The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) paid honor to its chairman and chief executive officer Richard Gordon in line with the celebration of International Volunteer Day on Monday, Nov. 5.
"Volunteerism probably runs in Gordon’s family. To be exact, he might have 'inherited' the trait from his mother. At a young age, he witnessed his mother provide care for many orphaned or abandoned children," PRC said in a statement.
Amelia, his mother, was also a PRC leader and the one who introduced Gordon to the organization, PRC said.
Gordon started volunteering in 1968 and has been in the organization for 54 years already.
Before PRC, he served as a mayor of Olongapo City and led around 8,000 volunteers in the transformation of Subic Bay into a special economic zone after the removal of the US Naval Base's operations in the area.
PRC added that Gordon was also one of the key government officials who spearheaded the Mount Pinatubo response and recovery operations in 1991.
"As chairman and CEO of PRC, Gordon would lead notable humanitarian responses, such as the Ginsaugon landslide response, the Super Ferry response, and the Super Typhoon Haiyan response, which is the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s biggest humanitarian response to date," PRC continued.
Moreover, the organization noted that Gordon's leadership was demonstrated when he and his colleagues worked hand in hand for the establishment of Covid-19 molecular laboratories in 2020.
He also collaborated with other PRC officials for the creation of Red Cross 143 volunteers in every community.
"Gordon’s influence as a Red Cross leader is far-reaching. His colleagues at the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and government disaster managers seek his wisdom from his 54 years of experience as a volunteer and leader of the PRC," said PRC.
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