Bernadette, Alvin & Jing thankful for Salamat Dok!

MANILA, Philippines -  A typical weekend for Filipinos consists of hearing Mass, spending time with the family and enjoying recreational activities. However, for the people of Salamat Dok!, Saturdays and Sundays are spent to serve the people.

Now on its 12th year, one of the longest-running current affairs shows on Philippine TV continues to help ensure the good health and wellness of the Filipino family with informative and relevant features and interviews in the program. Airing every Saturday and Sunday morning on ABS-CBN, Salamat Dok! is able to reach, inform and educate millions of Filipinos nationwide.

Moreover, for over a decade, the show has also reached and served thousands of Filipinos directly, through medical missions which happen every week on Sundays inside the ABS-CBN compound, while the program is airing live, and in its special medical missions in baranggays in and out of the metro. Partnering with other organizations, Salamat Dok! is able to provide free medical services to indigent countrymen. They were even there in the aftermath of Yolanda.

However, one does not have to look far to meet people whose lives have been touched by the program as hosts Bernadette Sembrano, Alvin Elchico and Jing Castañeda have been blessed by the show.

Bernadette stressed that being host of the show, her eyes have been opened to different health benefits and hazards, and how they are important to us. She recounted her own battle with Bell’s Palsy, how in one episode of the show they were discussing the illness, which helped her realize she had been exhibiting symptoms already. It made her more conscious about her health. Suddenly, it became more personal.

Alvin, meanwhile, initially found himself in an unfamiliar territory when he was asked to be part of the program in 2011, as he had been accustomed to doing documentaries and special reports. Yet, he said, it was just a matter of time for him to imbibe the purpose and objectives of the program.

While he enjoys every minute he has spent in the show, there was one time that really stood out as a special memory for him, the time when the whole program trooped to the Visayas in the aftermath of Yolanda.

Meanwhile, Jing cherishes her role in the show, especially as she is a mother who has a family to care for. She said being a mom has guided her in how to take on the segments assigned to her.

She also shared how doing a segment in the show called Ano’ng Ulam, where they feature healthy recipes, has helped her teach her kids to eat nutritious food.

Other segments in the show that can help mothers like her keep the family healthy and happy together are Pasyal, where they visit places families can go to relax; Food Trip, where they scour the metro for healthy food places; and Cure Mula sa Nature, where they discuss health remedies using things from the nature.

Another segment that can bring life-changing results is Doctor is Out, where Salamat Dok’s doctors visit and treat the patients in the comfort of their home.