Republic Act No. 6847

Title of the Act.* – This Act shall be known as "*The Philippine Sports Commission Act.*"

Declaration of Policy.* – It is the policy of the State to promote physical education, encourage and sustain the development of sports in the country to foster physical fitness, self-discipline, teamwork and excellence for the development of a healthy and alert citizenry through a unified national sports promotion and development program, and that the establishment and creation of a single, unified and integrated national sports policy-making body shall further this objective.

Creation of the Philippine Sports Commission.* – To carry out the above policy, a body corporate known as the Philippine Sports Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, is hereby created and established.

Status of the Commission.* – The Commission shall have the same status as that of a governmental regulatory national agency attached to the Office of the President with the Chairman thereof being of the same level as a department undersecretary and the Commissioners that of department assistant secretaries.

Nature of the Commission.* – The Commission shall exercise corporate powers. It shall have a seal, may sue and be sued, and shall be the sole policy-making and coordinating body of all amateur sports development programs and institutions in the Philippines: Provided, That in the case of the school sports development program, the same shall be formulated and implemented by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) with the assistance of the Commission within the framework of the national sports development program.

Objectives of the Commission.* – The Objectives of the Commission are:

Qualifications of the Chairman and the Commissioners.* – The Chairman and the Commissioners of the Commission must be citizens of the Philippines, publicly-recognized personalities in the field of sports, at least thirty (30) years of age and of good moral character.

Salaries of the Chairman and Commissioners.* – The Chairman shall receive an annual compensation and shall be entitled to other benefits and privileges provided under existing laws for an undersecretary of a department and the Commissioners to that of assistant secretaries.

Powers of the Commission.* – The Commission has the power to do all acts and things necessary to be done for or in connection with the performance of its functions, including:

The Philippine Olympic Committee shall maintain its primary responsibility for activities pertaining to the country's participation in the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games and other international athletic competitions in accordance respectively with the rules and regulations of the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia, the Southeast Asian Games Federation and other international sports bodies.

National Sports Associations.* – National sports associations, organized for their respective sports in the Philippines and/or affiliated with their respective international federations which are recognized by the International Olympic Committee, are recognized as such by the Commission.

The national sports association recognized by the Commission shall be autonomous and shall have exclusive technical control over the promotion and development of the particular sport for which they are organized, subject however to the supervisory and visitorial powers of the Commission, as provided in Section 11, paragraph (j) hereof.

Each national sports association shall, by its Constitution and by laws, determine its organization and membership: Provided, however, That no team, school, club, organization or entity shall be admitted as a voting member of a national sports association unless sixty percent (60%) of the athletes composing said team school, club, organization or entity are Filipino citizens.

The Commission recognizes the following functions, powers, duties and responsibilities of the various national sports associations:

Qualifications of Executive Director and Deputies.* – No person shall be appointed an Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director of the Commission unless he or she is a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines, at least twenty-five (25) years of age, of good moral character, a college graduate and has at least five (5) years experience in sports administration.

Functions and Responsibilities of Officers and Staff .* – The administrative services bureau shall be primarily responsible for providing services related to financial management, personnel, records, supplies and equipment, while the bureau on coordinating secretariat and support services shall be primarily responsible for plans and programs formulation, research, EDP and system management, public information and production, transportation, communications and such other functions and responsibilities as may be necessary and required by the Commission.

Appointment of Staff and Employees of the Commission.* – The staff, officers and employees of the Commission shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Commission.

Tax Exemption on the Use of Sports Facilities.* – To encourage popular participation in amateur sports, no tax of any kind shall be levied on the use of sports facilities, whether the tax be on the user, owner or operator of the sports facility.

Tax Exemptions of the Commission.* – The Commission shall be exempted from the payment of customs duties, taxes and tariffs on the importation of sportswear, equipment, supplies, instruments and materials, including those donated to the Commission, which are of international sports standard not available from local manufacturers and only in such numbers as may be required in the development of various sports and/or training of the national pool of athletes. The importation of sportswear, equipment, supplies instruments and materials donated to the Philippine Olympic Committee and, through the Commission, to the various national sports associations certified under oath by the Commission to be required and necessary for the development of sports in the country shall also be exempt from the payment of customs duties, taxes and tariffs.

