Lawmakers to give Congressional Medal of Distinction to Dolphy

OF GAGS AND GREATNESS Filipinos, wherever they are, got their best medicine—laughter—in large doses for the past 70 years from the man known off-screen as Rodolfo Vera Quizon but Dolphy to one and all, young and old. INQUIRER PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Following Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.’s recent statement that lawmakers will look into awarding the Congressional Medal of Distinction to the late Rodolfo “Dolphy” Vera Quizon Sr., two lawmakers passed a resolution to confer the said award.

Pangasinan Representative Gina De Venecia and Bagong Henerasyon Representative Bernadette Herrera-Dy filed House Resolution 2581 which seeks to give Dolphy the highest award the House of Representatives can bestow to an exemplary individual.

Boxing champion and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao was given the Congressional Medal of Distinction back in 2010 for defeating Mexican boxer Antonio Margarito and earning his eighth world title.

Both lawmakers agreed that the King of Comedy deserved the award for his outstanding accomplishments as a stage, television and movie actor over a span of seven decades.

“Tito Dolphy was worthy of that honor, in recognition not only of his performance as an actor but more so for his role in making the Filipino people laugh amidst crisis and poverty, a feat not every actor is able to achieve while maintaining humility and kindness,” said De Venecia, the daughter of Sampaguita Pictures owner Dr. Jose “Doc”Perez.

Sampaguita was Dolphy’s home studio for ten years and it was Perez who gave him his screen name.

Herrera-Dy believes that the resolution will receive much support from their fellow lawmakers, not only because of Dolphy’s work in “championing the plight of the common man through John En Marsha” but also because of his efforts to “eradicate gender bias by portraying homosexuals in his movies.”

Recently members of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group Ladlad said that they joined the nation in mourning Dolphy’s demise as the late comedian, through his films, gave the public a peek into the lives of homosexuals in the country.

It was in the midst of the Japanese occupation that Dolphy started his career on stage, performing as a chorus dancer at age thirteen at the Avenue Theater, the Lyric Theater and the Orient Theater.
He became a household name when it comes to comedy, capping his movie career in 2010 with “Father Jejemon” and “Rosario”.

His television series “John En Marsha” in 1971 and “Home Along Da Riles” in 1992 are also considered as the two longest-running TV shows in the country.