Dr. Beverly Lorraine C. Ho held the press conference on April 3, 2020 (Friday), on behalf of the Department of Health in her capacity as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Health Francisco T. Duque III.

Needless to say, Dr. Ho has been playing a very, very vital role in the country's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, and is working day and night, almost 24/7.

Doc Beverly is a proud CKSian, coming from high school batch 2001. Even as a young student then, she has shown exemplary leadership, leading to her election as chairman of the High School Student Council.

Doc Beverly was supposed to be speaker during the CKS Junior High School academic track orientation program last March, until the enforcement of the community quarantine forced the schools to suspend classes. Nevertheless, she is now at the forefront of a more important calling, not only for her alma mater but for our beloved country, the Philippines.

We wish Doc Beverly the best of health and may God be with her always as she gives her all for the Filipino people. Mabuhay!

Link of DOH presscon: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDOHgov/videos/1128064460871984/

This is the story of the COVID MUSTARD SEED PROJECT, an initiative spearheaded by CKS High School Batch 1992 alumnus Fai T. Chua (施輝庭).

It all started last March 15 when Fai heard from a close friend that the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) was running short of Protective Personal Equipment (PPE), which struck him and his wife, Melody, so hard that they decided to do something about it.

Drawing from the bible verse 2 Corinthians 8:7, “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness , see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”, the couple immediately started encouraging their friends to join the initiative as it became clear to them that the situation is urgent and, more so, the privilege of giving is not exclusive to a few.

At 1:06am of March 16, the first pledge of donation came from a church pastor and that same morning, some of his batchmates from CKS high school batch '92 started pledging their support as well.

The initiative focused on needed items that would most likely go scarce and those that are not produced locally like face masks and other PPEs. By walk of faith and in anticipation of possible surge in prices and logistical difficulties, the couple decided to import 20,000 KN95 masks and 3,000 medical gowns amounting to three million pesos, well ahead of similar endeavors by other groups.

Despite being the face of the initiative, Fai acknowledges everyone who collectively took part and will take part in the COVID Mustard Seed Project initiative, knowing that he and his wife cannot do it alone, including volunteers, colleagues, and his CKS Batch '92 family for their trust and support, Mrs. Rose Handog of PHILRADS, the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Customs, among many other government and non-government entities and partners.

As of March 31, the project has distributed 98,000 masks and 2,800 protective coats to more than 32 institution-beneficiaries.

Fai is committed to continue the COVID Mustard Seed Project until the battle against the virus pandemic is won, and he encourages more little contributions with the spirit of Bayanihan on a "5 loaves and 2 fish" approach. He also believes that during these times of crisis, businessmen have to be 'Men first before Business'.

Thank you, Fai. Your CKS College family is proud of you!

At the forefront of this battle against the COVID-19 pandemic are two doctors, siblings and both CKSians, serving in two different hospitals.

The elder brother, Dr. Marvin Ellis Uy Wee (黄智毅), is from CKS high school batch 2004. He is a physician and instructor with specialty in Radiology at the Metropolitan Medical Center. As one of the hospital's chief radiologists, he checks and signs the reports for X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds, and performs critical imaging guided procedures for diagnosis and treatment, assisting attending physicians in arriving at the best diagnosis possible.

Doc Marvin had his 1 year internship, 4 years residency, and 2 years as consultant, all at the Metropolitan Medical Center since 2013. With a lot of advancement in medical technology particularly in Radiology, Marvin has the luxury of interpreting most of the images at home. Nevertheless, he still reports to the hospital for important emergency procedures and to check his staff and their work in the Radiology Department.

Just being human, Doc Marvin admits to having some psychological burden every time he reports to the hospital. He can't help thinking if unknowingly, he has contracted the virus or not. He fears that if he has been infected, he may unknowingly transmit it to his family, friends, colleagues, and especially his 9-month old daughter. But despite all these worries, he still performs his duties because it is what is expected of him in his profession and as a responsible citizen of the country.

Doc Marvin attributes his strong sense of compassion and camaraderie from his many years of basic education at CKS College.

He quoted: "Even without me needing to reach out to ask for help, I receive calls and messages from fellow alumni, asking how they could help during these hard times. These values makes me proud to be an alumnus."

