DFA Employees Feted Presidential Awards 

DFA Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., Undersecretary for Administration J. Eduardo Malaya, with the recipients, representatives of recipients of the Gawad Mabini and Order of Sikatuna

PASAY CITY 11 December 2020 – Six personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs were honored today with the Gawad Mabini and the Order of Sikatuna awards, the Presidential awards for exemplary service to the people and nation. 

The Order of Sikatuna is an order of diplomatic merit conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippines. Established by President Elpidio Quirino, it is one of the three senior honors of the Philippines, along with the Philippine Legion of Honor and the Order of Lakandula.

Named after Apolinario Mabini, the first Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the First Republic of the Philippines, the Gawad Mabini is conferred on Filipinos who have rendered distinguished foreign service, or helped promote the interests and prestige of the Philippines abroad. The ceremony, traditionally held on 22 July, the birthdate of Mabini, had been postponed due to the pandemic. Today’s awardees join luminaries in the Philippine Foreign Service awarded with the Gawad Mabini, such as Leon Maria Guerrero, Salvador Laurel, and Carlos P. Romulo. 

Conferring the awards on behalf of the President, DFA Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. recognized the following:

• Hon. Bernardita L. Catalla, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon, Order of Sikatuna, with the Rank of Datu, Gold Distinction, conferred posthumously for her work on defending the rights of Filipino workers.AsConsul General to Hong Kong between 2014-2017, Ambassador Catalla actively sided with rights groups in the fight to ban domestic workers from cleaning windows in high-rise buildings, which had resulted in several deaths. The Hong Kong government eventually introduced the ban in 2016. Months before her death, she spearheaded the voluntary mass repatriation program of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut. Ambassador Catalla served, with distinction, for 27 years in the Foreign Service. In April 2020, she succumbed to complications from COVID-19 at a hospital in Beirut.

• Hon. Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana, Philippine Ambassador to China,Gawad Mabini with the Rank of Dakilang Kamanong, whose work enabled the Philippines and China to have productive relations despite challenges. Before becoming a diplomat, Ambassador “Chito” Sta. Romana was a decorated, veteran journalist who had been covering China for thirty years. His deep understanding of the country and its people contributed to greater understanding between the two countries, leading to more stable political relations while the signing of several key economic agreements led to the Philippines becoming China’s second biggest trading partner in 2019.

• Iric C. Arribas, Career Minister, Office of Migrant Workers Affairs, Gawad Mabini with the Rank of Dakilang Kasugoor Commander, for leading the repatriation program for thousands of stranded Filipino workers from Saudi Arabia. He also led the collaboration with several government agencies to start “Job Fair sa DFA,” an initiative to help displaced OFWs find work in the country. 

• Arnaldo C. Mahor, Foreign Service Staff Officer IV, Office of Migrant Workers Affairs, Gawad Mabini with the Rank of Kasugoor Member, who, time and again, has shown dedication to assisting nationals in distress, having volunteered to join the Rapid Response Team (RRT) that repatriated Filipinos with expired visas during the amnesty period in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates; and again joining the RRT that repatriated over 7,000 OFWs stranded in Tripoli, Libya during the crisis. His initiatives also led to the improvement of the Assistance-To-Nationals (ATN)-services of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA). These included the Assistance to Nationals Shared Information Administration (ATNSIA) which resulted in the increase of the DFA’s capacity to absorb and handle requests for assistance from Filipinos throughout Saudi Arabia and beyond; and his development of a system that allowed for the disbursement of more than Php 159 Million to 58,680 cases involving repatriation, medical and welfare assistance, and other activities to support our OFWs in Saudi Arabia; 

• Sanny Darren B. Bejarin andMr. Mark Anthony Z. Geguera, bothForeign Service Staff Employee II, Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai, Gawad Mabini with Rank of Kasugo or Member for volunteering to head to Wuhan, Hubei when it served as the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020. They led the evacuation of hundreds of Filipinos, including undocumented ones, negotiating with local authorities for their exit visas and flight clearances, amidst a pandemic and one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.

Paying tribute to the awardees, Secretary Locsin remarked, “[The orders] express the highest honor and the deepest gratitude the Republic can give to civil servants in the foreign service. The President, bearing the mandate of the Filipino people, confers these honors on our colleagues on behalf of a nation grateful for the sacrifices of these exemplary civil servants.” END

Secretary Locsin, on behalf of the President, confers the Order of Sikatuna to the late Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Bernardita Catalla, who was represented by her family

Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana, conferred with the Gawad Mabini - Rank of Dakilang Kamanong, was represented by DFA Assistant Secretary of the Office of Asia and Pacific Affairs Meynardo L.B. Montealegre

Executive Director Iric Arribas of the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs was conferred with the Gawad Mabini - Rank of Dakilang Kasugo

Mr. Arnaldo C. Mahor, who was conferred the Gawad Mabini with the Rank of Kasugo or Member, was represented by Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola

Mr. Sanny Darren B. Bejarin from the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai is honored with the Gawad Mabini - Rank of Kasugo

 Mr. Mark Anthony Z. Geguera (right), viewing the ceremony from the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai, is conferred the Gawad Mabini - Rank of Kasugo (Photos by DFA-OPCD Vanessa Ubac)