NATIONAL para chess players bagged the lion’s share of the cash incentives totaling P13 million for the 10 gold, four silver and five bronze medals the country won in the recent 4th Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
The biggest benefactors were visually-impaired quadruple gold medalists Menandro Redor and Darry Bernardo, who pocketed P4 million each as they swept the VI B2-B3 men’s team and individual standard and rapid events, based on Republic Act 10699, or the revised incentives law of 2015.
Under RA 10699, P1 million is awarded for the gold, P500,000 for the silver and P200,000 for individual bronze medalists.
The law awards a full bonus for teams with less than five players, meaning the third teammate of Redor and Bernardo, Arman Subaste, will get P2 million as a member of the gold-medal winning squads in both the VI B2-B3 standard and rapid events.
Netting a bonanza of P3 million is wheelchair-bound bespectacled chess player Henry Roger Lopez, who anchored the P1 (Physically Impaired) squad to a sweep of the men’s team and individual rapid events. He also had a silver each in the individual and team categories of the men’s standard event.
Atty. Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza, who bagged individual golds in the P1 women’s standard and rapid contests, will get a total of P2.7 million, counting the silver and bronze medal the Pinay squad that included Cheryl Angot and Jean-Lee Nacita won in the rapid and standard events, respectively.
FIDE Master Sander Severino, who bagged four mints in the 2018 games in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Jasper Rom, who stayed and played amidst the death of his parents in succession during the competition, will each receive P1.5 million.
Receiving the same amount is wheelchair racer Jerrold Pete Mangliwan, who won a gold in the men’s 400-meter T52 race and a silver in the men’s 100-meter T52 contest.
Tokyo Paralympian swimmer Ernie Gawilan, who had three mints in the Jakarta Asian Para Games, will get P1.2 million for ruling the 400-meter freestyle S7 event and a securing a bronze in the 200-meter individual medley S7.
Rounding out the list of those who will receive bonuses is para swimmer Gary Bejino, who will get P400,000 for the pair of bronze medals he bagged in the men’s 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle S6 events, respectively.