Tax Deduction or Exemption of Donations and Contributions.* – All donations and contributions to the Commission in connection with its fund-raising projects and its continuing sports development programs shall be exempt from the donor's taxes, and shall be deductible in full in the computation of the taxable net income of the donor. Donations and contributions to the Philippine Olympic Committee and/or the various national sports associations certified by the Commission to be pursuant to the development of sports in the country shall likewise be exempt from the payment of the donor's and estate taxes and shall be deductible in full in computing the taxable net income of the donor.

Sports Delegations.* – The Commission and its delegation or representatives to any international sports convention, conference and meeting, and athletes, coaches and other officials to any international competition shall be exempt from the payment of travel tax, airport tax and any other travel related taxes or fees now or hereafter imposed by law or regulation.

Presidential Land Grant.* – The provisions of any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding the President may, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, grant by donation, sale, lease or otherwise, to the Commission portions of the land of the public domain as may be necessary for the establishment of regional training centers in all the regions of the country and for the accomplishment of any of its purposes.

Sports Facilities.* – The administration and full control of all existing sports facilities, including land, buildings and equipment, owned by the national government as well as those owned by government-funded foundations, associations and entities except liabilities, shall be transferred to the Commission: Provided, That the sports facilities owned by the local government units, state colleges and universities, or public schools shall remain with the said institutions or entities. In particular, the management and full control of all the land, buildings, equipment and other improvements thereon of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, and the Quezon City Velodrome shall be transferred to the Commission upon the effectivity of this Act.

The Commission shall have full control and management of the University of Life Sports Complex two (2) years from the effectivity of this, Act; and full use of and access to the facilities of sports complex immediately upon the organization and start of the operations of the Commission. The said sports complex include:

Assistance by the Government Entities.* – The Commission may call upon any government entity for assistance in the performance of its functions and duties. All heads of departments, agencies, corporations and offices of the government are hereby enjoined to render full assistance and cooperation to the Commission to ensure the attainment of its objectives and the success of the national sports development program.

Abolished Agencies.* – The Gintong Alay Foundation, Project: Gintong Alay, and all other government-funded foundations and associations related to sports are hereby abolished and their functions, applicable appropriations, records, equipment, property, rights, claims and such other incidental things as may be necessary except liabilities are transferred to the Commission. All of the said government-funded foundations and associations related to sports must turn over all their properties and function to the Commission and wind up their respective affairs within six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act: Provided, That employees of such abolished agencies, particularly the rank and file, shall be absorbed by the Commission to the extent that it is administratively feasible.

Funding.* – In order to provide the necessary funds required for the organizational and initial calendar year of operational expenditures of the Commission, the amount of Twenty-five million pesos (P25,000,000.00) from the National Treasury is hereby appropriated: Provided, That operating expenses for the Commission itself shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the annual appropriation and that at least eighty percent (80%) of said annual appropriation and all of the national sports development funds, as hereinafter provided, shall be disbursed for the national sports program, particularly in support of the identification, recruitment and training of athletes in pre-regional, regional, national and international competitions, including the implementation of the Decade of Physical Fitness and Sports: 1990-2000.

To finance the country's integrated sports development program, including the holding of the national games and all other sports competitions at all levels throughout the country as well as the country's participation at international sports competitions, such as, but not limited to, the Olympic, Asian, and Southeast Asian Games, and all other international competitions, sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee and the International Federations, thirty percent (30%) representing the charity fund and proceeds of six (6) sweepstakes of lottery draws per annum, taxes on horse races during special holidays, five percent (5%) of the gross income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, the proceeds from the sale of stamps as hereinafter provided, and three percent (3%) of all taxes collected on imported athletic equipment shall be automatically remitted directly to the Commission and are hereby constituted as the National Sports Development Fund. Further, the Philippine Postal Service Office is hereby authorized to print paper and gold stamps which shall depict sports events and such other motif as the Philippine Postal Service Office may decide, at the expense of the Commission. Any deficiency in the financial requirements of the Commission for its sports development program shall be covered by an annual appropriation passed by Congress.

Repealing Clause.* – All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, presidential proclamations, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Separability Clause.* – If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of other provisions hereof.

Effectivity.* – This Act shall take effect upon its approval and completion of publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.