Hontiveros, Tolentino file reso honoring Nesthy Petecio for bagging silver medal in Tokyo Olympics

Senators Risa Hontiveros and Francis Tolentino have filed separate resolutions honoring Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio for bagging a silver medal in the Women’s Featherweight Division in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Senate Resolution 882 filed by Hontiveros also commend and congratulate Petecio for making history as the first Filipina boxer to win an Olympic silver medal.

Hontiveros lauded the Filipina boxer for pursuing her Olympic goal despite her defeats in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018 professional tournaments.

“Her enthusiastic faith in the talent, capability, and potential of her fellow female athletes, especially those inclined to joint combat sports, will galvanize more women and girls to become athletes, to set more Olympic records, to break the glass ceiling in sports, and to prove that sports— and boxing— are not just for boys,” Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family, and Gender Equality, wrote in the resolution.

She added that Petecio and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist in weightlifting Hidilyn Dia, embody the new breed of Filipino athletes.

Hontiveros said these female Olympians are “bold and fierce, outspoken in advocating for their fellow athletes and undeterred by the challenges thrown their way.”

On the other hand, Tolentino honored Petecio in Senate Resolution 819 for joining the national team despite the challenges caused by poverty.

He also noted that the last time that the Philippines won an Olympic medal in boxing was at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco won a silver medal in the men’s light flyweight division.

“The honor and glory that Nesthy Petecio has brought to the country will serve as an inspiration to the youth and all Filipino athletes and will be a beacon for all future Filipino Olympians,” Tolentino wrote.

Petecio bagged the silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a close-scoring match against hometown bet Sena Irie of Japan. — Hana Bordey/RSJ, GMA News