President Ferdinand R. Marcos confers the Presidential Medal of Merit to the first-ever Olympic double gold medalist, Carlos Edriel Yulo, and gave a cash incentive worth P20 million from the Office President on August 13, 2024, during the Philippine Olympic team's courtesy call at Malacanang Palace. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool

MANILA -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday awarded P1-million in cash to each of the 22 Filipino athletes who represented the country in the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The athletes arrived in the country on Tuesday evening from Dubai, following the conclusion of the Paris Games where Team Philippines brought home four medals -- two golds and two bronzes.

During the Heroes Welcome Ceremony at Malacañang, President Marcos acknowledged the immense effort and sacrifice of each Olympian, stressing that qualifying for the Olympics is a significant achievement.

READ: Welcome home! PH rolls out red carpet for Olympians

"I thought that we -- what we should do is really recognize all the athletes, number one, all the athletes," President Marcos said. 

"Kahit sinong atleta dito sa Pilipinas o kung saan man lang, na makapag-qualify sa Olympics, mabigat 'yun. That is an extremely difficult achievement to have managed," he added.

"Hihingi ako ng paumanhin ninyo dahil maliit lang at alam ko na 'yung isang milyong piso halimbawa ay ikumpara mo sa inyong sakripisyo, ikumpara ninyo sa inyong pinagdaanan, ikumpara ninyo, napakaliit lang," he also said.

READ: Pinoy Olympians, coaches to receive incentives from Malacañang

President Marcos encouraged the athletes to collaborate with the government to enhance the support system for Filipino sports.

"Kung minsan 'yung gobyerno nakakatulong. Pero walang pormal na istraktura para tulungan 'yung ating mga atleta. And that’s what we are going to establish now," Marcos said.

"So, I ask all of you to tell us, what is it that you need. Saan kayo -- noong sa pag-training ng mga atleta natin, saan kayo nahirapan? Anong hindi ninyo magawa na maitutulong namin? You tell us and hopefully, if we really work together and start to prepare -- for not only the Olympics, of course, that’s a very important one, but not only the Olympics. We start to prepare for all the international competitions that we have -- that are there before us," he added.

The President also praised two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo for his outstanding performance at the Olympics. Yulo made history as the first Filipino athlete to win multiple medals in a single Olympics when he ruled both the vault and floor exercise in men's artistic gymnastics.

"Caloy, your performance was just --- it deserved two gold medals. And that’s how high a standard that we have reached," he said.

Apart from Yulo, Marcos shared that he followed all the other athletes' performances during the competition.

"Isa lang ang irereklamo ko sa inyong lahat at napuyat ako ng ilang -- dalawang linggo akong puyat [laughter] para manood ng sari-saring mga event. But 'yung puyat ko worth it na worth it dahil talagang napakagandang panuorin kayo at makita kayo," he said.

In his speech, Yulo expressed his gratitude to everyone who supported the Filipino athletes, and hailed the other members of Team Philippines for a job well done -- and a historic campaign in Paris.

"Maraming maraming salamat po sa taong nagdasal po, nag-take ng effort para magpuyat para panuorin po ang Olympics, at masaksikhan po ang pinagtrainingan po namin ng mga atletang Pilipino po. Gusto ko pong magpasalamat sa pagbigay po sa amin ng training camp sa Metz. Sobrang laking tulong po noon sa akin," Yulo said.

"Sa lahat po ng atleta po, sobrang proud po ako na pinaglaban po natin, binigay po natin ang best po natin sa lahat po. Dugo at pawis po ang inalay natin, hindi pa nagsisimula ang kompetisyon proud na ako sa inyong lahat. At ngayong tapos ang kompetisyon, i-celebrate natin iyong mga nakuha nating resulta at mas galingan pa natin sa mga susunod na kumpetisyon," he added. 

From the Heroes Welcome in Malacañan Palace, the Olympians were also accorded with a short welcome-home party by the Newport Resorts World in Pasay City on Tuesday night.

Among those who attended were Yulo, Petecio, Villegas, fencer Sam Catantan, and boxer Eumir Marcial, among others. 

In a short message, Philippine Olympic Committee President Bambol Tolentino thanked the team’s supporters.

On Wednesday, the Olympians will be feted in a victory parade that starts from the Aliw Theater in CCP Complex in Pasay City and ends at the Rizal Memorial Sport Complex.

READ: All set for homecoming parade for Filipino Olympians -- MMDA

The Newport Resorts World is expected to hand over the keys of a  condominium unit to Yulo on Wednesday. A three-bedroom unit is given to the bemedaled gymnast as his reward for the win. – With a report from Jeck Batallones, ABS-CBN News 

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