'Hidilyn Diaz law' revived at House after Carlos Yulo's Olympic triumph
MANILA, Philippines — As millions in pledges pour in for Carlos Yulo's double-gold victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the House ways and means committee on Monday swiftly passed a bill seeking to exempt his and other athletes' financial rewards from taxes and other fees.
The still-unnumbered substitute bill amends Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act to grant tax exemptions for all incentives, rewards and other forms of donations to national athletes "who compete or win" in select international sports competitions.
The measure consolidates several House bills, including House Bill 421, which was refiled by committee chairperson Rep. Joey Salceda (Albay, 2nd District) in the 19th Congress.
An earlier version of the bill dubbed the "Hidilyn Diaz Law" was approved by the lower chamber in the 18th Congress in 2021 but failed to clear the Senate.
The bill was filed after Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz snagged a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — the first athlete from the Philippines to win gold at the Olympics.
In his sponsorship speech, Salceda pushed for the bill to exempt not just the cash prize handed out to winning athletes but also the donations that go to their training one year before the competition.
“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," the lawmaker said.
“What that teaches us is that the prize is never won on the day of the competition itself, but years before," Salceda added.
The proposed law also makes the tax exemption for athletes' cash incentives retroactive to January 1 of this year.
Prior to approving the provision, Salceda sought the Department of Finance's official position on the matter, quipping: "Please accept the retroactivity. Nakakahiya kay Yulo kung babawasan mo yung ibibigay ni [Manuel V. Pangilinan] and Ramon Ang (It's embarassing to Yulo if you will deduct the rewards from Manuel V. Pangilinan and Ramon Ang)."
A representative from the DOF said that it will accept the provision making the tax exemptions retroactive to January 1.
Both the DOF and Salceda also agreed to keep the taxes in place for donations with a commercial aspect.
Besides exempting donations one year before the athletes join the competition, the House ways and means chairperson also proposed to make donations through the Philippine Sports Commission or the Philippine Olympic Committee tax-free regardless of the time that has passed.
"At the proper time, that can be introduced in the plenary," Salceda said.
"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," the lawmaker added.
The current National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act provides a default 20% discount for national athletes in transportation services, hotels and restaurants, and the purchase of medicine and sports equipment, among others, regardless of winning any international competition.
The lower chamber is set to award Yulo with P3 million in cash incentives for winning the gold medal in the floor exercise finals on Saturday, and then another P3 million for topping the vault exercise finals on Sunday.
Lifetime pension for Filipino Olympians?
Riding on the high of Yulo's historic back-to-back win in men's gymnastics, House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday vowed to study the possibility of increasing government benefits to medalists in the Olympics, including granting them monthly pensions for life.
Romualdez said a lifetime monthly pension would honor Filipino athletes' contributions to the country even after retirement.
In March, the House youth and sports committee began its deliberations on a House bill that provides retired Filipino Olympians with a lifetime monthly pension of at least P15,000.
The International Olympic Committee, the governing body of the Olympic Games, has long been concerned about the career transition prospects of competing athletes.
In a white paper published on its website, the Olympic committee described how all athletes must eventually prepare to transition away from their elite sports career, especially as “athletes will have little to no experience of a full-time job,” and some may have “missed out on college or university due to your sporting commitments.”
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