A Noble Cause with St. Luke’s Medical Center

“Blood is life in existence as ‘Soul’ is essence giving life, therefore Blood is ‘life giving’ Soul” Aristotle (A syllogism on realism) However we contend with Aristotle’s premises, contemporary epoch will tell that without blood man can not exist. This is how AG&P looks at the blood letting & donation campaigns relevantly. The blood letting campaign is an AG&P obligation aimed to minister our host communities and most especially our employees, not to mention those ‘john and jane do’s’ in need. 102 registered to voluntarily make a contribution recently, April 27, 2011, 65 were actually extracted from MITC, GSD, AG&PFI, TWS, Engr’r, In-house, PEM, PAD, HRD, Time keeping, PSD, MPCoop, DCC, QC, SubCon, Safety, Clinic. AG&P Managers Dr. Michael Lim Cayetano, Chris L. Cabildo, Leopoldo R. Salcedo and Ernesto P. Morales earliest came to be extracted boosting morale to 102 others. St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) arrived at 9AM in great surprise to see the extended lines of donors in the AG&P Foundation building. St Luke’s Dra. Laila was overwhelmed to see how AG&P nobled the tradition in life-gift giving and was apprehensive to announce that they brought insufficient blood containers to accommodate everyone. SLMC admitted that their experience proved them wrong to presume lesser turn over in Batangas. They thought that AG&P would hardly invite more than 50 donors due to proximity and it being an industry business unlined with CSRs and soft orientations. Everyone was expecting to be served but the scarcity of materials held the entire half in suspended waiting. To those who waited patiently, SLMC pledged to return with more blood containers and extra dense blood bags. The activity was so inspiring that even with hoops and flaws people still supported the blood letting and donation programs of AG&P and AG&PFI. And for whatever reason, personal or community cent, voluntarism and cooperation still eulogized the soft heart of industrialization in Batangas. They keep coming back to donate more and to donate regularly. AG&P moved other ‘like businesses’ to charity as seen in the most recent PNRC and PEZA, for 2010-2011, nobility commendations where the latter received the Most Outstanding Blood Donor in the province of Batangas and Philippine’s Most Outstanding Community Projects awards. (Ben S. Aclan)

AG&P donates 2,500 Books to Children

This year, 2011, the AG&P Company of Manila Foundation, Inc., looks deeper into mass coaching being promoted by the Department of Education, under circular no. 433 series of 2011, campaigning to indemnify children ages 5 and above to receive better shares in education through ‘book driven’ and ‘I-I child literacy’ programs (Individual Instruction). Two institutions benefited in the AG&PFI and RCM-BATS literacy campaigns, the Divine Care Christian School of Bauan, Inc. and the Barangay Bagong Silangan - Susanna Hall/Payatas A&B Quezon City Library. Reverend Pedro M. Aranda, School Administrator depicts DCCSB, Inc. as a ‘four door apartment type’ Christian School in Manghinao Proper, Bauan, Batangas with 38 auspicious students. The school is being sustained by donations coming from community sponsors and Christian brothers and sisters. 50% of the students are scholars. Scholars, to DCCSB, Inc., are students from low wage or no wage earning families who pay nothing for education. DCCSB, Inc. lacks the means to infrastructure and educational paraphernalia. They don’t even have a library or set of reference/text books for daily instructions. Students share paperbacks to facilitate edification. How miserable the school may seem, AG&P found light in the faces of the teachers, hosts and students amidst destitution. Rev. Aranda foresees at least 50 more scholars to enroll from underprivileged families by June 2011. Just recently AG&P Company of Manila Foundation, Inc and The Rotary Club of Makati, Inc – Books Across the Seas surprised the Christian minister with 500 new children’s books to fit the book shelves AG&P also donated. Quantity matters? Does it really? Still April 2011, AG&P Vice-President for Finance and Administration, Marcial P. Morales Jr. handed through Ben S. Aclan, AG&P Community Relation Manager, 2000 assorted hard and soft bounded books for Barangay Bagong Silangan Library represented by its Barangay Captain Chrisell ‘Beng’ Beltran and Bro Arnold Antipado for the Couples for Christ Ministry. The annual commitment of AG&P VP MP Morales Jr. to share his blessings to the needy moved AG&P and AG&PFI to solicit from RCM-BATS reference materials for the young Filipinos of barangay Bagong Silangan. Books in Mathematics, Science, English & Language, Pros and Poetry, Music, Social Sciences, Economy, Literature, quiz hand outs and teaching instructions comprised the 34 bundled boxes delivered. 8 shelves in the BS Susanna Hall needed to be filled with books to accommodate at least 10,000 pupil residents of Barangay Bagong Silangan to down hill Payatas A and B. With the initial 2000 books for the three lowland area barangays of Quezon City, children will now find time to read and be learned. They will have more access to new local and imported books thus develop better habits to learning.

