1 DR. FRANCISCO T. DUQUE III Secretary, Department of ... - DOH

DR. FRANCISCO T. DUQUE III
Secretary, Department of Health
Founding Honorary Chairman, TOFP
@ the Launching Ceremonies
(The Outstanding Filipino Physicians)
4 P.M. National Kidney & Transplant Institute
(Introduction and protocol)
New Challenges and the Relevance
of the Annual TOFP Search
JCI Senate Philippines National President Carlos G. Co and the immediate past president
Senen P. Quiambao
The TOFP 2008 Chairman Melandrew Velasco and the immediate past chair Mars Pineda
Philhealth President Lorna O Farjardo
NKTI Executive Director Enrique Ona – one of the five maiden TOFP awardees
The TOFP Committee Members
JCI Senators present (PCSO Chair Sergio Valencia)
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
Thank you every one for gracing this launching activity for the 2 nd annual search for the
Ten Outstanding Filipino Physicians this year.
This is the 2 nd time that the Department of Health and Philhealth are hosting this search
with the JCI Senate of the Philippines to recognize our country’s finest and most heroic
doctors.
I am very happy that this year, we have added another partner in this endeavor --- no less
than the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) who is represented this evening
by my good friend, Chair Serge Valencia. Thank you Serge, for your show of support
and for PCSO’s greater than ever collaboration with DOH not only here but in many
other health programs.
To my friends, brothers and fellow leaders in the JCI Senate Philippines, we meet again.
And you know very well that I always feel at home with all of you having been with and
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among you not so long ago as the Chapter President of the Dagupan Jaycee Incorporated
along with my brother, Gonzalo.
And of course, my good friend, Chair Mel Velasco, how can I forget? You see, if not for
him, this gallant search for our best doctors would not have come to fruition. Last year,
he was the one who came to my Office and led the whole JCI Senate delegation to
convince me so persuasively, that I could not refuse, that we ought to have a yearly
recognition of our most selfless and patriotic doctors. So I said, why not? If we can’t
pay our doctors enough in kind then at least we should lavish them with what they rightly
deserve --- appreciation, honor and dignity.
As I have said before I am personally elated over the birth of the TOFP award. My late
father was a former Secretary of Health, a brilliant and dedicated health leader and the
main proponent of Medicare, now today’s Philhealth. He, I suppose, could be regarded
as a model Filipino physician --- one in whom you could sense and literally see a halo of
respect, which was a lot more common back then during the golden days of Philippine
Medicine. And so this prestigious award is just one way of paying tribute to a father
and other good Filipino doctors like him who have nothing in heart and mind but to serve
the needs of our countrymen.
Last year’s maiden search was capped by the awarding rites at the Manila Hotel. And
together with Philhealth and the JCI Senate Philippines, we pulled off a historic event
which literally hurdled the birth pains that usually come with the first born.
In my scorecard, despite the limited time and budget, the TOFP 2007 went on as
scheduled and was able to bestow awards to five outstanding Filipino physicians, whom
we are all proud of. A number of them like Dr. Ike Ona are here with us this afternoon.
(Kindly stand up and let’s give them another round of applause).
If there is any concrete achievement that Project TOFP accomplished last year, it was the
fact that it brought attention to the endemic problem of brain drain in the medical
profession.
And I need not go over the glaring statistics of how we continue to lose many of our
doctors every year because they are lured by higher paying jobs abroad. Suffice it to say,
that as one of the top exporters of physicians all globally, this has led to a crippling
situation wherein health services are not adequately delivered in many parts of the
country and tens of thousands of patients are never seen by a doctor.
The under-delivery of medical services, particularly in rural areas exacerbates the
problem of overconcentration of doctors in urban areas where medical practice is more
lucrative. Many rural municipalities have remained doctor-less for a decade or more.
And this problem can potentially become an even more disastrous brew with the recent
phenomenon where we see a decreasing trend in the passing rates in the medical licensure
exam plus less and less of our youth choosing a career in Medicine.
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Against this potentially grim scenario, we have embarked on the annual TOFP search,
hoping somehow to make a giant step in reversing the trend.
This is where the real challenge of the 2008 search for outstanding physicians comes into
play. To look for patriotic doctors who will serve as an inspiration for many others --- by
showing that caring and serving our countrymen are the best works of life – as echoed in
this year’s theme.
The main thrust for this year, and which departs from last year’s search is to hunt for
those unsung doctors in villages and underserved communities because these are the
places where true valor and heroism are tested.
This year, I expect for a quality harvest of the best Filipino doctors. And we will try to
achieve a balance in terms of geographical representation as well as expertise and
contributions to public health and the medical field.
It is my ardent wish to have more awardees from among the ranks of our rural and barrio
doctors. Hence, we have specifically amended the set of criteria for this.
This is the guidepost and the main measure for this year’s TOFP Search --- selfless
service in underserved communities. I have no doubt that given the vast experience of
JCI Senate in handling a nationwide search for the best professionals in other fields
which began with the TOYM awards, we can make a lot of difference for TOFP this year.
It is for this reason that I have tasked the Philhealth to increase its logistical support from
P500, 000 last year to P1, 000,000 so that the JCI Senate Philippines, the DOH and
Philhealth could embark on an information campaign for this nationwide undertaking.
I am happy to support the plan of the TOFP Chair to set up a TOFP Foundation to further
institutionalize the annual TOFP awards, to make sure that the search for the outstanding
Filipino physicians will go on despite the absence of one Secretary Duque or one
Philhealth President. TOFP should continue to be a prestigious and credible award
giving body like the TOYM and the TOFIL which the JCI Philippines and JCI Senate
Philippines are noted for respectively. TOFP should go on so long as there are noble
Filipino doctors who are dauntless and tireless in serving Filipino communities.
To cap, the TOFP search is a tribute to the noble examples of Filipino doctors who live
up to their Hippocratic oath. These examples are exactly what our country needs. Their
brand of quiet heroism is rare but very timely for a nation desperately in need of real selfsacrificing
leaders.
By recognizing the life-saving contributions of our doctors, we will continue to embark
on a national campaign for patriotism through TOFP.
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And I hope that other doctors and healthcare professionals will follow the lead. I
understand that the JCI Senate Philippines is also planning to launch the Florence
Nightingale Awards this time to pay tribute to Filipino nurses.
I am confident that in the coming months and years, the TOFP as a project will breed a
culture of passion, commitment and service among our medical practitioners to address
the needs of our countrymen, especially the poor and the powerless in our impoverished
rural areas.
Once again, the TOFP search is designed to bring the message to the Filipino people that
“service to humanity is the best work of life” as contained in our Jaycee creed.
So, in behalf of the Department of Health, and the many doctors, nurses and other health
professionals laboring day and night to keep our people healthy, I extend my
congratulations and best wishes to the Steering Committee.
And to the JCI Philippine Senate, I wish to assure you that the DOH and its affiliate
agencies led by Philhealth and PCSO, will continue to work hand and hand with you not
only this year but in the yearly search for the best Filipino doctors.
Thank you and good evening.
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