Medalists in the 11th ASEAN Para Games held in Solo, Indonesia received their cash incentives worth P11.9 million recently from the government through the Philippine Sports Commission.
Philippine Paralympic Committee President Michael I. Barredo expressed his gratitude to the government and the PSC headed by PSC Chairman Noli Eala for the bonuses after Team Philippines brought home 28 gold medals along with 30 silvers and 46 bronzes.
“Receiving these cash incentives will be of great help to our national para athletes and coaches considering these times of financial difficulty,” said Barredo, who is currently attending the International Paralympic Committee extraordinary general assembly and membership gathering in Germany.
The coaches of these medal-winning para athletes were entitled to bonuses from the government equivalent to the 50 percent of the incentives that their wards received.
The amount of P11,998,125 was released based on Republic Act 10699, which is likewise known as the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.
According to the law, gold medalists in the ASEAN Para Games are bound to receive P150,000 in cash rewards, silver medalists will earn P75,000 while a bronze medal is equivalent to P30,000.
“Hopefully this will serve as motivation for our para athletes to prepare even better in the coming international competitions next year such as the 12th ASEAN Para Games and 4th Asian Para Games,’’ said Barredo.
“Again, we congratulate our athletes and coaches headed by Chef de Mission and Philippine Paralympic Committee secretary general Walter Francis K. Torres for a job well done and for making our countrymen proud of their achievements,’’ added Barredo.
