President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conferred today the Order of Lakandula with Rank of Grand Cross (Bayani) on the late Press Secretary Cerge Remonde as he lay in state at the Heroes Hall in Malacanang Palace.

His widow, Marit Stinus-Remonde, received the posthumous award, given “for his outstanding service to the Republic of the Philippines and in recognition of his life as an exemplary media man and public servant.”

The late Cabinet Secretary’s body, brought from Heritage Park in Taguig City, will be flown to Cebu tomorrow morning.

In her speech, the President praised Remonde for his selfless dedication as a public servant and for his achievement as a journalist, noting he reached his peak in her administration.

“Cerge gave fully of himself for the sake of our country, both in government for the last nine years and in media since he was 18 years old,” the President said.

According to the President, Remonde deserved the love and adoration of friends and colleagues that are pouring on him.

“A popular radio host, Cerge interviewed me frequently on the phone in Cebuano,” the President said. “ That exposure helped me because it made many people in the Visayas and Mindanao realize that I spoke Cebuano, and that resulted in my landslide win in 1995, 1998, and 2004 in Visayas and Mindanao, where people speak the language.

“When we would discuss in caucus proposed measures that involved media, Cerge was always consulted as a stakeholder,” the President said.

“I learned to take Cerge’s opinion into account, in my work as Senator and, later, as President,” she added.