PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ignatius Michael D Ingles and Daphne Marie M Gomez, Law Firm of Ingles Laurel Calderon
against their athletes. The rules and guidelines gov - erning these internal procedures are often difficult to secure, even by the athletes facing disciplinary sanc - tions themselves. However, as a minimum require - ment by law, due process must be afforded the athlete in the form of a written notice and the chance to be heard. Unfortunately, there have been cases where an athlete has been penalised even without the benefit of a notice and a chance to be heard.
a chocolate snack, Choco Mucho Flying Titans, and after a media company, Cignal HD Spikers. Brands, therefore, gain exposure through team names, logo exposure in arenas, and logo placement on jerseys. Companies, both those that own teams in profes - sional leagues and those that do not, use athletes as models in print advertising and as influencers. For example, former professional basketball player Chris Tiu has been posed for skincare adverts, and cur - rent professional player Kiefer Ravena is the brand ambassador of the Jordan Brand in Asia. Professional athletes such as Alyssa Valdez and Jia Morado de Guzman and national athletes like Alex Eala, Maxine Esteban, and Sandro Reyes are examples of influenc - ers who use Instagram to promote the brands they partner with. Professional and collegiate athletes in the Philippines are treated as celebrities. Therefore, product launch - es, store openings, and other events will have athletes on their guest lists. Sports rights-holders attract sponsor investments through airtime adverts during live events, in-arena signage and advertising, logo placement on pre-game and game uniforms, and sponsorship of key events, highlights, and promotions during the games. Typical sponsorship contracts will include the terms and obligations regarding social media engagement (what to post, when to post, how frequently to post, etc), the schedule of photo or video shoots, com - pensation, and exclusivity/non-compete clauses that may extend two to three years beyond the term of the contract. 2.3 Broadcasting Rights In the Philippines, broadcasting rights for the televised leagues are awarded through a bidding process. A memorandum of agreement details how much the deal is worth, how many years or seasons the con - tract will cover, whether the broadcasting rights are exclusive, and other relevant terms. Once broadcast - ing rights are granted to a media company, they have the right to choose which of its TV or radio stations will air the games. Media companies may also bundle
2. Commercial Rights 2.1 Sports-Related Rights
Notable sports-related commercial rights include the usual rights under the Intellectual Property Code such as trade mark and copyright. On the tax side, athletes have a right to tax exemption for any prizes and awards they win in local and international sports tournaments sanctioned by their respective sports organisations. National athletes are also granted commercial benefits in the form of 20% discounts on purchases of food, sports equipment, and medicine. This 20% discount extends to lodging and transportation expenses. Rights-holders and event organisers also have com - mercial rights over merchandising and ticketing prof - its. To protect rights-holders from the proliferation of counterfeit merchandise and the unauthorised use of marks, the Intellectual Property Code and local ordi - nances provide remedies ranging from criminal con - viction to immediate forfeiture of goods. While there is no national law that addresses and punishes ticket touting and scalping, cities that regularly host sports events have their own local ordinances that criminal - ise ticket touting and scalping. These ordinances were used to great effect during the FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup to combat the illegal sale of tickets. 2.2 Sponsorship Terms One major way sponsors use sport is to own a team in a professional league, such as the Philippine Bas - ketball Association (PBA) and the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), which operate under franchise system. For example, teams in the PBA include the Rain or Shine Elastopainters, named after a brand of paint, and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, named after a brand of gin. In the PVL, there are teams named after
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