JOJO SUGOT of the Department of Education – Cordillera Autonomous Region and Wendy Salada of the Department of Labor and Employment edged other runners to top the 10k division of the run for a cause as part of the 116th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary celebration.
The weekend race also saw Kenchen Wag-eyen of the Baguio City High School and Claire Dumulag of San Vicente Elementary School winning the 3 km category while winners in the 5 km category were Vinzon Ramos of the Baguio City High School and Gretchen Ablaza of Benguet State University.
Hundreds of government employees from the different regional line agencies and local government of Baguio City and Benguet, their relatives, students and other running enthusiasts joined the Responsive, Accessible, Courteous, and Effective Public Service to Serve Fun Run which kicked off at the Baguio Athletic Bowl.
Civil Service Commission (CSC) regional director Marilyn Taldo said the R. A. C. E. to Serve Fun Run was the official start of the 116th PCSA month-long anniversary celebration.
Aside from the promotion of healthy lifestyle with the health and wellness benefits from the fun run, Taldo said the activity was also aimed to raise funds for the Pamanang Lingkod-Bayani Program (PLBi), a special program of the CSC which seeks to recognize and reward public servants who risked their lives or died in the line of duty or performing their duties and responsibilities as public servants.
“Ang takbo ay ang pagpapakita ng malasakit sa ating kapwa kawani na namatay sa ngalan ng serbisyo publiko,” said Taldo explaining this was anchored on this year’s theme of “Sigaw ng Lingkod Bayani: Malasakit Para sa Taumbayan, Kapwa Kawani at Kalikasan.”
The CSC called on the various line agencies, local government units and other institutions and enthusiasts to participate in the run as partners of the CSC in promoting good governance, healthy lifestyle and social responsibility.
Others also joined the Cordillera Hataw and Zumba dance exercises after the fun run. Since 2013 when the PLBi was launched, at least 23 recipients were already conferred the PLBi one-time financial assistance of P100,000 each.
Recipients included the Cordillera policemen belonging to the Philippine National Police Special Action Force who were killed in the bloody Maguindanao encounter in 2015. (Redjie Melvic Cawis/PIA-CAR)