Olympic double gold medalist Carlos Yulo gets an additional P20 million from the Office of the President on top of the incentives he is entitled to receive under the law

MANILA, Philippines – Gymnastics star Carlos Yulo received a cash windfall that the Philippines’ first Olympic double gold medalist deserves.

Yulo, 24, got rewarded P20 million from the Office of the President as he and the Philippines’ delegation to the Paris Olympics paid Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. a courtesy call at the Malacañang on Tuesday, August 13.

That is on top of the incentives Yulo, who also accepted the Presidential Medal of Merit, is entitled to get under Republic Act 10699 as he stands to pocket P10 million for each of his two gold medals.

Boxing bronze medalists Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio, meanwhile, scored P2 million apiece from the Office of the President in addition to the P2 million incentive they will each earn under the law.

Take a look at how each of the 22 athletes who represented the Philippines in the Paris Olympics fared

Yulo, Villegas, and Petecio were also granted an amity card from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board valid until June 2025 and travel tax exemption valid until June 2028.

The Office of the President gave the rest of the 22-strong Team Philippines P1 million apiece, with their coaches each getting P500,000.

“I thought what we should do is really recognize all the athletes. For an athlete – be it from the Philippines or wherever – to qualify for the Olympics is not an easy feat,” said Marcos in a mix of Filipino and English.

“That is an extremely difficult achievement to have managed.”

Marcos acknowledged that the rewards are not enough to compensate for the hardships the Philippines’ latest set of Olympians have undergone.

“I apologize if it is just a small amount. I know that P1 million is small if you compare it to your sacrifice and the experiences you went through. But for now, this is what we’ll do,” said Marcos.

Celebrating its 100th year of Olympic participation, the Philippines enjoyed its all-time best campaign as it won multiple gold medals in a single edition for the first time and matched its biggest medal haul in history.

The Philippines finished tied with Hong Kong for 37th place in the medal tally for its highest Olympic ranking since 1964 and emerged as the best performing Southeast Asian nation.

Marcos said he wants to aid the development of Philippine sports.

“If you can consider that all of these athletes who have done so well and have made us so proud, there is no official technical support from the government. They did it on their own,” said Marcos.

“Of course they get help. Sometimes, the government helps, but there is no formal structure to help our athletes and that is what we’re going to establish now.”

“I ask all of you to tell us what is it that you need.”