Funding, or the lack of it, has stymied efforts to raise the level of Philippine athletes' competition in the 15th Asian Games, local media reported on Thursday.

Luisito Artiaga, a member of the athletics coaching staff, was quoted by The Manila Bulletin daily as saying that no matter how hard they try to share what they learn from attending clinics abroad, Filipino athletes have other needs to attend to.

"We cannot blame them if they get distracted because most, if not all of our athletes depend on the allowances they receive to feed their families," said Artiaga.

Six days into the Games, the Philippines didn't win a single medal, while among Southeast Asian nations, Thailand had three golds, including a world record win in weightlifting, while Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia had gold each.

While other countries have been upgrading their training facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, Filipino athletes are torn between training and bringing food on the table.

"They are dedicated and committed to become winners, but they are also breadwinners. They need money to feed their families. A simple delay in the release of allowances would get them distracted," said Artiaga.

Class A athletes get 8,000 pesos (160 U.S. dollars) a month as allowance from the Philippine Sports Commission, just enough to sustain their personal needs, said Artiaga.