Recognizing the Achievements of Filipino Professional Athletes: A Bill Providing for Lifetime Pension and Other Benefits
Key Highlights :
The Philippines has been home to a number of professional athletes who have made their mark in international sports competitions and brought honor and glory to the country. To recognize the efforts and contributions of these athletes, a bill providing for lifetime pension as well as retirement, healthcare, and death benefits to professional Filipino athletes who emerged champions in international sports competitions has been filed in the House of Representatives.
The bill, House Bill 5161, was proposed by Representatives Paolo Duterte of Davao city, Eric Yap of Benguet and Edvic Yap of ACT-CIS party-list. According to the bill, professional Filipino athletes who win world championship titles in international professional sports competitions or in other equally prestigious world championship games will be eligible for the benefits.
The bill also creates a Professional Filipino Athletes Welfare Development Trust Fund to be administered by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB). The trust fund will be used for the continued upgrading of sports training facilities as well as accreditation and providing other forms of support to the professional athletes’ sector.
For champions in individual events in international sports competitions, the bill provides a lifetime monthly pension of at least P15,000 by the time they reach the age of 50. For champions in team events, the bill provides for a lifetime monthly pension of at least P10,000. The retirement benefits for individual events will also apply for athletes who emerge as champions in team events.
The bill also grants health care benefits to professional athletes. These include the standard benefits provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) and financial aid provided by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Additionally, the bill provides for a death benefit of P50,000 to the primary or secondary beneficiaries of deceased sports champions.
The trust fund can also accept grants and donations from national and foreign entities and individuals. An amount “not less than 80 percent for the first five years accrued from the licensing, registration and accreditation fees, fines and charges” imposed by the GAB will also be used for the fund.
The bill aims to provide support to professional athletes not only at the podium, but even beyond all their glory. It seeks to ensure that these athletes will be provided with the support they need, especially in times of medical emergencies or after retirement.
The bill cites the case of the late Filipino sports icon Lydia de Vega-Mercado, who was once dubbed the “Asia’s Sprint Queen of the 1980s” and was a multi-time gold medalist in the Asian Games, Asian Athletics Championships and Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. De Vega-Mercado passed away in August 2022 following a long battle with breast cancer, but her family had to seek financial help from the public to aid them in shouldering her medical treatment prior to her death.
The filing of the bill is a step towards recognizing the achievements of Filipino professional athletes and providing them with the support they need. The bill seeks to ensure that these athletes will be rewarded for their hard work and dedication, and that they will be taken care of even after their retirement.
