They are a rarity in an age when it is the norm for Filipino physicians to work and become wealthy abroad. The Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and the Rotary Club of Paco, Manila, named Dr. Vietrez Panganiban David-Abella, Dr. Mennie Cabacang and Dr. Afdal Kunting most outstanding doctors recently for their exemplary service among poor communities in the countryside. The rigid search, which was dubbed “Diamond in the Rough: The National Search for Outstanding Young Doctors in Community Setting” awarded P100,000 worth of prizes to each of the three winners. The respective communities of each of the winners will also receive the same amount, which will be utilized for sustainable projects.

Former Health Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, a former barrio doctor himself and one of the contest’s judges, shares some of the criteria used in choosing the winners: “They must have stayed for a minimum of five years in a rural area.” Pertaining to the condition of the community, Galvez adds: “It has to be one of the poorest and the candidate must be confronted with the challenges of poverty and remoteness.”

The former Health Secretary explains that a lot of considerations were also given on the creativity of the candidates in mobilizing the community to affect change. Looking back to his experience as a barrio doctor, Galvez says, “You have to extend yourself a thousand times to remedy the lack of resources.”

“Diamonds in The Rough: The National Search for Outstanding Young Doctors in the Community Setting” is part of Phi Kappa Mu’s 75th anniversary celebration, and was co-presented by Rotary Club of Paco, which saw in the project’s winners shining examples of people rendering exemplary “Service Above Self.” It aimed to recognize young doctors serving depressed and underserved communities in the country, and highlights their selfless efforts to help these areas.

DITR specified that nominees should be doctors aged 40 years old and below, so that the young doctors can serve as role models for today’s youth. The criteria for judging were the doctor’s overall impact on the community where he/she chose to serve and his/her personal contributions to the health and well-being of the community which includes empowerment of the community, scope and length of service.

The judges for DITR included former Department of Health )DOH) Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, UP Manila Chancellor Dr. Ramon Arcadio, DOH Health Human Resource and Developmental Bureau Director Dr. Kenneth Ronquillo, Philippine Medical Association Vice President Dr. Oscar Tinio, former Mayor and Galing Pook Executive Director Dr. Eddie Dorotan and Department of Social Welfare and Development Undersecretary Alicia Bala.

Dr. Vietrez Panganiban David-Abella (BSBMS’88; MD’91): A women’s champion (Luzon)

“I first thought of becoming a journalist because I love to write,” narrates Dr. Vietrez Panganiban David-Abella. Abella, who graduated from a science high school, was later persuaded by her father to take up medicine as a career. “He said that I can still be a writer once I became a doctor,” she recalls the wise advice of her father. Abella graduated from the University of the Philippines Intarmed program in 1991 and completed her general surgery training at the National Kidney and transplant Institute in 1996. “I had set my sights to practicing in the countryside even then,” she recalls.

Abella’s wish was later materialized when she was assigned to Vitac, Catanduanes, making her the first trained surgeon in the province. “I am based in the capital town of Virac, where operating facilities are located, which is also the referral center of all the other 10 towns in the area,” she narrates, adding, “It is a typhoon-battered province and is among the most economically depressed in the region.”

Now on her 12th year of service, Abella is currently the director of the Dr. Antonio P. Zantua Memorial Hospital in Virac. Besides being a full-time rural surgeon, she also writes and edits for a number of publications. Abella as a medical professional is actively involved in several advocacies that include breast cancer prevention, blood donation, water safety, feeding programs, women empowerment and childhood literacy.

Abella initiated the Catanduanes Breast Cancer Support Group, which conducts information drive and free clinics aimed at early breast cancer detection. “I am a general surgeon so I have a lot of patients with breast problems. Especially close to my heart are the breast cancer survivors, strong women who, with the added challenges of family life and career, have endured treatments, conquered their disease and have moved on in life,” she attests.

Abella intones though that things weren’t always smooth sailing and inspiring. “Some of my advocacies have brought me head-to-head with personalities that have made me consider leaving eh province. But the thought of my patients, who trusted me with their lives always kept my grounded,” she intones.

Abella’s efforts didn’t go on unnoticed among her colleagues. In 2006, during the 1st Bicol regional Assembly of Physicians, she was picked to be among the Ten Outstanding Bicolano Physicians. Abella has a profound insight on how a doctor can render greater service to his fellowmen. “To become really a part of a community, one must go out of the confines of a hospital or clinic. It is then that he will discover that health is just a small part of larger concerns.” Pertaining to her holistic approach of ministering to people she concludes: “This is what got me involved in education and livelihood programs.”

