Olympics bronze medal winner may just get PhP300,000 from the city government for winning a bronze medal in the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan last August.
“We are coming out with a resolution to see that Eumir gets the cash reward,” said councilor Levy Lloyd Orcales who went to work to pass the measure with the city council which met later this afternoon after the tribute made by the city during its regular Monday flag-raising ceremony, the motorcade and later in the morning a tribute at the University of Baguio led by its president Javier Herminio Bautista.
Under the Baguio City Comprehensive Sports Code, bronze medal winners will get PhP300,000, while the winning coach stands to receive half or PhP150,000.
Marcial is one of the first male boxers of the present crop to come up to the city and train at the Baguio Teachers Camp and study at UB.
Since he made his address at Zamboanga City, he was not included in the city council’s action to include him among those who will get a cash reward. Unlike Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam who have their address here where they also vote.
“Most of us are now Baguio residents and have been voting here,” said Philippine women’s boxing team coach Rey Galido.
Petecio and Paalam were assured Monday by mayor Benjamin Magalong during the ceremonies at the city hall grounds and later at the UB Centennial Hall.
“The PhP1.2 million will be given within the week,” said Magalong, the cash reward will be the last for the fighters who gave the country two silver medals in the last Olympics and the first ever for a female pugilist.
“Eumir will definitely get his reward,” assured Orcales as Marcial will be blessed anew in a year that has been good to most of the Philippine boxers.
He got married earlier this month and was in Siargao for his honeymoon prior to coming up here for the tributes, while also coming up here to start the bubble training of the Philippine boxing team that include three other female pugilists enrolled at UB – Josie Gabuco, Aira Villegas and Riza Paswit.
Galido said that training for this year will definitely end on December 17 but admitted they cannot go full blast with the gym being renovated.
“We will be back by January 10 (after the Christmas season) and train for tournaments slated for next year,” said Galido adding that this is the World Women Boxing Championship under the (Amateur) International Boxing Association or AIBA on March, the Southeast Asian Games on May and the Asian Games sometime in September next year.
