StoriesHonorees
Honoree · TOFF 2025HONORED 4 DEC 2025
A K9 handler’s mission to Myanmar
FO2 Bernard P. Sureta of the Daet Fire Station served on what the organizers call the BFP’s first international humanitarian mission.
Compiled from published reports2 min read
On 28 March 2025, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar. A Philippine inter-agency humanitarian contingent, with personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection among its members, deployed to help on 1 April and was heading home by 13 April.
SM Prime, which runs the search with the BFP, cites FO2 Bernard P. Sureta of the Special Rescue Force at the Daet Fire Station in Camarines Norte, Region V, for serving as a K9 handler on what it calls the BFP’s first international humanitarian mission, after the Myanmar earthquake. Reports on the contingent do not list its BFP members by name.
- 28 MAR 2025 Earthquake near Mandalay Magnitude 7.7.
- 1 APR 2025 A Philippine contingent deploys An inter-agency humanitarian team that included BFP personnel.
- 13 APR 2025 The contingent heads home Back to the Philippines after the mission.
- 28 NOV 2025 Sureta is named to the Top 20 One of 20 finalists in the 2025 search.
- 4 DEC 2025 Honored at SMX Aura One of five non-commissioned officers among the Ten.
At home in Camarines Norte
The organizers also cited him for starting free training for pet owners in Camarines Norte. The published sources do not describe the training in detail.
The honor
In December 2025, Sureta was named one of the Ten Outstanding Firefighters of the Philippines, one of five non-commissioned officers in the batch. Each honoree received a plaque, a ₱250,000 cash prize from SM Prime and the BFP’s Medalya ng Natatanging Gawa.