The families of 104 fallen police officers, jail personnel and firefighters received gift items from Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur’’ Abalos Jr. in appreciation to the service of their departed loved ones who died in line of duty.
In a statement on Sunday, Dec. 17, the DILG said that similar gift-giving activities were held in other parts of the country for a total of 535 beneficiaries.
"Ginawa namin ang araw na ito (gift-giving activity) dahil ang kabayanihan ng inyong anak, ng inyong asawa na binigay ang buhay sa ating bansa ay hinding-hindi po natin makakalimutan (We held the activity this day because of the heroic acts of your children, spouses who gave up their lives for the country and i we will never forget this),’’ Abalos said.
“Most of the gift packs came from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Ayala Corporation also distributed 100 health cards while SM Malls gave away 200 stuffed toys,’’ the DILG noted.
Abalos stressed that the gift-giving activity was a simple acknowledgement and expression of their gratitude to the families of the departed personnel, whom he called the unsung heroes of our time.
"Not only did our departed personnel bear the sacrifice of giving up their lives for the country, most of all, kayo po iyon (that is you),’’ he added.
Abalos also presented tokens of appreciation to the DILG partner- stakeholders such as PCSO, Ayala Corporation, SM Malls, Donate Philippines, BJMP Mutual Benefits Association, Inc., and BJMP Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
With Abalos during the activity were PNP Chief Gen Benjamin Acorda, Jr., BFP chief Director Louie Puracan, BJMP chief Director Ruel Rivera and other DILG officials.