Cheaper sports gear to encourage Pinoys to stay fit, healthy – Nograles
HOUSE Assistant Majority Leader and Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list Representative Margarita Nograles said that the government can further promote the well-being of its citizens if they are encouraged to stay fit and healthy by increasing the value of dutiable imported sporting gear and equipment.
This would give Filipinos cheaper and wider access to various sporting equipment and other health improvement gear and gadgets, encouraging them to exercise and live healthy life.
This would also allow Filipino athletes to improve their chances of winning in international competitions because they already have access to the best equipment the world can offer.
Nograles, who is a sports advocate and a health buff, said that at present, sports and health gears are “very expensive” in the Philippines because of high importation costs.
Nograles said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should consider amending its Administrative Order 02-2016, which set the ceiling for non-dutiable imported goods to P10,000 and include a special exemption for sporting and health improvement gear and goods.
She proposed that from P10,000, the tax exemption for imported sporting and health improvement equipment and goods should be increased to P50,000, the cost of a mid-level bicycle or a piece of sturdy and decent cardio equipment.
At present, a single importation of any item worth P10,000 and below is tax-exempt, but anything more than that is slapped with a 15% Customs duty and 12% Value-Added Tax (VAT).
“The P10,000 de minimis value for imported goods will remain with the exception of sporting gears and equipment. If we do this, we can have free gyms in every barangay, and we can encourage our population to have an active lifestyle. If we can have a healthy population, we will also have a healthy nation,” Nograles said.
In the long run, Nograles said the government will save billions in public health spending on various ailments related to a sedentary lifestyle, such as obesity, various types of heart diseases, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, which can lead to strokes, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and even various types of cancer.
Nograles said that based on the Department of Health (DOH) Health Policy Notes, 40 % of the country’s deaths are caused by lifestyle diseases.
“We have to invest in the health of our people by encouraging them to have a very active lifestyle. This could also encourage them to avoid disease-causing vices like smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction. This will help us have a healthy and productive population,” Nograles said.
