With the rise of the gaming community in the Philippines, a member of Congress vowed to combat the stigma surrounding the esports industry and gaming.

Pangasinan 4th district Rep. Christopher "Toff" de Venecia told ABS-CBN News that esports athletes are sometimes not seen as legitimate professionals since video games are often viewed "like a vice, as a distraction [or] as a form of gambling."

"[A]pplying for visas is always so difficult (for esports players). Hindi naiintindihan ng tao [at tatanungin sila ng] 'Athlete ka ba?" o 'Ano? Esports athlete?'" said de Venecia.

Filipino esports teams have faced challenges in participating in international tournaments as their visa applications or travel documents are sometimes denied or delayed due to them not being recognized as the country's representatives.

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An example of this was when PH's Bren Esports Valorant team was forced to withdraw even after qualifying for a tournament in Berlin, Germany last September 2021.

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The lawmaker said they are looking into a collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to boost the country's treatment of esports athletes when competing in the international scene.

"[W]e need some kind of information dissemination awareness building with the DFA para alam nila na 'Ah okay, this is a legitimate profession. It's a legitimate sport,'" he said.

De Venecia, who is also the chairman of the House Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts, said one of their agenda in boosting the esports industry in the country is by further putting it in the limelight.

"[W]e need to mainstream the esports agenda within the government bureaucracy kasi marami ang medyo blinded by maybe [the] wrong perception... parang the stigma ends up influencing a lot of policies that our government ends up adopting and implementing."

When asked on how the Department of Education's (DepEd) announcement regarding limiting the allowed extracurricular activities in schools, the congressman said they are looking into working with educational agencies such as the DepEd, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to address the stigma and eliminate the perception that esports is a vice or a distraction.

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The lawmaker added that they are also planning to have talks with the Department of Labor and Employment to construct better contracts protecting both the owner of the teams and the players themselves.

"Dapat nae-ensure din natin na the welfare of our athletes is taken care of. Kailangan na magkaroon ng proper regulation and implementation of the occupational safety and health standards law... and that should also cover the establishments and training grounds and camps kung saan naka-house ang ating mga esports athletes," he said.

De Venecia earlier this year pushed for a bill declaring the month of October as the National Esports Month. This is in accordance with the World Esports Day celebrated during the 23rd of October.