Annual Business Meeting
of the
Philippine Society of Gastroenterology
11. March 2008
Shangri-la EDSA Hotel
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Jaime G. Ignacio, M.D.
Esteemed members of the Council of Past Presidents, Fellow Officers and Members of the Board of
Directors, Chairs and members of the Accreditation and Specialty Board, Chairs and members of the
various Councils, Fellows and Diplomates of the Society, friends, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
Our Society has faithfully performed its functions and vigorously pursued its objectives and
aspirations as outlined in our Mission/Vision Statement and By-Laws. Allow me at this time to give
you a report on how the Society was steered the past year by the people you have chosen to lead it.
Commitment to Continuing Medical Education
As in years past, the Society committed itself to the propagation of knowledge in our field of
specialization. It is with pride that I report the success of last year’s Joint Annual Convention,
otherwise known as Philippine Digestive Health Week 2007. No less than an unprecedented 820
attendees registered in that meeting, consisting of PSG members and fellows-in-training, primary care
physicians and resident trainees. Aside from the very interesting and informative scientific program,
this meeting featured two innovations that significantly contributed to its success. First is the holding
of simultaneous scientific sessions, each catering to the interests of either specialist or the generalist.
That way, levels of discussion were tailor-made for the audience in attendance, thereby increasing
their relevance. A second innovation is the holding of our first Lay Forum on digestive health, entitled
“Tiyan-katutak na Istorya: Talakayan patungkol sa atay, sikmura at bituka,” held at the SM Megatrade
Hall 1 a day before the start of the Annual Convention. One thousand seven hundred registered
attendees gathered in that forum, which featured patient-oriented lay lectures aimed at stressing
digestive disease prevention as well as better understanding of the nature of common digestive
diseases. It earned numerous praises from the attendees as well as the media outfits that covered it. In
fact, at least one other medical specialty society patterned their own first lay forum after our own,
citing its relevance, timeliness and organization.
Our current convention is similarly designed. Much preparation has gone into it and the current
Organizing Committee has labored extensively for months to give us a fulfilling and relevant meeting
this year. With the interesting Scientific Program and powerhouse Faculty, there is little doubt that
this meeting will likewise be a big success. I am happy to announce that as I speak, initial reports
indicate an attendance at the Lay Forum last Sunday of 2,800 and that of the Annual Convention at
712. Allow me to commend the efforts of the Over-all Chair Dr. Luis Salvador, Lay Forum Chair Dr. Jane
Campos and PSDE Convention Chair Dr. Albert Ismael for this outstanding achievement.
Last November, we held our successful Fourth Midyear Convention in Baguio City. Three hundred fifty
eight physicians attended that meeting, consisting of our own members as well as some primary care
practitioners. Again, this meeting is unique in the sense that it is the first monothematic convention on
the esophagus, centering mainly on topics like Barrett’s esophagus, GERD, esophageal motility and
endoscopic issues among others. It is hoped that the kind of high-level discussions generated in that
meeting will serve to inspire future symposia of a similar nature. Congratulations go to the second
Vice-President Dr. Randy Mercado and his Midyear Organizing Committee for this feat.
Merging CME with Community Consciousness
Encouraged by the success of the First Lay Forum, we then focused our attention early last year on an
area where we feel we can improve on: community consciousness. While the Society has long been
conducting CME lectures and postgraduate courses for physicians in the provinces, we strongly felt
that we can also make a similar impact on the lives of the people residing in those areas by conducting
mini-Lay Fora, thereby directly bringing much needed information to areas where it is most needed.
This is especially important for them because as we all know, medical information in the countryside
is still rife with misconceptions, inaccuracies and “old wives’ tales”. The Committee on Scientific
Activities conducted seven Postgraduate Courses and mini-Lay Fora in a 10-month period, covering
Tuguegarao, Batangas, Mindoro, Tacloban, Surigao, Davao and Gen. Santos employing our members as
speakers and resource persons. All in all a total of 672 primary care physicians attended these seven
postgraduate courses that featured informative updates and active discussions on upper GI disease,
hepatitis, fatty liver disease, colon cancer and nutritional diseases among others. In turn, a total of 410
provincial layman attendees, consisting of teachers, healthcare workers, studentsand ordinary people,
listened, participated and learned in the mini-Lay Fora associated with each postgraduate course.
