A longtime driver for the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) in Western Visayas was honored at Malacañang as a recipient of the 2025 Gawad Dangal ng Bayan Award.

Cornelio T. Mabera, an administrative aide VI, was recognized during the “Pagpupugay 2025: Parangal sa mga Lingkod Bayan” ceremony.

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, representing President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., led the conferment alongside Civil Service Commission Chairperson Marilyn Barua-Yap and commissioners Ryan Alvin R. Acosta and Luis Meinrado Pañgulayan.

Mabera was among 10 individual awardees cited for extraordinary acts of public service and consistent adherence to the ethical standards mandated by Republic Act 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

As a recipient of the nation’s highest honor for civil servants, Mabera received a trophy, a gold-gilded medallion from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and a P200,000 cash prize. The award also grants him an automatic promotion to the next higher position or an equivalent salary increase.

Throughout more than 35 years of service at DoST Western Visayas, Mabera’s work has generated significant savings for the government. While serving as the full-time driver for the regional director — a role that requires frequent interaction with senior dignitaries — he was also designated assistant head of the General Services Section.

Mabera began his tenure as a lower-level aide before being promoted to Administrative Aide IV in 2009 and Administrative Aide VI in 2024.