The late Lydia de Vega
Champion professional Filipino athletes--like the late great Lydia de Vega-Mercado--should be entitled to receive retirement, healthcare, and death benefits.
For this purpose, Davao City 1st district Pep. Paolo Duterte, Benguet lone district Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Edvic Yap, filed House Bill (HB) No.5161, which pursued these benefits as a way of recognizing the glory and honor that Filipino world sports champions have brought to the country.
The Filipino athletes eligible for the benefits cited under the bill are those “who [won] world championship titles in international professional sports competitions or in other equally prestigious world championship games".
Under the measure, professional athletes who won in individual events in international sports competitions shall receive a lifetime monthly pension of at least P15,000 by the time they reach the age of 50.
For winners in team events, the bill provides them with a lifetime monthly pension of at least P10,000.
“Before all their triumphs, athletes go through extreme lengths and dedicate most of their years in training to be the best at what they do. They train under high expectations and high-intensity environments, which make them more vulnerable to exhaustion, burnout, physical injuries and psychological distress,” the bill’s authors said.
“It is high time that we support our athletes, not just at the podium, but even beyond all their glory,” they added.
They recalled the case of late sports icon De Vega-Mercado, who was recognized as “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.
Before passing away on Aug. 10, 2022 following a long battle with breast cancer, De Vega’s family sought financial help from the public to help them pay for her medical expenses.
HB No.5161 also provides for the creation of a Professional Filipino Athletes Welfare Development Trust Fund, to be administered by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB).
The fund shall be used for the continued upgrading of sports training facilities so that these conform with international standards. It shall also be used for the accreditation of, and other forms of support to, the professional athletes’ sector.
The retirement benefits for individual events shall apply for athletes who emerge as champions in both individual and team efforts, the bill likewise states.
To help ailing professional Filipino sports champions, health care benefits under HB No.5161 include the standard benefits provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and financial aid provided by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Under the measure, hospital expenses incurred by the athlete in excess of the Philhealth benefit shall be shouldered by the PCSO under its Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP).
The bill also provides a death benefit of P50,000 to the primary or secondary beneficiaries of deceased sports champions to help cover funeral costs and other related expenses.