Bill 604.

Summary.

The bill amends definitions in Law 488 of 2025. It describes sports physiotherapy as the care, rehabilitation and prevention of injuries, and a sports methodologist as a professional who advises, supervises and assesses athlete preparation. For the High Performance Sports Program, it proposes certification based on results and measurable indicators and the establishment of sports development centers in the provinces, managed by the Panamanian Sports Institute (PANDEPORTES). Resource allocations would depend on available funding and approved budget appropriations. They would cover facilities, technical personnel, training, international competition and equipment for certified athletes. The text also describes technical coordination that nominates athletes according to results and a council that approves certifications.

Administration of the Program would rest with the Technical Director of PANDEPORTES. Within the first three (3) months of each year, the director would submit a report on the preceding year's management to the council, covering objectives, beneficiaries' identities, amounts awarded, sports, events and results. The High Performance Certification Technical Commission (Comisión Técnica de Certificación de Alto Rendimiento) would include the Program's technical coordinator, representatives for evaluation and support, retired athletes, the Olympic sector and the Methodology Department of PANDEPORTES (Departamento de Metodología de PANDEPORTES). It could seek specialist assistance and would base its decisions on verifiable criteria, with reasons, impartiality and oversight under the regulations.

Athletes would fall into three groups according to Olympic or world results, Pan American or continental results, and international youth or school results achieved while representing Panama. The text allows the classification to be updated by executive decree. High performance status would require certification by resolution. Eligible federations and associations would submit candidates to the Technical Directorate of PANDEPORTES (Dirección Técnica de Pandeportes) no later than October 31 of each year. That directorate and the Olympic Committee of Panama (Comité Olímpico de Panamá) would check group eligibility and forward the list for approval no later than November 30. The bill also provides for justified exceptional requests and direct applications by athletes within the October deadline.

Certification would provide access to national centers, individual sessions with specialists at least once a week, tailored planning and recognition for one (1) year. Athletes over eighteen years of age without social security coverage through their employment could enroll voluntarily with the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social) under existing rules and agreements with PANDEPORTES. The Program would promote provincial centers subject to the budget, with staff in medicine, physiotherapy, nutrition, psychology, methodology and physical training, technological support and sports equipment. Certified status would end upon expiry, significant deterioration recommended by the coordinator, a final administrative sanction for doping or sporting misconduct, or official representation of another country. The bill also addresses national center infrastructure and allows centers, within capacity, to admit uncertified athletes for a monthly fee, giving them access to facilities and group workshops.

For sports medicine, the bill covers prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. It creates a program within PANDEPORTES to coordinate and oversee athletes' health and training condition, staffed by professionals from several disciplines. It calls for protocols to assess that condition and treat injuries, with the program responsible for updating and implementing them. As a transitional measure, the Panamanian Sports Institute (Instituto Panameño de Deportes) would prepare, update and publish the consolidated text of Law 16 of 1995 within no more than sixty (60) calendar days after the proposed law takes effect. The Executive Branch would issue regulations, and the proposed law would take effect upon promulgation. Its provisions concern the named sports and social security bodies, as well as athletes, federations, associations, and sports health and training professionals.