Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Tuesday, August 31 said the unanimous passage of a bill granting tax exemptions on incentives, rewards and bonuses given to national athletes is the House of Representatives’ way of showing the gratitude of Filipinos to them.

The Lower House registered 205 affirmative and zero negative votes to pass on third and final reading House Bill 9990, known as the Hidilyn Diaz Law, that was authored by 90 lawmakers, including Velasco.

Velasco said the tax exemptions provided for under the bill “represent the token of gratitude and appreciation of Congress and the entire nation to Filipino athletes who have brought joy, pride and glory to the country.” “This is our way of giving back to our exceptional national athletes, a well-deserved reward for their perseverance and hard work,” Velasco pointed out.

Passage of the measure was inspired by the historic gold medal win of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in the recent 2020 Tokyo Games.

HB 9990 seeks to amend Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act that was enacted in 2015.

It aims to exempt from taxes the incentives, rewards, bonuses and other forms of emoluments, as well as donations, gifts, endowments and contributions, from private or public persons or entities, received by national athletes who compete or win in international sports competition.

Velasco said the proposed tax exemption shall also cover the incentives and rewards received by their respective coaches.

“With additional support and financial incentives such as those provided in HB 9990, we hope to encourage more local athletes to push themselves further and continue to bring honor to the Philippines,” he added.

Earlier, the House adopted a resolution—principally authored by Velasco, Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano—congratulating and thanking the entire Philippine Olympic delegation for its “highly successful and historic performance” in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“The exceptional and remarkable finish of the athletes and their coaches during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games highlights the indomitable Filipino spirit to rise above adversities and ushers in a new era of sports heroes who bring joy and inspiration to our fellow Filipinos amid the difficult conditions brought about by the pandemic,” the three House leaders stated in the resolution.

The congressional leaders cited how the Philippines emerged as the best performing Southeast Asian country in the Tokyo Olympics and surpassed its three bronze record set during the Los Angeles Games in 1932.

This historic breakthrough, they said, was achieved by the Philippine Olympic delegation composed of 19 athletes, with their respective coaches and trainers, who competed in 11 different sporting events.

They said Filipino athletes and their coaches “displayed their sportsmanship during the global multi-sports event and secured a spectacular four-medal haul,” including one gold by Diaz, two silver medals by Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paaalam, and one bronze by Eumir Marcial.