Benefits for Philippine National Athletes and Coaches

Policy and Purpose

Section 2 declares that the State shall promote excellence in sports by providing for the welfare of national athletes, coaches, and trainers competing for the country.
Section 2 further mandates that the State recognize honor and recognition brought to the country through benefits and incentives for successful international competitors.

Core Definitions

Section 3 defines “National Athletes” as Filipino citizens who are members of the national training pool, recognized and accredited by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and who have represented the country in international competitions.
Section 3 defines “National Coaches and Trainers” as Filipino citizens who are members of the national coaches and trainers pool, recognized and accredited by the PSC, and who have represented the country as official coaches and trainers to national athletes in international competitions.
Section 3 defines “International Competitions” as international sports competitions sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or held every four (4) years, including qualifying championships in team sports where only one (1) or two (2) countries may qualify for the Olympics or World Championships.
Section 3 excludes international competitions granting prize money or held in honor of any personality or sponsor.

Coverage, Eligibility, and Core Benefits

Section 4 grants benefits to any national athlete, coach and trainer who is currently registered as such before the PSC.
Section 4 requires a twenty percent (20%) discount from establishments for transportation services, hotels and other lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers, and for the purchase of medicine and sports equipment anywhere in the country.
Section 4 requires a minimum of twenty percent (20%) discount on admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, carnivals, and other similar places of culture, leisure, and amusement.
Section 4 provides free medical and dental consultations in private or public hospitals and similar establishments anywhere in the country.
Section 4 provides a medical insurance program through the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC).
Section 4 requires the Social Security System to formulate a comprehensive social security program within one hundred eighty (180) days from the approval of the Act.
Section 4 grants priority in existing livelihood programs of various government agencies, subject to guidelines and qualifications set by the implementing body.
Section 4 grants priority in national housing programs, including affordable “pabahay” loans and other housing opportunities, subject to guidelines and qualifications set by the National Housing Authority (NHA) or the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF).
Section 4 gives privately-owned establishments tax credits equivalent to the discounts extended to the athletes.
Section 4 directs the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to provide rules and regulations for implementation as soon as possible.

Scholarships and Retirement Benefits

Section 5 entitles a national athlete who wins in an international competition to scholarship benefits in the form of tuition fees in state colleges and universities to complete a college or university degree.
Section 5 extends the same scholarship entitlement to any one qualified member of the athlete’s immediate family within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity.
Section 5 requires that the winning national athlete receive priority in availing state college and university scholarship grants.
Section 5 directs the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) to give priority to winning national athletes seeking scholarship grants under their programs, subject to applicant qualifications.
Section 5 encourages private colleges and universities to adopt a similar program for winning national athletes.
Section 6 requires a lump sum retirement benefit for a national athlete, coach, or trainer who wins in an international competition or has coached or trained such winning athlete.
Section 6 fixes the retirement lump sum at twenty-five percent (25%) of the person’s total cash incentives, computed from the start of active sports career up to the last day of retirement, as certified by the PSC.
Section 6 mandates that the retirement lump sum be extended sixty (60) days after the filing of the retirement papers.

Death Benefits

Section 7 provides that upon the death of any national athlete, coach, or trainer, primary beneficiaries receive a lump sum benefit of Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000) for funeral services.
Section 7 provides that if the deceased has no primary beneficiaries, secondary beneficiaries receive the P30,000 lump sum.
Section 7 defines primary beneficiaries as the legitimate spouse, legitimate or illegitimate children.
Section 7 defines secondary beneficiaries as the parents, and in their absence, the brothers or sisters.

Cash Incentives for International Medalists

Section 8 entitles national athletes who win gold, silver, and bronze medals in international competitions to cash awards according to the following amounts.

Individual events cash awards

For gold medalists: P5,000,000 for Olympic Games; P2,500,000 for quadrennial World Championships; P1,000,000 for Asian Games; and P100,000 for Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).
For silver medalists: P2,500,000 for Olympic Games; P1,000,000 for quadrennial World Championships; P500,000 for Asian Games; and P50,000 for SEA Games.
For bronze medalists: P1,000,000 for Olympic Games; P500,000 for quadrennial World Championships; P100,000 for Asian Games; and P10,000 for SEA Games.

Team events cash awards

Section 8 provides that for team competitions with less than five (5) participants per team, the team receives the same cash awards for individual medal winners, to be divided equally among team members actually present during the competition.
Section 8 provides that for team competitions with five (5) or more participants per team, the team receives twice the cash awards for individual winners, to be divided equally among team members actually present during the competition.
Section 8 requires that for demonstration and exhibition sports events in the Olympic Games, winning national athletes receive fifty percent (50%) of the cash awards for Olympic medalists as provided in the Act.
Section 8 provides that for SEA Games, monetary incentives shall be given starting 2001 to winning athletes or teams who have equaled or surpassed existing game records or previous placings in non-measurable events.

Benefits for Past Medalists and Family Incentives

Section 9 grants a national athlete who, prior to the enactment of the Act, won gold, silver, or bronze medals in international competitions except SEA Games the benefits in Section 4.
Section 9 grants such past medalists fifty percent (50%) of the cash incentives under Section 8.
Section 9 provides that the incentives for past medalists are computed as the difference between the cash award received under Administrative Order No. 352 and the cash award under this Act.

Coach and Trainer Incentives; Accreditation

Section 10 entitles coaches and trainers to cash awards if they personally trained and rendered service to the athletes or teams at least one (1) year prior to the international competition.
Section 10 requires certification of this service by the individual athlete or team captain in writing.
Section 10 sets coach and trainer incentives at fifty percent (50%) of the cash awards for gold, silver, and bronze medalists.
Section 10 establishes the Philippine Coaches Accreditation Council to accredit and recognize coaches and trainers.
Section 10 provides that the Council shall be composed, among others, of representatives from the PSC, POC, and the academic community, preferably a professor in physical education or sports science.

Adjustments and Funding Rules

Section 11 authorizes the PSC to adjust the schedule of incentives in Section 8 based on studies, consultations, and public hearings with relevant agencies to reflect the economic needs of athletes.
Section 11 prohibits any memorandum, order, or issuance from diminishing the prescribed schedule of incentives.
Section 11 provides that donations and gifts from individuals, institutions, or groups are treated as distinct and separate from the cash incentives provided.
Section 12 provides that the amount necessary for implementation of the cash incentives and retirement benefits program shall come from the net cash income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
Section 12 requires that PAGCOR remits the amount directly as a special account to the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) of the PSC.
Section 12 states that this PAGCOR remittance is in addition to the regular income share of the PSC under Republic Act No. 6847.
Section 12 mandates that a separate fund equivalent to not less than sixty percent (60%) of existing NSDF be automatically set aside for training and preparation of national athletes covered by the Act.
Section 12 directs that not less than five percent (5%) of the NSDF be set aside for selection of individual athletes at the elementary and high school levels in track and field, swimming, badminton, pingpong, and similar individual sports events for world-class potential.
Section 12 assigns administration of the elementary and high school selection fund to the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS).

Implementation, Separability, and Repeal

Section 13 requires the PSC, in coordination with POC, DECS, CHED, TESDA, among others, and other concerned agencies, to promulgate and issue the Implementing Rules and Regulations within sixty (60) days from approval.
Section 14 provides a separability clause: if any provision or application is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or their application to others remains in force.
Section 15 provides a repealing clause: all laws, decrees, orders, issuances, rules, and regulations, or parts inconsistent with the Act are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.