House to confer Medal of Distinction on Olympic medalists Petecio, Paalam, Marcial

The House of Representatives is set to confer the Congressional Medal of Distinction to Philippine boxers and Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Marcial.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano lodged House Resolution No. 2093, congratulating, commending, and conferring the Congressional Medal of Distinction to Petecio.

Velasco said similar resolutions would also be filed for Paalam and Marcial for bringing honor to the country in the realm of boxing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Winning a medal at the Olympics was no easy feat as our boxers had to compete against the best athletes in the world,” Velasco said in a statement.

“Nesthy, Carlo and Eumir are considered as our national heroes in sports," he added.

The Congressional Medal of Distinction is given to Filipino achievers in sports, business, medicine, science, and other fields.

Velasco said it was the same award given by Congress to Filipina weightlifter and 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz five years ago when she won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The three boxers, along with fellow boxer Irish Magno and the rest of the Philippine delegation, arrived in the country on Monday afternoon.

The Philippine boxing team ended the 2020 Tokyo Olympics campaign successfully after earning three medals.

Petecio claimed a silver from the women's featherweight event, while Paalam had his own from the men's flyweight division. Marcial, on the other hand, bagged a bronze in the men's middleweight event. — DVM, GMA News