3 OUSTANDING COMMUNITY DOCTORS

NAMED THIS YEAR'S DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

by Bud Omar, PHI '08B

The awarding ceremonies for Diamonds in the Rough held at the Grand Ballroom, Century Park Hotel was a resounding success.

From among over a hundred doctors serving the depressed areas from all over the country, three were picked to be the Diamonds in the Rough:

From Luzon is Dr. Vietrez David-Abella, an Intarmed-graduate and NKTI-trained surgeon who chose to serve in rural Virac, Catanduanes. Originally from Metro Manila, she went to one of the depressed municipalities in the Bicol region, even when there was great demand for her elsewhere.

From Visayas is Dr. Mennie Cabacang, the municipal health officer of Maslog, Eastern Samar and the only doctor in the area. It was through her efforts that despite Maslog being the poorest and the least accessible municipality in Eastern Samar, it boasts of some of the best health statistics in the region.

From Mindanao is Dr. Afdal Kunting, the district health officer of Sangali, Zamboanga City and current faculty at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University – School of Medicine. An innovator, he was instrumental in setting up a water purification system that was crucial for the communities in Sergio Osmena, Zamboanga del Norte, then burdened with high incidence of water-borne diseases.

The evening started early for the awardees as they sat down for interviews with several media partners. To formally open the ceremonies, Brod Jonas Del Rosario Φ86 welcomed the crowd of distinguished guests that were in attendance. Among them were keynote speaker Senator Richard Gordon, former DOH Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, UPCM Dean Alberto Roxas, ADZU-SOM Dean Fortunato Cristobal and officers of the Rotary Club of Paco. Also in attendance were Brods Nano Dela Cruz Φ49, Ting Tiongco Φ66a, Chuck Chua Chiaco Φ67, JoeGon Gonzales Φ69, Jess Cabrera Φ71, Bunds Balgos Φ76, Randy Abdulla Φ77, Gap Legaspi Φ83, Martin Bautista Φ84, Jonas Del Rosario Φ86, Gary Mercado Φ86, Jojo Castillo Φ91, Broli Banzuela Φ2000, Ryan Bañez Φ2002, Dugz Tan Φ2002 and Vinci Villafuerte Φ2003.

Brod Ting Tiongco then gave an insightful speech on the current state of the Philippine health system, lauding the awardees for doing exactly what all Filipino doctors are expected to do.

The three winners were then introduced by Judging committee chair Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, while Superior Exemplar Bjay Pasco, Immediate Past-SE Vince Varilla, DITR Project Chair Alvin Anastacio, Senator Dick Gordon, and Rotary Club of Paco President Ms. Lucie Medina came on stage to present the awards.

For the keynote speech, Senator Richard Gordon lauded the winners for their selfless commitment to service, and even promised to send aid for their causes. Moreover, the senator offered to write a senate resolution recognizing the immense contributions of the winners in their respective communities. For PHI, he only had words of praise and implored for the continuation of such “great projects.”

Finally, Superior Exemplar BJay Pasco ended the night with heartfelt words of gratitude for all who made the project a success.

The awarding ceremonies concluded a series of activities prepared for the winners. A day before, the fraternity warmly welcomed them for lunch at a restaurant in Robinson’s Place Manila, after which they were toured around UP Manila and the PGH by Brods Joy Novero Φ82 and Bunds Balgos, along with other resident brods for courtesy calls with Chancellor Dr. Ramon Arcadio, Dean Alberto Roxas and PGH Director Carmelo Alfiler. Their next stop was the Manila City Hall where Mayor Alfredo Lim honored the winners by handing to them Keys to the City. That evening, Brods JoeGon Gonzales and Egay Ortiz Φ72 hosted the winners for dinner at the Harbor Square.

The awarding ceremonies for Diamonds in the Rough marks the completion of all the flagship projects undertaken for the frat’s diamond year.