The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

I am meeting "Pablo" head on and I don't mind whether they declare it signal no. 5 in Leyte. There is no stopping me now except maybe the end of the world. Typhoon Pablo is ravaging the Easter islands of the Philippines (Samar, Leyte and later the Bicol region). I still cannot understand why the organizers of our 33rd CME chose Leyte as the venue of our CME for the latter half of the year. First of all, Leyte is one of the provinces belonging to the Typhoon belt of the Philippines. Second, the 33rd CME is scheduled in one of the -ber months (September, October , November and December), which are usually the rainy months, if not the stormy months, in the calendar of the Philippines. So, I was no longer surprised when PAGASA declared signal no. 2 over the entire island of Leyte. This small detail must have been overlooked. The 33rd CME has already started today but instead of choosing the via Manila route, I decided to take the via Cebu route. And since the flight to Taclob...

Candoni's way of changing the world.

I felt like I was to being an intern once again. Last week, I officially moved in at the newly renovated Infirmary. My new home is now just 2 doors away from the Delivery Room of the Infirmary. But although I am already staying inside the Infirmary 24/7, my night shift staff would still send me a text message regarding referrals instead of just knocking on my door and waking me up personally. They too are trying to adjust to the "new set-up". Tomorrow I will be travelling to Tacloban via Cebu for our 33rd CME. Some of my friends are already in Palo as I am blogging this entry. I will be gone for two weeks; 2 weeks of peace and relaxation from work.

The last week as sort of a break off from work. I was in Mambukal resort last Wednesday until Friday attending the Health Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Training Seminar conducted by the CHD-6, with facilitators from HOPE and PEER. It was a very enriching seminar. The participants were from the entire Region of Western Visayas. For the entire Negros Occidental, we were only 6: Dra. Abilla (MHO of Hinoba-an), Dr. Maguad (MHO of Murcia), Dra. Peñacuba (a classmate and MHO of Don Salvador Benedicto), Dra. Shirley (Bacolod City Health Office and former DTTB), me of course and Ma'm Deanala (DRCO of South Negros). We were taught how disasters are managed and how to avoid the impacts of these disasters. Of course, one can never really be totally prepared for disasters and in fact, I have come to realize that I myself am not fully prepared to handle disasters such as an MCI (mass casualty incidence) in my locality. Nevertheless, one has to be prepared and has to prepare considering th...

Here's something to be proud of: Way to go Charisse.

September 15, 2008 is historical. In other parts of the world, Zimbabwean politicians made a historic power-sharing deal hopefully ending a bloody chapter in their political history. In the U.S., the Lehman brothers filed for bankruptcy, sending stock markets worlwide in a downtrend spiral. In a small town of Candoni, Negros Occidental, about 40 kilometers away from the nearest city, the people gathered to celebrate the opening of its infirmary. The once old structure which suffered almost 3 years with no electricity and doctor, was rejuvenated. It was almost impossible, when about 10 months ago, I was seated inside the Mayor's Office talking with the Mayor about his plans to revitalize the Rural Health Center. With my own knowledge regarding PHILHEALTH accreditation and the benefits the town can get from its Capitation Fund, the Mayor was all the more willing to proceed with the half a million budget of renovating the center. But where would he get that kind of cash? For a 4th cla...

My wife and I were in the vicinity when it actually happened. All of a sudden, while sending important fax messages near La Consolacion College, we heard loud sounds of sirens. Later, a couple of huge firetrucks were rushing towards where we were. The building right beside where we were was on fire. A thick plume of black smoke was rising fast from a small Chicken Inasal resto just infront of LCC. In a few minutes, the entire avenue was cornered with firetrucks and police cars. The entire intersection was blocked. I was just hoping that no one got hurt by the incident. Kudos to the firemen who were quick to respond.

One early morning, I decided to take pictures of my area of assignment just as the familiar Candonian fog was creeping over the valley.

When they announced more than a week ago that the venue for the 33rd CME of the Doctors to the Barrios is in Tacloban, Leyte, frankly I wasn't excited. I haven't been to Leyte yet and it would be my first time in Tacloban but I was hoping to have the CME in Manila again. Well, let's just say it is for my vested interest. Perhaps my lack of excitement for Tacloban was due to the fact that I have absolutely no idea about Tacloban. I do not know of any places of interests in Leyte, save of course for the Landing Site of General MacArthur in Palo. In fact, the hotel where we will be staying will be in Palo, Leyte: The Macarthur Park Beach resort Hotel. According to my research, it is about 15 mins away from the Airport, about 20 minutes away from Tacloban City proper. Getting there requires some connect the dots technique. I will be taking the plane to Cebu from Bacolod, stay for the night in Cebu, take the early plane to Tacloban then ride a taxi to the hotel. The 33rd CME wil...