Journey to the Philippines, Part 1: ACGTDT & MPH Field Practicum

FJ Volume 21, Number 16 
Aug 20 - Sep 05/07

Magandang araw mga kababayan! It feels good to write after a long-enough hiatus—I just got back August 10th from our homeland, the Philippines, after a month jam-packed with cultural events, adventures, meetings, opportunities, and overall major personal growth. What a lot to report, and where to begin?? I guess at the beginning…this will be Part 1 of a series that will include the ACGTDT, my Field Practicum research, experiences at the Senate and Philippine National Red Cross with Senator Richard Gordon, a trip to Subic to meet PGMA, and interviews with former president, Fidel V. Ramos, Migrante International, previous Secretary of Health Dr. Jaime Z. Galvez Tan, UP College of Medicine Dean Alberto Roxas, Sandra Aguinaldo from GMA-7, agencies including the Canadian Immigration Integration Program/Canadian Embassy, Philippine Overseas Employment Authority, Department of Labour and Employment, several physicians and medical students, “undercover” research in the form of “kidney-shopping” with cab-drivers, a stint at Operation Smile with Drs. Hector Santos and the Managed Care Clinic, and I might even reveal some of my more candid reactions, culture shocks, and rude awakenings learning about the distinctly Pinoy way of life. I will be posting my articles on my blog Ask Dr. Denise and its “angry” off-shoot POP soon, so if you miss any, feel free to check out the blogs at: http://www.askdrdenise.blogspot.com/.

As many of you may know, I am completing my Masters in Public Health degree, which requires a 3-month Field Practicum, as part of my Community Medicine residency. I reasoned—what better way to work on a project I am passionate about that fits precisely into my world vision and life mission, with an opportunity for exposure and immersion at multiple health-related organizations and initiatives/programs, particularly my homeland, working on the many projects I have been toiling away in my spare time that are potentially good for the health of the Filipino and Canadian people, the health of the overall systems of my two beloved countries, and all involved? Plus I’d get to learn so much more about my roots, the language, the culture--a true Win-Win.

So I decided to start my Philippines portion of my practicum piggy-backing onto the 3rd Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour of the Philippines (ACGTDT), July 14-17, 2007. The weeks prior to my departure July 12 involved making last-minute preparations and finalizing trip plans, celebrating Philippine Independence and Heritage, plus taking in what I could of the Philippine Studies Institute first course History and Culture of the Philippines with Dr. Michael Culinane, including the very relevant forum to my project on The Brain Drain of Filipinos to North America. What an excellent and timely course and associated events schedule to kick off my trip to the Philippines!

The ACGTDT to the Philippines is a joint collaboration between Philippine government offices (the Departments of Foreign Affairs, of Tourism, and of Trade and Industry), designed to bring the Philippines closer to communities in North America, offering participants countless opportunities in terms of cultural enrichment and people-to-people exchanges, leisure and recreation, retirement programs and business networking. Of the almost 650 tour participants, 21 booked or came from Agana, Guam, 9 from Atlanta, 50 from Chicago, 114 from Honolulu, 146 from Los Angeles, 11 from Miami, 69 from New York, 130 from San Francisco, 29 from Washington DC, 7 from Calgary, 26 from Edmonton, 22 from Ottawa, 3 from Vancouver, and 10 from Winnipeg. The Winnipeg group included: Dr. Salvador and Josephine Andres from Saskatoon (my parents are Dr. Sal’s godparents), Alexandra, Luz, Nemesio, and Victoria Buen, Allen, Esmeralda, and Kelly Joe Harvard, and Antonina Huypungco (I booked through Ottawa as Hon. Jose S. Brillantes was my preceptor for the Philippine portion of my MPH FP).

We arrived groggy at just after 4 am July 14 to the welcoming tunes of a Filipino “mariachi band” and fragrant sampaguita leis. A quick orientation at the Shangri-la Makati Hotel, and we were whisked to the Serendra Club House for breakfast care of Megaworld Inc. and business meetings courtesy of the department of Trade and Industry. Here we learned of small investment opportunities in the provinces, Philippine brand franchising opportunities, the OTOP (One Town One Product) initiative, Meycauayan Jewelry Industry Association, etc. We could then mingle, sample more delicious Filipino foods, check out and purchase Filipino jewelry, and then embark on a City Tour of Manila and Makati which included Intramuros, Fort Santiago, and Bahay Tsinoy while some opted for Pasarap (spa/massage) or Paganda (mani/pedicure or haircut) for a small fee. We became VIPs when we were escorted by motorbike-police through the traffic-jammed streets of Manila to help get us to our “Exotic Mindanao” welcome dinner at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. Canadian Ambassador Peter Sutherland joined us as we were wowed by an eye-popping Muslim Filipiniana song/dance/fashion-show where the beautiful dancers, singers, and models show-pieced the Mindanao delicacies served from the stage onto our plates, all emceed by a former Miss Philippines. After the dinner, I got to tsis-mis more with delegates from Ontario, Montreal, and Alberta when the Ambassador treated us to a late-nite coffee across the street from the Shangri-la Makati Hotel.

