Cebu officials mourn loss of community dentist

Dr. Annie Irene Rufo, the community dentist who died in a tragic road accident in Argao town, southern Cebu on September 4, 2023. | Photo from DOH Dentists Deployment Project Central Visayas’ Facebook page.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Local officials in southern Cebu province mourned the loss of Dr. Annie Irene Rufo, a dentist who dedicated her career to serving communities there before her life was cut tragically in a fatal road mishap on Monday, September 4.

Boljoon Mayor Jojie Derama said they were saddened by the untimely death of Dr. Annie Irene Rufo, who suffered a terrible fate in Argao while on her way to work on Monday.

Rufo was deployed as the town’s community dentist since April of this year, said Derama. The news of her tragic passing shocked the mayor.

“The Municipality of Boljoon is saddened for the loss of Doc Annie Irene O. Rufo… (And we) would like to thank Doc Annie for the services she delivered to the Municipality of Boljoon,” Derama wrote in a statement.

Provincial Board Members Raymond Calderon and Stanley Caminero also expressed their condolences to Rufo’s family and friends.

“I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Doc Annie for the services rendered to our fellow Boljoanons and to the rest of the Second District LGUs (local government units) where she also extended her services,” Calderon said.

“To her loved ones and colleagues, please know that you have our deepest condolences and sympathy. In this time of grief, may you find strength and solace in the embrace of family and friends who care deeply for you,” added Caminero.

Rufo died after the sports utility vehicle (SUV) she drove rammed into the rear end of a trailer truck parked right beside the highway in Brgy. Bulasa, Argao town past 5 a.m. on Monday.

The dentist had been part of the Central Visayas’ Dentists Deployment Project of  Department of Health (DOH), the program aimed to provide basic dental services to far-flung areas and marginalized sectors.

At least 30 dentists, including Rufo, formed part of DOH’s Dentists Deployment Project in Central Visayas, according to the program’s official Facebook page.

Her next assignment after Boljoon would have been Santander, the southernmost town in Cebu province. Rufo had also been deployed in the towns of Dalaguete and Argao.

While official findings have yet to be disclosed, police in Argao town believed that Rufo might have fallen asleep at the wheel that resulted in the fatal crash.

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