TOLOSA, Leyte- Heroism, discipline and dutifulness know no boundaries. They come in different persona and from anywhere.
People who possess them may be undistinguishable but you can spot them by watching closely how they respond to the call of duty.
On Friday (Sept.6), the Civil Service Commission (CSC) honored nine individuals, one group and one posthumously in a simple ceremony 6 at the Visayas State University – Tolosa Campus for the outstanding service they rendered to the government.
CSC Regional Director Victoria Esber said the awardees have proven their “passion and willingness to serve” in public service.
Two of the awardees were declared Presidential Lingkod Bayan regional winners – Arturo Juanico, the municipal agriculturist of Tabon-Tabon, Leyte and Jose Bacusmo, Jr., former president at Visayas State University in Baybay City.
During Bacusmo’s watch as president, VSU became the country’s first state university to be given a Level IV accreditation by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines.
Research and Development and Extension Programs was also at its peak during his administration; a total of 122 research projects, 10 extension projects and 4 special projects were conducted in comparison to 68 research projects only in 1982-2012.
Three individuals and one group were given PAGASA awards — Danilo Alura, university professor, Eastern Samar State University, Borongan City; Eva Abad, provincial government department head I, PENRMO, Maasin City; Ernani Fernandez, Jr., secondary school teacher III, Department of Education –Leyte division, Palo, Leyte; and the NSU-Journal of Society and Technology (JST) management team, Naval State University, Naval, Biliran.
Alura is an international award winner author of a study “Mangrove Forest and Sea grass Bed of Balangkayan, Eastern Samar: Extent of Damage by Typhoon Yolanda” which identified resilient varieties of mangroves created to produce ten hectares rehabilitated coastline of Balangkayan, Eastern Samar.
He is also involved in hog raising, livestock, seaweed processing and coconut production, and an active livelihood trainer.
Two teachers of Alternative Learning System in Catarman, Northern Samar were given Dangal ng Bayan awards – Jay Romulo Alaras and Ellen Joy Celajes.
Alaras and Celajes would take 7 kilometers hike and cross several rivers not to mention risked his life in the NPA area to reach the Mamanwas, an illiterate indigenous group, where they became their first teachers.
They taught 62 Mamanwas how to read and write and do simple mathematics.
The family of late Arnulfo Embog, an employee of CSC field office in Catbalogan City who received the Pamanang Lingkod Bayan, was awarded with a scholarship grant and a financial assistance of P100,000.
Leyte Samar Daily Express publisher Dalmacio Grafil acted as one of the members of the regional awards committee.
(ELMER V. RECUERDO)
