ANGELES CITY – “This honor bestowed upon me in recognition of the total of five years spent looking after our kababayan in Baghdad and Tripoli, is not mine alone.”
Thus, Kapampangan diplomat Elmer G. Cato said in a Facebook page after receiving on July 19 the presidential Gawad Mabini (Order of Mabini) award for his service in Iraq and Libya.
“I share it with the men and women who I served with in the frontlines of Iraq and Libya, who were there with me in the line of fire, in the service of the Republic of the Philippines and the Filipino people,” he added.
Now Consul General of the Philippines in Milan, Italy, Cato was bestowed the Gawad Mabini with the rank of Dakilang Kamanong (Grand Cross) by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo during the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The award was in recognition of his service in Libya during the last civil war and the coronavirus pandemic from 2019 to 2021, and in Iraq during the terror campaign of the Islamic State (ISIS) from 2015 to 2018.
Cato led DFA efforts in both countries as chargé d’affaires en pied to ensure the safety and security of Filipinos during the five years he served in Baghdad and Tripoli.
Established by Presidential Decree No. 490, the Gawad Mabini is awarded to DFA personnel for acts of merit that include the evacuation and protection of Filipinos in danger zones overseas.
In 2012, Cato received from President Benigno S. Aquino III the Gawad Mabini with the rank of Dakilang Kasugo for initiating and securing the rent-free hosting of DFA consular offices in shopping malls across the country.
A reservist with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Philippine Army, Cato is also a recipient of the Bronze Cross medal for heroism during his two-year tour of duty in Libya. Punto News Team
