MANILA, Philippines – This one would surely bring a big smile on the faces of gold winning Filipino athletes right now in the 30^th Southeast Asian Games but big, big frown perhaps to an online newspaper publication why on earth the country, after spending billions of pesos just to host the biennial meet, could again be allocating P10 million in incentives to earthshaking, mega-sport achievement.

You heard and read it right — P10M has been earmarked by the House of Representatives through the efforts of Speaker and Phisgoc chair and Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.

Said amount would be bifurcated or divided among Filipino athletes who shone bright in the Games.

But cry not detractors of  the Speaker and Phisgoc chair because the Nacionalista party resident said the P10M additional incentives for gold athletes would come not directly from the government but from pooled salaries of congressmen in the 18^th congress for the month of January 2020.

The said HB is incorporated in House Resolution 568, congratulating this early, all the athletes that participated and shone bright in what could be the biggest in years in the entire history of the SEA Games as the 30th edition is made up of 56 different sports and 530 events.

The said HB was filed by Cayetano himself who came under fire anew from the same online newspaper publication after receiving a “best SEAG organizer ever” citation from a sports award-giving body it claimed being “supported” by PHISGOC itself.

“Whereas, as a concrete manifestation of the commonality of the goal to bring honor and pride to the country, the leaders and members of the House of Representatives deem it proper to deduct individual pledges from their salaries for January 2020 as additional incentives to Filipino gold medal winners in the 30th SEA Games,” the House resolution stated.

By tradition, the Office of the President of the land regularly distributes cash incentives to Filipino athletes who shone bright in their respective sports of endeavor here or abroad.

The 30^th edition of the SEAG unfolded Saturday, 30 November 2019, at Philippine Arena.

President Duterte declared the Games open. (IAMIGO/CNS)