Solon seeks pledges for cash incentive for Hidilyn Diaz

A lawmaker from Mindanao is passing the hat around the House of Representatives to raise a cash incentive of at least P1 million for Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who ended the country’s two-decade award drought in the Olympic Games by bringing home a silver medal.

Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat said House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has given him the go-signal to ask lawmakers to pledge a part of their salaries for Diaz’s cash incentive.

“We are passing a letter from the Secretary General to be signed voluntarily by each congressman [authorizing] a salary deduction [or the cash incentive], depending on how much they want to give,” Lobreagat said at a press conference Thursday.

Lobregat said he expects the pledges to reach at least P1 million as 145 of the 293-member chamber have already signed the letter his staff is passing around.

The lawmaker said he thought of giving Diaz a cash incentive because he did not want the athlete, who hails from his district, to only receive a commendation from the House for her achievement in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“I told the Speaker, when she (Diaz) comes here [at the House of Representatives], ano ang ibibigay natin? Papel lang na commendation o resolution?” Lobregat recalled.

He said he is making arrangements for the 25-year-old athlete to visit the House on August 24 to be feted by lawmakers.

The Senate earlier agreed to give cash incentive to Diaz from the chamber’s savings, although the amount has yet to be decided.

The Filipina weightlifter, who won the silver medal in the 53-kilogram weightlifting division of the quadrennial games, got P5 million from the Philippine government as part of the incentive program for athletes.

President Rodrigo Duterte added another P2-million as part of Diaz's cash reward.

In addition to giving a cash incentive to Diaz, Lobregat said he and some of his other colleagues plan to file a bill next week for donations to Olympic medalists to be exempted from donor’s tax for a period of one year if such contribution was made voluntarily and without any trade off. — RSJ, GMA News