THE Civil Service Commission (CSC) has paid tribute to public servant heroes – an elementary school principal and a public school teacher from Baguio City – who gave their lives in a selfless act while serving in the line of duty last year.
In simple ceremonies at the CSC Cordillera Administrative Region, certificates of recognition were conferred on the families of Dr. Brigette Galong, former principal of Bakakeng Elementary School, and Julie Paglilo teacher of Aguinaldo Elementary School, both in Baguio City.
Photos of the occasion were posted yesterday on the CSC’s official Facebook page.
The families were also handed checks for one-time cash assistance of P100,000 each under the Commissions’ Pamanang Lingkod Bayani (PLBi) Program, a mechanism to recognize civilian public servants who risk their lives or were killed in the line of duty while performing their duties and responsibilities.
Galong perished on December 8, 2023 after rescuing a drowning child at a beach resort in Bauang, La Union where the school teachers and their families gathered during a break.
Based on accounts, the child was saved but the 55-year-old principal was carried away by the current.
Paglilo, 46, reportedly collapsed while on duty as a member of the electoral board during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October 2023. The teacher, a resident of Loakan Proper, was taken to the Baguio General Hospital but succumbed to acute coronary syndrome while undergoing treatment.
According to the CSC, funding for the PLBi Program is sourced from the fundraising activities of the Commission during the month-long celebration of the Philippine Civil Service every September.
