Slain doctor gets posthumous award

MANILA, Philippines -  The Department of Health (DOH) has posthumously bestowed the Bayani ng Kalusugan award to the municipal health officer of Sapada town in Lanao del Norte who was gunned down on Wednesday night.

Perlas was deployed to Lanao de Norte under the Doctors to the Barrios program of the DOH after he passed the licensure examination in 2012.

 He was offered the job of municipal health officer after completing the program. 

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said Sapada had no doctor for more than 10 years before Perlas took the job. 

In a statement, the World Health Organization (WHO)  thanked Perlas for his dedication and service to the Filipino people.

“Dr. Perlas has truly touched the lives of the people in Lanao del Norte with his caring ways. He will be missed by the families he cared for. May he be an inspiration to those who dared to take the path less-travelled, the path to the underserved and hard-to-reach areas of the country,”  the statement read.