Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal
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Upon entrance to this building, I find myself at the end of a long waiting line, probably only a fourth of about 800 people that would come to visit Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal (SOJR) for the day, all of whom wants to avail many out-patient services that it offers. Being a public hospital and as part of the mandate, Sentro Opthalmolohiko serves to provide charity services for the less fortunate members of the society.
Opposite the threshold, I could see a large image of Rizal to greet the patients, a picture of him as he was operating an elderly man from the community, depicting that even though he was from a middle class family, he had the heart to take compassion for the marginalized population.
After submitting my name to be waited upon, I sit among the vacant chairs to wait for my name to be called. The first thing I noticed was that the whole place was air-conditioned. I marveled at this because all the public hospitals I went to seem to look like the ruins of an ancient civilizations, probably Rome. But this building was different. It had comfortable seats, not the ones that was handed down from generation to generation that looked like it was manufactured at the time of Rizal himself.\
Yes, it was air-conditioned, and in my experience, that meant a place where the marginalized are banished and are told not to touch anything, or else shooed away because you had to wear good clothes to serve as a ticket to getting in and be treated as a human being and. I half-expected the guard to come across me and say, “You are not allowed here. This place is high facility and are only reserved for important persons.”, or to say, “Do not step on that tile, your feet is too filthy.”
That was how the world was made. If you’re not part of the privileged few that had the mark of gold on their foreheads, you weren’t going to be saved from death. It was the line I heard someone say, “Sorry nalang”. “Sorry nalang” No one can do anything about it. Death is death, and destitution is destitution. And I do understand. I was not born yesterday. There’s just not enough resources to provide medical health for everyone. No health security in this country, let alone food security. But I was still a child desperate against this harsh reality. And looking at Rizal’s image as he stooped over an elderly man, I thought to myself, that perhaps I also have the right to live, even though reality is screaming that I had no such privilege.
It was not long before my name was called. I soon found out that Consultation and diagnosis are free of charge, the Sentro only charged a small amount for the use of equipment--- a meagre php32 compared to the php1000 that I was expecting.
Ophthalmology and Rizal’s Legacy
Our national hero has left a lot of legacy. These legacies are dotted all over the country. On the walk
to the local park, we could see monuments of Rizal, no doubt, the government’s way to remind us of our Filipino spirit, and to reinforce our sense of unity and identity. And for Sentro Oftalmologico, this spirit is portrayed by their undying service to the Filipino people.
Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal is the referral center named after Dr. Jose Rizal who was himself an ophthalmologist. It is the referral center of the whole country when it comes to Ophthalmology. The building is easily located on Taft Avenue, Manila inside Philippine General Hospital compound – a tertiary state-owned hospital of the University of the Philippines. Like all of Rizal’s continued legacy, it is also a gift sent from the heavens.
The Sentro Oftalmolohiko is unique is many aspects. It is the house of the most modern equipments and facilities. Aside from having the best doctors, and quality and efficient services, this national eye-referral center also gives affordable service for the Filipinos suffering from eye problems nationwide.
It functions as the department of Opthalmology for both UP-PGH and UP College of Medicine, consisting of 40 consultants, and 40 residents.
Unlike other hospitals, who gives the residents the job of servicing the patients, the consultants here are the ones given with the responsibility of caring for them. This service is extended even to the charity patients.
To bask it all up, the Sentro does not just house experts in ophthalmology, which is by far already a subfield of the discipline of Medicine, it also houses specialists in all kinds of subspecialty in ophthalmology, such as cataracts, glaucoma, cornea, and neuro-ophthalmology.
And since the Sentro is complete with its equipments, it is capable of training new doctors who want to specialize in any sub-specialty. Because of this the Sentro has now been licensed by the World Health Organization to be the regional Training center in pediatric Ophthalmology.
Rizal and his Ophthalmology File
Jose Rizal is the most revered historical figure in the Philippines. He was an intellectual, political activist, a doctor, a novelist, and a poet. Rizal did not only excel in humanities. Rizal also studied drawing, sculpture and painting and was so good at it that he exhibited a quite bust at Salon de Paris in 1889.
But perhaps, oblivious to a lot of people is that Rizal is a trained physician in ophthalmology and has in fact trained under 2 prominent ophthalmologist in Europe, Louis De Wrecker, and Otto Becker. The Filipino populace more or less knew him under the title of Doctor, indicating that they thought of him as a general practitioner of medicine. The fact that he has specifically specialized in ophthalmology is not very well known in the general public.
Rizal’s mother’s failing eyesight prompted Rizal to pursue Ophthalmology. This might be such a simple thing when you look at it, but I do not see it as such. Here was a woman with failing eyesight, and ten to one, there was nothing anyone can do about it. But it turns out Rizal is competent enough to do something about it, to learn the discipline, to find a way to solve the problem with his capabilities and resources. Especially in the 19th century, there was no such thing as port-graduate training. You have to be under the tutelage of a prominent practitioner not unlike, apprenticeship.
Under the supervision of De Wecker, a prominent ophthalmologist in France, Rizal was able to progress in his studies, serving as his assistant. But because the cost of living was too high in Paris, he transferred to Germany undaunted by the fact that he had to learn a new language.
After learning all he can abroad, Rizal went back to the Philippines to practice his profession, thereby gaining fame. Some patients often travelled far in order to seek his care.
By this time, he was able to operate on his Mother’s cataract. But unfortunately, his mother did not obey his after-surgery instructions. Such experiences may be the basis of the modern standard that surgeons should not operate on family members.
Rizal’s enduring Philosophy in the 21st century
Rizal’s vision for the country is very evident among his novels. One of his advocacies is that education is the key to freedom. He sought Educational reform to improve schools and their methods of teaching in the quest to elevate the country to a higher ground.
Inspired by the Enlightenment movement, he put emphasis on is his social philosophy of social justice and of poverty and wealth. He sought to improve the problems that eluded the country the 19th century: namely, the sorry state the Filipinos found themselves in the struggle with the friars.
Jose Rizal did not turn a blind eye to the needs of the poor and the ignorant members of society, even though he himself was not subjected to the same horrors. He had the heart to understand the need of the country for help and growth. It was not only Rizal’s intelligence that lead him to be the national hero, but rather, his belief that the Filipinos, however immature they are at the moment from the rest of the world, would still hold a huge potential in rising up in glory.
