The Government delegate in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, presided on Monday over the official act of imposition of the medals of the Order of Civil Merit, held at the headquarters of the Government Delegation. During the event, which was attended by civil and military authorities, the trajectories of two outstanding public servants have been recognized, whose contributions have been described as "an example of professionalism, vocation of service and commitment to citizenship."
The Superior Chief of Police of Cantabria, Carmen Martínez Ruiz, has received the Order of Civil Merit in recognition of her 37 years of service in the body. Gómez de Diego has highlighted his role in "the transmission of knowledge to the new generations, as well as his contribution in historical milestones, such as the security of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and the implementation of forensic identification through DNA". In addition, the delegate has highlighted her "dedication and leadership" in key operations such as team management in the fight against jihadist terrorism and the identification of victims of the Spanair airplane crash.
For her part, the Silver Cross of the Order of Civil Merit has been awarded to María González Fonfrio, Corporal of the Civil Guard and head of the Territorial Team of the Judicial Police of Santoña. The delegate of the Government has valued her "long trajectory in the fight against organized crime" and has emphasized her "meritorious and accurate performance as an investigator", which has earned her numerous recognitions from both the chain of command and civil authorities.
In his speech, Gómez de Diego pointed out that these distinctions "value exemplary behaviors in the performance of public functions, highlighting values such as the sense of duty, loyalty and professional excellence." The delegate also stressed that "the spirit of improvement and dedication" of the decorated women constitutes "an inspiration for the whole society".
"The people we so rightly recognize today undoubtedly represent the best of our society: solidarity, the vocation of public service and the undeniable commitment to citizenship that are the values that make Cantabria a better community, and Spain, a fairer and more egalitarian country," he said.
With these words, the delegate concluded her speech by thanking "the example of public service" represented by the decorated women and encouraging them to continue to carry out their work with the same dedication and commitment, while highlighting "the presence of increasingly habitual women, who have experienced remarkable growth and the progress towards gender equality is unstoppable". He also reiterated that "the Government of Spain is committed to the essential public service such as security that, currently, has reached the historic maximum of agents of both Corps, with more than 156,400 troops."
The event was attended by the President of the Parliament of Cantabria, the Presidential Advisor, the President of the High Court of Justice of Cantabria, deputies and representatives of the security forces, who surrendered the winners in this ceremony of public recognition.
Before it began, a minute of silence was celebrated in a sign of condemnation and condolences to family and friends for the murder by gender violence of Martha Isabel, 50 years old, in the community of Murcia. So far this year the number of women killed by violence in the couple or ex-couple in Spain amounts to 45 and 1,290 since 2003.