The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has started giving away cash incentives to the athletes who scored medals in the recently concluded Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. On Friday, a ceremonial turnover event that was part of the POC’s Olympic Day festivities at the University of the Philippines Track and Field Oval in Quezon City formally kicked off the giving of the bonuses. Among those present during the event were members of the Philippine badminton, obstacle course racing, speak takraw teams, and four-time SEA Games taekwondo champ Samuel Morrison. Later in the day, the POC treasurer Cynthia Carrion-Norton, also the president of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines, personally handed the cash incentives to Carlos Yulo, Miguel Besana and Ivan Cruz. Yulo is set to receive the most significant share of the incentives as his earnings total PHP310,000 as confirmed by Norton. Yulo received a check worth PHP250,000 on Friday, while the remaining PHP60,000 will be given to him later. A total of PHP12.4 million is to be handed out to the medalists, most of the funds coming from the MVP Sports Foundation. “It’s just a very humble help from us, I know the athletes are the ones who do the work, and they do a lot of inspiration. For us, if we can help, kung ano man ang makakayanan, yun ang gagawin namin (whatever we could provide, that’s what we would do),” MVPSF executive director Jude Turcuato said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
