Footballer and doctor Ana Sáenz de Pipaón Soba, civil guard Antonio Segur Alviz, member of the Canine Rescue Unit Francisco José Caparroso Hernani and eight civil guards who acted to alleviate the effects of the floods of June 21, 2023 in Huércanos, Uruñuela and Cenicero have been awarded this morning with the Merit of Civil Protection medals corresponding to the year 2023 in La Rioja.
The delegate of the Government of Spain in La Rioja, Doña Beatriz Arraiz, the President of La Rioja, Gonzalo Capellán, the General Director of Civil Protection, Virginia Barcones, the Minister of Health and Social Policies, María Martín, have been in charge of delivering these awards in the Institutional Winery of La Grajera.
These decorations of the Government of Spain, created in the Order of April 13, 1982 of the Ministry of the Interior, distinguish those who have carried out singular actions that imply notorious risk or exceptional solidarity; a singular collaboration with the competent authorities; altruistic cooperation in actions of technical, pedagogical, research, economic or social purpose; as well as continuous and relevant actions of interest to civil protection.
Winners
At the proposal of the Delegation of the Government of Spain in La Rioja, the following has been recognized:
Ana Sáenz de Pipaón Soba – Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in her category of Bronze and distinctive Red. This distinction is granted as formal recognition to this great footballer for the solidarity manifested in her condition as a doctor inside and outside the football field, by immediately attending to a player of the team she was facing, as well as by professionally surrendering during the covid-19 pandemic and in the humanitarian expedition in Ukraine to move sanitary material and train in first aid.
Antonio Segur Alviz – Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in his category of Bronze and distinctive Red. This is recognized to the civil guard for his action of immediate assistance on October 3, 2023 at the Palace of Justice in Logroño to attend to a person who suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest, to whom he initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers and made use of the defibrillator. Thanks to this diligent intervention, the stop was avoided and the affected one survived.
Francisco José Caparrosas Hernani – Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in his category of Bronze and distinctive Blue. Together with his canine companion Argui, he is recognized with this distinction for his outstanding contribution to civil protection and humanitarian assistance in areas affected by natural disasters for the search of survivors such as in the earthquakes in Morocco and Turkey, as well as for his collaboration with SOS Rioja 112 as a volunteer in the search for missing persons.
On the other hand, the Government of La Rioja proposed a eight civil guards for their actions to safeguard the safety of the people affected by the heavy rains, which caused floods on June 21, 2023 in the towns of Huércanos, Uruñuela and Cenicero. Civil guards are recognized with the Civil Protection Merit Medal in their Bronze category and distinctive Blue, to: Diego Requeijo Carballal, Sergio Casas García, Luis Ángel Palencia De La Fuente, Carlos Domarco Conde, Isaac Zárate angulo, Mario Velasco Rincón, Francisco Espejo Roldán and Edison Orlando Benítez Mejía.