by Bud Omar, PHI '08B

Serving the board of the PHI international and pioneering countless socio-civic projects of and outside the fraternity, Brod Jess Φ66 is a prolific humanitarian. Recently, in recognition of his philanthropic work, he was chosen to be among this year’s Ten Outstanding Filipinos Abroad.

First launched in 1990, the award is conferred by the Filipino-American Magazine FIL-AM IMAGE to Filipinos residing abroad who are “accomplished and visible in one’s community or profession”, “active in promoting and assisting the Philippines” and are “role models and inspirations to others, especially the Filipino youth.”

From http://www.filamimage.com/2009_TOFA/2009_awardees.html:

Dr.  Jess Socrates, a devoted husband, proud father, and respected pathologist in the  rural, idyllic town of Hanover, Pennsylvania, has always pursued his passion for  community service ever since  his youthful days. He sincerely believes that each person through a genuine spirit of cooperation known as “bayanihan” can make a positive impact and influence in the lives of other people. He is deeply honored to be chosen as one of the "Twenty Outstanding Filipinos Abroad" for 2009 and attributes this recognition to his service-minded colleagues and, above all, to his compassionate and supportive wife of 32 years, Luz V. Villareal, R.N.

Dr.  Socrates is the fourth child born to longtime University of the Philippines (UP) professors, the late Drs. Jose and Nenita Socrates. He and his eight siblings spent their happy childhood years inside the prestigious UP campus in a humble, spartan home made of “sawali.” Despite their poor and simple life, their hardworking parents instilled in them the value of sound work ethic and the importance of diligence and discipline in their studies. All nine children successfully completed their college education with careers ranging from education to medical and paramedical professions. Dr. Socrates takes pride that he is a pure-blooded product of the University of the Philippines having finished his entire schooling in the UP educational system from kindergarten through medical school.

As a freshman in the UP College of Medicine, he made the crucial decision to join the Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity. He actively participated in fraternity sponsored socio-civic projects, where he discovered the joy and meaning of serving the needy and less fortunate. While working as a medical student in the free clinic for squatters relocated in Sapang Palay, he met Luz, a UP School of Nursing volunteer, who eventually became his wife.

Dr. Socrates immigrated to the United States in 1976 and completed his Pathology Residency at York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania. After his training in 1980, he was hired as an Associate Pathologist at Hanover Hospital. He has been the Laboratory Medical Director since 1988. He served as President of the Medical Staff from 1992-1994 and continues to sit in the Medical Executive Committee in his capacity as Chairman of the Pathology department.

As a caring father of two sons and a daughter, Dr. Socrates proudly claims that raising his three children despite the challenges has been the source of joy and the greatest blessings in his life. Aileen (30) Ryan (25) and Eric (22) have completed their college degrees and pursued graduate studies in the fields of education, music and science. During their younger years, he was actively involved in their school activities. He served as a President of the Home and School Association and as a Board member in the Music Association. Later on, he was chosen to be a member of the Parish Advisory Council of St. Vincent Church in Hanover. In his present home parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary, he lectors for Sunday Mass and is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

In his desire to be a productive member of his community, Dr. Socrates joined the Hanover 
Rotary Club in 2005. As a member of the Humanitarian Committee, he visited the outskirts of Davao City to investigate the possibility of building manually-pumped wells in eight communities.  He partnered with Filipino Rotarians in that city and successfully procured a grant from Rotary International that will provide funding for this project. One of the wells will be built in an elementary school with no source of running water. He is currently involved in his Rotary’s ongoing efforts to provide clean water to a remote town in Honduras and deliver free wheelchairs to Brazil.

