General Admission
The Philippines is where the heart is
By Al S. Mendoza
AS I write this, the appointment of Ruben Reyes Jr., M.D./MS as a poison expert/toxicologist of the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City remains unprocessed and, therefore, unsigned by Guv Spines.
What’s crackin’, Guv?
When I checked on the case, a letter recommending Reyes’s appointment was sent to the provincial capitol by Dr. Policarpio R. Manuel, M.D./FPAMS, who is the acting provincial hospital director in San Carlos.
Dr. Manuel’s letter to the Guv:
“05 September 2012
Hon. Amado T. Espino Jr.
Provincial Governor,
Lingayen, Pangasinan
Thru: Ms Janette C. Asis
Chief Administrative Officer
H.R.M.D.O.
Dear Sir/Madam,
May I endorse Dr. Ruben A. Reyes Jr. as contractual toxicologist in our institution.
Thank you and more power.
Very truly yours,
Policarpio R. Manuel, MD, FPAMS
cc: Anna Ma. Teresa S. de Guzman, MD, MPH
Provincial Health Officer II, Provincial Health Office”
* * * *
I take special interest in this in the wake of deaths in several towns of Pangasinan arising from snakebites and other poisoning incidents caused by the ingestion, accidental or otherwise, of fruits of poisonous plants like wild yam.
Reyes, one of the few toxicologists in the province educated yet in the United States, has been called time and again to help assist in the management of poison-cases at the provincial hospital but, unfortunately, he couldn’t do so because of the absence of his official appointment.
“I was willing to help immediately but upon the advice of friends, like Dr. (Jess) Canto, I had to restrain myself as I was told that without an appointment, I could be accused of doing an unlawful act,” Reyes said to me.
Recently, Luis F. Apostol, my childhood buddy, died of leptospirosis. What a waste. Louie was full of life before he passed on. Told of this, Reyes gnashed at his teeth.
I know Reyes personally because he is my town mate. He is one of Mangatarem’s pride and joy, the son of Chicago-based Atche Sophie who, when she married Ruben Reyes of Dagupan, broke the heart of many of her suitors in my land of birth.
So beautiful is Atche Sophie, my Atche Elvie’s dear friend, because she has a striking resemblance to Ingrid Bergman, the Swede actress with the classic beauty.
Son Ruben—Boyet to his dear ones—is a diplomate of the American Academy of Family Physicians and an alumnus of Wayne State University, School of Medicine, U.S.A. He’s had stints at Detroit Medical School in Michigan and at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
Consumed by his latent love of his roots, the young doctor decided to come home to lend his expertise to his province mates—leaving behind his parents and siblings in America.
For Boyet, the Philippines is where his heart is.
Lest we drive him back to foreign soil, let’s do it, Guv?
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