Philippines

17Oct

By Person Matters Web TeamNo Comments

Vic Sison, Goalkeeper

Vic Sison, Goalkeeper Vic Sison, one of Philippine football's best goalkeepers, passed away on Thursday, October 14, at the age of 84 due to the coronavirus. "He was the best goalie in the 1950s," mentioned former Philippine Football Federation president Johnny Romualdez in a phone interview. ''[He] would have been 85 in December,'' Sison's son Philip told Rappler. The 5-foot-11 Sison was a strong leaper in getting corner kicks, rushed out of the box to handle forwards, and despite his youth, guided the older fullbacks in defense. Sison saw action for arguably the strongest Philippine football team made, the 1958 Asian Games squad that disappointed Japan 1-0 to reach the quarterfinals. The national team's backline was helmed by Sison, right fullback Ricardo Marmoleno, left fu...

11Oct

By Web TeamNo Comments

Philippines

CHR chair Chito Gascon dies of COVID-19

Commission on Human Rights Chairman Chito Gascon, 57-years-old, has died of COVID-19, his brother declared on Saturday. “Sa dami mong laban, sa COVID pa tayo na talo! Love you Kuya! RIP Chito Gascon,” his brother Miguel Gascon wrote in a Facebook post. [Translation: Of all the many battles you have fought, you lost to COVID. Love you, big brother! RIP, Chito Gascon.] Gascon had served the CHR for six years. Before leading the CHR, he was a member of the Human Rights Victims Claims Board, the body assigned to receive, evaluate, and investigate compensation claims made by victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law. The human rights lawyer and political activist who was also the youngest member of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution, a...

8Jul

By Web TeamNo Comments

Medics, Philippines, Profiles

Reino “Nong” Palacpac, pediatrician

Dr Reino “Nong” Palacpac, a pediatrician from Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital (JJASGH) in Manila, passed away due to Covid-19 on July 7, 2020. A Facebook post by the JJASGH said that Palacpac even considered how he can help fight the health crisis once he fully recovers from the virus until he succumbed to the complications caused by the said disease. Palacpac was hailed as a pioneer of the general hospital, serving under the children’s ward before the coronavirus took a toll on his health. “Ako po ay tauspusong nakikiramay sa pamilya ni Dr. Reino “Nong” Palacpac – siya po ay naging biktima rin ng COVID-19 mga kababayan,” City Mayor Isko Moreno said during his briefing. Moreno asked the city’s medical frontli...

29Jun

By Web TeamNo Comments

Neighbors, Philippines, Profiles, United States

John Eric Swing, community leader

John Eric Swing ‑ a leader in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown who had worked with multiple community organizations serving the Filipino American community – died on June 28, 2020, of COVID-19 complications. He was 48. He was the executive director of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), which is dedicated to Filipino American empowerment. Swing was appointed after a yearlong nationwide search. He was excited to work on the redevelopment of SIPA’s headquarters, which looked to include a small-business center, community space and a cultural center. The project was years in the making, and Swing had hoped to see it through. He had been a staff member at SIPA since 2015 and formed close relationships with coworkers. Eddy M. Gana Jr., who serves as SIPA’s mental health counselor,...

Filipina dies in UAE after delivering premature baby

28Jun

By Web TeamNo Comments

Neighbors, Philippines, Profiles, Sad But True, United Arab Emirates

Filipina dies in UAE after delivering premature baby

UAE doctors helped a Filipino mom deliver her infant of seven months after the mother had been in a critical condition due to complications brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 28-year-old Grace Joy Tiglao had been intubated as she had severe breathing problems and decided with the help of UAE specialists to undergo a cesarian procedure in order to save her baby, as per reports from GMA News. Following the successful delivery at 10:30 pm of May 23, Grace Joy died seven hours later at around 5:30 am on May 24 due to cardiac arrest. Tiglao’s husband Joseph, who also tested positive for COVID-19 a month prior, had recently been declared COVID-19 free as of June 27 after testing negative for the coronavirus twice in a row. He recalled that his wife wished t...

28Jun

By Web TeamNo Comments

High Profilers, Philippines, Profiles

Antonio Cuenco, politician

Antonio "Tony" Veloso Cuenco ‑ a Filipino politician who served as a council member for the 2nd District of the Cebu City Council – died of Covid-19 on June 27, 2020. He also served as the Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) from 2010 to 2013 and as representative of the 2nd District of Cebu City in the House of Representatives. Born on March 26, 1936, to a well-known family in Cebu, the Cuenco family, "Tony" was the son of former Gov. Manuel Cuenco and Milagros Veloso-Cuenco, the grandnephew of former Rep. Miguel Cuenco (5th district), and the grandson of the former Senate President, Mariano Jesús Cuenco. He was married to former congresswoman (2nd district), Nancy Roa-Cuenco with four children; Cebu City Counc...

14May

By Web TeamNo Comments

Medics, Philippines, Profiles, United Kingdom

Norman Austria, Healthcare Assistant

Norman Austria – a Healthcare Assistant at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB), Derby, England - passed away on 13 May 2020, due to COVID-19. Norman was 61 years old. A healthcare assistant at the Royal Derby Hospital is the latest NHS worker to have died after contracting coronavirus. Norman Austria, 61, was described as a "loved and respected" colleague who brought a "sense of calm" with him to work. His death comes on a day when Boris Johnson told MPs that 275 healthcare workers had died in the UK from Covid-19 in what he called a "deeply horrifying" toll. Originally from the Philippines, Mr Austria died on May 13, 2020, after several weeks of battling the disease in hospital. Although he had only just joined the team ...

11May

By Web TeamNo Comments

Medics, Philippines, Profiles, United Arab Emirates

Janet Daywan Alano, Nurse

Janet Daywan Alano – a nurse in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – passed away on 10 May,2020, after fighting with COVID-19. "A hero who has given her life to something bigger than oneself. We mourn for the passing of our fellow nurse Janette Daywan Alano. You made a good fight. May you rest in peace," PNA-UAE said in a Facebook post. Her condition deteriorated with coughs, fever, appetite loss, and declining oxygen saturation in the body. Janet had a history of asthma and diabetes. Source: Rappler Please help us in adding details.

8May

By Web TeamNo Comments

Medics, Philippines, Profiles

Dr Raul Diaz Jara, Cardiologist

Dr. Raul Jara, acknowledged as a pillar of cardiology in the Philippines, was also described by the Philippine Heart Association as a “father, teacher, mentor, poet, author, singer, colleague, friend.” He is remembered by patients as a soothing and calming healer who used music to heal the heart. In his younger days as an activist physician, he fought the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and risked his life by treating patients in the underground movement, running rings around the military by faking the names and records of the activists he treated. Later in life, he would remain steadfast and true to his oath, joining a group of doctors attending to an aging martial law figure who had been on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum. In a statement, Dr. Ling Jara-Salva, one of Dr. Jara...

8May

By Web TeamNo Comments

Philippines, Profiles, United States

Dr Leandro Resurreccion III

“There were no hugs, there were no kisses, and there were no goodbyes.” That, according to the family of Dr. Leandro Resurreccion III, was how the country’s foremost and pioneering pediatric surgeon signed off in his fight against the virus. To the very end, he was working on his vision for pediatric surgery, especially in liver transplants, according to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, where he was chief of the Pediatric Surgery Division. He was the hospital’s “first fallen soldier in the battle against COVID-19.” In a statement, the PCMC said Dr. Resurreccion was “well known locally and abroad as forward looking in his vision for pediatric surgery especially in liver transplants which he was working to the end. Always smiling, friendly and very â€˜cool’ he will be mi...