P-NOY joins PAGCOR in spreading Christmas cheers to wounded soldiers, hydrocephalus children
President Benigno S. Aquino III joined the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) in bringing hope and yuletide cheer to indigent children with hydrocephalus, wounded and sick soldiers.
(Photo) President Benigno S. Aquino III and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Cristino Naguiat Jr. (middle) hand a check amounting to P864,000 to Hydrocephalus Foundation Executive Director Bernardo J.B. Mitra, Sr. (left), during the culmination of PAGCOR’s Pamaskong Handog gift-giving project. The donation will cover pre-and post operation procedures for 24 children beneficiaries afflicted with hydrocephalus. Each of the children will be allotted P36,000 for their treatment.
Together with top PAGCOR officials led by Chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat, Jr., President Aquino visited the wounded and sick soldiers under treatment at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center (V. Luna Hospital) and children patients of Hydrocephalus Foundation of the Philippines.
The two institutions became the last two of 24 beneficiaries of PAGCOR’s “Pamaskong Handog 2010 – 12 Days of Christmas” gift-giving project. Chairman Naguiat says the project, which actually ran for 13 days, was a huge success. "We are happy to have somehow made a difference in the lives of the less fortunate," he said.
The AFP Medical Center through its Commander, Col. Joselito Avancena, received modern hospital equipment from PAGCOR like 20 nebulizers, automatic hospital bed, operating table, ultraviolet sterilizer, laryngoscope and heavy duty section machine, among others. Apart from the equipment which amount to P1 million, the state-gaming agency pledged to donate another million pesos to the AFP Medical Center.
(Photo) President Benigno S. Aquino III hands a P36,000 pledge certificate to one of the parents of 24 hydrocephalus babies who are beneficiaries of “PAGCOR's Pamaskong Handog 2010 - 12 Days of Christmas” gift-giving activity at the AFP Medical Center (V Luna Hospital) Auditorium in Quezon City. The amount will cover pre-and post operation procedures such as laboratory and pedia clearance, CT scan, operating room charges, antibiotics and follow-up check ups.
On the other hand, Hydrocephalus Foundation Executive Director Bernardo Mitra Sr. received from the President and PAGCOR a check amounting to P864,000 for the treatment of 24 hydrocephalus children who belong to poor families.
The President personally handed PAGCOR’s pledge of P36,000 each to 12 of the 24 hydrocephalus babies.
The amount will cover pre-and post operation procedures like laboratory and pediatrician clearance, CT scan, operating room charges, antibiotics and follow-up check ups. The cerebral shunt – a device used to treat hydrocephalus – will be donated to the Hydrocephalus Foundation by American companies. The neurosurgeon’s services, meanwhile, will be rendered by volunteer neurosurgeons of Hydrocephalus Foundation.
One of the first to benefit from the donation is Ma. Prinze Cid, a one-year-old baby from Cagayan de Oro, who will soon undergo free operation at the AFP Medical Center. Ma. Prinze is also suffering from meningocele, a condition characterized by the protrusion of the spinal cord due to meningococal infection that occurred during infancy.
“We are very grateful to the President and PAGCOR for the donation to these kids,” Mitra says. “Babies who recovered from hydrocephalus often live normal lives when they grow up. You’ll be amazed that there is, after all hope for babies with this kind of illness. The shunts, however, have to be replaced approximately after every 10 years,” Mitra added.
The Pamaskong Handog event was made more festive when celebrities like Valerie Concepcion and actor Dingdong Dantes showed up and kept the patients entertained. Dantes and Concepcion pledged to help one hydrocephalus patient each. “It is such an honor to be a part of this event. Thank you to PAGCOR for giving me a chance to visit the hydrocephalus patients and sick soldiers,” Dindong Dantes said.
OPM artist Joey Generoso and the PAGCOR Voice Symphony serenaded the patients with Christmas carols while Ms. Earth 2009, concurrently Ms. PAGCOR Sandra Seifert also graced the gift-giving activity.
Private First Class Rodelito Daasco, 47, one of the 300 Pamaskong Handog beneficiaries at AFP Medical Center said soldiers like him are happy to know that institutions like PAGCOR remember them, especially in this season of sharing.
As a soldier, Daasco spent most of his life at the battlefields and army camps in Catbalogan, Samar. After several years in service, he now suffers from heart ailment and may undergo coronary angioplasty, a procedure used to open blocked heart arteries. He has been confined at the AFP Medical Center since October.
The AFP Medical Center is one of the premier health institutions in the country and has been serving AFP personnel and their dependents for the past 73 years. From a 60-bed capacity hospital, the AFP Medical Center now has 1,200 bed capacity.
Majority of the patients currently confined at the AFP Medical Center are victims of encounter with rebel groups in areas like Samar, Basilan and other parts of Mindanao. The hospital also caters to AFP personnel and their dependents with cancer and renal diseases.