We likewise directed our efforts at expanding our hepatitis B vaccination program. The Committee on
Civic Actions decided to join forces with the Committee on Scientific Activities and conduct the
vaccination sessions in tandem with the postgraduate course and mini-Lay Fora. Three hundred
twenty children from needy families in these seven areas were vaccinated during these sessions,
representing a more than 100% increase in the number of vaccinee children from the previous year.
It is hoped that with this simple act of expanding our community consciousness, we not only attend to
the needs of our less fortunate countrymen, but we also advance our advocacy of promoting digestive
health for all through accurate public information as well as present a public face of the PSG as an
organization of high social relevance.
These gains would not be made possible without the creativity and perseverance of Dr. Gene Mappala,
chair of the Committee on Scientific Activities and Dr. Carla Sibulo, chair of the Committee on Civic
Action and PRO of the Society, as well as all the members and colleagues who coordinated with and
supported these activities.
Enhancing GI Training
The quality of training is very important, and an assessment of the kind of training one gets is equally
as important. This assessment is conducted through the Fellows’ Evaluation Examination (FEE), which
was administered to all Fellows-in-Training last November as part of a continuing effort to achieve
adequate preparedness for the Certifying Examinations. Dr. Dina Gonzales, chair of the Committee on
Training Programs, and her members made a comparative analysis of the results of the FEE with the
likelihood of success in the Certifying examinations. The results verified that a good performance in
the FEE is an accurate predictor of one’s ability to succeed in the Certifying Examinations, thereby
validating the FEE as an important tool training institutions can use to assess their trainees’ academic
needs. The Committee also nominated four members to the Asia Pacific Association of
Gastroenterology and Endoscopy sponsored Train the Trainers Seminar in India and the US, with the
objective of acquiring updated training skills that can be disseminated to our various accredited
institutions.
The Specialty Board chaired by Dr. Estrellita Ruiz administered the Certifying Examinations last July
with. With the completion of Dr. Ruiz’s term, Dr. Rogelio Umil was appointed as the next chair. The
Accreditation Board visited and accredited all Training Institutions, and stressed the importance of
medical documentation.
Both the Specialty Board and the Accreditation Board agreed to officially include members of the
Philippine Society of Digestive Endoscopy as members of their committees. In a PSG Board Resolution,
the certifying arm shall now be known as the Philippine Specialty Board of Gastroenterology and
Digestive Endoscopy and the accrediting arm as the Philippine Accreditation Board of
Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy.
Furthering Research in Gastroenterology
The Joint Committee on Research and Research Education, chaired by Dr. Gentry Dee, and coordinated
by Dr. Joseph Bocobo, took several initiatives to promote and improve scientific research. It conducted
a three-day Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) Workshop in July at the Meralco Manpower Training and
Development Center. This important seminar was attended by 28 Fellows-in-Training and featured
lectures on scientific paper writing and protocol development, using the Internet for literature search
as well as a workshop on how to critically appraise research papers. Drs. Clarissa Lucero, Allan
Policarpio and Felix Domingo lectured on and conducted the various sessions. A Good Clinical Practice
(GCP) seminar was also held in September, describing to our young trainees how to properly conduct
scientific clinical research. Innovations in the conduct of the Critically Appraised Topic (CAT)
conferences were also instituted to increase the participation of the Fellows whose institutions are not
hosting the conference. In a Board resolution, the Committee was appointed to monitor the quality
and quantity and set updated minimum requirements regarding the research papers of Fellows-inTraining, and submit their findings to the Accreditation and Specialty Boards with respect to eligibility
to the Certifying Examinations.
Professionalizing the Secretariat
The Society recognizes the importance of a competent and professional Secretariat Staff in the day-today performance of its functions. Aside from this, the Staff is the official representative of the Society
in its dealings with sponsors and other professional organizations. It is for this reason that the Staff
underwent a series of Employee seminars conducted by Ms. Liza Alivia, a Human Resources expert.
These seminars are designed to acquaint them with standard office methods such as filing techniques,
office and telephone etiquette and even interpersonal relationships among others. The end result of
these activities is the formulation of an Employees’ Guidebook for the Staff, something that they can
refer to when they would like to clarify certain aspects that affect their work in the office and even in
the field.
As officers of the Society, members of the Board of Directors are also office managers and employers.
