Recognition for disabled athletes

For over 12 years, National Paralympic Committee of the Philippines president Mike Barredo has lobbied to expand the coverage of benefits and incentives for national athletes to include achievers from the differently-abled sector.

Barredo, 60, fought long and hard. He appealed to government officials. He begged for recognition.  He said it was discriminatory to exclude disabled athletes from the “Sports Benefits and Incentives Act,” passed in 2001, since after all, they, too, represent the country in international competitions.

A 1992 TOYM awardee for humanitarian service, Barredo lost his eyesight in a car accident when he was 24 in 1979. He was an all-around varsity athlete during his La Salle years, excelling in football, volleyball, basketball, chess and track. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Barredo made his disability a rallying point and took up the cudgels for differently-abled athletes who deserve to be recognized for their efforts but aren’t eligible to receive benefits and incentives by law.

This Monday, an act consolidating Senate Bill No. 2898 and House Bill No. 5912 will lapse into law unless it is vetoed by President Aquino or he signs it earlier. The act amends the 2001 law on sports benefits and incentives to include differently-abled athletes. The effectivity will kick in 15 days after the act is publicized in at least two newspapers of general circulation.

The consolidated bill is entitled “An act expanding the coverage of incentives granted to national athletes and coaches, appropriating funds therefor, repealing for the purpose R. A. 9064, also known as the ‘National Athletes, Coaches and Trainers Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001’ or ‘Sports Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001.’”

Sen. Sonny Angara, who batted for the act in the Senate, said the usual effectivity is 15 days after publication unless the law provides to forego with the time period. “But you can’t forego with the publication because that’s a due process, thus a constitutional requirement,” he pointed out. At the House of Representatives, the main proponents were Congressmen Yeng Guiao, Anthony del Rosario and Sherwin Gatchalian.

The consolidated act was sent to the President by Congress last Oct. 16. Three days later, deputy executive secretary for legal affairs Menardo Guevarra wrote Barredo to ask for his comments and recommendation by Oct. 28. Barredo replied to Guevarra in a letter dated last Oct. 20, saying “we interpose no objection … and strongly recommend and support its approval and enactment into law by President Aquino as it is consistent with provisions of R. A. 7277 (as amended by R. A. 9442), otherwise known as the ‘Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities’ and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of which we are a signatory together with over 160 countries.”

Barredo added, “In passing this bill into law, we are hopeful that our national athletes with disabilities and coaches will now receive proper benefits and incentives due them and the recognition they truly deserve also as sports heroes of our country.”

For Barredo, the long wait will soon be over. “In our original proposal, we asked for parity so that the incentive of P5 Million would be given to a Filipino athlete who wins a gold medal at the Olympics or Paralympics,” he said. “In the consolidated version submitted to the President, the incentive for an Olympic gold medalist was raised to P10 Million. A Youth Olympic and Paralympic gold medalist would receive P5 Million. We, in the differently-abled sector, couldn’t be happier with this development as finally, our participation as national athletes will be acknowledged.”

The amended act also provides an incentive of P2 Million for a gold medalist at the Asian Games, Asian Winter Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, P1 Million for a gold medalist at the Asian Para Games and world-level competitions held at least every two years with at least 45 countries participating, P500,000 for a gold medalist at the Asian Beach Games and Asian-level competitions held at least every two years with at least 25 countries participating and qualifying competitions for world-level and Asian-level games, P350,000 for a gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games and P150,000 for a gold medalist at the ASEAN Para Games.

For team events, the provision is the same incentive will be given divided equally for a gold medal winning squad of less than five participants actually present during the competition. For teams with five or more players, each participant will receive 25 percent of the incentive for an individual medalist. For demonstration or exhibition sports in the Olympics, the incentive is 25 percent of the provision for a medalist in a regular Olympic event.

The act stipulates that funding will be taken from the net cash income of PAGCOR, to be remitted directly as a special account to the PSC in addition to the regular income of the government sports agency. Additional funding requirement, if necessary, will be sourced from the 50 percent national government share in PAGCOR’s gaming revenue. Another provision is a separate fund equivalent to not less than 60 percent of the existing National Sports Development Fund of the PSC will be automatically set aside for the training and preparation of national athletes.

“Any day now, the President may sign it into law or if he doesn’t, it will lapse into law by Monday,” said Barredo. “We’re counting the days. Finally, our differently-abled athletes will be given due recognition.”