CASH INCENTIVES GALORE

Posted by ReyFort Media

EMERGING as the country’s most bemedalled athlete in the just-concluded 33rd Southeast Asian Games, swimmer Kayla Sanchez will get over P1.65 million in cash bonuses for the three golds and five silvers she scooped up at the Aquatic Center of the Huamark Sports Complex in Bangkok, Thailand.

Virtually hoisting the national swimming squad on her broad shoulders, Sanchez anchored the PH squad to an epic victory in the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle event on top of individual triumphs in the 100-meter backstroke and freestyle events.

The Fil-Canadian mermaid also had silvers in the women’s 50 and 200-meter freestyles, 50-meter backstroke and 4×200-meter freestyle relay events.

With each gold medal worth P300,000 and P150,000 for silver, and P60,000 for bronze, based on Republic Act 10699, the revised incentives law, her  total bonanza is P1,650,000 for a yeoman’s job in her remarkable SEA Games debut since shifting her allegiance to the Philippines in 2021.

She gets the full amount of P150,000 even for the relays based on the revised incentives law since the women’s relay squad is composed of only four athletes. RA 10699 awards the full bonus for teams composed of not more than five members.

This meant that her teammates on the gold-medal winning relay squad – Chloe Isleta, Xiandi Chua and Heather White – are also each entitled to an incentive of P300,000.

Chua picks up an additional P300,000 apiece for her silvers in the women’s 200-meter backstroke and  4×100-meter  medley relay, while White added P60,000 to her kitty for her bronze-medal finish in the women’s 50-meter freestyle race.

Also among those getting hefty bonuses of P600,000 each are triathletes Kira Ellis and Raven Alcoseba, members of the triumphant women’s team relay and mixed relay events.

Ellis banked an extra P150,000 to her account for placing second in the women’s individual race. 

Joining them at P600,000 was male triathlete Fer Caseres, a member of the winning men’s team and mixed relay squads, on top of P60,000 for securing a bronze in the men’s individual event.

Andrew Kim Remolino earned a total of P450,000 for being a member of the victorious men’s relay squad as well as a silver in the individual event.   

Paris Olympic Games veteran Aleah Finnegan, who ruled the women’s vault and placed third in the floor exercise in women’s artistic gymnastics, will receive a combined bonus of P450,000.

The sizzling women’s beach volleyball team pairs of Sisi Rondina and Bernardeth Pons and Dij Rodriguez and Sunny Villapando, who stunned the eight-time defending champion Thais, will also be entitled to a guaranteed P300,000 cash bonus apiece.

Tennis star Alex Eala and Tokyo Olympic boxer Eumir Felix Marcia, who was the golden survivor of the vaunted PH boxing squad, are netting P300,000 each for topping their events.

On the other hand, members of victorious PH squads in the team sports of basketball, football, softball and baseball are entitled to a 25 percent share of the individual cash incentives based on the provisions of RA 10699. (B. Pedralvez/ Malaya)