President Gloria Arroyo officially signed REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9850 "An Act declaring Arnis as the National Martial Art and Sport of the Philippines" on December 11, 2009. According to Mr.Raymond Velayo, ARNIS PHILIPPINES President, the law will preserve part of our heritage and will instill in the minds of our people the sense of nationalism, patriotism, national unity and identity.

It was Arnis Philippines headed by President Velayo who painstakingly lobbied for the approval of the Bill in both houses of Congress since the time of former Senator Orly Mercado in 1995, the late Senator Robert Barbers and Cong. Miguel Zubiri in 2001 until its passage into law by action star turned Senator Lito Lapid, Senators Miguel Zubiri, Mar Roxas, Richard Gordon, Ramon Revi ... Read more »