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15 Million pesos for Olympic Gold? WTF!
By A
President Arroyo adds P4.5M to Olympic bounty
MANILA, Philippines—With a P15 million price tag, the Philippines’ elusive Olympic medal is surely worth its weight in gold.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo outdid everybody else Friday when she announced an additional P4.5-million incentive for the athlete who will bring home the first Olympic gold medal during Team Philippines’ courtesy call at the Malacañang.
The President spent just five minutes with the 12 Olympic-bound athletes but that was enough for her to announce the increase in the gold medal pot which drew wild applause at the Palace’s Heroes’ Hall.
“Congratulations ha, good luck,” said Ms Arroyo, who will fly to the Chinese capital on Aug. 7 to cheer the team on during the opening ceremony the next day. “I heard you have P10.5 million for the gold winner. I will add P4.5 million, so it’s now P15 million.”
After donning the Philippine team’s jacket, she talked briefly to the athletes one by one before heading for the exit. She was already out of the room when the Philippine Sports Commission distributed the $1,000 Olympic allowance to each of the 26 athletes and coaches.
“The President understands that it’s important to give the athletes the ultimate challenge,” said PSC chair Butch Ramirez.
He said the P15-million incentive was the biggest in the history of the country’s Olympic participation. When boxer Mansueto Velasco won a silver in the 1996 Atlanta, he received a house and lot, a brand new car and at least P1 million from the government.
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Alam naman nilang suntok sa buwan ang Olympic Gold kaya they’ve increased the “bonus”. Hindi naman masama yun, maganda ngang pang motivate sa Philippine Athletes yun eh, ang sa akin lang is mas maganda siguro kung yung 15million pesos na yan eh gawing budget na lang pang train sa ating mga athlete, 15 million is 15 million, im sure magandang pambayad na yan sa training coach or pambili ng facilities,hindi yung laging mababalitaan mo na kulang sa facilities, hindi suportado ng goverment yung trainings etc etc etc.
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just my dos sentabos!
Topics: news and events |
August 12th, 2008 at 2:05 am
i wonder kung saan niya kukunin ang milyun-milyon na ‘yan.
haha, malakas lang ang loob niyang magbigay ng incentive dahil alam niyang ‘almost’ impossible na magka-gold ang philippines sa olympics. no offence meant to the athletes..it’s just the government.
it’s always the government.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Is that P15M per gold medal? What if 3 people win?
Since we all know that the government is brave enough to offer the prize because they know that getting a gold medal is a long shot; I hope they have the dignity to place the money in sports development if nobody brings home a gold medal.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:21 am
I don’t think the incentive is enough to make out athletes go for the gold. I mean, full support should have been given during training because that’s where it counts.
I agree with Alice. Sports development should be invested in and not just when Olympics is right around the corner but all year round!