The City Government of San Fernando staged anew its annual recognition of outstanding public servants, the Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE), on December 7, 2020, through a virtual ceremony.
For this year, the awarding focused on recognizing the City Government’s “heroes” in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, naming them as “Natatanging Lingkod Bayani sa Gitna ng COVID.” “During this pandemic, we have discovered several employees of our City Government who devoted, not only their time during office hours, but the entire time of their lives, to uplift the condition of our sick patients. The City salutes all of them,” said Atty. Atlee Viray, City Administrator and Chairperson of PRAISE.
For the “Natatanging Lingkod Bayani sa Gitna ng COVID,” eight employees from different task forces, including task forces “T.A.L.A” (Tourism and Local Government Assistance), “Kalinga,” “Sita,” “Border Control,” “Testing,” “Isolation,” “WASH” (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), and “Surveillance,” were shortlisted as finalists.
City Administrator’s Office’s Amalia Catacutan of Task Force Isolation was named as the grand winner of the said award.
Catacutan currently heads the Camp/Facility Management Team of the CSFP Kalingang Fernandino COVID-19 Facility in San Isidro where suspect, probable, and confirmed cases are housed.
All task forces and sections of the Incident Management Team of the City were also given recognition, for invaluable contributions to the City’s pandemic response.
Meanwhile, the regular awards for the PRAISE were also bestowed on several employees, featuring the three categories namely Lifetime Achievement Award, Career and Self-Development Award, and Special Citations.
Twelve individuals were given the Lifetime Achievement Award, a recognition given to voluntary and compulsory retirees at the age of 55 to 65 years old with at least 15 years of service.
Joining the roster of awardees were the recipients of Career and Self-Development Award, recognizing employees who have earned a second bachelor’s degree and a post-graduate degree. For this award, two were cited while a lone awardee under the Special Recognition through the Local Scholarship Program was also conferred.
Meanwhile, for the Special Citations, which are given to employees or group of employees whose achievements for the year 2019 and 2020, in local, regional, and national levels, have made a significant impact and contributions to the city government, three were awarded.
“Noong kasagsagan ng pandemiya, nakita natin na inilaan ng ating mga empleyado ang kanilang oras, maging ang kanilang buhay, sa ating responde. Hindi po magiging posible ang mga programa natin kung wala sila. Kaya naman minabuti nating i-sentro sa kanila ang PRAISE ngayon, dahil gaya nang nabanggit, sila ang ating mga makabagong bayani,” said Mayor Edwin “EdSa” Santiago.