The Government Delegation in Asturias will host on Thursday 26 the act of awarding eleven distinctions to recognize outstanding actions in situations of risk, emergency or catastrophe, as well as exemplary professional trajectories and commitment to the service of the State. These are eight Civil Protection Merit Medals, four of them on the occasion of the 2024 DANA; two Civil Merit Order Crosses; and a Civil Merit Order Officer Cross.
The event will be chaired by the delegate of the Government in Asturias, Adriana Lastra, and will have the participation of the Director General of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interior, Virginia Barcones, as well as the Councilor for Mobility, Environment and Emergency Management of the Principality of Asturias, Alejandro Calvo, and the Mayor of Oviedo, Alfredo Canteli.
Medals to the Merit of Civil Protection
The Medal of Merit for Civil Protection was created by Order of the Ministry of the Interior of April 13, 1982, to distinguish natural or legal persons who stand out for their activities in the protection, at a preventive and operational level, of persons and goods that may be affected by emergency situations in cases of serious risk, catastrophe or public calamity. Eight Medals in the bronze category will be awarded: three with a red badge that recognizes “acts of heroism or solidarity”, and three with a blue badge, which rewards collaborative actions.
In turn, and in application of Order INT/1492/2025 of the Ministry of the Interior, four of these medals have the character of honorary badge for participation in the emergency and security devices of DANA 2024 that seriously affected Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia and, especially, the Valencian Community.
Honorary Distinctions for the DANA 2024
Medal with blue badge:
- Lieutenant Jesús Valentín Mora Martín, head of the Citizen Security Unit (USECIC) of the Civil Guard of Asturias. He exercised the command of a functional unit displaced to the province of Valencia. Under his direction, rescues of people trapped by the floods, urgent sanitary transfers, distribution of humanitarian aid and citizen security actions were developed. Their voluntary incorporation into the device highlighted their commitment to public service.
- Food Bank of Asturias. It channeled citizen solidarity through the collection, classification and shipment of more than 100 tons of basic necessities, in coordination with SEPA, the Government Delegation and the Asturian municipalities, ensuring an effective logistical response to the most affected areas.
- Cecilia Pérez Sánchez, president of the Asturian Federation of Councils (FACC). For its work of institutional coordination from the municipal level, promoting the sending of human and material resources from the municipalities of the Principality and facilitating interadministrative collaboration in support of the Valencian Community.
Medal with red badge:
- Julio Suárez Fernández, member of the 9th Police Intervention Unit based in Oviedo. During his deployment in different Valencian localities, he assumed functions of operational responsibility, coordinating citizen security patrols in severely damaged environments and participating in humanitarian work and direct support to the affected population. His performance is part of a professional career of more than two decades in intervention units.
The rest of the Medals to the Merit of Civil Protection:
Medal with red badge:
- Gonzalo Míguez García, coordinator of the Civil Protection Volunteers Group of the City of Oviedo since 2008. For its sustained dedication, the modernization of the group and its drive for social and humanitarian initiatives, especially during the pandemic and in the mobilization of aid after DANA.
- Blanca Rosa Viejo Nava, technique in Technological Risks of the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation in Asturias. With more than 35 years of service characterized by its professionalism, responsibility and constant support to the operation of the Unit.
With distinctive blue, it recognizes collaborative actions. It will be handed over to the civil guards Javier Martín del Río and Alfredo González Luna, for their intervention in the fire of the residence ‘Ave María’, in La Barganiza (Siero), where they collaborated in the rescue and assistance of residents despite being affected by smoke inhalation during the performance.
Order of Civil Merit
The Order of Civil Merit was instituted by King Don Alfonso XIII, by Royal Decree of June 25, 1926, to reward “the civic virtues of officials in the service of the State, as well as the extraordinary services of Spanish and foreign citizens in the good of the Nation”. Currently, the Regulation of the Order of Civil Merit approved by Royal Decree 2.396/1998, of November 6, establishes that its purpose is to “reward civil merits, acquired by personnel dependent on one of the Public Administrations, or by persons outside the Administration, who provide or have provided relevant services to the State, with extraordinary work, profitable initiatives, or with exemplary consistency in the fulfillment of their duties.”
The Order consists of several degrees. In the act of the 26th, two Crosses and an Officer’s Cross will be delivered.
Cross of the Order of Civil Merit
- Captain Pablo Villabrille Sampedro, head of the Rescue and Mountain Intervention Group (GREIM) of the Civil Guard in Cangas de Onís. For his leadership in rescues and searches of missing persons and his outstanding professional career.
- Inspector Fernando Martín Garmón Mayo, head of the Technological and Economic Crimes Group of the Higher Police Headquarters of Asturias. For his specialization and leadership in the investigation of technological and economic crimes.
Cross of Officer of the Order of Civil Merit
- Commissioner Manuel Díaz-Faes Espiago, Regional Chief of Operations of the Higher Police Headquarters of Asturias. For his long professional career and his work of operational coordination at the head of different police units.