Envoy hails PH nurse vested with royal UK award

FILE: Prince Charles and Filipina nurse Joyce Ongcachuy (Photo from Joyce Ongcachuy’s Facebook account via PNA)

MANILA— United Kingdom Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce congratulated on Thursday Joy Ongcachuy, the Filipina nurse, who was conferred with a royal decoration by Prince Charles in April.

“Many congratulations Joy. It was an enormous pleasure to meet you and your family earlier this year,” Pruce said.

Ongcachuy was awarded the Officer of the British Empire for her work in treating the victims of the London Bridge terrorist attack in 2017.

During a conferment ceremony in April, Ongcachuy met with Prince Charles, who she said told her “You did a great job during the incident.”

“I cannot express how grateful I am,” she was quoted as saying by an online news report on July 17.

On the night of June 3, 2017, when a terrorist plowed into the crowd and stabbed pedestrians on London Bridge, Ongcachuy was among the first responders at the Royal London Hospital.

Ongcachuy was recognized alongside 42 others, who were involved in the response to major terror incidents in 2017; and British divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, who were the first to reach the 12 boys and their coach trapped in a Thailand cave complex for 18 days.

An Officer of the Order of the British Empire award is given to those with “major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.”