The House of Representatives' reward to gymnast Carlos Yulo has swelled to P6 million after he clinched his second gold medal in the men's vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics, just a day after he captured his first mint in the men's floor exercise. 

In an ambush interview on Monday, Speaker Martin Romualdez confirmed that the House would double the initial P3 million cash incentive to Yulo in conformity with the chamber's commitment to reward Filipino Olympic gold medalists P3 million, while P2 million for silver, and P1 million for bronze.

"We feel that it's important to support and inspire all our athletes and to recognize their achievements. We're very, very proud of our medalists and we look forward to more medals during this Olympics and we're very inspired as [a] nation," Romualdez told reporters. 

The 24-year-old Yulo made history by becoming a two-time gold Olympic medalist. 

Following a flawlessly executed routine in the men's floor exercise, he bagged his first gold on Saturday night (Philippine time), scoring 15.000 points. He outperformed Tokyo 2020 champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel by merely 0.034 points and Great Britain's Jake Jarman—a half-blooded Filipino—who earned 14.933 points. 

Keeping the momentum, Yulo then wowed the crowd in Bercy Stadium in a stunning performance late Sunday in the men's vault, scoring 15.166 points, pushing vault's main man Artur Davtyan for the silver with 14.966 points. 

In addition to the P6 million reward from the House, Yulo will also receive additional cash incentives from a fundraising campaign initiated by Romualdez among his colleagues in the chamber.

"We will continue to support and invest in our sports programs to nurture and develop more world-class athletes like Caloy. His success is a shining example of hope and a source of inspiration for all of us," Romualdez remarked. 

The House chief also disclosed that he ordered the concerned committees to initiate discussions on passing a bill that would institutionalize the grant of more financial incentives and other benefits to Filipino Olympic medalists, including lifetime pension when they hit the retirement age of 40.

A day after Yulo's back-to-back monumental victory, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved a consolidated bill providing tax exemptions for donations to national athletes competing in international sports competitions.

Panel chairperson, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, one of the measure's proponents (House Bill 421), highlighted the hardships and challenges that Filipino athletes, including Yulo, hurdled before reaching the pinnacle of their careers.

"A 12-year-old Carlos Yulo once gave an interview where he said that his dream was to win a gold medal for the Philippines in the Olympics. It took him more than a decade to reach that goal in the grandest manner possible," he said.

"What that teaches us is that the prize is never won on the day of the competition itself but years before. Hard work, determination, and sheer grit through many years of training wins over talent."

According to Salceda, the panel-approved bill, which he called the "Hidilyn Diaz Act" last Congress, exempts not just the prizes handed out by brands and companies after the win but also exempts donations toward their training one year before the competition.

Apart from exempting donations one year prior to the date of the competition, Salceda proposed that donations through the Philippine Sports Commission or the Philippine Olympic Committee be made exempt from tax regardless of time.

"In fact, I would like to forward to you an additional proposal: that we not just exempt donations towards their training for one year, but to exempt donations from tax for their entire training, provided that such donations are made through the Philippine Olympic Committee or the Philippine Sports Commission," the economist-lawmaker said.

"At the proper time, that can be introduced in the plenary. But let me emphasize this once again: it is mere tokenism, it is mere public relations, to ride the bandwagon when the victory has already been achieved. What we need to incentivize is the investments being made on the athletes who are still working on winning medals for the country."