IP barefoot doctors

Ethnic and modern blended as indigenous healers in their tribal finery descended via the steep escalator of the posh SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City. I ran and descended ahead of them and waited with my camera to capture the colorful sight. Some of them were profusely ornamented, a few were almost bare with only their G-strings on. It was ethnic chic set against the modern. But this was not a fashion show.

More than 100 experienced healers from different indigenous communities all over the country attended the First Indigenous Barefoot Doctors' National Summit on May 20 and 21. The first of its kind, the summit had, for its theme, “Indigenous Peoples: Partners in Health and Wellness”. Garbed in their tribal attire, the delegates who paraded around the complex in the afternoon of the first day drew the attention of mall goers.

The name barefoot doctor became popular in the 1970s and refers to non-doctors who have received medical or paramedical training for service in rural communities in remote areas.



The Filipino barefoot doctors were not in Metro Manila for a cultural feast (although it turned out to be a festive gathering complete with music and dancing) but for a serious discussion of health issues that concerned their communities most of which are hard to reach.

Divina Boyante Padicio, 56, a Manobo from Leyte, said malnutrition is still a big problem. Although the Manobos are indigenous to Mindanao, many were displaced by protracted fighting. Padicio’s family and many others fled to Leyte and settled there. Padicio is a chieftain or bae and is considered a strong leader of her community. She has received several citations for her leadership and her work.

I also interviewed Narcisa Galgo, 43, a Tagakaolo from Sarangani province. She said: “Big hospitals often ignore our people who then easily give up. We have to challenge the members of our community to know their rights and not to be ashamed to claim those rights.”

Lito Mosela, 42, a Teduray from Upi, Maguindanao was a primary health worker (PHW) before he became a barangay captain. He is also a farmer. “Our sitio is 25 km. from the poblacion (town center) and there are no roads,” he told me. Many people, he said, suffer from respiratory ailments, skin diseases and goiter.

Romeo Norilla, 50, from the Palawan tribe in Palawan heads Region 4’s tribal council. He goes from island to island to check on the health conditions of his fellow Palawans. “Malaria is still a big problem,” he said. “It is important that the people know the importance of cleanliness of their surroundings. Poverty is not a hindrance to serving the people. I made a promise to both God and the people that I will serve.”

One of the convenors, Sr. Fidela Maamo SPC, president of the Foundation of Our Lady of Peace Mission Inc. (FOLPMI) and 1997 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Community Leadership, said the summit was also a way to honor the barefoot doctors “for their generosity to be God’s instruments in healing their ailing brothers and sisters in their tribal communities.”

Since 2005 barefoot doctors from 114 tribes have been trained under the indigenous peoples (IP) community health workers (CWH) development program of FOLPMI. A training manual has been written for the barefoot doctors and seven batches have been graduated. The summit participants are graduates of the training programs and are veteran healers in their communities.

These barefoot doctors have gone through courses on indigenous culture, health practices, health education and promotion, diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses in Western medicine, complementary medicine (herbal, reflexology, moxibustion, etc.), about PhilHealth, running a Botica ng Barangay, responsible parenthood and natural family planning, community organizing and leadership and team building.

The summit was a venue for the IP CHWs to share experiences and best practices. It was also a way for them to link up with institutions that could help them address their needs. They also wanted to promote IP awareness and culture.

One of the speakers, former health secretary Jaime Galvez-Tan, tackled integrative medicine. Other topics discussed were indigenous healing, environment, climate change and ancestral domains. The A(H1N1) flu which threatens to be a pandemic was also discussed.

Among the sponsors of the summit was Misereor, a funding agency of the Catholic Bishops of Germany, Pondong Pinoy, FOLPMI, the Department of Health and the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples.

Bombings in Teduray communities. Malnutrition and diseases are not the only ones that threaten IP communities. Fighting and the absence of peace continue to plague IPs. I just received a report from the Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement (MPPM), the Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan para sa Karapatang Pantao (AMKP) and the Lumad Development Center, Inc. (LDCI) that sent a 19-member mission last May 17 to 19 to assess the situation in Teduray communities in Guindulungan, Maguindanao.

The fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has caused the evacuation of a least 60 families from the affected areas. Part of the mission report said: “That indeed on May 1-4, 2009 and some nights up to May 15, inhabitants in Sitio Fute, now temporarily residing in Sitio Mari in Barangay Ahan, reported 46 (cases) of mortar shelling. The mission members themselves saw at least 12 craters or huge holes created by such bombs and the bones of five horses that were killed. Some houses were also hit by shrapnel.”



The mission is urging both the government and the MILF to go to the negotiating table and to aid the displaced families.