Reminder: National Athletes Are Entitled to a 20% Discount

(SPOT.ph) All eyes might be on the brand spankin' New Clark City Sports Hub in Capas, Tarlac as the 2019 Southeast Asian Games inches closer, but one reminder highlights an even more important factor for the upcoming competition: our athletes and coaches. 

In case you didn't know, national athletes and coaches are entitled to a 20% discount in shops, hotel and lodging, transport services, and the like as part of their privileges and benefits outlined under Republic Act 10699. The discount also applies to buying medicine and sports equipment "anywhere in the country."

National athletes and coaches can go for a break, too, and watch a movie or catch shows in "other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement" with a minimum discount rate of 20%. Medical and dental consultations in government hospitals are free. 

The reminder comes from Nikko Huelgas, a two-time triathlon gold medalist and chair of the Philippine Olympic Committee's Athlete’s Commission in an interview with Inquirer.net. "Several establishments are not even aware that athletes and coaches are entitled to such privileges," said Huelgas in the report. "There are establishments that honor our IDs. But in most cases, we have to shell out the full amount of the purchase." 

Main image courtesy of the Philippine Women’s Underwater Hockey Team/SPOT Archives.