Homeowners volunteer in DMCI Homes Kaakbay medical mission

Homeowners of DMCI Homes communities are supporting the property developer's outreach program for the poor with doctor-residents volunteering in the DMCI Homes Kaakbay medical mission in Pasig City recently.

Doctors who live in east ortigas mansion and East Raya Gardens, both mid-rise residential communities in Pasig, and Cypress Towers, a high-rise residential community in Taguig, all built by DMCI Homes, joined company employees and health workers and volunteers of Barangay Maybunga in providing free consultation and medicine to some 200 children and adults from poor families of the village.

"We are happy because the kind of families and professionals living in DMCI Homes communities helped us organize and conduct the medical mission," said DMCI Homes Senior Vice President and Chief Finance Officer Ramil Lombos, who attended the day-long medical mission at the Maybunga covered court on Aug. 23.

Lombos said DMCI Homes officials visited DMCI Homes communities to tell residents about DMCI Homes Kaakbay and asked them if they can join the company's corporate social responsibility program focused on promoting health, education, environment protection and conservation, social welfare, and community development of poor neighbors and barangay.

"Most of them joined us; we did not have a hard time convincing them," said Lombos.

Among the homeowners who performed medical screening of Maybunga residents with diabetes and hypertension were Dr. Francisco  San Diego Jr., who has a second house at the East Ortigas Mansion along Ortigas Avenue Extension, Dr. Sheree Emata, a resident of Cypress Towers, and Dr. Ma. Luisa Lopez and Dr. Ninofar P. Royo, both residents of East Raya Gardens along Mercedes Avenue. All of them regularly serve in private and government medical missions.

"As doctor, you have a moral obligation to devote a certain part of your time to medical mission," said Salviejo, an internal medicine doctor at Metro Rizal Doctors Hospital in Cainta, in explaining why he joined the medical mission. "Medicine should not always be business. There is always a charitable part in that profession."

"I told the patients that they cannot be healthy just by proper dieting. They also need to exercise, sleep, avoid stress and drink at least two liters of water every day," said Lopez, who organized the weekly aerobics and zumba workouts for mothers at East Raya Gardens.

A specialist in medical research, public administrator at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig Hospital and Pasig City General Hospital, and official of diabetes educators associations, Lopez believes that health education is an effective tool in the fight against lifestyle diseases, which is the cause of death of 60 percent of the world's population.

Royo, a retired government pediatrician, said she volunteered for the medical mission when she was asked to join it because that was her job before in barangay health centers in Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Maybunga chairman Mario Concepcion Jr. was very grateful and thankful to the medical mission sponsored by DMCI Homes Kaakbay.

"The medical mission was different from the others we had before because of the free fasting blood sugar and cholesterol tests, which are actually expensive," said Concepcion.

DMCI Homes Kaakbay also provided medical supplies for the patient screening and medicines such as antibiotics, decongestant, pain relievers and vitamins. The company also provided meals.

Pascual Lab sponsored some of the medicines and ICare Insular Health Care sent Dr. Merriam Verntenilla as a doctor volunteer.

Concepcion is hoping that DMCI Homes can become a partner of his barangay in helping poor families.

"My barangay is one of the biggest in Pasig and has one of the largest depressed area," he said. "Among the patients who are here today come from the Floodway area."

"Our CSR program is really the idea of the owners, the Consunjis. We were so blessed for the past few years and the company would like to give back the blessings that we have received to our neighbors. And we are serious about it. We will continue this, not just in Pasig but in other cities as well" he said.