By Ana Rufa Padua

Representatives and senators filed resolutions following the victory of Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz after she took home the first-ever Olympic gold medal in Philippine history last July 26, Monday.

Diaz bagged the Olympic gold medal after she proved herself in the women’s 55-kg weightlifting, claiming victory with a record of 224 kilograms. 

Senate Minority Franklin Drilon was first to file a resolution to honor and commend Diaz, enumerating her previous achievements such as winning a silver medal in the 53-kg weightlifting division at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a gold medal in the 55-kg weightlifting division at the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in 2019.

Zamboanga City 2nd District Representative Manuel Dalipe also filed House Resolution 1984, commending Diaz as an athlete and as a Zamboangan, for fulfilling the pursuit of Philippines’ 97-year quest for a gold medal in the Olympics.

Partylists represented by Sarah Elago, France Castro, Carlos Zarete, Ferdinand Gaite, Eufemia Cullamat, and Arlene Brosas followed suit and filed a resolution honoring Diaz for her historic feat despite accusations of plotting against President Duterte in 2019 and voicing out her concerns regarding financial problems only to be called “big-headed” by her peers and some government officials in the same year. 

Other representatives who filed their own resolutions include Representative Joseph Bernos and Philippine Olympic Committee’s President, Abraham Tolentino.

Apart from commending Diaz, senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sonny Angara, and Francis Tolentino filed a resolution to establish the Philippine Senate Medal to be awarded to “athletes, uniformed personnel, scientists, and exceptional youth and civilians for their extraordinary service and valuable contributions to nation-building.”

Diaz is set to receive an abundance of awards, ranging from the P33 million worth of incentives from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the country’s tycoons, a house and lot from PHirst Park Homes in any of their eight communities in Luzon worth P4 million, to a  P14-M condo unit in Eastwood City from Megaworld.

The Olympic Games is an international sporting event usually held every four years involving both summer and winter sports where athletes from all over the world gather to compete in different fields of sports.

The Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 started on July 23, 2021 and is scheduled to end on August 8, 2021.

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REFERENCES:

CNN Philippines [cnnphilippines]. (2021, July 27). Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep.

Mannix Dalipe files House Resolution 1984 [Tweet]. Twitter. twitter.com/cnnphilippines/status/1419893850810634242?s=20

Go, B. (2021, July 26). Hidilyn Diaz to receive P33 million for historic Olympic gold.

Rappler. www.rappler.com/sports/hidilyn-diaz-to-receive-millions-historic-gold-tokyo-olympics

Rappler [rapplerdotcom]. (2021, July 27). PHirst Park Homes, a brand of Century Properties 

and Mitsubishi Corp, [Tweet]. Twitter. twitter.com/rapplerdotcom/status/1419923046110941186

Rivas, R. (2021, July 27). Hidilyn Diaz gets P14-million condo from Andrew Tan’s 

Megaworld. Rappler. www.rappler.com/business/hidilyn-diaz-gets-condominium-from-andrew-tan-megaworld-corporation

Santos, E. [eimorpsantos]. (2021, July 27). Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon files a 

resolution [Tweet]. Twitter. twitter.com/eimorpsantos/status/1419851295335206917?s=20

Photo Source: Vincenzo Pinto, Getty Images