Negosentro | Dra. Minguita Padilla Gets Ringing Endorsements from 3 Major Medical Groups as Senatorial Bet 2022 | Partido Reporma senatorial candidate and public health spokesperson Dr. “Minguita” Padilla earned ringing endorsements from 3 large professional medical organizations in the Philippines for her pursuit to become a non-traditional lawmaker.
The Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology, Inc. (PAO), the Philippine Cornea Society Inc. (PCSI), and the Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS) released public statements, expressing their support for the candidacy of Padilla. She is vying for a Senate seat to propose and overseas laws that would improve the healthcare sector.
“As a healthcare professional who has practiced both in government and private hospitals for 34 years, Dra. Minguita Padilla, with her grasp of universal healthcare, is in a very good position to work towards meaningful reforms in our healthcare system,” the PAO Executive Council said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Cornea Society Inc. detailed her invaluable contributions to the field of corneal surgery, as a founder of their organization and especially because of her pioneering work in establishing the national eye banking system that now has “numerous satellite voluntary cornea retrieval programs around the country, with the active participation of both private and government hospitals as meaningful partners in the giving of a second chance at sight among charity and private patients who are blind due to corneal problems.”
Members of the PCS, meanwhile, cited her invaluable contributions to the Philippine medical industry and solid seven-point agenda in the interests of public health and good governance as reasons behind their decision to endorse Dr. Padilla in the 2022 senatorial elections.
The national group of surgeons also indicated that her experience as the head executive staff of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and adviser to the Department of Health (DOH) will work to her advantage as regards the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Law.
“We enjoin doctors, healthcare workers, and our countrymen to support Dra. Minguita Padilla in her candidacy for the Senate,” the PCS said.
“Help us get this honest, focused, passionate person with the holy fear of God, integrity, knowledge, and wisdom into the Senate for the health of our nation and our people”, the PCSI said in their impassioned endorsement.
Dra. Minguita Padilla served as past president of the PAO and is the current president of the Association of Eye Banks in Asia (AEBA) on top of her other professional affiliations.
Dra. Minguita Padilla thanked her fellow doctors for their strong encouragement on her “challenging quest” to enter politics. “This really means a lot. Your support will carry me through… I will do my best not to let my fellow [doctors] down,” she said over social media.
The Partido Reporma senatorial bet aims to prioritize the following concerns once she gets elected to the Senate on May 9 next year: proper implementation of the Universal Health Care Act and amend its questionable provisions; institute reforms at PhilHealth; advocate against corruption in government; address the DOH supply chain management in the distribution of medicines; combat online and offline medical misinformation; protect the mental health of our youth through digital education, and defend the rights and welfare of our healthcare workers. She recently also added the welfare of farmers and fisherfolk to her list of priorities.
Dra. Minguita Padilla is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines, which is committed to transforming the lives of Filipinos with visual problems by restoring their eyesight through transplant surgery and setting the highest standards in international eye banking.
