Swimmer Miguel Molina stands to receive P350,000 for winning three gold and one silver medal in the just-ended 23rd Southeast Asian Games, topping the list of athletes set to receive cash rewards from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Under the incentive package provided for by Republic Act 9064, SEA Games gold medalists will receive
P100,000, silver winners P50,000 and bronze medallists P10,000.
The United States-based Molina ruled the men’s 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley and 200-meter breaststroke and finished second in the 200-m freestyle.
The money will come from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) through the PSC.
Two other triple gold medallists, diver Sheila Mae Perez and pool artist Alex Pagulayan, will get
P250,000 and P225,000, respectively.
Perez took individual honors in the 1-meter springboard and 3-m springboard synchronized diving and teamed up with Cecil Domenios in bagging the 3-m doubles event.
Pagulayan, a Fil-Canadian and former world pool champion, ruled the 8-ball singles event as well as the 9-ball doubles with Dennis Orcullo and the team snooker.
Rubilen Amit, winner of the women’s 8-ball and 9-ball singles, and wushu practitioner Willy Wang stand to get
P200,000 each.
Commissioner Joey Mundo said the PSC accounting department is still finalizing the list of total recipients after which his agency will be distributing the bonanza at an appropriate time.
A proposal to adjust the benefits to be given to team sports may slightly delay the release of money, according to Mundo.
"Hindi parehas and distribution kaya naisipan naming gumawa ngadjustment," Mundo commented. "Halimbawa, kung susundin natin ang old provision, yung mga team na may 20 miyembro like the traditional boat race will only get
P5,000 each if the team won gold medal. Mas malaki pa ang matatanggap ng bronze medallist sa individual event, who will get P10,000.’’
The PSC, under Section 11 of Rep Act 9063, is authorized to adjust or increase any provision of the law provided the concerned agency, which is Pagcor, is consulted before any adjustment is effected.
