Page 45 - PR's - People & Culture

This was the start of a recognizable com- petence in his prac ce. He was cited as one of the top and outstanding doctors in Las Vegas (Las Ve- gas Magazine and United States Asian Chronicle, respec vely), Consumer Research of America’s Top Physician, and commended by the United State Senate for his dis nguished service award for outstanding humanitarian work to the com- munity by Senators John Ensign, Harry Reid, and Kenny Quinn. This was the glorious but humbly lived life of Dr. Berberabe in America.
Las Vegas: “An Interlude”
In 2007, he decided to return home. This was a hard decision. In this part of his life, he will let all those possible achievements and accom- plishments to pass him. He will forego all those great chances to establish a highly-pro table pro- fession. He will bring his wife Dra. Maria Jolet Ber- berabe and four children then with him in Batan- gas City, Philippines. But, what was with the big game plan shi ?
On those mes, he had thought of his parents. It was a common thing in Las Vegas that the elderlies are being taken care in facili es. Yes, they are tenderly taken care for...medica ons are regularly administered; on an hourly basis, someone looks a er them; a new lifestyle is pro- grammed for them...an accepted American way of life. But this is not what he wanted for his mom and dad. He believes that a son needs to look af- ter his parents in their senescence. For it is always him who strongly believes that a person should always honor thy parents.
Doc Jun: The Doctor without a Clinic
Nothing feels the same as being truly home. Upon his return, he had shared his ex- per se and life not just with his parents, but for the thousands of Batangueños underprivi- leged to seek medical assistance. This had not just touched his heart but also moved his life. He extended his profession to the needy by conduc ng medical, dental, and op cal re- lated community ac vi es; a new mission he ful lls for his kababayan (fellows). He con- ducted medical check-ups for gra s.
With the connec ons he had established and through his colleagues, medical and laborato- rial procedures (CT Scan, 2d-echo, MRI, birthing, cataract opera ons, circumcisions) mostly free of charge.
In an ordinary day, be it in a far, mountain- ous, coastal, or island-located barangay (commu- nity), one folk will wonder what a simply-dressed man with a stethoscope on his shoulders is doing under a tree or at the front of a community cha- pel with a small table together with a long cue of elderlies and schoolkids. This is his advocacy that caught the a rma on of his fellow Batangueños from the 105 barangays of Batangas City. A clinic under a tree, and he is the doctor without a clinic. Along with the acceptance and patroniza on of the Batangueños for his community works was the establishment of the non-government organi- za on Gusto Ko Healthy Ka – Sama Na Movement ( I Want You to be Healthy – Join Us) whose mem- bership now grows to 30, 000.
This has been his way of life... dedica ng the most he can give for his fellowmen in living the value of brotherhood and sharing the blessing he receives for the needy; the kind of life he wants to be prac ced by his children; the de ni on one can quickly think when hearing the name Dok Jun.
(In 2013, Dr. Emilio Francisco ‘Dok Jun’ Acosta Berberabe, Jr. was elected as Batangas City Vice Mayor. His on his 6th year of being in service and is running for another three-year term for 2019 – 2022.)
by Joe Anthony P. Claus
Photos: O ce of the City Vice Mayor Documen- ta on
CHARITY
Limelight is not only seen in Bright-lighted Cities
C.COM Spring 2019
45
I