House panel OKs bill granting incentives for young athletes

(FILE PHOTO) House Leaders hoist the “Win as One” sign as they vow to raise P10 million for Filipino athletes who will bring home the gold in the 30th Southeast Asian Games. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on appropriations approved Wednesday a bill seeking to grant incentives to young athletes in the country.

During its online meeting, the committee approved the substitute bill to House Bill No. 5808, also known as the “Young Athletes Assistance Act.”

The measure seeks to create the “Get Started,” “Get Going,” and “Get Playing” funds for the “strengthening of the grassroots sports programs” in the country.

Under the “Get Started” fund, young athletes shall be provided with a voucher of up to P3,000 to help pay for participation fees. These can be redeemed at a sport or recreation club registered with the program.

The “Get Going” fund, meanwhile, supports local sports and recreation organizations with funding of up to P50,000 for projects that create opportunities for more young athletes to become members.

The “Get Playing” fund seeks to improve sports facilities by providing up to P500,000 in funding to assist local sports and recreation organizations with facility development so that more young athletes are encouraged to be involved in the sport and recreation activity of their choice.

“The young promising athletes are the future of the nation’s sports program. The possibility of competing in the higher stages such as the Olympics is possible,” Rep. Jake Vincent Villa, the principal author of the measure, said in the bill’s explanatory note.

“As such, there is a need to train and develop our athletes at the earliest stages of their exposure to certain sports at a very young age,” he added.

The bill will now be transmitted to the House plenary for further debates.

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