HEFTY cash incentives await the athletes from Mandaue City who won in local and international competitions.
This came after the Mandaue City Council approved on its first reading the draft ordinance amending the city's existing ordinance 15-2020-1576 on Monday, March 20, 2023, to provide incentive raises to athletes who triumphed in any sporting tournaments both locally and internationally.
Dallie Mae Cabatingan, Sangguniang Kabataan president and chair of the Committee on Youth and Sports Development, told reporters on Monday that the new legislation will have four categories instead of the previous two, which were local and international.
The new categories are Regional, National, International (SEA Games, Olympics) and Other International Games.
Cabatingan said many athletes back then failed to claim their incentives because of the lengthy process, such as requesting the City Council for a budget for each athlete through enacted legislation that takes about a month to process.
Under the new draft ordinance 191-21, athletes and their coaches and trainers would only need to report to the Mandaue Sports Commission (MSC) and submit a certification proving their legitimacy as Mandaue athletes in order to get a cash gift right away from MSC.
In case no money has been appropriated for the incentives, the funds will be sourced from the general fund.
For regional competitions, winning athletes -- whether individual or group -- will receive P10,000 (gold medal), P7,000 (silver medal), and P5,000 (third medal).
Winning athletes for national competitions both individuals and teams will receive P15,000 (gold medal), P10,000 (silver medal), and P7,000 (for the bronze medal).
Athletes who competed in SEA Games and Olympics, among other major competitions, whether individuals or in teams, will receive P100,000 (for gold medalist), P75,000 for the silver medalist, and P50,000 for bronze.
For other international competitions, the city will also give P50,000 to the gold medalist, P30,000 to the silver medalist, and P20,000 to the bronze medalist.
Individual athletes or teams who earned more than one medal will be given incentives according to the highest medal they received.
Cabatingan said they will still validate to determine the current total number of Mandaue athletes who may be entitled to the cash benefits.
During the city's kick-off for its fire prevention celebration on March 1, Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes told reporters that he wanted particularly the youth to be more active in sports and spare them from doing illegal acts, prompting the City Government to mull additional cash incentives and provide scholarships for Mandaue athletes.
The draft ordinance authored by Cabatingan will be forwarded to the committee on laws to adopt legal opinion and other possible amendments before it proceeds for second reading on March 27. (HIC)