Aquino lauds four Pinoy caregivers for helping 2011 quake victims

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III lauded four Filipino caregivers for choosing to remain and take care of their patients after a magnitude-9.1 earthquake devastated Japan in March 2011.

In his speech at the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City on Thursday, Aquino hailed the caregivers for showing to the world that “wherever Filipinos have work, they have been a force for good.” The four Filipino caregivers, who have been called the “Fukushima Heroes,” are:

• Gemma Juanay,
• Juliet Tobay,
• Sandra Otacan, and
• Mercedes Joie Aquino.

They were working in an institution for the elderly in Fukushima Prefecture, some distance away from a "no-go" zone declared by the Japanese government after the earthquake damaged a nuclear plant there.

Despite imminent danger and risk of nuclear radiation, the four caregivers remain in their jobs and cared for the elderly Japanese patients.

“They (Filipinos) have had a positive effect on their host countries, contributing their caring and nurturing characteristics to their new environments,” Aquino said.

“One of the examples I can think of is during the height of the tragedy in Fukushima, several brave, compassionate Filipino caregivers and nurses refused to abandon their patients at the height of the crisis,” he added. - VVP, GMA News