Another of the Diamond Legacy Projects of the Fraternity, Empowerment through Mobility aims to provide free wheelchairs for differently-abled patients in desperate need of ambulatory assistance across the country.

The fraternity, represented by California-based brother Dr. Rufino Co, partnered with Free Wheelchair Mission, a Christian nonprofit organization based in the United States, which ships the wheelchairs. Delivered as a set of unassembled parts, the wheelchairs have been designed to be easily constructible and transportable. In the Philippines, the resident body then sought partnerships with public agencies, NGOs, media outlets, hospitals and local government units, to identify indigent beneficiaries of the wheelchairs. With the help from alumni brothers in the various locales, a total of 1650 wheelchairs have been distributed to patients from over 20 cities and municipalities; from Ilocos Sur, Quezon, Batangas, Laguna, Aurora, Tarlac, Mindoro and Palawan in Luzon; Bacolod and Iloilo in the Visayas; and Sultan Kudarat, Cagayan de Oro and Lanao in Mindanao.

A total of 200 units were also distributed to the University of the Philippines and the Philippine General Hospital. The interns and clerks in the fraternity recognized and saw first-hand the urgent need for any assistance that may be provided for the hundreds of impoverished and indigent patients in our own hospital. As doctors, fraternity members also appreciate how a wheelchair greatly eases the burden of disease and improves the quality of life of patients that have become handicapped.

Another 35 wheelchair units have been distributed to other college-based organizations in UP Manila, Diliman and Los Baños. It is hoped that in forging partnerships with other organizations, the fraternity empowered students in a worthwhile socio-civic endeavor and inspired them to venture into concrete socio-civic endeavors of their own.

Within the fraternity, the project has provided its young members with an opportunity for social outreach, hopefully instilling in these future medical practitioners a heightened The fraternity realized that with its wide network of brothers practicing in various public and private health institutions from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, it was in a particularly unique position to successfully pursue such a cause. social consciousness. In the context of a socio-civic endeavor, brothers – student or alumni alike – are likewise given opportunities to work together, pool resources and gather for a benevolent cause. For the student brothers in charge of tackling the difficult logistics of a project that is nationwide in scope, the project also offers training in leadership and organization skills.

The project was funded mostly by generous donations from the fraternity alumni - in particular by the Phi International, a non-profit, non-stock corporation created for the sole purpose of supporting the projects conceived and undertaken by the resident body. Monetary donations were also received from other partner organizations, most notably, the City Government of Manila. Funds covered logistic costs including taxes, transport and storage.

The fraternity has committed to continuing Empowerment through Mobility. Another 1100 wheelchairs have already been shipped and are expected to arrive in the country by early November. These wheelchairs are slated for distributed to an extended number of municipalities and provinces. The fraternity also endeavors to reach out to the growing elderly population in the country through targeted partnerships with select organizations. An advocacy walk and a Paralympics event in coordination with the City Government of Manila are also planned to raise awareness of the plight of the differently-abled poor.