Tolentino hopeful national athletes will get full allowances soon

There are encouraging signs that the full allowances of the national athletes will be restored once the second edition of the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act gets off the ground.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino said efforts to bring back the monthly stipends of national team members in full have gained traction with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano supporting the cause.“With the speaker (Cayetano) on board, we are trying to put it on Bayanihan 2. Senate President Sotto also gave me a nod,” Tolentino said of his fellow legislators.

Tolentino, who represents Cavite’s eighth district, is determined to sustain the allowances of over a thousand national athletes and coaches from July to December after the Philippine Sports Commission was forced to cut the salaries in half beginning this month.

Once passed into law, Senate Bill No. 1564, or the continuation of the Bayanihan Act, removes the penal provision of Republic Act No. 11469 (Bayanihan Act 1).The bill, sponsored by Sen. Sonny Angara, will likewise expand financial assistance to various sectors, including farmers, public utility drivers, teachers and those in the creative industry affected by the COVID-19 health crisis.

“Our national athletes are the front-liners in sports. They made the country really proud after giving honor as overall champions last year [in the Southeast Asian Games],” Tolentino said. “They deserve to receive their allowances in full.” INQ