Barely three and a half months as director of the Region 1 Medical Center, Dr. Jess Canto has already done so much to improve the services of that government hospital.
True to what he had been all along telling us before his assumption, Dr. Canto transformed the R1MC into a people-friendly hospital, in glaring contrast to what it was before, when hospital personnel did not seem to have any sense of urgency and concern to sick people being brought there for treatment.
To describe the hospital’s patients then, our favorite line came from the song Mona Lisa: “they just lie there, and they die there.”
Yesterday, when we went to the hospital to see a friend, I was surprised to see a medical complex that now exudes a different aura. Every medical worker seemed to be on the move and you can feel a friendlier atmosphere than it was last year.
What surprised me more was when I saw Dr. Canto himself posing as a patient in that early morning, for him to personally see if his personnel were polite in receiving patients. (It must have been only about 7 a.m.) He was also there to find out if the “fast lane” he has established for senior citizens is serving its purpose.
My friend told me that Dr. Canto actually makes his presence very much felt in the hospital, making everyone up and about. And for having restored the hazard pay for all hospital workers, he continues to inspire everyone.
I remember him telling me during one of the early morning talks we had at Dagupeña that given the chance to head the R1MC, he will give himself totally to it, just to give the people the best medical service that they deserve.
“You know, with all the blessings that God has given me, it’s now time for me to pay Him back by unselfishly helping the less fortunate among our people,” Dr. Canto said.
*****
I have been privileged to be part of what looked liked a press conference to announce that the University of Pangasinan is conferring a Mass Communication degree to Danny Maramba, without really finishing college, but on the basis of his experience as media practitioner.
We were there – veteran journalists Jun Velasco and Ding Micua -- as assessors and members of the panel of the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (Eteeap), an educational assessment scheme embodied in Executive Order No. 330 of then President Fidel Ramos on May 13, 1996.
Honestly, I have not heard of that program until I was invited last year to sit as a “faculty expert” in the panel at UPang, which is among the higher education institutions in the country deputized by the Commission on Higher Education as Center of Excellence and is, therefore, authorized to implement the Eteeap.
On that appointed day, the three of us, along with Mass Comm faculty member Anabelle Sim and UPang Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Ofelia Rayos, convened at the Graduate School conference room to be face-to-face with Danny. We would learn later that it was the first time that a media practitioner was being assessed under the Eteeap, although Dr. Rayos said that the program has produced several nurses and other professionals in other fields.
It was the first time I met Danny. Manong Ding, however, seemed to know him very well and was very familiar with Danny’s work, as both of them were under the defunct Department of Public Information, although they did not really work together under one office. Manong Jun, who came in later with Sunday Punch editor Gerry Garcia in tow, had nothing but praises for Danny, who was his buddy when they were both young reporters.
Danny, of course, is a full-blooded Dagupeño.
With Danny’s vast and rich experience in media and public relations work, I could not agree less with the others in the panel that he should be conferred the degree, without any other additional academic requirements, such as taking up additional subjects or doing a paper. To me, Danny’s achievements are exceptional that not even a Ph.D. graduate in his field could have equaled his feat.
Congratulations, Danny.
ENDNOTES: On Tuesday, Sophos, the largest computer anti-virus vendor in Europe, will announce the appointment of Bitstop Computers as its partner in Northern Luzon during a press conference at Baguio Country Club in Baguio City. Bitstop president Wilson Chua, Pangasinan’s pioneer in computer technology, proudly shared to us this development.
QUOTE: Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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