Melanie “Sandee” Ng, past president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), braved Cebu’s notorious late afternoon Friday traffic from Bai Hotel to the Cebu Provincial Capitol last August 31 with yours truly as her privileged passenger.
We just came from the awarding ceremony of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Triennial Awards (RTA) where she served as the chairperson of the Search Committee.
The RTA is social development award in the Visayas and Mindanao. It recognizes exemplary individuals and outstanding institutions that went the extra mile to bring about change and enhancing the quality of life of various groups and communities.
I have been writing about the RTA and the stories of hope, commitment and perseverance since 2009.
These men and women are the role models of community service and nation-building.
This year, I wrote about Dr. Roel Cagape, the missionary doctor of Malapatan, Sarangani province, for the 7th RTA book. Dr. Cagape is one of the finalists of the exemplary individual award.
To document his life, I joined Leo Urpiana of RAFI and Errol Fernandez (external validator) in General Santos City and Malapatan to follow Dr. Cagape for four days and interview different personalities in the process. This happened last April.
We got to know Dr. Cagape, a graduate of the Cebu Institute of Medicine, and how he implemented creative health services such as the e-health center, Itext si Ate at Kuya, Walking Blood Bank and Ambulansyang Kabayo in far-flung communities, many of which can only be reached after an eight-hour trek.
In the RAFI book, I wrote: “The e-health centers have containers for medicines for certain illnesses. Dr. Cagape developed a coding system where the center in-charge sends him a text message about the symptoms of the illness a person is experiencing and then he sends them the code of the medicine they need.
Those in need of blood also sends him text messages and then he blasts the messages to his network of volunteers.”
What made Dr. Cagape interesting was his innovative Ambulansyang Kabayo (horse ambulance) which transported patients from the mountain to the part of the village where they can be safely transferred to a vehicle that brought them to the hospital.
His clinics cater to indigents, tribal community members, Muslims and residents.
The award for Exemplary Individual went to Dr. Benedict Edward Valdez, president of the Maharlika Charity Foundation Inc. in Davao City, while the Philippine Eagle Foundation won the award for Outstanding Institution.
When the winner was announced, I saw Dr. Cagape clapped his hands and smile.
It was a smile of victory that reminded me of the day in Malapatan when I asked why he is passionate and committed about his advocacy for more than 30 years.
“All these are not for me. This is for the greater glory of God who gave me my life,” he said.
This is a man who does not want to be remembered as the doctor who climbed mountains to heal people.
“When I die, I want my body to be donated to a medical school so I can be studied rather than rot under the ground. All these are not my workings because I am just an instrument of the kindness of the Lord.
I was still reeling in joy and hope when Miss Sandee parked her car at the Capitol grounds. We were about to enter the Social Hall to witness the first AAA Renaissance Cebuana, a pageant that highlights the athletic, academic and artistic qualities of a Cebuana who embraces women empowerment as her advocacy.
There are terrible things happening in this country but Cebu has several stories of inspiration to tell. I am proud to call this place my home.