Late envoy, 5 others receive pres’l awards

In Hongkong, where she served as Consul General between 2014-2017, she continues to be remembered for her active pursuit of upholding the rights of Filipino migrant workers on the island. (DFA photo via PNA)

MANILA – A presidential award was conferred posthumously on late Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Bernardita Catalla, the first senior career diplomat in active service to have died from the coronavirus disease 2019.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., on behalf of President Rodrigo Duterte, conferred the Order of Sikatuna, with the Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction on Catalla as he cited her dedication and reputation as “a diplomat who genuinely cared for Filipinos abroad.”

“In her last assignment in Beirut, she was on top of everything to do with repatriating Filipinos to safety in the pandemic. Tragically, the virus exacted the final price for ensuring the well-being of countless Filipinos that Ambassador Bernie had secured,” he said in his speech. “I once again offer my sincerest condolences to her family, and extend the nation’s gratitude for her decades of selfless service.”

The decoration, received by the late envoy’s next of kin Luisito Catalla, is the highest award conferred on an individual in the Foreign Service.

After a 27-year career in the Foreign Service, Catalla died of complications from Covid-19 in Beirut last April 2020.

In Hongkong, where she served as Consul General between 2014-2017, she continues to be remembered for her active pursuit of upholding the rights of Filipino migrant workers on the island. Rights groups hail her as an official who took their side when they fought for domestic workers to be banned from cleaning windows in high-rise buildings.

Months before her death, Catalla led the voluntary mass repatriation program of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut.

Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, meanwhile, was awarded the Gawad Mabini with the Rank of Dakilang Kamanong for his “instrumental role” in strengthening the bilateral relations between the Philippines and China.

“His deep expertise and knowledge of China has been a key element in the successful conduct of our bilateral relations with that country. Through his efforts, the heads of states of both countries conducted visits that resulted in agreements that secured Philippines’ interests and enhance its relationship with China over the long term despite differences and disagreements and changing geopolitics,” Locsin said.

Iric Arribas from the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) received the Gawad Mabini with the Rank of Dakilang Kasugo or Commander for leading the mass repatriation of at least 5,000 stranded Filipino workers of financially-strapped construction companies between 2016-2017, as well as of 5,176 undocumented workers from Saudi Arabia in 2017.

Three DFA officers — Arnaldo Mahor, Darren Bejarin, and Mark Anthony Geguera — also received the Gawad Mabini with the Rank of Kasugo or Member.

Bejarin and Geguera, both from the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai, volunteered to head to Wuhan, Hubei when the region became the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic last January.

They led the evacuation of hundreds of Filipinos, including undocumented ones, and negotiated with local authorities for their exit visas and flight clearances amid the lockdown in the region, which is one of the strictest in the world at that time.

Mahor from the DFA OUMWA, on the other hand, is recognized for his “effective, precise, and efficient” assistance in the processing of assistance to national and legal assistance funds that helped thousands of distressed Filipinos, mostly from Saudi Arabia.

The Presidential Awards are conferred upon deserving individuals who have rendered exemplary service to the people and to the nation.