Sunday after another scrumptious breakfast, we got to choose from tours to Corregidor, Villa Escudero, or Tagaytay. I chose the Taal/Tagaytay/Batangas Eco-Cultural Tour, and was impressed by the serene drive through the countryside and the gorgeous landscape featuring the smallest Taal volcano, all to the silly jokes of our tour guide. We stopped for a merienda at the Tagaytay Highlands in a pagoda-style tearoom, then traveled to and lunched at the famous Sonya’s Garden. We stopped by the Tagaytay Medical Centre as one of our delegates had an asthma attack, but once we were assured of our group’s safety and health, we made it back in time to go to either a Show and Dinner in Tiendesitas Stalls, Ortigas, or Star Studio, ABS-CBN Cocktails with “stars”. I got a chance to have my first Krispy Kreme Donut at Star Studio, then hung with stars from Pinoy Big Brother and other famous Filipino teen shows. I also got some photo ops with the 2 Miss Teen American Philippines and camped it up in front of the camera some more with the teen Pinoy and Pinay hotties.

Monday started with a Wreath-Laying Ceremony in the brilliant (and unforgiving!) sun at Rizal Monument to give respect and honour our national hero, Jose Rizal. Then we arrived at Malacanang Palace for a Tour of the Museum—if anyone finds copies of the cheeky fotos of me showing off my shoes “Imelda-style” at the table where Marcos declared martial law, please let me know!!--then another belly-stretching lunch complete with Halo-Halo and other Filipino goodies. We met and got photographed at Rizal Hall with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who at first thought the Canadian group was all from Winnipeg and had many wonderful things to say about our awesome province. She and her staff graciously chatted with and took photos with the throngs of delegates who swarmed her. We returned to our hotels via a Rolling Tour of Manila and Makati (included the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, Libingan ng mga Bayani, American Cemetery, Forbes Park, Business District) then finished up with a Wellness theme Appreciation Dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel. Here, we could dance the night away to the live bands or hunt through the stacks of tour photos from the tour photographers.

The following day was check-out for some while others could choose from Optional Out-of-Town-Tours such as Aklan/Boracay; Laoag/Vigan; Bohol/Dumaguete; Cebu/Cagayan de Oro; Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Diving in Club Noah Isabelle, Palawan; Golf in Metro Manila’s top 3 courses; Clark, Pampanga/Subic, Olgangapo; as well as a Gawad Kalinga Housing Project Visit and Wowowie Show. All in all the ACGTDT 2007 was an amazing time filled with wonderful experiences and connections with new friends from all over North America and the Philippines. I opted to focus on my ambitious project of looking at the Migration of Health Care Workers, particularly Filipino Doctors, to Canada. I will have to report on this project in an upcoming issue, but I am calling out to you to send me your stories, comments, or advice, or the contact information of those who might be able to help me in this ongoing project:

As I may have mentioned to many of you, I am quite interested in the experience and health of Filipino immigrants, particularly Live-in Caregivers, “nannies”, and health care professionals—whether recognized in their professions or not (credentials, fair and equitable pay, respect, etc). In my Public Health training, I’ve come across some research about the “Healthy Immigrant Effect”—basically that some immigrants tend to be healthier than Canadian-born but then after several years in Canada, their health deteriorates to the level of their Canadian-born controls. I’ve started researching the health of Filipinos across Canada and spent some time in Ottawa, Montreal, the Philippines, as well as locally talking to people about their experiences coming to Canada. I want to hear from you—please, tell me your stories: email me at askdrdenise@mts.net or go to my blog www.askdrdenise.blogspot.com and add your story as a comment to this article or take the questionnaire (to be set up)—if you wish certain parts of your story to be confidential, please use my email address and outline which parts, if any, you are okay with me sharing on my blog or in this column.

The questions I’m particularly interested in:

1) Name, sex, and contact information
2) Age, Year of Birth, Year of immigration to Canada, Dates of any other Caregiving experiences in other countries (including the Philippines)
3) Languages (including dialect, if necessary) spoken and read
4) Process of Immigration to Canada: Were you in the Live-In Caregiver Program, other categories of immigration
5) What type of work do you do? If you are a Caregiver, what field/area are you in? Ie: what training did you have in the Philippines, Canada, elsewhere? Did that translate into what you are doing now?
6) Health status/concerns in the Philippines compared with in Canada
7) Do you believe that being Filipino makes you healthier or less healthy than non-Filipinos? Why? What are the key factors you believe determine Filipino-Canadian health (eg, language, where born, credentialing, education, discrimination/prejudice, connection to community, family, etc)?
8) What are your concerns regarding the health of the Filipino community in Canada and in the Philippines? Is there a Brain Drain? Why or Why not?
9) What are your suggestions for dealing with these issues?
10) Any other comments are greatly appreciated.

Maraming salamat po!

So please remember that your health (not just physical/body, but also emotional, spiritual, and mental health) is foremost in your own hands; health starts at home. Alagaan ninyo ang katawan at kalusugan ninyo! Until next time, take care, and mind your health!