Sereno honors Yolanda rescuers, relief ops, donors as heroes

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno branded as modern-day "heroes" all the individuals and groups helping out in rescue and relief operations in the areas hit by super typhoon Yolanda.

Her statement came on the heels of the Supreme Court's sending last week a team of trained volunteers tasked to help in medical and relief efforts.

"Today, we have thousands of heroes in our midst as we face the aftermath of the greatest storm in recorded history," said Sereno in her speech during the awarding ceremony for "The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service" last week.

Sereno herself became a TOWNS awardee in 1998.

"Let me pause a minute from the task at hand and recognize the heroes, who are on the ground in Leyte: the doctors and emergency personnel, the soldiers and the police, the relief and aid workers, and the workers clearing the road for aid to get in," she added.

Leyte, particularly its capital of Tacloban City, was among the hardest hit areas by Yolanda. Latest data from the government places the death toll at 5,500, more than double what President Benigno Aquino III had earlier prjected.

Yolanda struck the central Philippines on November 8, the second super typhoon to hit the country this year.

Heroes 'far from the scene'

In her speech, Sereno said that heroism in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda was not only confined on the ground of the affected areas, but may also manifest in the farthest of places.

"There are heroes, too, who are far from the scene but whose activities are helping save lives: people, including school children, who are helping collect and repack relief goods; organizations holding concerts, rummage sales and other fund-generating activities to assist the people in the Visayas; and the many who have tapped into salaries and year-end bonuses to share in the burden of our people," Sereno said.

ERT deployment

The 50-member emergency response team deployed last week by the SC traveled to Samar and Tacloban City in Leyte, bringing with it emergency equipment and supplies with them.

The ERT went around the affected areas via three "Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW)" buses, which are normally used to house mobile courts.

Another part of the SC ERT's mission is to help locate and aid distressed court personnel in Visayas, Te added.

"We appreciate the sacrifice the ERT members and others like them in leaving their work and families to go to hard-hit areas in the Visayas and help those affected to start rebuilding their lives," Sereno said.

TOWNS awards

Sereno said that like the people helping in Yolanda relief efforts, she also considered this year's TOWNS awardees as heroes.

The chief justice said these wwardees are "trailblazers in their respective fields."

"We recognize your bodies of work that have empowered not only other women and individuals, but often entire communities. Through your endeavors, you have informed the public and decision makers of issues that need to be ingrained in their consciousness.

"But more importantly your works have pointed to solutions, showing us the way to address issues of governance, poverty, health, internal conflict, and as all of us now recognize, the issue of climate change," Sereno said.

This year's TOWNS awardees are:

- Rachelle Gerodias for the performing arts

- Amihan Ramolete for her contribution to Philippine theater arts

- Noraida Adang Abdullah Karim for social work

- Eleanor Pinugu for social enterprise and education

- Gemma Narisma for Atmospheric Science for her contribution to national understanding and relevant response to climate change

- Maricor Soriano for applied physics

- Ani Karina Brown for raising the image of Filipino women worldwide, as well as her contribution to Philippine sports

- Karen Davila for her contribution to broadcast journalism in the country

- Darlene Marie Berberabe for her contribution to government service.

In her speech, Sereno also reminded public officials to live modest and simple lives not only to allow them to perform their duties more efficiently but also to bring back the people's trust in government.

"The pages of our history books are dotted with leaders that have fallen to corruption. As they fell in disgrace, they took along the hopes of our people for a better life and their belief in the integrity of our government and institutions," she said.

"Each scandal wounded our collective spirit, from which cut cynicism had festered. As a result, our people have come to associate public office with the most insidious forms of corruption," Sereno added.

Sereno said a government worker or official's simple lifestyle must be measured from the way they dress or the car they use to how government funds in their offices are spent. She also reiterated that government officials must be transparent with their statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth.

Sereno and her fellow 14 magistrates in the Supreme Court released to GMA News Online copies of their SALNs, which revealed the chief justice being the magistrate with the sixth lowest net worth.

Sereno's latest net worth was P18,143,104.01, an increase of P113,528.50 from last year's P18,029,575.51. She has four residential lots and a memorial lot, totaling P8,973,500. She also has personal properties amounting to P10.18 million, consisting of investments, bank deposits, and four vehicles.

The chief justice's liabilities, made up of credit card payments and a housing loan balance, amounted to over P1 million. — BM, GMA News