The House Committee on Youth and Sports Development on Tuesday, Sept. 21 approved a substitute measure that would establish the "Order of National Athlete" award, and would grant "sports heroes" lifetime incentives.
The still unnumbered substitute bill consolidates three House bills filed by Representatives Lawrence Fortun, Eddie Villanueva and Domingo Rivera, and Joy Myra Tambunting, who all sought to give Filipino athletes distinctive honors in recognition of their contribution to national pride and honor.
They called their bills the proposed "Bayaning Atletang Filipino Act".
Under the House bills, the Order of National Athletes shall be the highest honor that Philippine government could confer to "outstanding sport heroes who have brought immense pride and honor to the country and have dedicated their lives towards the advancement of their sports."
Athletes who will be conferred the award would be hold the title "National Athletes", and would given cash awards, monthly life pension and medical and hospitalization benefits, life insurance, as well as a state funeral upon their death.
The recognition may also be given posthumously, with cash awards to be given to the athletes' legal heirs.
The bills also proposed the creation of the "National Medal of Excellence in Sports", for "outstanding individual and team achievements in international sports competitions"; and the "Balangay Medal for Sportsmanship" for "heroic sportsmanship shown by athletes during international and local competitions exemplifying values of honesty, fairness, selflessness, sacrifice, amity, and goodwill".
Two of the bills also sought the grant of the "Coaching Excellence Medal" for coaches.
The President of the Philippines shall confer the awards upon recommendation of a committee to study the nominations, selection, and the benefits of the recipients of the awards.
Aside from the awards, the bills also sought to appropriate P1 billion as an endowment fund for the athletes, to exclusively fund the benefits provided in the proposed law. The bills called this as the "Hidylin Diaz Endowment Fund for Sports Heroes", named after Hidilyn Diaz, who bagged the Philippines' first-ever gold medal in the olympic history.
Private contributions also make up the fund, and was proposed to be exempt from income tax.