PH Olympians’ incentives continues to pour out

DESPITE the fact that the 2024 Paris Olympics have been over for nearly a month, Filipino Olympians continue to get an avalanche of incentives from various business and government offices. 

This year’s Summer Games saw the Philippines win a remarkable four medals, including two golds from artistic gymnast Carlos Yulo and two bronzes from Filipina boxers Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio. 

With such outstanding accomplishments establishing history in the Philippines’ sports, many Filipino businesses and government agencies displayed their pride by providing incentives to the athletes.

More and more incentives

The incentives were handed out by Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Christian Martin Gonzalez, who represented ICTSI’s chairman, and CEO Enrique Razon. 

Yulo led the Philippines to victory by winning gold in the men’s vault and floor exercise. On Friday, International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) handed him a hefty P10 million. 

The Golden Boy, who returned from Paris on Thursday, instantly expressed his gratitude to those responsible for distributing the incentives and wants to receive their support in the future.

“Thank you to the ICTSI, Sir Ricky [Razon]. Thank you to POC president, Mayor Abraham Tolentino, and we are all hoping they will continue supporting us up to the next Olympics and overseas competitions,” said Yulo.

In addition to Yulo, boxers Villegas and Petecio got ICTSI bonuses of P2 million apiece. Nobody went home empty-handed, as non-medalists also received P200,000 each from the company. 

Giving back to the athletes

Over the years, national athletes have faced numerous problems in sustaining themselves in order to compete at international levels. Gonzalez sees the importance of what the ICTSI is doing.

“It’s very important for us to support our athletes, it’s very important for our country,” Gonzalez said. “It is something we wanted to do more because of all the hard work that you put in for the last eight or 12 years or your entire life.”

Meanwhile, it is possible that Yulo received more than P100 million in cash bonuses as a result of his unprecedented achievement. However, the overwhelming feeling persists each time he receives additional incentives.

“Just like the other incentives that I received from the others, it is really superoverwhelming,” said Yulo of receiving such amounts after his golden performance in Paris.

“And it is really unexpected to receive another cash reward after they recognized our accomplishments, hard work in practices, and sacrifices for the longest time,” the star gymnast went on to say.

The hype for the Olympics may have subsided, but these people are demonstrating to everyone that it is more than just the buzz, and that it is all about genuinely helping these athletes in their respective fields.