Carlos Yulo to get P4 million for golden double as medalists cash in on Asian Games success
MANILA, Philippines – Two years after receiving more than P100 million in incentives and rewards for his Olympic exploits, Carlos Yulo will benefit from another cash windfall after leading the Philippines’ campaign in the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
The artistic gymnastics star will get P4 million from the government following his golden runs in the men’s floor exercise and vault — the same events in which he won his two Olympic gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games.
Under Republic Act No. 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Yulo is entitled to P2 million for each of his two gold medals. Meanwhile, silver and bronze medalists stand to receive P1 million and P400,000, respectively.
Yulo joined an exclusive list of Filipino athletes who won multiple golds in a single Asian Games edition, becoming only the eighth member of the club.
Others who achieved the feat were swimmers Artemio Salamat (two in 1951), Jacinto Cayco (two in 1951), and Haydee Coloso (two in 1954), tennis player Raymundo Deyro (two in 1958), athletics icon Mona Sulaiman (three in 1962), bowling legend Bong Co (three in 1978 and two in 1986), and golfer Yuka Saso (two in 2018).
In ruling the Asian Games, Yulo completed his collection that also includes titles from the World Championships, Asian Championships, World Cup, and Southeast Asian Games.
Pole vaulter EJ Obiena and taekwondo jin Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape will receive P2 million each after delivering the Philippines’ two other gold medals.
Obiena stands to pocket more after breaking his own Asian Games mark by clearing 5.91 meters. Under RA 10699, athletes who surpass a Philippine record or any ranking in a measurable international sports competition are entitled to additional cash incentives, with the amount to be determined by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The only Asian to clear six meters, Obiena became only the fourth back-to-back men’s pole vault champion in the history of the continental showpiece.
Meanwhile, Yape will bag an additional P400,000 after also winning bronze in the men’s individual poomsae before striking gold in the mixed individual virtual taekwondo, an event that debuted at the Asian Games.
The victory made Yape the first-ever Filipino to capture a taekwondo gold in the quadrennial meet.
Aside from the four golds, the Philippines claimed nine silvers and 16 bronzes for a total of 29 medals — its most in six decades — as it replicated its 17th-place finish in the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, China.
The incentives may ease the disappointment for athletes who fell short of gold as mixed martial artist Jean Claude Saclag, archer Amaya Amparo Cojuangco, taekwondo jins Juliana Mykhail Candelaria, Tachiana Mangin, and Kurt Barbosa, boxer Carlo Paalam, and jiu-jitsu athlete Alexandria Enriquez will earn P1 million each for their silvers.
In team events, the silver medalists in women’s 3×3 basketball — Kacey dela Rosa, Kennan Ka, Amyah Espanol, and Maria Pasilang — and women’s sepak takraw double — Jean Marie Sucalit, Abegail Sinogbuhan, and Nelly Jay Salon — will share the incentives provided under the law.
Teams with less than five members will equally split the rewards, while those part of squads with five or more participants will receive 25% of the incentives given to individual medal winners.
So Dela Rosa, Ka, Espanol, and Pasilang will get P250,000 each, while Sucalit, Sinogbuhan, and Salon will pocket P333,300.33 each.
Another big winner is weightlifter Albert Ian delos Santos, who will cash in more than P400,000 for his bronze after establishing new world junior and Asian junior records in the men’s 70kg class.
Check the list of the Filipino medalists here:
– Rappler.com
