PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ignatius Michael Ingles, The Law Firm of Ingles Laurel Calderon
Owner and directors’ tests, such as tests on self- dealing directors, may be found in the Revised Corporation Code which apply to these sports governing bodies or NSAs. 4.3 Funding of Sport The PSC is the main governmental funding source for Philippine sports. Congress allocates PSC’s funds from the Annual General Appropria - tions Act. To augment the budget allocated by Congress, the PSC also receives a legally man - dated portion of the gross income of the PAG - COR, the government-owned and controlled corporation in charge of regulating gambling and casinos. After finding that PAGCOR had not been remit - ting the full 5% of its gross income to the PSC, the Supreme Court has recently ordered the PAGCOR to account and remit the full amount of its gross income per year from 1993 up to the present. The PSC’s funds are pooled into the National Sports Development Fund (the “NSDF” ), which finances the sports events in which the Philippines participates. As for distributing these funds to NSAs, the PSC has discretion to decide which NSA receives a portion of the NSDF and how much. Factors that influence the distribution and allocation of funds include the prestige of the sport and also the chances of securing Olympic medals for a par - ticular sport. Once the NSA receives the money, it is then held accountable by the PSC and is subject to an audit. 4.4 Recent Deals/Trends Private funds being allocated for sports is a recent trend in the Philippines to help boost sports. Seeing the success of corporate spon - sorships and investments in sports, both for- profit companies and non-profit foundations
have funnelled funds to various sports. The range of private involvement in sports in the Philippines varies, from top companies own - ing sports teams for marketing purposes to multimillion-peso sponsorships of top college and professional athletes to sports foundations (organised by wealthy philanthropists and busi - nesspeople) spending on Olympic athletes. Private funding has been considered to be one of the reasons why the Philippines has improved in international sports, as government funding is normally unsustainable to finance prolonged training and development required by high-level international athletes. 5. Intellectual Property, Data and Data Protection 5.1 Trade Marks Trade marks may be registered online with the Intellectual Property Office (the “IPO” ). Trade mark owners only get the rights in a mark through registration. Only a registered trade mark is generally protected by law. Once regis - tered therefore, third parties may not use it with - out the owner’s consent. The law prohibits the registration of a mark which: • is immoral, deceptive, or scandalous; • disparages or falsely suggests a connection with a person (whether living or dead), institu - tions, beliefs or national symbols; • brings contempt or disrepute to another; • has the flag of the Philippines (or the flag of another country) on it; • includes the name, portrait or signature of a living person, except with their consent;
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