Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the recognition given by the Queen of England to Filipino nurse Charito Romano makes Filipinos very proud.
"Our congratulations may not be enough to express how our government is grateful to her for making our people very proud,” he said in a statement Sunday.
Bello said Romano’s outstanding performance exemplifies the Filipino virtues at work even under worst conditions and personal risks.
"What a very inspiring story for our overseas workers to start the new year," he said.
Romano was among the recipients of the Medal of the Order of the British Empire in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honours List 2021.
The New Year Honours list “recognizes the achievements and incredible efforts of hundreds of public sector and community workers” in the country and aims to “champion diversity at all levels and celebrates the breadth of service given by people from all backgrounds from all across the UK.”
Romano is working as a staff nurse at the Arbrook House Care Home in Esher, England since 2018.
During the first wave of the pandemic in March 2020, she said their manager of the nursing home trusted her to make immediate decisions to assist their patients and protect their residents and keep them safe from the virus.
She and her fellow healthcare workers worked together tirelessly to make sure that no one in the care home would be infected. All their efforts paid off as she proudly shared that from March to 29 December 2020, Arbrook House is COVID-free.
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office in London quoted Romano as having expressed gratitude to her manager for trusting her to lead their team.
“I am sharing this award to all my colleagues and to the whole Arbrook team. If not for them, I will not be able to have this award. It is a team-effort,” Charito said.