Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas City Rep. Camille Villar on Wednesday (July 28) urged President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to confer the Philippine Legion of Honor on weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz for winning the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on July 26.
Villar filed House Resolution No. 2020 to congratulate and commend the Filipino weightlifting star for her unprecedented victory.
“It is high time to confer to the four-time Olympian the Philippine Legion of Honor (Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas) for her heart-warming victory and for uplifting national glory and pride in the world sports stage,” Villar wrote in the resolution.
The Philippine Legion of Honor, considered the highest award the President can bestow without the need for approval by Congress, is conferred upon civilians or members of the military, Filipino or foreign, in recognition of valuable and meritorious service in relation to military affairs of the Philippines.
The lone district representative said Diaz, who is a recently promoted staff sergeant of the Philippine Air Force, is a symbol of hope and unity and brought national honor before the international arena.
“In her quest to deliver the country’s first-ever gold medal in the Summer Games, the bemedalled Zamboanga City native, a silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, had to endure hardships and even depression that made her think to bow out of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, as well as lack of financial backing, restrictions, and hurdles due to the pandemic, emboldened her resolve with the moral support of her kababayans to emerge victorious in Tokyo 2020,” added Villar.
Tears of joy were shed following Diaz’s victory. The national anthem “Lupang Hinirang” was played for the first time in 32 editions of the Olympics.
Diaz arrived from Japan this afternoon, and almost immediately paid a virtual courtesy call on the President, who told her that among other incentives, “You will have one of the highest of the nation’s presidential medals — the Presidential Medal of Merit.”
According to Executive Order No. 236, series of 2003, the Presidential Medal of Merit is a recognition given by the government “for gaining prestige for the country in an international event, in the fields of literature, the sciences, the arts, entertainment, and other civilian fields of endeavor that foster national pride and artistic excellence.” – jlo
