PingBills | Senate Resolution 850, Commending POC President Abraham Tolentino for Leadership and Support to PH Athletes in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

PingBills | Senate Resolution 850, Commending POC President Abraham Tolentino for Leadership and Support to PH Athletes in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Mr. President, in times like this where the scale of daily bad news has almost rendered positive things few and far between, it is truly a breath of fresh air to hear stories of hope and success as that of our Filipino athletes’ victory in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Without taking anything away from our athletes who have given their all in making history and bringing pride to our nation, this representation wishes to also give credit to a leader whose actions inspired and empowered his people to dream more and do more.

Mr. President, I speak of no less than Cavite 8th District Representative Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who has worn yet another challenging hat after having been elected as President of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) in 2019.

As soon as he took office, Rep. Tolentino hit the ground running to advance the welfare of our national team. For 2021, he outlined three major goals, one of which being to win the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal since 1924 in the Tokyo Olympics.

Despite the challenges brought about by the novel coronavirus, Rep. Tolentino showed his resilient leadership and profound care for the welfare of our athletes by pushing for the appropriation of funds in the 2021 national budget to bolster the training of our national athletes.

In his capacity as a legislator, he likewise introduced a P180-million allocation in the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act to benefit the athletes and coaches belonging to the national team, which include allowances and pandemic assistance.

Mr. President, history has been made when our athletes were able to bring home our first Olympic gold medal together with two silver medals and one bronze medal, thus becoming the most successful Philippine delegation in the Olympic Games.

And in this regard, we would like to express our deepest thanks to the man whose guidance and leadership led to our country being the best-performing country in Southeast Asia in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, ending Thailand’s four-peat Olympic reign in the Southeast Asian region.

For this and many other unspoken reasons, Representative Bambol Tolentino deserves no less but our snappy salute. Having said all that, this representation humbly requests the support of our colleagues for the adoption of Senate Resolution 850.

Thank you, Mr. President.

*****