The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

The letter which I will be posting here is no bogus letter. Iggy Villanueva is a real person, a fellow lasallian and an alumnus of the University of Saint La Salle Integrated School. Iggy was diagnosed with Acute Myelogeneous Leukemia (AML). I first heard of this sad story from a former teacher when she informed me that Iggy was needing blood. I then received a letter in my facebook Inbox, apparently written by Iggy's mom addressed to everyone who might be interested to help. I then sent an SMS message to Iggy's mom, asking her permission if I can repost her letter in my blog here, hoping that anyone who can read my blog might be interested to help. OUR DEAREST FRIENDS… I am so embarrassed to do this yet, I am humbling myself to ask…please read on… January 6, 2009 was the worst day of my family’s life…our eldest son, IAN GABRIEL PICART VILLANUEVA, was initially diagnosed to have ACUTE MYELOGENEOUS LEUKEMIA. It is already the 20th of January, and after a 2nd and even a 3rd opini...

Last Monday, January 26, was my comeback to print media this time under a new newspaper and new column. My first article appeared in Agila's January 26 release, under my very own column entitled, "Molecules". The column's title was actually the choice of the editors. Agila, (Filipino for Eagle) is a local tabloid released here in Bacolod and in Negros Occidental. Later during the week, I received another call and I was told that they wanted my column to appear at least twice a week. My first article was about Barack Obama's policy on funding international agencies which supposedly support abortion as a modern method of family planning. Last Tuesday, January 27, my wife told me that my son's results during the entrance examinations for grade one were already released. My son passed with high scores (94%) and was officially accepted for enrollment in my alma mater. I will be going to the school tomorrow to schedule an interview which is a prerequisite for the en...

As part of my staff enrichment, I organized and facilitated a 1-day team building exercise for my staff in my rural health unit. The objective was to "bridge the gap" between the medical staff and the field health workers. Most of my activities were taken during my experience as a campus peer minister and during my seminar under the Zuellig Foundation's Health Leadership and Management Program. My first activity was the Human Bingo. Each participant was given a BINGO matrix but instead of numbers, each square contains a physical attribute or characteristic. The objective is to let the other participants sign in each box corresponding to a physical or behavioral attribute which best fits that particular person. The second activity was a lecture on Stephen Covey's 7 habits of Effective People, which was followed by an activity I learned from my HLPM training: Sardines. The big group was divided into two groups and each group chose a leader. All the members of the group ...

Monday: It was an opportunity to follow up our Newborn Screening Program application at the Provincial Health Office. We already submitted our Letter of Intent last 2 months ago at the Regional Office but still no word from the Regional NBS Coordinator. So, while at the PHO I was advised to go straight to the Newborn Screening Program Center at West Visayas State University Medical Center in Iloilo City. I asked for new forms and filled them up again. I then called up Candoni to arrange a Purchase Order for at least 25 NBS kits, amounting to about 13000 pesos plus. I was planning to go to Iloilo the Friday of the week to submit the papers, including the Purchase Order, hoping I could already bring some NBS filter cards to Candoni next week. I decided to go back to Candoni the following day so my wife and I went to USLS Coliseum that evening to watch the opening of the College Sportsfest. It was historic in a sense that it was the first time that the Opening Ceremonies were held in the ...

To view the Obama inauguration live, visit this post on the 20th of January, 2009 for that historic moment. Video chat rooms at Ustream Historic moment for everyone to see: The Barack Obama Inauguration to the U.S. Presidency. January 20, 2009.

I will be convening the staff this coming Tuesday for our annual PIR. It is a conference where each barangay midwife reports to the group her unit's achievements. At the same time, it is a conference where we consolidate our data and come up with the municipal-wide data of our achievements for 2008. It is also an opportunity for us to compare our 2008's achievements to the previous year's achievements. The objective is not to pinpoint the weak link, but rather to devise ways on how to strengthen the strong points and modify the weak areas. For this year, which officially marks my last year as a Doctor to the Barrio, is ladened with activities already scheduled since last year, with the objective of further achieving our standards and goals. For January: it is all about Review Month, consolidating reports and attending conferences reporting our data for 2008. January is also pre-Heart Month planning and Bloodletting Month. In one year, we have scheduled one bloodletting acti...

I am having insomnia attacks and since my mind is not really thinking straight (and all it needs is some unloading) it is I think wise to write in cryptic tones to save me from the embarassment later. It's like having one night of heavy drinking and the following morning you are burdened with a hang over and a little bit of amnesia. And then Epimetheus comes in and regrets follow. Realmente, mi mente corre sin dirección al el momento. La clase de que quiere mi vida. Mi vida de algún modo nunca ha sido señalada en una direcciones específicas. Permita que mí culpar esto en elecciones malas que hago. Como dijo, las penas vienen último y hay de algún modo pero tiempo y espacio pequeños de corregir estos errores. Bien, lo único uno puede hacer es aprende de errores. Hay pero una canción particular, una canción vieja, acerca de hay ningún errores, justo lecciones para ser aprendidas. Yo quizás concuerde con éste, pero a veces, las lecciones pueden ser muy duras aprender. Toma una vida en...

