Palaro winners to get incentives

GENERAL SANTOS CITY: The Department of Education (DepEd) in Region 12 has set aside some P1 million for the cash incentives of the winning athletes and coaches in the 2016 Palarong Pambansa.

Arturo Bayocot, DepEd Region 12 director, said Friday they increased the allotment for the cash incentives to further motivate their athletes to compete and win medals for the region.

He said the Region 12 or Soccsksargen Regional Athletic Association’s (SRAA) “motto” for this year’s Palaro is to “Go for gold!”

The 2016 Palaro will use anew the medal scheme instead of the point system for the ranking or standing of the participating delegations.

“More medals mean better placement for us in the standings,” said Bayocot, who heads the SRAA delegation.

For the cash incentive, he said they will give out P15,000 for every gold medal, P5,000 for silver and P3,000 for bronze.

“This is on top of the cash incentives that will be given by the local government units (LGUs),” he said.

South Cotabato province has allotted some P350,000 from its Special Education Fund (SEF) for the cash incentives of winning athletes from the area.

It has set an incentive of P10,000 for gold, P7,000 for silver and P5,000 for the bronze medalists.

Koronadal City promised to give P20,000 for the gold medalists, P5,000 for silver and P3,000 for bronze while Sultan Kudarat will grant P5,000 for gold, P3,000 for silver and P2,000 for bronze.

North Cotabato has initially allotted P8,000 for each gold medalist.

Bayocot said the other LGUs are still finalizing cash incentives for their winning athletes, which will also be drawn from their SEFs.

Region 12, which is also known as Soccsksargen, comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and North Cotabato, and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Kidapawan, Tacurong and Cotabato.

DepEd-12 has allotted a total of P13.6 million for the region’s participation in this year’s Palaro, which is slated April 10 to 16 in Legazpi City in Albay.

Such budget covered the 30-day training of the athletes, transportation to Legazpi, food, medical supplies, cash incentives, uniforms, allowances and other expenses.

The DepEd central office released P10.6 million for the region while the rest of the funds came from contributions of the LGUs in the region.

Source: Manila Times / http://www.manilatimes.net/palaro-winners-to-get-incentives/255075/