Pacman, Guiao support bill expanding athletes’ incentives

MANILA, Philippines - Two prominent sports personalities-turned congressmen are supporting a bill that seeks to expand the coverage of the law granting cash incentives to Filipino athletes who win in international competitions.

Rep. Terry Ridon of party-list group Kabataan said boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and basketball coach Joseller Guiao have decided to co-author Bill 4915, of which he is principal author.

Pacquiao is representative of the lone district of Sarangani province, while Guiao represents Pampanga’s first district.

Bill 4915 seeks to amend Republic Act No. 9064, or the Sports Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001, to include more international competitions in its coverage.

With the support of his two sports-minded colleagues, Ridon said he was optimistic that his bill would soon be passed into law.

“We are thankful that the likes of Representatives Pacquiao and Guiao are supportive of our effort to expand incentives for our athletes. We believe that the Congress leadership will take cognizance of this bill and approve it soon,” he said.

He said he is seeking the amendment of the law because “it bars national athletes competing in new sports events from enjoying the benefits that they so deserve.”

“The law grants cash and other non-monetary benefits and incentives to national athletes and their coaches. However, the 13-year-old law has no provision to adjust its scope to cover new sports competitions,” he added.

Ridon cited the case of world-class Filipino archer Gabriel Luis Moreno, who bagged the country’s first gold medal in the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China last Aug. 24.

Olympic gold medalists are entitled to a P5-million cash incentive. However, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) announced that the law does not cover Moreno since the Youth Olympic Games were introduced only in 2010.

Ridon’s bill would empower the Philippine Olympic Committee and the PSC to decide in case winners in new international sports events would be covered by the incentives.

Besides the Olympics, the law covers World Championships, Asian Games and SEA (Southeast Asian) Games. The cash incentive ranges from P100,000 to P5 million for gold medalists, P50,000 to P2.5 million for winners of silver medals and P10,000 to P1 million for those who win bronze medals.

The bill also has a retroactive effect, which means that if it becomes a law, Moreno could be given incentives.