This morning, before I went to the Provincial Health Office for a supposed monthly meeting, my wife and I brought our eldest son to our alma mater to take the entrance exams for elementary. It was our first time together as husband and wife to come back to our alma mater. More than 20 years ago, my own parents brought me to this school to take an entrance exam for elementary. I could still remember the Guidance Counsellor who led us in to the office to take the exams. It was the same Guidance Counsellor who welcomed my son to her new office this morning for his own entrance exams. It is fulfilling in my part to bring my son to a school where I grew up and have learned so much. The school has influenced me to become who I am today, thanks to great teachers who became more than just instructors. They have been mentors and a few of them have even become my friends. The entrance exam was supposed to be for one hour and a half so my wife and I went around the campus. We went back to the old...

It was very chilly in Candoni since Monday and during our first local health board for the year, we were all huddling in the municipal lobby. They were all wearing sweaters and long sleeves and I forgot to wear mine. Even the Mayor was wearing his cowboy hat and black leather jacket. The day I arrived in Candoni this week, I was welcomed with the cold January breeze but the reception of my staff was as warm as ever. It didn't rain in Candoni for the last 3 days now but it was very very cloudy, very very windy and very very cold. There were a lot of patients last Monday, quite a few yesterday and none for today considering that it is Immunization Day, plus our scheduled Local Health Board. The agenda was the same agenda we had during our emergency staff meeting last Monday: the upcoming Heart Month activities for February. We will be kicking off the month-long celebration with a motorcade, following the same route last year. This will be on the 5th of February, a day before the firs...

I posted a game in my facebook exclusive for my friends. "Rules: I start the story, you continue the story, one line at a time. You can play as often you want. Continue the story via the Add Comment feature." Friends who contributed to the story were: Doc Maritel Ledesma, Minnie Montano, Doc Julius de la Cruz, Pinkee Alojado, Joy Velasco and Rommel Abaja. The starting line was: She entered the room and everyone was quick to notice what she was wearing. The rest of the story as continued by my friends: Is that what I think it is? She didn't mind them staring at her. Because she was there on a mission. She suddenly shed off all her clothes and went stark naked. then she shivered...good thing she had that cigar.... ...which she thought was more than just a cigar. Her fingers twirled the length of the oiled-leaf inhaling the heavenly delicate earthy oils, then suddenly, without hesitation, she placed the blunt end of the cigar into her... itchy nose...dang...now where did she...

Early this evening I got a call from an "avid reader" of this blog and told me of an offer which I could not refuse. Quite frankly, I was surprised to receive the call but I was thankful that I was one of those considered by this avid reader. I was offered to write for a local newspaper and I was given a column of my own. I was told depending on my free time, I can have my column appear in the newspaper twice or thrice, if not daily. It has been a while since I contributed to a local newspaper. The last time I wrote for a newspaper as freelancer was about 2 years ago when a good friend of mine, George Pontino, was still the lifestyle editor of Sun-Star Bacolod. I have known George since my college days and I met him first when I was invited to (re)join the local chapter of the World Futures Studies Federation. The secretariat then was in Bacolod and a year before that, I was actively involved in a related organization (Global Youth Visions Project) and was one of the Philippi...

This video was taken during the last CME of the Doctors to the Barrio in Palo, Leyte. P.S. And yes, these are licensed medical doctors.

Reasons Why I Should Stay In Candoni After My Contract: 10. Some things need to be followed up and 2 years of stay are not enough. 9. The place is beautiful, far from the rush and stress of the mundane society. I can hide myself here and be free. 8. If I leave, they won't have another doctor, at least for the next few months. And if they are that unfortunate, perhaps for the next 2 years at least, until they can apply for a new DTTB. 7. The gains that we made in the rural health unit are too fresh, too young, and they would need enough nurturing, at least for 6 more months. 6. The staff is wonderful, dependable and deserves more than what they have been receiving. 5. There are a lot of opportunities while in public health, especially travel opportunities. (I can't wait for AMHOP 2010). 4. I still have to finish my HLMP training, if accepted in Module 2 and Module 3. I have always believed that the things I learned in Module 1 changed my perspective totally. 3. With a supportive...

"All lights are up in Bacolod City, except for its city hall because of a P4.9-million unpaid electric bill. Vicente Sabornay, president of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco), said they disconnected the city hall's electric supply Thursday morning. Sabornay said the electric cooperative sent a letter to Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia last December 19 asking for the payment of the city hall's alleged unpaid bill from July to November 2008. Another letter was sent by the electric cooperative last January 5, this time warning the city hall that its electric supply will be cut if it fails to pay the amount. Sabornay said the city hall never bothered communicating with Ceneco to explain its failure to pay the electric bill. The Ceneco president, meanwhile, complained that the city mayor, instead of acting on their letter, sent people to their compound and locked it down. Lawyer Allan Zamora, legal officer of Bacolod City, led policemen and the City Legal Enfo...

Pictures from the December 2008 Grand Reunion of Class 1998 of the University of Saint La Salle Integrated School. Fred, Bryant, Edd and Pinky The First Female Alma Mater Awardees of USLS-IS Pinky, Joy and Balikbayan Joem More of Batch 1998 Fun and more booze! Tin, JR, Tweety and Pinky