Neurosurgeon pushes recognition of outstanding overseas Filipinos

Manila, Philippines - For Indiana-based neurosurgeon and philanthropist Dr. Manuel Cacdac, going abroad never really meant leaving his land. His success overseas has given him greater opportunities to reach out to and provide health care for more and more Filipinos in the country.

Cacdac is the 2010 awardee of the Bank of the Philippine Islands’ (BPI) BPInoy Awards. “You will always be a Filipino no matter where you are. Be proud of your roots and heritage. Success is not a license to be arrogant,” he says.

As founder and chairman of the Hydrocephalus Foundation of the Philippines (HFP) and concurrently an attending neurosurgeon at the Terre Haute Regional Hospital and Union Hospital in Indiana, Cacdac has been an iconic Pinoy in the medical industry. A graduate of the University of Sto. Tomas, he finished his residency in neurological surgery at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Cacdac always finds time to share his medical expertise with the Filipinos at the base of the pyramid. Celebrating its first anniversary this May, the HFP has helped almost 50 babies with hydrocephalus through free shunts and surgery. The core of HFP is giving children with hydrocephalus “the chance and opportunity to grow up as normal human beings.”

Sharing his experiences as a Filipino doctor abroad, he says, “Being a foreigner, I had to try harder, be at par or better than my co-residents. Patience and perseverance are what we Filipinos have that will help us reach for our dreams and aspirations.”

Knowing the hardships that come with working away from home, Cacdac calls for our countrymen to recognize and honor Pinoys abroad through the 2011 BPInoy Awards. BPInoy Awards has had a roster of awardees such as White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford, BBC anchor Rico Hizon, world-renowned musical theater artist Lea Salonga, and other worldwide Filipino achievers.