GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – A contingent of Filipino doctors, surgeons, dentists and nurses based in Washington, DC is in town for a five-day medical mission that was almost called off because of security concerns.
The group flew in from Manila on Saturday without their American counterparts who were barred by the US embassy from joining the mission amid lingering fears over the presence here of key suspects in the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao, said Alice Namata Andam, president of the Philippine Nurses Association of the Metropolitan District of Columbia (PNAMDC).
Andam said the medical mission, which kicks off today, was the PNAMDC’s first-ever sortie to Mindanao, where free medical, surgical, optical and dental services would be extended to indigent patients here and in outlying communities.
Post-operative patients will be accommodated for free at the St. Elizabeth Hospital for their recuperation, said Arlene Serna, spokesperson of the Kiwanis Club Synergy of Gensan.
Kiwanis is coordinating the mission, with the RD Group of Companies and Golden State College as major sponsors.
“The Kiwanis Club was chiefly responsible for pushing through the project despite the problems and the risks,” said Ma. Luisa Palacios Chan, the club’s events logistical officer.
“The mission has already been to Luzon and the Visayas four times. This is going to be the first time they are visiting Mindanao, so we made every effort to bring them here,” she added.
For his part, Kiwanis president Rene Anino lamented that the local government did not go out of its way to assure the American affiliates that there was really nothing to worry about as far as security was concerned.