In the past few years, the Philippines have made headlines with various sporting events. We even have Olympic gold to be proud of. But with all the glory and fame that winning a medal gives an athlete, it puts to mind one question—what exactly will a national athlete get if they win a medal in international competitions?
According to the Republic Act (RA) 10699, or "An Act Expanding the Coverage of Incentives Granted to National Athletes and Coaches, Appropriating Funds Therefor, Repealing for the Purpose Republic Act No. 9064", athletes winning gold are entitled to P300,000, silver gets you P150,000, while bronze is worth P60,000.
In the case of group sports, if the team is comprised of less than five players, the incentive money from the government will be split among all members. If the team is made up of more than five players, each player is entitled to 25% of the total amount.
Coaches are also entitled to half of the cash incentive amount. However, they must be training the winning athlete or team for at least six months prior to the international competition.
Government incentives for athletes are exempted from taxes as covered in RA 7549, or "An Act Exempting All Prizes and Awards Gained From Local and International Sports Tournaments and Competitions from the Payment of Income and Other Forms of Taxation".
This story originally appeared on SPIN.ph. Minor edits have been made by the SPOT.ph editors.