TAGBILARAN CITY—A Boholano coast guard received an award from International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN agency, for saving 62 people in a sinking vessel in 2019, with the award ceremony being held in Manila instead of London because of the pandemic.
Ensign Ralph Ofalla Barajan, of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), was among the recipients of the IMO Award 2020 for Exceptional Bravery at Sea but he was the first Filipino and the first from Southeast Asia to have that distinction.
Barajan received the award at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday (Feb. 24) instead of London, where the awards are usually given out, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baraj…
Keep on reading: Boholano coast guard is 1st Filipino to get UN agency award for bravery at sea