Marvin's younger sister, Mikee Elaine Uy Wee (黃淳郁) of CKS High School Batch 2008, is a second year Internal Medicine resident at the Manila Doctors Hospital. As part of the residency program, Mikee helps man the Emergency Room, including admitting, treating, and stabilizing patients who come into the hospital.

Doc Mikee's dilemma in her current job is the difficulty to triage whether a patient is considered a Person under investigation (PUI) or not, since all sorts of patients come thru the ER door. As such, it is imperative for her and the other ER doctors to practice extra caution not only for themselves, but also for other patients inside the Emergency Room. As the number of cases steeply rise, a lot of medical staff at the Manila Doctors Hospital were exposed and were advised to undergo quarantine. And as the medical work force became less and less, manpower became more in demand.

Like her brother, Doc Mikee also knows her limitations, especially since there were already casualties from the ranks of doctors in their hospital. She said: "Other than the PPE we all know of, top priority for me is to organize and compose myself. Getting infected with the novel virus is indeed frightful, but never should I let fear hit me first. Never let fear rattle you, because once it does, you'll miss a lot of important details and you'll have to suit up again and go back to the patient. Not only will it waste valuable protective equipment, but it will also increase everybody's exposure. The main goal is to minimize exposure. So, I try to list down in my mind everything I need to do for the patient, gather all the equipment I need to examine the patient, calmly take the history of the patient and do physical examination. My mindset - do it once and do it right. Lastly, nothing beats handwashing and hygiene. I make sure to clean myself before and after patient contact, to and from hospital shifts."

Doc Mikee fondly remembers a story from her Chinese teacher about "Kong Rong Gave Away Biggest Pear (孔融讓梨)". It was about a young scholar, who was the second youngest among seven siblings. Being the favorite, he was given the biggest pear his father brought home. But instead of accepting the biggest pear, he took the smallest pear instead. He gave away the biggest pear for his older siblings, and took the smallest so his younger sibling can have a bigger pear.

How does Doc Mikee apply this to the current situation? "Amidst the panic and anxiety, there should be no room for selfishness. Instead, we should be hand in hand (figuratively only by remembering social distancing) to fight this COVID-19 together, even in our own little way. There should be no "I", but "We" instead.", she added.

Going back to the elder brother, Doc Marvin ended our short conversation with an advise for everyone, and he said: "Please stay home as much as possible. Just by staying home, you’re already doing your part to confront this pandemic and minimize community spread. Stay home so you could protect yourself, your loved ones, your neighbors, and our community. Stay home so you could protect our frontline workers and give them a fighting chance."

Thank you, Docs Marvin and Mikee. CKS College is proud of you, WEE siblings!

We give due recognition to a CKSian medical frontliner diligently performing his duty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic on the other side of the globe, Patrick Henry Sy Liquete, RN, BSN (曾添榮).

Patrick belongs to CKS high school batch 2006, though he left for the United States of America in 2004 at the middle of the school year while still a sophomore high school student. Patrick continued his high school education, completed his Bachelor of Science in Nursing university degree, and eventually passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) in California.

Patrick currently works as an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse at the Riverside University Health System (RUHS) in Moreno Valley, Riverside County, California. Just like here in Luzon, the state of California is currently imposing "shelter at home", which is the equivalent of community quarantine in our country or lockdown in other countries. And just the same, essential workers such as those in the healthcare industry like Patrick are still required to work.

In RUHS, the surgical ICU unit has been converted into a unit for COVID-19 patients requiring ICU level of care, and Patrick is on duty in the said unit with a couple of patients already under their care.

"I'm not gonna lie. I'm afraid every time I go to work. But this is not really a matter of choice. If I give in to my fear and switch to a different department, then no one will take care of the infected patients.", Patrick said in all honesty.

"And I feel that to stop working is to break our oath that we took as healthcare providers.", he added.

Patrick is lucky to have a wife who is also a nurse working in another hospital, so they support each other during these difficult times.

Patrick ended the conversation with some words from his heart for fellow CKSians: "For those looking towards a career in healthcare, it is both a rewarding and challenging journey. But never forget that we are human beings first and to be able to care for one another is how God created us to be. No small amount of compassion is too small and even the tiniest act of kindness can have the biggest impact to another."