Dr. Socrates and his US-based fraternity brothers established Phi Kappa Mu International, Inc., the non-profit arm of their fraternity, in order to share their philanthropic spirit of brotherhood. Dr. Socrates has served for ten continuous years on the Board of PHI International as Vice President, President and Immediate Past President. Throughout these years, Phi Kappa Mu has renovated several classrooms and laboratories in the UP College of Medicine. They established a "PHI Student Research Grant" for freshmen and sophomore medical students. Their "PHI Good Samaritan Program" was initiated to rescue medical students from quitting school for financial reasons. In partnership with "Free Wheelchair Mission," they distribute wheelchairs to indigent patients in the Philippines. Working along with their student brothers, they started the “Operating Room Assistance” program to facilitate the repair of children afflicted with congenital and acquired surgical defects. They partnered with Kalasag, a UP alumni organization in an effort to develop a vaccine against Dengue. Recently, the fraternity purchased a van and furnished it with surgical equipment and supplies. This “PHI van” will travel throughout the Philippines with a volunteer plastic surgeon on board, who will repair cleft lips and palates of destitute children. Finally, on the occasion of PHI's Diamond Jubilee, they spearheaded the search for three "Diamonds in the Rough" physicians who elected to practice in the underserved rural areas of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Inspired by the work of his fraternity brother, Dr. Manuel Gatchalian, Dr. Socrates joined the Foundation for Aid to Philippines, Inc. (FAPI). FAPI's mission is to "help others help themselves" through a wide array of livelihood projects. As FAPI's Vice President for Programs, Dr. Socrates built relationships with non-governmental and faith-based organizations that co-sponsor and support these livelihood programs. FAPI's projects include: herbal cultivation, seaweed farming, abaca fiber production, copra trading, cow raising, pig fattening and jewelry making. With a strong emphasis on sustainability, these livelihood programs continue to benefit small communities in the provinces of Palawan, Mindoro, Bohol, Pampanga and Quirino.

As an expression of gratitude to the University of the Philippines, Dr. Socrates serves his alma mater in different capacities. He is currently the Treasurer of the Baltimore-Washington DC Chapter of UPMASA, the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society in America. His UPMASA Chapter helps sustain the Tuberculosis DOTS clinic (Direct Observation Treatment, Short course) at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). He raised major permanent endowment funds from his PHI Fraternity brothers and Class 1973 medical school classmates. He and his parents created "Healing Hands, Humane Hearts" in honor of his parents’ personal physicians. These three funds, under the guardianship of UPMASA, have been providing scholarships, faculty assistance, research grants and building renovations in the UP College of Medicine; and have been helping meet various needs of indigent patients in PGH.  Dr. Socrates also successfully encouraged his UP High School 1966 classmates to build an endowment fund within “Friends of UP.” This fund awards scholarships to deserving UP High (now renamed UP Integrated School) graduates and provides assistance to their former teachers who are in need of help.

Dr. Socrates' energy to serve is sustained by the continuous inspiration from his wife, Luz. Every year, during the season of Advent, he and his wife host a fund-raising dinner to benefit the charities they support in the Philippines. The money raised is coursed through Phi Kappa Mu International and is distributed to the “Missionaries of the Poor” in Naga and Cebu;  and “Tuloy sa Don Bosco” in Alabang, Muntinlupa.  The “Missionaries of the Poor” is a Catholic apostolate that minister to the poorest of the poor families and to abandoned children and adults with physical and mental challenges. "Tuloy sa Don Bosco," is a residential program for homeless street children, ran by Salesian priests and brothers. The comprehensive spiritual, physical, educational, and psychological rehabilitation program that these children undergo, prepare them for a hopeful future that they would have otherwise lost in the streets. Over a hundred children with cleft lips and palates from Palawan, Isabela and Pampanga have received the “gift of smile” through these fund-raising events. An Aeta village that was displaced by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, obtained four carabaos that are necessary for their farming needs. "Kamay at Puso," a free clinic in Pampanga, received financial support to help rehabilitate children with physical and mental birth defects.

A life of dedicated “service above self” has been an enriching and rewarding experience for Dr. Socrates and has profoundly affected his outlook and the way he conducts his life. His passion for the cause and ideals he believes in is deeply rooted and nourished by his Faith in God. This is the path and the purpose he has chosen for the remainder of his life.