The Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, presided today in the Throne Room of the Government Delegation in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the act of imposing Medals to the Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category.
In the event, in which the councilor in charge of Public Administrations, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, Julio Pérez, the mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Carolina Darias, and the deputy delegate of the Government in Las Palmas, Teresa Mayans, have participated, five institutions and associations and thirteen people involved in emergencies have been recognized for their commitment to civil protection and for their social exemplification and effectiveness in their work.
“Today we have recognized and recognize people and institutions that are an example to follow in the development of their commitment, beyond a mere work activity, helping those who need it most, in the worst situations imaginable. Because Spain is a country of exemplary citizens who fight every day to defend values of tolerance, respect and protection for the most vulnerable people. We are also a society that shows its recognition to those who develop civic values during their life and professional career. And we show gratitude to those who fight, with their effort and dedication, to achieve a better world,” said the government delegate in the Canary Islands.
“It is clear that the duties referred to in our Constitution can be fulfilled in a mandatory manner in accordance with the provisions of the laws, or they can also be voluntarily assumed by the citizens according to the Administration, which undoubtedly highlights the need for public recognition of the meritorious actions carried out by those who, regardless of the legal imperatives or even exceeding the level of specific demand of them, intervene in actions directly or indirectly related to the prevention and control of emergency situations in the aforementioned circumstances,” he added.
Anselmo Pestana has also highlighted how Spanish society, through the action of the Government of Spain, “has managed, after the pandemic, to stabilize an economy that advances, that grows, that creates employment and also social welfare, despite the enormous difficulties that we have all gone through and whose consequences we continue to suffer”. “Through government, our society,” he said, “is protecting the middle classes and the most vulnerable people.”
The government delegate recalled during his speech some of the emergencies faced by the Canary Islands in recent years, such as forest fires, adverse weather phenomena, the volcano of the island of La Palma or the increase in migratory flow from Africa, circumstances against which the people and institutions recognized today have carried out actions “of great merit”.
Civil Protection Merit Medals collectively
The Air Search and Rescue Service of the Air and Space Army of the Canary Islands has received the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection collectively in its bronze category and with blue badge for the rescue of migrants in a boat distant to the coast and in critical condition for human life at sea, service of extreme professionalism and risk on April 26, 2021 in El Hierro.
Also, at the proposal of the Ministry of Public Administration, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, the Medal of Merit for Civil Protection has been awarded collectively and in its bronze category and with red badge to the University of La Laguna and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the training impulse in Civil Protection and Emergency Coordination, as well as in the development of technical and scientific studies of the regulations governing Civil Protection in the Canary Islands, thus contributing to self-protection and a preventive culture of emergencies.
The Medal of Merit of Civil Protection has been awarded collectively and in its bronze category and with blue badge to the Group of Civil Protection Volunteers of the Villa de Teror for its close collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation, especially with the security and emergency operation of the Patron Festivities of the Virgen del Pino, but also in other emergencies such as forest fires.
And the non-profit entity Ayuda en Emergencies Anaga (AEA) El Hierro has received the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection collectively and in its bronze category and with blue badge for its close and invaluable collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation, especially with the Insular Directorate of the General State Administration in El Hierro.
Individual Civil Protection Merit Medals
The Government Delegation has imposed the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category with blue badge on National Police officer Francisco Vidal Martel Martel, and with red badge on Civil Guard agents José Ibán Pérez Hernández and Jéssica González Armas, for their quick and courageous actions in which they risked their lives to safeguard the life and integrity of other people in off-duty acts.
The Medal of Merit for Civil Protection has also been awarded in its bronze category and with a blue badge to Eva María Boillos Villar, Chief Commissioner of the Provincial Citizen Security Brigade of Las Palmas of the National Police for her close collaboration both at the advisory level and at the operational level with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation.
And Reinaldo Estévez Sánchez, Corporal Major of the Natural Emergencies Intervention Unit of the Canary Islands (UIEN-Canarias), has been distinguished from the Military Emergency Unit with the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with blue badge for his valuable collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation and his unconditional involvement with the emergencies at the level of civil protection of the last four years.
For his part, David Suárez Molina, territorial delegate of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) in the Canary Islands, has received the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with blue badge, for his close and invaluable collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation, General Directorate of Security and Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands, Civil Protection Services of the Island Councils and other local entities and for his dedication in facilitating the understanding of meteorological data.
Inés Galindo Jiménez, head of the Canary Islands Unit of the Geological and Mining Institute (IGME) of Spain for her close collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation and other Civil Protection services at the autonomous, insular and local level in emergencies related to geology, such as the volcanic eruptions of recent years on the island of El Hierro and La Palma, has been awarded the distinction of the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with blue distinctiveness.
And Stavros Meletlidis Tsiogalos, a volcanologist at the Geophysical Center of the Canary Islands of the National Geographic Institute of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, has been awarded the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with blue markings for his close collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation, among others, during the seismo-volcanic situations of the last twenty years in a spirit of collaboration and dissemination of transcendent information.
Likewise, the Medal of Merit for Civil Protection has been awarded in its bronze category and with blue badge to Sofía Virginia Hernández Coca, head of the Rescue Coordination Center of Las Palmas of the Society of Rescue and Maritime Safety for her close collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Delegation of the Government in the Canary Islands and her coordination with the competent bodies in the situation generated by the arrival of migrants to the Canary Islands.
Marta Moreno García, deputy director general of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands, has received the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with blue badge for her close and invaluable collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Delegation of the Government in the Canary Islands and for the operational and management work carried out in the emergencies of recent years.
The Government Delegation has also imposed the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with blue badge to Enrique Espinosa Torres, manager of the Consortium of Security, Emergencies, Rescue, Prevention and Extinguishment of Fires of the Island Council of Lanzarote for his close and invaluable collaboration with the Civil Protection Unit of the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands and other services and agencies of security, emergencies and civil protection of the island at a preventive, operational, formative and informative level.
At the proposal of the Department of Public Administration, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, Montserrat Román Casamartina, head of the Civil Protection and Emergency Care Service of the Canary Islands, has also been distinguished with the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with red badge for her professionalism and contribution to the coordinated operation of the Civil Protection System and in particular during the volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma.
And, also on the proposal of the Ministry of Public Administration, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, it has received the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in its bronze category and with red badge to Rita María Domínguez Monzón, head of the Civil Protection Unit of the Delegation of the Government in the Canary Islands, for her professionalism and commitment in the management of the aid for the repair of the damage caused by the volcanic eruption and for the economic and social reconstruction of La Palma.