the current P250,000; bronze medalists will bring home P150,000 from P100,000.

For the SEA Games: the cash incentive for gold medalists will go up from P300,000 to P400,000; from P150,000 to P200,000 for silver medalists; and from P60,000 to P100,000 for bronze medalists.

In the case of the ASEAN Para Games, the cash incentive for gold medalists will go up to P200,000 from P150,000; silver medalists will receive P125,000 from P75,000; and bronze medalists will get P50,000 from P30,000.

“The added incentives will encourage Filipinos to engage in sports, especially those which have yet to attract mainstream popularity, and represent the country in the future,” Angara said.

The Philippines was crowned the overall champion of the 30th SEA Games, having harvested a total of 387 medals – 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze.

With the Philippines’ overall dominance of the 30th SEA Games, the Clark Freeport where some of the competitions were held had also won the hearts of many athletes.

Daniel John Simmons, coach of the Thailand for lawn bowl team, described their experience here as “warm, positive and enjoyable.”

“It’s been a very positive experience. We’ve enjoyed the experience immensely and the facility here is brand new,” Simmons said.

Softball athletes from Malaysia were also happy with the field of play inside The Villages, the official site for the baseball and softball games.

“We arrived one or two days before the tournament and I must say that the field here is very good, well-maintained grass which is soft and easy to make a slide to avoid injury,” said Syarifah Aisyah, a softball player from Malaysia.

Relatedly, officials from the sports of archery and rugby 7s were also satisfied with the preparations made in the sports venue inside the Freeport.

World Archery Philippines (WAP) official Karla Cabrera lauded the Clark parade grounds as an ideal location for archery and for other international competitions.

“I am just happy to say that this is a really excellent facility that was prepared. It’s world-class actually. And our field of play, it’s a very good field for international competitions,” she said.

Cabrera also said that the vast area of the Parade Grounds makes it a suitable site for hosting world championships.

Philippine rugby team coach Andy Brown shared the same observation, while he also mentioned the Parade Ground’s unique pitch or playing field.      

Similarly, he cited the other services and accommodations available near the area. – With Ric Sapnu