MANILA, Philippines — The Senate awarded two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo and bronze medalists Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio with the Medal of Excellence, as well as additional cash incentives totalling to P5 million.
During a plenary session on Monday, the Senate conferred the medals to the Filipino athletes. Gymnast Yulo received P3 million while boxers Villegas and Petecio got P1 million each.
"We may be a country divided with many issues, but with this feat, we can be united in our collective celebration of the valiant athletes' victory and stellar performances," Senate President Francis Escudero said.
Senators filed multiple resolutions seeking to honor the medalists and other Philippine Olympians. Resolution No. 134 was adopted to honor all 22 athletes who took part in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The session was momentarily suspended to allow Escudero to put the Medals of Excellence on Yulo, Petecio and Villegas.
The Senate Medal of Excellence is awarded to Filipinos who garner international accolades. These include Filipinos who win the Nobel Peace Prize, the A.M. Turing Award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Olympics.
Sen. Alan Cayetano also filed a resolution honoring Philippine Olympic Committee President and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham Tolentino. Cayetano said that Tolentino would want proper funding to go to grassroots sports programs.
“When we have a medalist, we pull out the red carpet, we do everything and they deserve it. But ask each and every medalist, ang sasabihin nila sa atin: ‘sana nung nag-uumpisa palang kami, may tumulong na sa amin’,” Cayetano said.
(When we have a medalist, we pull out the red carpet, we do everything and they deserve it. But ask each and every medalist, they are going to say: ‘I wish that from the start, someone had helped us out.)