Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. has refiled a bill that seeks to remove the bias against women athletes, giving them opportunities and cash awards at par with those of their male counterparts.
House Bill No. 8341, or the proposed Sport Equal Opportunity Act, was referred to the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development.
The draft measure includes a penal provision where violators guilty of gender discrimination in sports could be fined up to P20,000 and be jailed from a month to three months.
According to the lawmaker, his proposed bill seeks to “grant women equal sport opportunities with men ‘to level the playing field’ so to speak with regard to the opportunities available to women and men in the province of sports.”