PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ignatius Michael Ingles, The Law Firm of Ingles Laurel Calderon
ing or working in the Philippines. In a nutshell, foreign athletes or coaches must secure a prear - ranged employee commercial visa (9g visa) and an alien employment permit (AEP) before work - ing in the Philippines. One of the substantial conditions to secure an AEP is the prior determination of the non- availability of a person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the same services which the foreigner will be engaged to do. This was the main issue in a 1991 Supreme Court case involving an American basketball coach employed by a professional basketball team. In that case, the Supreme Court ended up cancelling the American coach’s AEP after it found that there were other local coaches who could have done the same job. The sports landscape in the Philippines has his - torically been male-dominated and basketball- centric. However, recent trends have swayed the pendulum towards women’s sports. Collegiate and professional women’s volleyball bring in crowds of nearly 25,000 to big games, which is significantly more than the attendance numbers of a typical professional basketball game. The success of women athletes on the international stage has also shone a well-deserved light on women’s sports. Olympic gold medallist Hidilyn Diaz leveraged her success by starting a weightlifting academy for children and signing lucrative endorsement deals. The Philippine National Women’s Foot - ball Team made waves in its first appearance in the FIFA World Cup, with their success pushing for more grassroots development throughout 8. Women’s Sport 8.1 Women’s Sport Overview
the country and also earning them an enviable kit deal with Adidas. International athletes such as Maxine Esteban and Junna Tsukii have also found success in other sports such as fencing and karate. The PSC has since created a gender and devel - opment programme to hold tournaments and share updates and news about women’s sports and female athletes. Other private organisations, such as Girls Got Game, have also popped up to bolster different sports in the youth sector. Esports is extremely popular in the Philippines. Its rise from the early 2000s to the present has been exponential. It is predominantly mobile- based, with Mobile Legends: Bang Bang being the most popular game with more than 25 mil - lion monthly active users in 2020. Professional esports players ranked within the world’s top 20 for aggregate earnings in 2023, bolstered by a popularity brought about by successes in inter - national esports events (both held in the Philip - pines and abroad) and the near-celebrity status of players and gaming influencers sponsored by gaming companies. Notable deals include the launch of a gaming platform by esports gaming company Mineski Global on apps such as GCash, LYKA and Viber. The popularity of esports has also spilled into academia, with the Lyceum of the Philippines University recently launching a four-year under - graduate course specialising in Esports Man - agement and Game Design and Development. 9. Esports 9.1 Esports Overview
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