The Senate Minority Bloc led by Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday honored 20 service workers, volunteers, and community frontliners whose daily acts of courage and compassion help keep communities running.
The bloc organized the activity titled “Ordinaryong Pilipino sa Ekstraordinaryong Pagkakataon: Mga Kwento ng mga Bagong Bayani sa Makabagong Henerasyon” at the Senate on September 2, 2026 in celebration of National Heroes Day.
The honorees included security guards Elmer P. Ausente and Jeffrey Resurreccion; Army reservists Abegail J. Falguera, Eva B. Sarcilla, and John Lloyd G. Tica; child advocate volunteer Sarah Tullos; missionary Ferdinand D. Medina; and SPED teacher and missionary dentist Dr. Irene S. Manalon.
Also recognized were barangay health workers Maria Noemi G. Elaba and Daisy C. Petina; nurses Belinda Cresencio De Padua and Ma. Delia O. Papa; as well as transport and delivery drivers Gerry Suba, Mary Grace Salvador, Benjie Saquing, and Bryan M. Serrano.
Completing the group were bicycle delivery rider and fire volunteer Mark Alfredo Fortunato; student and fire volunteer Japh O. Belchez; working student Franze Nathaniel R. Santiago; and service crew member Stephen Howard Rayperan.
Each of them received a token of appreciation in recognition of their “service, sacrifice, resilience, and malasakit.”
In his speech, Cayetano urged the honorees not to underestimate “the power of your story,” saying their experiences can inspire others to use their God-given gifts to help their communities.
“We’re aware that there are modern-day heroes na hindi po nabibigyan ng recognition, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a grateful nation and a grateful set of senators,” Cayetano said.
“Marami sa inyo hindi napapansin y’ung work niyo. It’s not really about credit, but really about giving inspiration na sa hirap ng buhay, sa sobrang toxic ng pulitika, mayroon pa rin talagang mga tao who go beyond,” he added.
Ordinary Filipinos, extraordinary service
Three honorees shared how ordinary Filipinos rise above their own struggles to serve others.
Among them was Elmer P. Ausente, a security guard who gained public attention after a video showed him encouraging nursing board examinees at Manila Central University through a megaphone.
Ausente, who has worked as a security guard for nearly 16 years, said he wanted to encourage examinees who arrived without family members or friends. Some later returned or contacted him to say that his words helped them face the examination and that they had passed.
He and his wife, a factory worker, support four children, three of whom are senior high school students.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako. Hindi ko po talaga inaasahan ito dahil isa lang po akong security guard sa Manila Central University. Sumigaw lang po ako para maalis po y’ung kaba ng mga examinees namin,” Ausente said.
Army reservist John Lloyd Tica, 22, shared how volunteerism became part of his life.
Tica began volunteering while he was still in college in 2022. He has since trained in first aid, basic life support, disaster risk reduction, land navigation, survival, and search-and-rescue operations.
Apart from joining rescue efforts, he teaches first aid and basic life support to students and personnel in schools and government institutions.
“Isa lang po akong ordinaryong tao, pero si God ang extraordinary. Siya ang gumamit sa akin para maging volunteer… Y’ung simpleng act natin, time, and effort, malaking bagay po para sa mga taong nangangailangan,” Tica said.
Delivery rider Bryan M. Serrano, meanwhile, recalled the moment he caught a child who fell from the second floor of a house.
Serrano was waiting for a customer when he saw the child hanging from a window. He immediately ran toward the house and caught the child, preventing serious injury.
The child’s parents later called him their son’s “guardian angel” and asked him to become the child’s godfather. Serrano said the experience made him realize that he could help save a life, something for which he remains grateful to God.
“Sa akin po, ang pagtulong ay hinihingi ng pagkakataon. Ginagamit po tayong kasangkapan ng Diyos para makatulong. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa Diyos na binigyan ako ng lakas para masagip ang buhay ng bata,” Serrano said.
Senators Pia Cayetano, Bong Go, Mark Villar, Camille Villar, Robinhood Padilla, and Imee Marcos also attended the activity to personally thank the modern-day heroes.
Cayetano said the Minority bloc would continue to complement its work of scrutinizing government, demanding accountability, and proposing solutions with efforts that directly respond to people’s needs.
“Help people more, hindi lang sa paraan ng pagfi-fiscalize, holding people accountable, at pagbibigay ng ideas, pero sa direktang tulong sa mga tao,” he said.
Cayetano has consistently said that gratitude for modern-day heroes must be matched with concrete, long-term government support. He has authored and supported bills advancing a living wage, stronger primary health care in every barangay, accessible health care, more comprehensive support for students, and better compensation for community health workers, among others.