The Board of Directors, therefore, underwent a series of Leadership Seminars also conducted by Ms.
Alivia. These sessions have enhanced the ability of each member of the Board to react appropriately,
productively and decisively to less than favorable situations that sometimes occur in the course of
their terms. Skills that enable one to bring out the best performance in anyone, be he a colleague or a
member of the Office Staff, is a trait that was highlighted.
To further facilitate the use of these newfound skills and abilities, the Office recently underwent a
much needed physical renovation, or facelift if you will. Utilizing proceeds from the APASL Meeting in
Manila in 2006 earmarked especially for the upgrading of the Secretariat Office, new shelves and
storage space, flooring, wall treatments and office furniture have been placed to increase efficiency
and give the place a more corporate look and feel.
It is but fitting to mention that the efforts of the Secretary of the Society, Dr. Diana Payawal, have been
most instrumental in undertaking these reforms and improvements.
Philippine Journal of Gastroenterology
A substantial fourth issue of the Philippine Journal of Gastroenterology has been published featuring
more papers, features and abstracts, thanks again to the efforts of Dr. Payawal.
Taking Care of Our Own and Making a Stand
The Society awarded an amount corresponding to the Death Benefit to the family of one of our late
members last year as well as a disability benefit award to another.We participated in a new round of
negotiations for recommended RUVs with the Philhealth in July. With the unfortunate disapproval by
the Philhealth of the proposed 2005 set of RUVs submitted by all the concerned medical societies, we
submitted last year a new set of recommended RUVs for all GI procedures. Again, I am happy to
announce that the Philhealth, through Dr. Madeleine Valera, Senior Vice President Health Finance
Policy and Services Sector, has approved our recommended 2007 RUV proposal, thereby increasing
significantly our Philhealth claims. I would like to thank Dr. Ernesto Que, our Immediate Past
President, for his diligence and tenacity, as well as Dr. Quintin Babaran, President of the PSDE, for his
important contribution to effect this approval.
In the face of the controversial insertion of a feature in Lower House version of the Cheap Medicines
Bill prohibiting the inclusion of preferred brand names in our prescriptions, the Society engaged in
discussion with the Philippine College of Physicians and supported the latter’s stand against the
inclusion by affixing our Society’s seal and President’s signature in the PCP’s position paper published
in the leading broadsheets. In so doing we have shown to our colleagues that we will not accept any
action that seeks to undermine our rights as professional and responsible physicians interested only
in what we think is best for our patients.
Looking Towards the Future
The Committee on Constitutional Ammendments, chaired by Dr. Chona Naval, is currently studying
the merits of establishing the Philippine College of Gastroenterology.
The torch has been passed in the various Councils of the Society. Managed by the chair of the
Committee on Councils, Dr. Peter Sy, polls have been held last year to elect new Council leaders. I wish
all the new Council Coordinators all the best in the performance of their respective duties.
Ladies and gentlemen, the medical profession in general is moving towards an uncertain future. It may
just be a matter of time before unfavorable legislation, an unstable economic situation and dwindling
pharmaceutical industry support severely curtail our ability to carry on with our Society’s aspirations.
The Board responds to this challenge by exploring other possibilities. One of these possibilities is the
creation of a Philippine Foundation for Digestive Science, where revenues for scientific activities,
advocacies and research can come from non-traditional sources such as philanthropic organizations,
non-pharmaceutical firms, family-based foundations and others. This proposal shall be presented later
in this meeting.
On a lighter note, initial preparations have been made with respect to the 50 th Anniversary of the PSG
in 2010. An initial concept has been proposed and will also be discussed later during this meeting.
Acknowledgements
We all share a collective vision. As such, no one person can achieve anything without the support of
others around him. Allow me to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to the
following during the course of my term:
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The entire Board of Directors, for selflessly offering their time and insights even
way past their bedtimes.
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Chairs and members of all Committees and Councils, for their unwavering
efforts to fulfill our Society’s objectives
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The Secretariat Staff, for their valuable clerical help and for striving to be better
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Friends from the pharmaceutical industry, for making things easier
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My wife, son and daughter for their love, understanding and support
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To the Almighty, for everything
And finally, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to thank you all for giving this humble member this noble
opportunity to help chart the path of the Filipino gastroeneterologist. I am proud to say that it is my
life’s honor to have served as the President of the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology.