Dr. Felipe Manalo & Pag-Asa Medical Missions
Giving hope to the poor and the sick
by Heidi M. Pascual
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said, quickly adding, "it's a lot of hard work; but we've been very fortunate because of the support we get from Madison.
"Pag-Asa (which means "hope" in Tagalog) Medical Missions has treated thousands of indigent patients in the Philippines' rural
areas with the help of volunteers from the Madison area and local civic leaders. This year's medical mission took place in the
province of Antique in the Visayas on February 12-17, where more than 1,500 patients were treated and given medicines. (Medicines
were donated by drug companies and patients' families, as well as people with excess medications, from the Madison area.)
"This year, we have (as volunteers) a retired Dominican nun, Sister Maria Opriecht and Dory Blobner, a nurse from Dean Clinic with
us," Dr. Manalo said, visibly grateful. "We also had several other Madison volunteers who started packing medications last January in
our house." (Wife Monita and daughter Anna Maria are regular volunteers.)
The group went to three barrios with two other local doctors: a family physician and a pediatrician, from Antique. "We were also
assisted by the vice mayor who provided for lodging and food," Dr. Manalo reported. "Our party also included Monita's sister and
brother-in-law, lawyers Buena Ednave and her husband, Alfredo Ednave, and two other volunteers from Bataan (province), Mr. And
Mrs. Escaler."
There were several types of diseases encountered by Pag-Asa during this visit. "Basically, malnutrition, underweight; poor
development," Dr. Manalo lamented, and added with grave concern, "A lot of people with tuberculosis; a lot of respiratory and
gastro-intestinal diseases; people with high blood pressure and stroke; these are very common." He said he's not surprised
because the Filipino diet is salty, saturated with fat and usually coconut-based.
Due to the huge number of people needing medications, the mission ran out of medicines prompting Dr. Manalo's wife, Monette, to
go back to Madison and get some more.
There's no indication that Dr. Manalo, his family, and his volunteers will take a break from this yearly mission. "Local communities
contact us, asking us to help them," Dr. Manalo said. "It's a blessing and it's a privilege to be able to help out people who are really
poor. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to provide that kind of service."
Just what this world needs.
"To provide much needed medical care to
indigent populations in the rural communities
in developing countries, the Philippines being
the primary focus."
The above quote is the mission statement of
Pag-Asa Medical Missions, which has been
religiously accomplished every year under the
leadership of Dr. Felipe Manalo, a
Filipino-American internist in the Madison
area. His group has just arrived from a five-day
mission in the Philippines.
When Asian Wisconzine posed the question
"Why did you start Pag-Asa, and why are you
doing this every year?" Dr. Manalo looked
beyond the window's view, sighed, and began,
"It's a long story ... but it started in 1982 as an
incidental, unplanned visit to a village in
Candelaria (Zambales province) where I found
several people who had tuberculosis, and
there was no health care available." The
thought that the situation must be true in many
parts of the Philippines gave him a shudder,
but at the same time posed a challenge and a
commitment to act on it.
"From then on, I decided we'll come as often
as we can and it happens to be yearly," Dr.
Manalo