VICTOR ANGLO

“Gin makes my life complete”

Francisco “Rudy” Villanueva – AG&P Warehouseman – “My father-in-law was addicted to Gin (liquor). He never knew what’s coming. Now he is in agony and I can’t do anything to stop the pain”

The time Mr. Anglo visited Dr. Michael Cayetano was the day AG&PFI was recuperating the loss of a cancer patient from Gulibay, Bauan, Batangas who the foundation assisted for several months before demise.

Victor Anglo, a 54 year old, ex-AG&P warehouseman, father to three (Jimmy, Jennifer and Jason), an ex-barangay councilor for 8 years of Manghinao, Bauan, Batangas and a good provider to Mrs. Teodora the wife, was diagnose with unknown cause of weaker bones, diabetes, multiple organ disorder and a incised patient on cholecystectomy.

Around the later months of 2010, Victor was diagnosed by Dr. Berberabe of the St. Patrick’s Hospital to have stones in the bladder. According to Dr. Berberabe, Anglo’s pain in the abdomen was caused by cuts on the contracting walls of the bladder from sharp edges of calcifying stones inside his body. This has to be extracted through cholecystectomy - a surgical removal of the gallbladder.

It is the most common method for treating symptomatic gallstones and a major abdominal surgery in which the surgeon removes the gallbladder through a 5-7 inch incision. Patients usually remain in the hospital overnight and may require several additional weeks to recover at home.

How much did Mr. Victor Anglo spend for the operation? P75,000.00 plus. How the family gathered the money to pay for the operation was already miracle to them because Victor already sold almost everything he had a year before the operation. He was a total bankrupt and a dissolved patient.

Three years ago, Victor had two huge houses in Bucal, Manghinao, Bauan, Batangas. He supported three children, his children’s children, children’s schooling and daily groceries. He was well respected for his outstanding community services being a popular barangay councilor and adviser to tanods (local security unit). His equity to popularity was his generosity. He was known to be a great host and a good compatriot (magaling makisama).

He always had time to give any gentleman a toss for a glass of tonic and gin. The routine made him addicted to liquor.

2009, sudden green liquid spurred from his anus, followed by unbearable abdominal pains, which held Victor aback and made him bed ridden for several weeks. At first, Victor was too proud to go to the doctor. He was even prouder to accept his illness. He preferred consulting with quack doctors. After all measures were exhausted Mr. Anglo decided to consult a physician.

He spent "a lot" finding impossible cures for his ailment. He practically lost everything in self medications and travels. By the time he went to Dr. Berberabe, he was already broke and anguishing. Anglo could not literally stand up anymore.

His wife, Teodora, worked days and nights hopping from one market to another, to and from open side streets selling “kakanin” (street food) to sustain Victor’s medication. But Teodora’s futile quests to augment expenses were not enough for Victor's Bladder operation. She then resolved to beg for both food and medical assistance from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO), government medical institutions, co-government employees and politicians.

Victor's last straw, finally, was to undergo cholecystectomy which afterwards only worsened his abdominal pains. Whether from the operation or his attitude, Anglo was diminishing faith in self and the Lord.

Francisco “Rudy” Villanueva, son-in-law to Victor, an active AG&P warehouseman, in their frustration, decided to approach the AG&P Company of Manila Foundation, Inc. as a last recourse. BEN S. ACLAN, Community Relation Manager and Marketing and Information Manager, accommodated Rudy by appointing Shirley Alialy (Assistant CRD) and Rosulo Carag (ComRel Supervisor) to assist in whatever means.

Dr. Michael Cayetano, AG&P Physician, immediately invited Mr. Anglo to the AG&P Satellite clinic for a check up then followed by series of consultations and medical assessment for days. Medicines like Mefenemic Acids, Glimmer (Glimmerite), Norizel, Vitamins and the like were given to the patient for free by the foundation. Regular counseling was also facilitated by AG&PFI to help the patient surpass any psychological anguish.

The AG&PFI, through Dr. Michael Cayetano, endorsed Mr. Anglo and Rudy to Senator Pia Cayetano to the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center. The foundation has to be in the senate several times just to meet the honorable senator to discuss the patient’s condition. The foundation was not relenting in following up with the Public Assistance Office and HIMEX of JRRMMC so that Mr. Victor Anglo would be able to smoothly process documentations without delay in his medical tests.

Senator Pia Ceyetano openly gave a guarantee letter amounting to P12,000.00 to Mr. Anglo for clinical MRI and CITISCAN. His clinical check-up and tests with the JRRMMC served well to discover cures for his ailments.

After several weeks of continuous check up with AG&PFI, AG&P Clinic and Dr. Michael Cayetano, Mr. Anglo recovered weight and was able to move freely without much pain in the abdomen and bones.

What was fascinating about the story was how Mr. Anglo fought the deadly addiction to his vice. Being Alcoholic to gin brought the patient misery physically, morally and spiritually.

AG&PFI supports those in need and in most desperate times… AG&P changes lives.