Another Mamita anecdote
- Digoy Fernandez -
MAMITA Pardo de Tavera — to those who did not know her — would give one the impression of an elegant but formidable mestiza lady. And yet, after working with her for a few years and considering her a good friend, I found that she was, if nothing, a veritable pussycat. She was multi-dimensional, able to go beyond her normal ken as a “simple doctor,” as she would characterize herself. I discovered that this wonderful woman possessed the most innate of management skills, able to harness like-minded people and motivate them to move in a particular direction. She often professed not knowing anything about management or a technical issue, but would listen intently to one’s attempt to explain a problem to her. Mamita was also trusting to a fault, one who entrusted management responsibility to her subordinates or associates.
I met Mamita through mutual friends in Pro-Life circles. Seems she was looking for someone who had knowledge about setting up an on-line lottery system, something I had studied extensively a few years before but had put in the back burner. When I met up with her on this, I admitted to her that I shelved the study because I was not sure how it would be treated by certain government agencies then, but that I was willing to take up the challenge for her in her capacity as the new chairperson of the PCSO. Simply because I knew she was both honest and forthright.
Coordinating closely with her loyal and trusty (former undersecretary at DSWD) associate, Linda Valenzona, I then set about establishing parameters for setting up the system and designing the RFP for a bid for the equipment, software, and expertise.
But that is grist for another story. During her abbreviated stay in PCSO, she had a few obsessions. One of them was to have the funds to establish a chain of renal care centers in key provinces all over the country to service the problems renal complications posed, especially for the poor folk. One of the key services the typical renal care center was to have would have been the availability of dialysis machines which would have brought this important medical procedure down to the level of the masses.
Anyone who is a diabetic or who has kidney problems knows how important dialysis is especially when the all-important cleansing function of the body ceases to work as well as designed. To top it off, the cost of a single dialysis session is tremendously high and out of reach of the ordinary poor sick person. The idea then was to make dialysis available to all for a nominal fee… or, knowing Mamita, for free.
Thus, one of her mandates to us who composed her small online lottery team was to ensure that enough funds were to be raised to support the establishment and maintenance of at least 10 renal care centers. I recently inquired old friend Serge Valencia — current chair of PCSO — if he knew or heard of this plan, and he had not.
Pity. This would be a wonderful advocacy either by the PCSO or some other good Samaritans who could mobilize to set up even just one renal care center at first in a province where the most people could benefit.
