Sunday, September 07, 2008 Wushu warriors to get P1.625 million reward
OLYMPIC Wushu campaigner Mariane Mariano and Benjie Rivera will receive a whooping P1.625 million each worth of incentives after bagging bronze medals in their respective category during the recently concluded Olympic game held in Beijing, China.
The cash rewards is on top of the P1 million pledged by the First Gentleman Foundation and the P500,000 from the Philippine Sports Commission. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) also pledged cash rewards and another P125,000 from San Miguel Corporation.
The Baguio City Government meanwhile has yet to give an incentive, according to City Sports Coordinator Edison Villafuerte.
Villafuerte said Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. has already endorsed a commendation resolution for Mariano and Rivero of their accomplishment and at the same time promised to reward the two with another P10,000 each from his pocket.
Rivera and Mariano settled for bronze, after they lost to in the semifinal rounds of the 56-kg class and 60-kg class, respectively.
Rivera beat Kamel Mohamed of Egypt 2-0 in the men's 56kg sanshou (combat) event enroute to a bronze medal victory.
Rivera was denied a slot in the Busan Asia Games two years ago after the RP's Wushu federation gave Rene Catalan a slot instead of him.
"I already forgot that. I would just focus on the future," he said.
Mariano, a second year BS Education majoring in PE at the University of the Cordilleras (UC), said she plans to buy a lot in the city of her incentives when asked what she would do when she receives the money.
She added that when they returned to the country from Beijing, she immediately went up to Baguio to see her family and immediately went back to Manila.
Rivera, for his part, said he has not yet thought about what to do with the money when he receives it.
Wushu national coach Tony Candelaria, known for his movie screen name Tsing Tsong Tsai, admitted that Baguio City, specifically UC, has been a gold mine of medals in wushu, a martial arts sports of Chinese origin which combines boxing, kicking and wrestling.
Despite their heavy training and schedules, UC vice president for academic affairs Cleofas Basaen said the two are excelling in their academic records adding that they are not given special treatment except for their attendance in the classrooms.
UC has been a training ground for wushu athletes reaping medals for the country in international competitions said inhouse coach Mark Sangiao, himself a SEA games gold medalist and accredited international judge. (Roderick Osis)
