‘Healing’ physician honored on 70th birthday

This may amount to a possible tribute to the late Dr. Wilfredo Salvador, founder of the Riverside Medical Center Medical Alumni Foundation Inc. But Willy, as he was called by almost all, had been lauded by many Bacolodnons and Negrenses for his "bedside" manner that healed many.

He died six years ago, in his home, in his own bedroom, of a heart attack. His own son, Dr. John Salvador, rushed to his side but failed to avert his demise. Yet, Willy had long anticipated his death. He had rejected efforts to undergo cardiac operation in Manila.

But before that, Willy had the privilege of having been conferred Papal Knighthood. That was considered by most as a well-deserved tribute. Members of the Bacolod clergy were beneficiaries of his charitable outreach. Willy never charged them anything.

What made yesterday’s tribute to Willy more significant, was that another son, Michael, had just completed his studies in medicine and is now undergoing post-graduate training. This is something that boosted the morale of Dr. Cecilia Salvador.

I did not write this as a personal tribute to Willy but I was impressed by the fact that many of Bacolod’s practicing physicians attended the 6th Dr. Wilfredo Salvador Memorial Lecture underwritten by Pfizer.

It was Dr. Wilson Tulmo who discussed the first topic – "A New Age of Advance Power for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain." Dr. Michaelli Mae G. Yusay handled "A Decade of Lipitor."

Ma. Theresa Arellanao, M.D., introduced the memorial lecturers.

Dr. Jose Gerardo-Rivera, the incumbent president of the foundation, paid tribute to Dr. Salvador who was not only the moving spirit of the project but was also its first president.

He was a close personal friend. And most did not know that Dr. Salvador’s range of interest was not confined solely to medicine. He was among the first to express concern for the study of Islam and the culture of Muslim Mindanao. An uncle has been married to one of the Kiram family members.

But the thing that touched me was that six years after his death, many still remember Willy for his sense of humor and more important, his philanthropic outreach. There are legends about how many of his patients still consider him also their supplier of medicines. And not only that – for the hard-boiled seniors, he was also father, confessor, and comforter.

The officers of the foundation are Dr. Rivera as president; Talisay City Mayor Eric Saratan, vice president; secretary Gynis Caduhada, with Dr. Mahl Gange as assistant secretary. Dr. Roberto Guanzon is the treasurer and Dr. Lorelee Chua, his assistant. Dr. Cecile Salvador is the PRO.

Hunt on for Tan brothers

Private prosecutor Cornelio Panes expressed confidence yesterday that brothers Archie and Jan Michael Tan may be issued a hold order by the court that would prevent their exiting the country.

But that may be optimistic. The brothers could have already left the country after almost a year since the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the PNP investigated them for the killing of their father, Francisco (Bobby) Tan, and their stepmother, Cynthia Marie Zayco Tan, and their half-sister Katherine.

The CIDG has already furnished the CIDG office in Metro Manila a copy of the warrant for the brothers’ arrest. They reportedly flew to the national capital last week in the company of an aunt.

Both are reportedly staying in a posh hotel in Manila.

The CIDG has worked on the case which has dragged for over a year without indictment. During the 16th month, however, the RTC of Iloilo issued the warrant for their arrest.

The surviving children of their stepmother are now in the custody of their maternal family – the Zaycos of

Local storm hits Dumaguete

In the vernacular, they call it unos or storm. Usually, it refers to a localized one. That was one that may have suspiciously hit Dumaguete City last Wednesday night.

But it was strong enough to topple trees and wooden poles. It also caused brownouts.

The local PAGASA chief, Edison Culi, told Visayan Daily STAR’s Juancho Gallarde that it was just a thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rainfall and gusts that faded after an hour.

In short, the Wednesday night phenomenon was an isolated one and did not mean that the hot season has been replaced by the rainy one.

In Negros Occidental, meanwhile, Gov. Joseph Marañon said he intends to prolong the cloud-seeding program of the province because a large area of the province is still not drenched.

But Negrenses, from both north and south, repeatedly reported last week that their farmlands had been soaked with rain. But one thing noticeable in the case of rain by cloud seeding, the temperature on the ground remains high.

The old-timers have that standing rule – when you feel the temperature goes down, that is natural. But when it rains and the temperature remains warm or hot, that is cloud seeding.

But whatever may be the scientific basis for the folkloric belief, in the case of the province, the cloud-seeding program launched by Gov. Marañon has already saved crops from drying up, especially in southern Negros which is the hardest hit by the present El Niño.

Already, the province has spent more than a million pesos to support the efforts of the Philippine Air Force and the agriculture department of the province to induce rain.

Luckily, there have always been heavy rain clouds hovering over many areas of Negros in the past month. Thus, most sorties of the cloud-seeding teams result positively in induced rains that have helped soak the parched soil.

ADDENDA. The Guimaras oil spill has become a major political issue. Mostly the issue involves the accounting of donations for the rehabilitation of Guimaras and the payment of compensation to Guimarasnon claimants for livelihood loss. There are even reports of four alleged private bank accounts of former Guimaras residents now abroad as conduits for cash donations. Poor Gov. JC Rahman Nava is receiving attacks from several sides… What struck me was a front page photo in the headline of an Iloilo periodical which showed a drying-up farmland in Maasin, Iloilo. And the declaration by the agriculture department that it expects to start cloud-seeding operation anytime this week. That’s what I would call "too late." It has already been started in Negros Occidental, and incidentally, Maasin is the watershed of Iloilo City’s water supply… Panay News, the regional daily, predicts that Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez may easily win re-election, and that’s also in the case of Rep. Exequiel Javier, who is being contested by former PNP general Roberto Delfin. But I heard differently. But then, that’s election; you never know the outcome until the counting is over.