The full implementation of the Republic Act No. 10699 is expected to happen in the first quarter of the coming year.
The implementing rules and regulations of the Act, also known as the “National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act,” which gives discounts and other benefits to national athletes, is now being studied by both the Philippine Sports Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
PSC Chairman William Ramirez said he expects an IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) to be issued and implemented by the first quarter of 2020, involving Sections 4 and 5 of the Act.
“We know this is long overdue, but rest assured we are doing what we can, coordinating with the concerned government agencies to effect the full implementation. We hope for the full implementation by the 1st quarter of 2020 so our athletes could swiftly avail of the benefits,” said Ramirez in a statement.
There are eight major benefits covered by the Act.
One of them is the granting “of a twenty percent (20%) discount from all establishments relative to the utilization of transportation services, hotels and other lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers and purchase of medicine and sports equipment anywhere in the country.”
The act also seeks a “minimum of twenty percent (20%) discount on admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, carnivals, and other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement for the actual and exclusive use and enjoyment of the national athlete and coach.”
It also offers free medical and dental consultations in government hospitals and similar establishments anywhere in the country.
Ramirez said that last February 27, the agency sent a letter to the BIR, seeking a follow-up on the implementation of the Republic Act 10699 in reference to the previous letters of the same nature that the PSC sent the bureau back in 2018.
The issue on the discounts for athletes was sparked by wushu champion and two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Agatha Wong, who on Saturday, took to Twitter to seek for the strict implementation of Republic Act 10699.
“Can we make R.A. 10699 on the national athlete’s discount benefits an imposed and required law to abide by?” Wong wrote in her post on Twitter.
Ramirez explained that legal counsel Atty. Michelle Labajana is in touch with the PSC on the regulation that has been submitted by the BIR to the Department of Finance.