Duterte to give P2M cash reward for Paalam, Petecio, P1M for Marcial after bagging Olympic medals

President Rodrigo Duterte said he will give additional cash incentives to the Philippine boxers who bagged medals in the recently concluded 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The President said his office will give an additional P2 million each to silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, while bronze medalist Eumir Marcial will get P1 million.

This is on top of the cash rewards which will be given to them as mandated by Republic Act 10699 or the “National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act”. By law, Petecio and Paalam should get P5 million while Marcial is entitled P2 million because of their achievements in the Olympics.

The Olympic medalists will also be given the Order of Lapu-Lapu, an award given to individuals in recognition of their invaluable service in relation to a campaign or advocacy of the President.

"It is not an everyday occurrence that we receive such an honor from our citizens. You went to Tokyo to fight and I'll say that you did your best, and the Filipinos appreciate it, especially bringing honor to our country," Duterte said during a courtesy call with the Philippine boxers who arrived from Japan on Monday.

Duterte also announced that boxer Irish Magno and all the other Olympians who did not bring home a medal will get P200,000 and a presidential citation.

The president also congratulated Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president and Cavite Rep. Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino for the country's achievements in the Tokyo Games.

"Getting those medals is not easy and I know that all of you in the POC did a very good job," Duterte said to Tolentino.

Tolentino said the country's recent achievements in sports, from the Olympics and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, will continue in the future tournaments.

"I do not doubt that you can achieve that," Duterte replied.

On July 28, Duterte also pledged P3 million and a house and lot to the country's first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz.

Earlier, Malacañang claimed the Duterte government invested heavily on Filipino athletes, leading to the country's best finish since it joined the Olympics. This, despite the athletes asking for additional financial support even before the Tokyo Games.

The Philippines at the end of the Tokyo Olympics bagged four medals and finished 50th overall in the medal tally, tied with Slovakia.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA News