Jesse, Ate Vi receive Lingkod Bayan award

MANILA, Philippines - The late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was posthumously given yesterday the Presidential Lingkod Bayan award along with several other government officials, including veteran actress and now Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos.

The award, in recognition of Robredo’s exemplary service as public official, was received by his eldest daughter Aika from President Aquino at Malacañang.

Santos was accompanied by her senator-husband Ralph Recto, and sons actor Luis Manzano and Ryan Christian.

The other recipients were police Deputy Director General Arturo Cacdac, San Fernando City (Pampanga) Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, Army Maj. Harold Cabunoc, Balanga City (Bataan) Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III, Marawi City revenue officer Aminoding Macarampat, Jaime Montoya of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, Brig. Gen. Romeo Tanalgo, the Libya team of the Labor Department’s Philippine Overseas Labor Office and the Philpass Remit System of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The awardees were selected from 383 nominations submitted from all over the country through the government’s honor awards program administered by the Civil Service Commission. They were each given P200,000, a gold gilded medallion, plaque with citation, and scholarship grant. All recipients were likewise entitled to automatic promotion to the next position or equivalent salary increase.

The CSC administers the Honors Awards Program (HAP), an annual undertaking that rewards and recognizes public officials and employees for outstanding performance and/or contributions and for consistent ethical behavior.

The goal of the HAP is to motivate and inspire state workers to improve the quality of their performance and instill deeper involvement in public service.

The awarding ceremony for the 2012 Outstanding Public Officials and Employees is one of the highlights of the 112th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary celebration.

The CSC also gave recognition to this year’s six Dangal ng Bayan awardees and seven Pagasa awardees. One outstanding Dangal ng Bayan awardee was also recognized posthumously. Melania Dirain, an ecosystems management specialist of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 2 (Sanchez Mira, Cagayan), was shot dead inside her office last Feb. 7.

“Her purposive crusade against illegal logging later cost her her life. It was believed that she earned the ire of timber poachers and their cohorts. She was instrumental in the apprehension and confiscation of illegal forest products and conveyances,” CSC said.

Aquino also conferred on teacher Jocelyn Cario the Dangal ng Bayan award, as well as on Crisostomo Ibarra (Antipolo DSWD), Editha Magallanes (Capiz State University), auditor Haydee Pasuelo and Welthy Villanueva (Roxas, Palawan).

Individual Pagasa awardees were DSWD chief administrative officer Maribel Blanco, pharmacist Claire Caberoy of Roxas City in Capiz, Maragusan Mayor Cesar Colina Sr. of Compostela Valley, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority public relations officer Marilou Dungog; barangay chairman Catalino Leyva of Antipolo City, engineer Josephine Salazar of the National Irrigation Administration office in Cabanatuan City and information officer Dominador Sayre of San Fernando City.