FIRST A disclaimer: I am no fan of the former First Gentleman. And this is neither an apologia nor a defense in his behalf.
At the rate the FG – and the whole Arroyo brood – is being demonized by the current administration, it is as though he were the devil incarnate, incapable of anything good.
Here are two stories that found their way into Punto’s pages in November 2008 yet.
Poor patients get gift of life from FGFI
THE POOR and the sick continue to receive the gift of life from the First Gentleman Foundation Inc. (FGFI).
Last month, the GMA 7 Network’s top-rating Emergency program hosted by Arnold Clavio approached the FGFI for financial support to “cover the life-changing operation” for Rowena Salas, 20, of Paclasan, Roxas, Mindoro.
Her medical abstract said Salas was afflicted with a severe case of “ossifying fibroma.” Her tumors were removed from her jaw three years ago and replaced with a metal plate which however protruded out by two inches and got infected. A follow-up operations was urgently needed.
“The UST Hospital quoted the total cost of operation which involves a bone harvest at P150,000, exclusive of the doctors’ professional fees and the patient’s board and lodging that UST waived.”
On the very day – October 17 – FGFI received the letter, the amount of P150,000 was released for Salas’ operation.
At about the same time, the first beneficiary of Project Heart Matters (PHM) of the Rortary Club of Cubao West underwent her successful operation too.
Elenita de Jesus suffered from aortic aneurysm dissection (AAD) until her surgery at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.
Project Heart Matters is an endowment fund project of the FGFI launched on August 25, 2007 following the successful open heart operation of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.
Arroyo had donated P1 million in seed money to PHM for the continuing research and outreach program for acute AAD cases.
Project Chair Dr. Lorenzo Rommel G. Carino reported that through PHM AAD procedures have been performed on 10 other patients.
In a letter to Arroyo, Carino expressed their “sincere gratitude for the support and contribution” which, he said, “have inspired us to extend more service to our community.”
A case of service begetting more service – all for the poorest of the poor. The FGFI core value continues to permeate more sectors of the community.
That was dated November 10, 2008.
Bagong Puso Mula sa Puso FG sponsors free open-heart surgery at PGH to indigents
Ten lucky beneficiaries of the Bagong Puso Mula sa Puso, a project of the First Gentleman Foundation Inc. (FGFI) recently celebrated their triumph over congenital and rheumatic heart diseases with a simple get-together at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) to personally thank their benefactor, Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo for “the gift of life.”
Ranging in age from two to 36 years old, the beneficiaries underwent surgery that took three to five hours and each costing from P400,000 to P1 million each. This, according to Dr. Adrian Manapat, OIC of the Bagong Puso Mula sa Puso/Open-Heart Mission.
Trained in the US, Manapat returned to the Philippines and the PGH after earning his degree in thoracic cardio vascular surgery to eventually become head of the PGH’s Cardiac Surgery Unit. He is also chief of the same sections at the Makati Medical Center and Medical City. Manapat has so far performed some 1,000 open-heart surgeries on an average of 100 per year.
At the get-together, Liza Galang, one of the recipients, presented a plaque of gratitude to Arroyo from all the ten beneficiaries for “the gift of life and the chance to serve others.”
For his part, the First Gentleman enjoined the recipients to “enjoy your childhood…your respective lives and always give thanks to God.”
“As I watched the video on the various open-heart surgeries, I also saw how I was operated on last year,” Arroyo said, in reference to his own high-risk aortic descending surgery performed by Dr. Rommel Carino.
“I can only say that I truly believe in our Filipino doctors. They are world class. And because of the success of the first open-heart surgery mission in PGH, the Foundation will again shoulder 10 more open-heart surgeries for charity ward patients at the PGH under the Bagong Puso Mula sa Puso project,” Arroyo announced to thunderous applause.
Juris Umali-Soliman, FGFI president, said there are still savings from the first open-heart surgery mission which can now be used to shoulder the heart operation of a waiting recipient, Nerissa Castel, a 52-year-old nurse at the PGH.
That was published November 21, 2008.
The very gift of life, that could have only come from the very heart of FG. Something to salve the pains from all those accusations of wrongdoing. Something to nourish the very soul.
Something to hold onto for redemption.
Yeah, no man can be all bad. No matter how the sanctimonious portray him to be.
