Dubai: It was not just heroes from centuries back who were remembered during events held in connection with the Philippines’ 120th Independence Day in Dubai as the country also expressed its gratitude to the unassuming ordinary folks who help out people in distress on an everyday basis.
Marco Flores, an Assistance-To-Nationals (ATN) officer at the consulate, was recognised as the Best ATN Officer this year during a ceremony at the consulate.
Flores has been an ATN officer at the consulate serving on the legal assistance desk for the past three years. His main task is to help Filipinos in distress besides those facing police cases, people in jail or those fighting court battles.
“I am happy and humbled by this merit that I received from our entire team,” Flores, 33, said with a smile. “Our job is very challenging. We do get our days off but we are on call 24/7, just like our consul-general. We’re always out doing field work, doing jail visits, going to court, everything.”
Flores and his seven colleagues at the ATN section, along with the rest of the consulate staff, were able to help 6,004 walk-in clients in 2017. The services included medical repatriation of patients from hospitals, court assistance, hospital or jail visits, or assistance in securing travel documents such as out-passes and other documents to exit the country.
Three other consulate staff were honoured for their dedication and loyalty namely, Connie Catbagan for having served 20 years in the foreign service, Jennifer Pimentel, who has completed 15 years, and Danilo Bores, who completed 10 years.
