Asian Games medalists to get additional incentives from Malacañang

Seventeen-year-old Yuka Saso stands to receive P9 million for her historic gold medal win in golf in Indonesia.

That is after windfall continued to flow for the Asian Games heroes, according to the Philippine Sports Commission.

PSC chair Butch Ramirez announced on Wednesday that the Office of the President coughed up additional P1 million for the gold, P500,000 for silver and P200,000 for the bronze.

That hiked the haul for the four gold medalists to at least P7 million each including the P2 million provided by the PSC, P2 million from the Senate, P1 million from businessman Dennis Uy and P1 million from the PH ambassador to Indonesia Lee Hiong Tan Wee.

Saso pulled off a stunner when she captured the women’s individual gold as well as the team gold along with Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go.

For her share of the team gold, Saso is expected to get P9.3 million, thereby becoming the highest earner among the batch.

Olympic silver winner in weightlifting Hidilyn Diaz and skateboarder Margielyn Didal also won gold medals in the Asiad, giving the country its best performance since the 2006.

Meanwhile, the PSC has extended help to the family of Olympic table tennis player Ian Lariba who passed away last Monday.

The incentives will be handed in a ceremony in Malacanang on Sept. 12.

The PSC has also paid for the medical expenses worth P1.5 million as the agency also vowed to help other Olympians who are suffering from illness including Leopoldo Serantes who is battling obstructive pulmonary disease.