CDO blast victims chose to be doctors in PH 

 

MANILA, Philippines – They preferred to be doctors based in the Philippines, despite the opportunity of working abroad with greater pay. 

This was how the widows of two physicians — among the fatalities during the July 26 bombing in Cagayan De Oro (CDO) City — described their husbands in an interview with Rappler. 

The CDO blast left 8 dead, among them Dr Marciano Agustin III and Dr Erwin Malanay. 

Agustin III and Malanay had attended a national convention of lung disease-specialists held at the Grand Caprice, a hotel near the restaurant strip where the bomb exploded.

Filipino doctors for Filipinos 

Dr Agustin III’s wife, Imelda, said her husband insisted on working as a doctor in the Philippines despite her prodding him to leave the country in search of better opportunities. 

“Kahit ako, I wanted to go abroad. Sabi ko, ‘Meron din tayong future doon.’ But no, ayaw niya… Gusto niya dito talaga sa Pilipinas,” she shared. 

(Even I wanted to go abroad. I told him, ‘We have a future there as well.’ But no, he didn’t want… He really wanted it here in the Philippines.) 

Dr Malanay’s wife, Nina Anne Regine, said the desire to serve the community was her husband’s primary motivation to work as a doctor. 

“He wanted to be a doctor because he really wanted to help others. And he felt that being a doctor was the best way to do it,” said Nina, whose husband’s remains were flown back to Manila the Sunday after the explosion.

Coming back to PH

Dr Malanay himself used to work in Singapore as a stay-in physician of an oil and gas company.

His wife shared how a discrepancy between her income as a teacher and her husband’s may have prompted Dr Manalay to migrate at the time.

“Sadly, the pay for residents here in the Philippines is less than what I made (as a teacher),” she said

But Dr Malanay — unable to bear being apart from his wife — eventually came back to the Philippines.

“He felt that despite this country’s woes and troubles, it is still the most beautiful place,” Nina said, adding that her husband has been exposed to cultures elsewhere, being a frequent traveler.

Fond memories

Imelda said it has always been Dr Agustin III’s childhood dream to become a doctor.

“Bata pa lang, gusto niya nang maging doctor talaga (Even as a kid, he had always wanted to become a doctor). It’s his dream. He wanted to serve the Filipinos,” shared Imelda.

“I have so many fond memories of him,” said Nina Malanay, mentioning the way her husband commended her cooking and jokingly accused her of sabotaging his “diet.”

It is the sweet, routine gestures to her and their kids that Nina remembers and misses from her dead husband.

“How he kisses us good-bye before he leaves for work and makes sure we are snug under our blankets, how he calls me from work just to check on me and the kids,” she said, is what she will miss.

Security efforts

On Monday, August 5, Imelda Agustin faced the media in tears. Mourning, the young widow said she has not gotten in touch with authorities or watched the news extensively since her husband’s death.

Imelda hopes that justice will be served and trusts the government will do its job.

On the same day, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) issued a statement pressuring the government to step up its security efforts.

“We hope that with strong condemnation, our authorities will ensure that peace and prosperity will reign in our communities,” PMA president Dr Leo Olarte said.

Dr Agustin III and Dr Malanay are both members of the association.

The PMA president said they were “really hoping to talk to DILG Secretary Mar Roxas,” but the cabinet official has not replied to them. Roxas, however, said he did not receive any communication from the PMA.

Olarte acknowledged that a statement from his group can only go so far.

“Condemning them will not bring back the innocent lives that were lost,” he said. – Rappler.com

(Watch Dr Leo Olarte speaking in the press conference below.)

– Rappler.com