POLICE Senior Master Sergeant Jason Magno, the police officer who tried to cover a grenade blast with his own body in Initao College, will receive the highest award given by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to recognize his heroic death.
Magno is being recommended to receive the posthumous award of the Medalya ng Kadakilaan along with his buddy Police Major Sergeant Alice Balido who also suffered serious injuries from the explosion on Thursday, November 28.
Balido is stable and is now recovering from her injuries.
This was disclosed by PNP officer-in-charge Lieutenant General Archie Francisco Gamboa who went to Magno’s wake and visited Balido at a hospital on Sunday, December 1.
“He did not die in vain. His death gave new meaning to the undying line in the PNP Hymn ‘ihandog ang iisang buhay’ (offer one’s life) which is exactly what Magno did,” Gamboa said.
“Magno, Balido and countless other police heroes who came before them, are imbued with the same patriotism of Bonifacio and our national heroes who died for our country, Gamboa said.
Magno and Balido were the first to respond at the scene when the suspect ran amok with a knife and grenade inside the campus.