MANILA, Philippines — Athletes and coaches, except those in the priority list, will receive a 20 percent pay hike of their allowances from the Philippine Sports Commission.
PSC chair Richie Garcia said the increase would take effect starting today as a form of incentive for regular athletes to train harder and perform better in international tournaments.
“With the increase, we’re expecting them to work harder,” said Garcia. “We’re trying to somehow close the gap between the regular athletes and those in the priority list.”
Priority athletes or those listed in the elite pool are receiving monthly allowances of P40,000, P30,000 and P25,000 based on their medal finish from the Southeast Asian Games and Asian-level meets.
Regular athletes, most of them former SEA Games medalists excluded from the priority pool, get P20,000, P15,000 and P10,000 a month.
Those in the P20,000 bracket will now receive P24,000. Even junior athletes or members of the developmental pool who are receiving P8,000 and P6,000 will get an increase.
“They really need it to cope with the rising cost of training and other expenses,” said Garcia, who will serve as chef de mission of the Philippine delegation to the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, slated September.
A PSC insider told the Inquirer that the increase will come from the agency’s savings of P800 million.
Garcia said the PSC is also close to assembling a pool of priority coaches tasked to handle the training of elite athletes.
“I think we will be ready to entertain applications by the end of the month,” Garcia said. “We’re already discussing the guidelines.”