This city is my home, where I grew up. My house is just a mile from this vantage point.
The City of Makati, or simply Makati, is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the greater metropolitan area of the national capital of the Philippines. It is the major financial, commercial and economic hub in the Philippines, often referred to as the financial capital of the Philippines since many global companies have their offices and headquarters in the city.
Although its population is slightly less than half a million, the daytime population of Makati City is estimated to be a million during a typical working weekday because of a large number of people go to the city to work, shop, and do business.
During a previous career I was Hospital Administrator and Acting Medical Director of this hospital, Subic Bay Medical Center. This was the former US Naval base hospital. It was a unique hospital which was nestled up in a hill in a tropical rain forest.
The Hospital was designated for 90 operating beds with facilities for expansion to 141 beds, covering all primary clinical specialties. It is the only hospital within the Freeport Zone. The hospital has seen more than 2 million people thus far.
The nearby forest is a jungle training ground for US Navy Seals.
An aerial view of Subic Bay showing the Seaport and Airport. It is designated a Special Economic Freeport Zone.
Subic Bay is approximately 4 n mi wide and 9 n mi long. The entrance to Subic Bay opens seaward, and Grande Island, located in the mouth of the bay, divides the entrance into two channels. The main channel, lying to the west of Grande Island is wide, deep, and can accommodate large ships and submarines.
The port consists of an outer harbor and an inner basin. When Subic Bay was a US Navy installation, all facilities were available for assignment to US Navy vessels. The sheltering effect provided by the surrounding terrain qualifies Subic Bay as a much safer port in heavy weather than Hong Kong.
The posh Subic Bay Yacht Club lies next to the port.
The 12-15 June 1991, eruption of Mount Pinatubo volcano was the largest eruption in the past five decades and led to the largest recorded evacuation of people due to a volcanic threat. The cataclysm essentially ended the US military presence. US forces abandoned Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base after the Philippine government voted not to renew a basing agreement in 1992. After the cleanup, Subic Bay was reopened and designated a freeport.
There is still a sizable retired US military personnel who chose to retire here.
My Alma Mater. Picture of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay College of Medicine above and the Medical Center below.
I come from a family of doctors. My youngest brother and Mom were also graduates of the College. My brother served as a beloved Ophthalmologist consultant there, before succumbing to a cerebral aneurysm.
My dad was a cardiologist, a product of Manila Central University. My other brother and cousin studied at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.
Manila Sanitarium and Hospital, an adventist institution, was where I took my medical internship. So many good memories that warm my heart.
Ever since then, I've served in various Adventist hospitals when I migrated to the US: White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles and St Helena Hospital in Napa County, CA.
There's something zen-like in working at these hospitals. I love working in ICU's where they do open-heart cases.
A watershed moment. The People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution and the Philippine Revolution of 1986) was a series of nonviolent and prayerful mass street demonstrations that occurred in 1986.
The majority of the demonstrations took place at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, known more commonly by its acronym EDSA, and involved over 200,000 Filipino civilians as well as several political, military, and religious figures. The protests, fueled by a resistance and opposition of years of corrupt governance by Marcos, occurred from February 22 to 25 in 1986, when Marcos fled Malacañang Palace to the United States and conceded to Corazon Aquino as President of the Philippines.
When the news of Marcos' departure reached the people, many rejoiced and danced in the streets.
Many people around the world rejoiced and congratulated Filipinos they knew. Bob Simon, an anchorman at CBS said, "We Americans like to think we taught the Filipinos democracy; well, tonight they are teaching the world."
It was at this spot during the 4-day revolution where my brothers and I drove and parked the car in front of a military tank to prevent it from advancing towards the people just a few meters in front of it.
We stopped a tank! (I was so relieved that the tank withdrew and went back to its base. Imagine having to explain a flattened car to my dad. Phew!)
Islet in the Sulu Archipelago , Philippines . More than 6,000 of the 7,100 Philippine Islands are uninhabited, like this islet in the Sulu Archipelago, a set of 500 islands that separate the Celebes and the Sulu seas. Their extraordinary biodiversity is under threat, not from distant industrial sites but from the effects of global pollution. These islands, which barely rise above the surface of the water, are among the first potential victims of global warming and are certain to disappear when the sea level rises.
On an island (Cagayan de Sulu) many times larger than this, so large it had a dirt landing strip longer than any international airport. I and my family started a foundation that built a school and clinic among a leper colony. I taught health education classes to community leaders.
This is where the seed - of healing and helping communities grow - was planted in me. My circle of concern and influence started to expand.
