By Mario Casayuran
The Senate adopted on Wednesday a resolution commending the heroic services of the men and women of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) under the leadership of Admiral Joel Sarsiban Garcia in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Senate of the Philippines building (Senate of the Philippines official Facebook)
The resolution also congratulated Garcia for his "valor and dedication" as PCG commandant.
Senator Richard Gordon, who introduced Senate Resolution 436, said the PCG under the leadership of Garcia "heeded the call of duty and aided in the country’s fight against COVID-19."
He said Garcia’s men had conducted massive laboratory testing for COVID-19 to identify, treat, and isolate the positive patients, which ultimately prevented the transmission of the deadly virus that claimed the lives of more than 950 Filipinos and infected more than 18,000.
“The men and women of PCG continue to risk their lives by personally conducting the swabbing and specimen collection of thousands of repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other returning Filipinos, as well as overseeing several isolation and quarantine facilities,” Gordon said.
“The immeasurable contribution and brave and heroic services of the members and officers of the Philippine Coast Guard should be recognized and commended,” he added.
Gordon said Garcia exemplified his valor and dedication to aid the government in the “gargantuan task” of leading his men and women in the massive COVID-19 testing of more than 36,000 repatriated OFWs.
The massive COVID-19 PCR testing was done in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Task Force for Test, Trace, and Treat. Gordon is chairman of the PRC.