Community Hero: Resident doctor goes beyond call of duty to help keep condo neighbors healthy

In an era of social distancing, it is heartwarming to learn that there are still a lot of people who go out of their way to help those who are most in need in these uncertain times.

One person who is more than willing to lend a helping hand is Dr. Edwin C. Perez, an Internal Medicine and diabetes specialist who has taken the initiative to care for his neighbors at La Verti Residences in Pasay City needing medical attention during the pandemic.

As the current Assistant City Government Department Head at the City of Manila and a practicing physician for over two decades, Dr. Perez feared that treatment of common diseases and health problems such as hypertension and diabetes may be neglected by patients when lockdown measures were enforced last March to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"Coupled with the fear of going to a clinic or hospital, I was worried that patients with these illnesses are at risk of aggravating their conditions during the pandemic," Dr. Perez shared.

As his way of helping his neighbors especially senior citizens and people with co-morbid illnesses who are not able to go to their doctors for their regular check-up, he decided to volunteer his services as an internist and diabetologist.

"With this problem in mind, I informed the La Verti Residences Property Management Office that I am willing to help residents who are in need of medical attention during the quarantine period,” explained Dr. Perez who has been living in the DMCI Homes' two-tower condominium community for five years now.

"Since then, I have been receiving calls and messages via social media platforms from residents asking for medical advice, consultations and prescriptions. I also did house calls for senior citizens," he continued.

Aside from these, Dr. Perez also constantly reminds his neighbors to take care of their health by “having at least seven hours of sleep; eating more fruits and vegetables and avoiding emotional eating due to stress; keeping fit through regular exercise; and observing proper hygiene.”

Helping out those in need is nothing new for Dr. Perez as he has long been doing volunteer work over the years.

Together with his wife, Ma. Zinnia Domingo Perez, who is also a doctor by profession, they have been conducting yearly medical missions and outreach programs in depressed areas in the metro.

"Both me and my wife are also officers of BMDomingo Fire, Search and Rescue team, composed of trained firefighters and allied health professionals," Dr. Perez related.

"Likewise, I am also a member of the 'Doctors on Line' Radio Program on DZAS 702, wherein we are assigned to discuss different Health Issues and answer phone in questions," he added.

Asked what motivates him to do volunteer work, Dr. Perez said he gets inspiration from the words of American essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"I once read a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson which says: ‘The purpose of Life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and live well,’” Dr. Perez answered.

"This quote gave meaning to my existence and as a God-fearing, family-oriented person and my profession as a physician enabled me to live by these words," the father of one beamed.

Inspired by these words and the public’s appreciation of medical frontliners’ sacrifices during the pandemic, Dr. Perez vowed to keep on giving back to his community and in his own little way, help those in need.

“Showing affection and gratitude to all frontliners is a great compensation to relieve the physical, mental and emotional difficulties that the frontliners have been enduring,” Dr. Perez said as he lauded his La Verti Residences community for leading a nightly tribute to the frontliners of neighboring hospital, Adventist Medical Center Manila, during the height of the pandemic.

La Verti Residences’ touching gesture for his fellow frontliners, Dr. Perez said, made him fall in love even more with the community where every member treats each other as family.

“La Verti Residences is a community with good-natured people and where your neighbor feels like family. On top of this, La Verti Residences has a very accommodating staff and strict security policies,” Dr. Perez said.

For this reason, the seasoned physician is happy that he invested in not just one, but two units at DMCI Homes’ La Verti Residences project.

“We choose DMCI Homes projects because DMCI Homes focuses on establishing a community relationship. Aside from that, we also like that DMCI Homes’ projects have well-ventilated units, large hallways, and resort-like amenities which is good for the health of residents,” Dr. Perez enthused.

La Verti Residences is one of the developments of DMCI Homes, the country’s first Quadruple A developer known for building quality resort-inspired communities in Mega Manila, Baguio, Boracay and Davao City. Each of its properties is built with world-standard craftsmanship borne from D.M. Consunji Inc.'s over 60 years of expertise in the construction and development industry. 

To learn more about La Verti Residences and other DMCI Homes projects, call (632) 5324-8888. News and other updates are also posted on the company's official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.