Keep safe and continue being an embodiment of an ideal CKSian in the West Coast, Patrick Liquete. Your CKS College family is truly proud of you!

Note: The picture of Patrick shows his face chaffed and bruised with marks from wearing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like face masks and goggles while on ICU duty.

Jeannie Yap-Tanlimco (葉蓁蓁) of CKS high school batch 1985 has not been going out of her residence since the enhanced community quarantine was enforced. But that does not stop her from doing her share to help the frontliners and her less-privileged countrymen during these trying times.

It all started when Jeannie received a call last March 10 to help the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) as supplies were running low. Jeannie and husband Albert decided to purchase gallons of alcohol and initially donated them to PGH and other government hospitals in Tondo, Manila. To-date though, the Tanlimco family has already donated hundreds of gallons of alcohol, reaching as far as Romblon and Ilocos provinces.

That was just the start. A few days after the enforcement of ECQ, the family came up with the idea of a feeding program for our less-fortunate countrymen, knowing that with the loss of jobs, looting and other crimes may happen. So far, more than 500 grocery packs were distributed by the Tanlimco family, with each pack enough to feed an average-sized family for at least a week.

A few days ago, the family also started making face shields using their company's plastic materials, APET, with the assistance of their

stay-in workers. This was the result of the family's assessment of the needs of frontliners, coordinated through COVID19 Help Exchange PH.

When asked why she decided to reach out, Jeannie said: "We can't just sit down and do nothing. We have to do our part in making sure that we can win over this Virus. Our family is blessed with the means to help, and we believe that it doesn't take too much to initiate something."

"What we are doing is nothing compared to what our frontliners are doing for us. And for that, we are truly grateful.", she added.

Jeannie is also appreciative of her many friends who trust and believe in her cause. They, too, contribute and donate to fight hunger. Her pastor friends distribute the grocery packs to the poor, while her doctor friends advise them which hospitals need more help.

Proud of being an alumna, Jeannie credits her former CKS grade school and high school teachers in molding her to be compassionate and giving. She has this to say to her fellow CKSians: "We should consider ourselves lucky to be at the giving end. I urge my fellow alumni to share and reach out to our fellow Filipinos. What better time to show the CKSC Spirit than in times like this."

To Albert, Jeannie, and son Ethan Jason Tanlimco, thank you and continue helping our needy kababayans.

Despite the risks of getting exposed to the COVID-19 virus, Dr. Irish Michelle Tan-Becina (陳美雪) of CKS high school batch 1999 continues to report at the National Children’s Hospital, a government hospital, as one of the emergency room consultants doing 12-hour shifts, leading three other pediatric residents under her mentoring. She and her fellow pediatricians are currently on a five-to-seven days rotation to reduce exposure to the virus.

Doc Irish is a Diplomate of the Philippine Pediatric Society. She also took pediatric residency at the National Children’s Hospital, batch of 2011. Prior to the enhanced community quarantine, she held private clinics at Dr. Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital, Providence Hospital and FEU-NRMF Hospital, but these clinics were temporarily closed due to the lockdown. Nevertheless, she still do rounds in these private hospitals to check on admitted patients under her care, who are also screened by the COVID-19 task forces of each hospital.

Though there are no confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 patients, there are still Persons Under Investigation (PUI) awaiting test results at the National Children's Hospital.

We asked Doc Irish how she feels about working as a doctor, now more than ever. She replied: "In all honesty, I am afraid too. More than my health, I am scared for my father-in-law and mother-in-law, whom I am currently living in with. They’re both senior citizens and my mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. But I took an oath to help and serve others, so I just take all necessary precautionary measures so as not to endanger the lives of my family. And with lots and lots of prayers as well."

What's working in Irish's favor is that most of her family members understand her profession. Her husband is a pediatric gastroenterologist in training, her father-in-law is a neonatal intensivist, and her mother-in-law is a retired nurse.

She ended the interview by saying: "No matter what danger or risk we face, this is our duty. If we're not going to be in the frontline, then who will?"

Very well said, Dr. Irish Michelle Tan-Becina. Your CKS College is truly proud of you!