By BETHEENA UNITE
The grand heroes’ welcome for the 2024 Filipino Olympians, who arrived home from Paris on Tuesday night, has begun.
It started with a welcome ceremony at the Malacañan Palace at around 8:20 p.m. on Aug. 13, where the Philippine team, led by two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo, was given a “simple but meaningful” homecoming.
Upon arriving in Manila at 7 p.m., the Filipino Olympians made their way to the Palace to meet the First Family—President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and their sons Joseph Simon and William Vincent.
P2M for every Olympian
Aside from the warm cheers at the airport and from the Marcoses, the Olympians were also welcomed with a P2-million cash incentive, and P500,000 for their coaching staff.
In his speech at the dinner reception for the Olympians, President Marcos shared that he has been contemplating on what other help the government can give to the Olympians, knowing the sacrifices they made throughout their Olympic journey.
“So, lahat naman ng atleta natin, bigyan na natin basta nag-Olympian, bigyan na natin ng tig-iisang milyon (So, let us give every Olympian P1 million each),” Marcos announced.
The P1-million cash incentive from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) will be matched by the Office of the President, he said, bringing the cash incentive for every Olympian to P2 million.
“Ima-match pa ng Office of the President yung ibibigay mo para at least may P2 million tayo. Bukod pa roon, dahil sa ating pangingilala sa mga lahat ng tumulong—the coaching staff, bibigyan din natin ng kalahating milyon (The Office of the President will match what you will give to make it P2 million. Aside from that, as a recognition to all those who helped them—the coaching staff, we are giving them half a million pesos),” Marcos further said.
He stressed that reaching the Olympics is an “extremely difficult” feat to manage, thus, it is only compelling to give them a reward regardless of the result of their respective competitions.
“Kahit sinong atleta dito sa Pilipinas o kung saan man lang, na makapag-qualify sa Olympics, mabigat yun (Whoever athlete here in the Philippines, and anywhere else can qualify for the Olympics is a tough game). That is an extremely difficult achievement to have manage,” Marcos said.
The President, however, apologized to the Olympians, saying that the cash incentive will never match all the sacrifices the national athletes have done. But he promised them that his administration will do more.
“Hihingi ako ng paumanhin ninyo dahil maliit lang at alam ko na yung isang milyong piso halimbawa ay ikumpara mo sa inyong sakripisyo, ikumpara ninyo sa inyong pinagdaanan, ikumpara ninyo napakaliit lang. Pero ngayon lang ito yung gagawin natin (I apologize because this is only a small amount compared to all your sacrifices and everything you went through. But this is just what we are doing now),” Marcos said.
Filipino gymnast Yulo; boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, who both bagged bronze medals; and pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who placed fourth at the Paris Games, led the outstanding national athletes who were received by the President at the Palace.
Among the 17 Olympians who were given Palace reception were hurdlers Lauren Hoffman and John Cabang Tolentino; boxers Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial, and Hergie Bacyadan; weightlifters John Ceniza, Elreen Ando, and Vanessa Sarno; rower Joanie Delgaco; fencer Samantha Catantan; judoka Kiyomi Watanabe; swimmers Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch.
After the arrival ceremony, the Olympians proceeded to the Ceremonial Hall inside the Palace for the awarding ceremony and dinner reception.
Presidential Citations were conferred to all the athletes while Yulo also received the Presidential Medal of Merit.
Cash incentives for the Olympic medalists were then presented by the President.
P20M for Yulo, P2M for Petecio, Villegas
Yulo’s cash incentive also doubled, as Marcos provided P20 million on top of the P20-million incentive he will be receiving from the government under the law.
Marcos also extended P2 million each to bronze medalists Petecio and Villegas, and P1 million each to other Olympians.
He also asked the Pagcor to provide P1 million to every Olympian to bring their total cash incentives to P2 million.
Yulo won two gold medals in the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor and Vault events. His double victory in Paris came three years after Hidilyn Diaz brought home the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Philippines also earned two bronze medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics courtesy of boxers Villegas and Petecio.
After the reception at the Palace, a heroes’ welcome parade will be held for the Olympians on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
The parade, which will take a 7.7-kilometer route, aims to celebrate the triumphs and honor the dedication of Filipino Olympians who don the national colors in Paris.
‘If you need more cash, we’ll find some more’
In an ambush interview before the welcome ceremony started, Marcos said he intends to talk with the Olympians, their coaches, and even their parents to learn about the challenges Filipino athletes are facing, and to listen to their suggestions on how to get more medals in the future.
He reiterated this in his speech, saying he wants to be part of the development of sports in the Philippines.
“Imbis na maglalabas kami ng cash (Rather than releasing cash) — well, if you need more cash, we’ll find some more. But I think, more importantly, I want to be part of the development of sports in the Philippines. Naiwan-iwanan na tayo (We are trailing behind),” Marcos said.
He recognized that there is no formal infrastructure in place to help Filipino athletes.
“And that’s what we are going to establish now,” he said.
“So, I ask all of you to tell us, what is it that you need. Saan kayo — noong sa pag-training ng mga atleta natin, saan kayo nahirapan? Anong hindi ninyo magawa na maitutulong namin (What were the challenges during your training? What can we do to help?) You tell us and hopefully, if we really work together and start to prepare — for not only the Olympics, of course, that’s a very important one, but not only the Olympics. We start to prepare for all the international competitions that we have — that are there before us,” he added.
