Duterte sends off Olympic team, increases allowance of athletes

President Rodrigo Duterte sends off Filipino athletes to Rio Olympics. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS DIVISION

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday led the send off for the Philippine Team competing in the Rio 2016 Olympics.

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Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco was at the event held inside Malacañang.

Photos shared with the Malacañang Press Corps showed Duterte wearing the team’s red jacket with a patch of the Philippine flag.

During his speech, Duterte said he will increase the allowance of the athletes to $3,000 (previously $1,000) and that of the officials to $5,000 (previously $3,000).

The President also told the delegation not to be afraid of the Zika virus, which is also linked to microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Brazil is one of the countries with local Zika virus transmission, one of the reasons why some athletes decided to skip this year’s Olympics. KS/RAM

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