The House of Representatives announced on Tuesday that it would also bestow the Congressional Medal of Distinction on boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial for winning two silver medals and a bronze for the Philippines in the recently concluded Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano have already filed House Resolution (HR) 2093 congratulating, commending and conferring the Congressional Medal of Distinction to Petecio for winning the country’s first Olympic silver medal in women’s boxing.
Lawmakers are also filing similar resolutions for Paalam and Marcial, who have won silver and bronze in the men’s boxing flyweight and middleweight categories, respectively.
The Congressional Medal of Distinction is given to Filipino achievers in sports, business, medicine, science, and other fields. It was the same award given by Congress to weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz five years ago when she won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Following Diaz’s historic gold medal win in the Tokyo Games, the House created the Congressional Medal of Excellence to be given exclusively to Olympic gold medalists.
A separate resolution has been filed making Diaz the first recipient of the award. The House adopted both resolutions during the plenary session held last August 3.
Velasco said the Congressional Medal of Excellence was created to give honor and commendation to “exceptional modern-day national heroes in sports who win the gold medal in the Olympics.”
“Winning a medal at the Olympics was no easy feat as our boxers had to compete against the best athletes in the world. Nesthy, Carlo and Eumir are considered as our national heroes in sports,” the House leader said.
“The award will immortalize the achievements of Olympic gold medalists and give them a legacy to leave behind by providing future generations with inspirational lessons that they can take to heart,” Velasco added.