House panel OKs tax exemptions to donations for athletes

The House committee on ways and means on Monday approved a bill granting tax exemptions to donations made to national athletes competing in international sports competitions.

House Bill 421 was approved by the panel chaired by Albay Representative Joey Salceda less than a day after Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo won his second Olympic gold medal.

Salceda, one of the principal authors of the proposed measure, said the tax exemption is important in ensuring that Filipino athletes would have enough resources to fund their training in pursuing their Olympic dream, just like Yulo who dreamed of being an Olympic champion since he was still 12 years old.

“It took him more than a decade to reach that goal in the grandest manner possible. What that teaches us is that the prize is never won on the day of the competition itself, but years before. House Bill No. 421 exempts not just the prizes that are handed out by brands and companies after the win,” he said.

“Its most important provision is that it exempts donations towards their training one year before the competition. Hard work, determination, and sheer grit through many years of training wins over talent,” he added.

Salceda said the government should incentivize the preparation, instead of the prize.

“Champions are not made overnight,” he said

Likewise, the bill provides that the exemption will cover all those donations made January 1, 2024 onwards.

Apart from exempting donations one year prior to the date of competition, Salceda said he is also looking at filing a bill which also grants tax exemptions to donations made through the Philippine Sports Commission or the Philippine Olympic Committee regardless of time.

“I would like to forward to you an additional proposal: that we not just exempt donations towards their training for one year, but to exempt donations from tax for their entire training, provided that such donations are made through the Philippine Olympic Committee or the Philippine Sports Commission,” the lawmaker said.

“At the proper time, that can be introduced in the plenary. But let me emphasize this once again: it is mere tokenism, it is mere public relations, to ride the bandwagon when the victory has already been achieved. What we need to incentivize is the investments being made on the athletes who are still working on winning medals for the country,” he added.

Speaker Martin Romualdez said the House of Representatives will give Yulo at least P6 million worth of rewards for winning two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, the first Filipino athlete to do so since the Philippines joined in 1924.

Yulo first made history on Saturday night by winning floor exercise in men's artistic gymnastics anchored on two stuck landings off his two highly difficult tumbling passes. In less than a day, he won another Olympic gold medal on vault with the highest difficulty score in the field and clean execution.

“We really have to reward them [Olympic medalists],” Romualdez said in a separate interview.

He also said that Congress is looking at increasing government benefits to medalists in the Olympics, including granting them a monthly pension and amending the Republic Act  10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.

“We are looking at giving a lifetime pension to all Filipino Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medalists which would start oce they retire from their sport or when they reach 40 years old,” Romuladez said.

“The recognition doesn’t stop when they win medals. We want to reward them with lifetime support for their basic needs. We want our athletes to enjoy what they worked very hard for,” he added.—AOL, GMA Integrated News