Dr. Mennie Cabacang (CBHW’89; CCHW’91; BSCH’93; MD’01): Strength in silence (Visayas)

Dr. Mennie Cabacang moves with subtle gestures and talks in a low voice. On the surface, Cabacang, 28, exudes fragile femininity not betraying the harsh realities of her job as a barrio doctor in one of the poorest municipality in the province of Eastern Samar.

While most people would see Cabacang’s work condition as austere, the young physician is thankful that she is living her dream. She shares that her family was not really financially well off and her childhood dream of becoming a doctor was only fulfilled when she became a scholar of the University of the Philippines. “The scholarship covered my tuition fee plus a modest stipend,” Cabacang recalls her student days at the UP School of Health sciences in Palo, Leyte. She said that payback for her medicine study means serving as a doctor later on for the rural communities in the country. The task would make a doctor of lesser determination cringe but it was something she yearned for.

Prior to her study of medicine, Cabacang was already a board certified midwife and nurse. On the former, she holds the distinction of being the 13th placer in the February 1991 Midwifery Board Examination. Cabacang’s ambitious move to become a doctor was anchored on her desire to do more for her countrymen.

After getting her medical license in 2003, she immediately took the plunge as a rural doctor in Maslog, Leyte. Cabacang’s dedication and mettle as a physician is evident in the fact that it took a mere two years for her to be appointed as the municipal health officer (MHO) of the area. “Maslog is actually a fifth class municipality with no doctors, no hospitals, and no road networks. The residents have no one to turn to in case of a medical emergency and that’s what motivated me to stay there,” Cabacang describes her area of work.

With Cabacang as the MHO, the Maslog rural Health Unit (RHU) soon earned the distinction of being the first RHU in Leyte to offer PhilHealth accredited benefits. While putting a premium on improving the health system of the residents, the dedicated doctor also made sure that the welfare of the health workers are taken care of. Through Cabacang’s efforts, Maslog became the first municipality in Eastern Samar to offer Magna Carta benefits to all its health workers. During her tenure as MHO of Maslog for the past six years, the municipality has been named recipient of the Green Banner Award four times. The provincial government bestows this recognition on municipalities with outstanding nutrition projects.

Cabacang has a sublime appeal to her fellow doctors and that is to heed the call of the countryside. “I hope they will give more priority to their fellow Filipinos. There are still a lot of remote areas in the country where the services of doctors are much needed,” she concludes.

Dr. Afdal Kunting: The doctor is a friend (Mindanao)

A “topnotcher” in the nursing licensure exam, Dr. Afdal Kunting could have put his excellent credential to earn good money abroad as a nurse but he opted to heed a higher calling and that is to become a doctor, his childhood dream. Kunting eventually took up medicine at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University School of Medicine. After he graduated in 1999, he straddles himself to several roles that include rural doctor, community organizer and teacher. Kunting was the municipal health officer of Sergio Somena Sr., Zamboanga del Norte from 2001 to 2008.

Knowing the value of contributions of barrio doctors to the development of a community, the young physician became a member of the proposal review team of the Training for Health Equity Network whose aim is to recruit students from ethnic and indigenous communities to become doctors, who later on will return to serve their respective hometowns.

His dedication to Islam is evident in his active participation in the Ateneo Medical Assistance for Doctorless Areas where he became instrumental in creating the Family Health GUARDIAN Program. Besides the crucial training in basic sanitation and hygiene, a salient feature of the latter is the information drive on family planning specifically designed for Muslim members of the community. Kunting also worked hard to bring in the necessary technology to ensure the safety fo drinking water in the communities he is serving.

When asked to name his most memorable anecdote as a physician, he mentioned a story about a dying elderly patient named Mrs. Alboria. “She was really cranky when I first met her,” Kunting recalls his initial meeting with the patient. The old woman was suffering from her intense pain because of severe osteoporosis and the doctor knew that the condition is irreversible. “Despite her old age, I noticed her beautiful face and I said, ‘Grandma, you’re beautiful, you must have had a lot of boyfriends before,’ and for the first time, she laughed,” Kunting narrates, continuing, “I said maybe I should go down this route—to be a friend first.” He did become a friend of the old lady, visiting her regularly even on days that she did not need a check up.

While Kunting continued to give the patient medication for pain, a sort of epiphany had hit him. “Sometimes, medicine is not about the pill but about human relationship,” he points out. He felt that by being a friend to the dying woman, he was able to improve the quality of the remaining moments of her life.

Commenting on his motivation on being a rural doctor, Kunting as the following poignant words: “There are two kinds of riches in the world: financial and social wealth. I chose to focus on social wealth.”

Article by Perry Gil S. Mallari, reprinted from The Sunday Times, 03/15/09

Filed under: up and up alumni in the news by Celeste Llaneta