After a morning mass with more than 200 athletes at the Malate Church, SMC officials led by their president Ramon Ang distributed close to P5 million in cash incentives for those who won medals in the SEA Games.
First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, who just came in from the US the other night, was present during the mass.
Ang said he also discussed with the First Gentleman other ways how SMC could reward the athletes for bringing pride and honor to the country.
The granting of special, long-term packages for the athletes to own franchises of some SMC products is just one of them.
For the first time in SEA Games history, the Philippines emerged overall champion when it won 113 gold, 84 silver and 96 gold medals last December.
Under Republic Act 9064, each gold is worth P100,000, silver P50,000 and bronze P10,000. These incentives were already handed out even before Christmas.
Yesterday, SMC handed out another P20,000 for each gold medal, P10,000 for silver and P5,000 for bronze whether it was in a team or individual event.
Of the 113 gold medals won in the SEA Games last December, only 56 were accounted for during the gift-giving. The rest will get theirs as soon as they are available.
"Some of the athletes are already in their respective provinces that’s why they failed to make it here. But I’m sure they’re all very happy," said boxing coach Roger Fortaleza.
Another good news for the athletes was the First Gentleman’s assurance that he would continue to support them through the First Gentleman Foundation as they gear up for the Asian Games in Doha this year and the Olympics in Beijing next year.
The First Gentleman Foundation, with the help of the private sector, raised more than P160 million for the training of the RP athletes for the SEA Games..