Tycoon Alvarez sends medics to the South

Residents of Southern Palawan municipalities with cleft lip (known in the vernacular as “bingot”) were benefited in a medical mission spearheaded by the JCA Foundation chaired by businessman Jose Pepito Alvarez.

From Jan. 26 to 30, people from various municipalities in the south with cleft lip gathered in the Southern Provincial Hospital in Brooke’s Point to be given free operations.

According to the volunteers, some patients were from far-off islands in Quezon, from the municipalities of Aborlan, Bataraza, Rizal, and even Puerto Princesa.

The medical mission, according to Alvarez, was his way of giving back to the people especially to those who do not get enough medical services.

“I feel disheartened every time I see people who are not capable of going to the hospital,” he related referring to those who live in far-flung areas rarely visited by medical teams.

With the Maharlika Charity Foundation, one of the oldest charities in Davao existing for over 35 years, the medical mission operated some 44 patients with cleft lip from the original 104 who registered.

According to Dr. Michelle Aportadero of the Maharlika Foundation, those whom they refused to operate were either malnourished or has other complications.

“The patients will be put into risk if they undergo operations,” Aportadero told the media who visited the event Jan. 28.

“First and foremost, the purpose of the mission is safe surgery for children. We don’t want to leave damages and be told that we don’t give proper care to the children,” she added, reiterating that “the most important thing is to take care of these children.”

According to Alvarez, the JCA Foundation has already been helping patients for several years now. Aside from providing surgical aid to individuals with cleft lip, hernia, hysterectomy, cyst, and dental problems, the foundation also gives scholarship to deserving high school graduates.

“The foundation caters to these two things. And since I earn from my businesses, I allot P100 million for charity works every year,” Alvarez said during the inauguration of the new JCA Foundation Building in Brgy. Bancao-Bancao in Puerto Princesa.

Alvarez, whose name was appearing recently as a candidate for Palawan’s gubernatorial race in 2010, denied rumors that the medical mission was part of his political campaign.

According to him, the medical mission was just pure charity work.

“Just ask these people if they know me. I am not campaigning. I’ve never introduced myself to them,” he expressed adding that it is not the JCA Foundation who will run for 2010.

“It is not the JCA Foundation whom you will vote. The foundation is not an individual; it is just a mere streamer,” Alvarez said.

Aside from the medical mission, Alvarez was also set to give scholarship grants to high school graduates. According to him, the JCA Foundation is in the process of establishing a school in Palawan that will offer semi-vocational courses such as Hotel, Restaurant, and Tours Management and Physical Therapy.