'Her smile, laughter will be a guiding light': Philippine envoy in Lebanon succumbs to COVID-19
MANILA, Philippines — Bernardita Catalla, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon, has succumbed to the new coronavirus, which is projected to infect one million people around the world in the next few days.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Catalla passed away at 12:30 a.m. at a hospital in Beirut where she was confined.
"I extended her for a freat job in a difficult job in a difficult post. I promised her Paris so she'd hang on," Locsin tweeted Thursday morning.
The late Philippine envoy has been a career diplomat for 27 years.
Amb. Bernardita M. Catalla passed away at 12:30 a.m. in the Beirut hospital where she was confined. I extended her for a great job in a difficult post. I promised her Paris so she'd hang on. But she just laughed, "Now I must learn French." She saw me to say goodbye last March 9.
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) April 2, 2020
Catalla was assigned as the country' envoy in Lebanon in January 2018. She led the voluntary mass repatriation program of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut since December 2019.
Just last month, the Philippines temporarily suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to Lebanon after Alert Level 2 was rasied, which is the "restriction phase."
The West Asian country is facing deteriorating political and economic situation.
Before her mission in Beirut, Catalla served as Consul General to Hong Kong, where she was in charge of looking over the welfare of thousands of overseas Filipinos.
She also served as passport director in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
"Bernie, as Ambassador Catalla was fondly called, has always lent a helping hand, to her family, friends and colleagues," the DFA said in a statement.
"Her ever ready smile and infectious laughter may have been extinguished but her dedication to our country will always be there as a guiding light for all members of the Philippine foreign service."
As of March 9, two Filipinos based in Lebanon tested positive for the new coronavirus. The DFA earlier reported that the two Filipinos are quarantined at a hospital in Beirut.
Data from the DFA as of April 1 showed that 401 overseas Filipinos in 32 countris and regions have contracted the infectious disease while 13 have died. Of the positive cases, 270 are undergoing treatment while 118 have recovered or have been discharged.
As of Wednesday, the Department of Health had confirmed 2,311 COVID-19 cases in the Philippines with 96 deaths.
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