A man who posed as a doctor was recently arrested in Dalaguete town.
According to a report in this newspaper, Antonio Jabonillo Alpechi, also known as "Yang", 50, of Seaside Baliwasan, Zamboanga City, was brought to the police station after it was found that the documents he showed to prove he was a doctor were actually fake.
Alpechi, who is a licensed professional teacher, admitted he just only studied Medicine. He had already been hired by the town to work in the rural health unit and had worked for two days before he was discovered and had already prescribed some medicines to several patients.
It is good that Alpechi was found before he could cause any serious harm. While we won’t say that those who didn’t finish Medicine cannot be competent people, it’s safe to say that those who have studied and finished Medicine and have also taken and passed the medical board would be more aware of the hazards and risks of their profession.
They would also be more aware of the consequences of their actions, especially when it comes to giving people medical advice and prescribing certain medicines.
We don’t know what Alpechi’s motives were in posing as a doctor. Was he trying to fulfill a personal dream? Was he on the run and hiding? Or were his motives just purely altruistic and he just wanted to help others even if he didn’t complete his medical studies?
Even if it were the last one it is still no excuse to pass himself off as a duly-licensed medical professional.
Like we said above, actions can have consequences, and this goes double in the medical profession where the health and lives of people are literally at stake.
It takes years of grueling studies for someone to know what ails others and what to do for them, or to tell them what to do. And history tells us that the wrong medical advice, the wrong medicine, or even the wrong dosage can actually kill.