MANILA, Jan. 27 (PNA) — House independent bloc leader and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez pushed on Tuesday for a congressional resolution honoring youth volunteer Ms. Kristel Mae Padasas who died in a freak accident during the Holy Mass of Pope Francis in Tacloban City last Jan. 17.
“We should give the highest honor we can extend to her. She showed humanitarian volunteerism and gave her life for typhoon ‘Yolanda’ survivors and safety of Pope Francis. I salute her,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez was among the people who paid their last respects to Padasas, a volunteer of the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) for the Yolanda humanitarian Crisis and a native of Buhi, Camarines Sur, at her wake in her residence at Hagonoy, Taguig City.
Camarines Sur Rep. Salvio B. Fortuno filed House Resolution 1837 to honor Padasas while Parañaque City Rep. Eric Olivarez filed HR 1803 expressing the deepest condolences of the House of Representatives on her demise.
Romualdez, Fortuno and Olivarez agreed that Padasas stood as a bright example of volunteerism to Filipino youth and deserved the honor and recognition of the Filipino people.
“She must be hailed as truly a Filipino in the rare sense of the word for choosing the path to noble undertakings instead of pursuing personal growth and self-esteem,” stressed Fortuno.
The lawmakers said their move is for the House of Representatives to express its profound condolence to the family of Padasas.
She died after being hit by a collapsed scaffolding used during the Mass of His Holiness Pope Francis in Tacloban City.
The lawmakers’ move is aimed also at granting a posthumous award for Padasas noble undertakings.
She was a youth volunteer from the CRS, a non-government organization (NGO) that helped organized the preparation for the historic Mass celebrated by the Holy Father in Tacloban City.
“It was not the first time for Kristel Mae to engage in volunteer work before that fateful day as she was one of the unknown volunteers of the relief efforts in areas devastated by super typhoon Yolanda,” Fortuno pointed out.
Fortuno noted that no less than Pope Francis may have observed the rarity of Padasas’ virtues, prompting His Holiness to offer a silent prayer for her before the commencement of the program for the gathering of the youth at the Royal Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, Manila on Jan. 18, 2015.
“The kind gesture of His Holiness Pope Francis should be construed as a recognition for her noble causes, and that the government should not let her death be in vain by giving due recognition to her enviable accomplishments as a youth volunteer to serve as an inspiration to our youth,” Fortuno said. (PNA)