(Mayor Onald Aquino was invited to deliver a message during the Anniversary Celebration of St. Camillus Hospital. A meeting with the DILG Secretary and with the LCP prevented him from being present in the said event. I was instructed to read this message on his behalf)
If my memory serves me right, I was the officer-in-charge when the hospital was inaugurated. Mrs. Imelda Marcos was among the VIPs present. Weeks after the inauguration, I welcomed the Ambassador and Fr. Galvani at the Mayor’s Office. And I don’t know how accurate this story is: that the hospital came to be because of a bottle of wine.
Word has it that then Bishop Maximiano Cruz was trying to get some info on what wine to serve to the Papal Nuncio Gian Vincenzo Moreni who was slated to visit the Diocese of Calbayog. Enter Fr. Luigi Galvani, add in the late Msgr. Basilio Rosales, and we had the Camillians to Calbayog and then, this hospital.
Certainly, that search for the correct wine has come a long way in serving the people of Calbayog and the people of Samar.
Tonight’s anniversary celebration is but proper. It’s time to pause and thank the Almighty. In our case, we thank Him for this “gift of the Camillian community in Calbayog”. It’s time for you to look at how much good you have offered to the people in the community you are in. And as you do that, do ponder upon the long road ahead, that road characterized by more service to the people. And yes, for you, the St. Camillus Hospital to have existed this long, you must be certainly doing something good.
But more than the stories and the socials and trivia attached with the history of the hospital, there is one important aspect that one has to look into – that through the years St. Camillus Hospital has cared for the poor-sick of Calbayog “the way a mother cares for her only sick child”. The Local Government Unit of Calbayog can attest to that. The hospital has become one of our partners - a patient partner - if I may add, (patient nga pasensyoso, dire pasyente) in our effort to answer the health needs of the less-fortunate Calbayognons.
As we salute you on your anniversary, we look forward to more years of fruitful partnerships with St. Camillus Hospital and the Camillian community.
Again, on behalf of the City of Calbayog, I extend my Congratulations and wish for a meaningful anniversary celebration.
Salamat ug maupay nga gab-i sa atun ngatanan!
Tonight’s anniversary celebration is but proper. It’s time to pause and thank the Almighty. In our case, we thank Him for this “gift of the Camillian community in Calbayog”. It’s time for you to look at how much good you have offered to the people in the community you are in. And as you do that, do ponder upon the long road ahead, that road characterized by more service to the people. And yes, for you, the St. Camillus Hospital to have existed this long, you must be certainly doing something good.
But more than the stories and the socials and trivia attached with the history of the hospital, there is one important aspect that one has to look into – that through the years St. Camillus Hospital has cared for the poor-sick of Calbayog “the way a mother cares for her only sick child”. The Local Government Unit of Calbayog can attest to that. The hospital has become one of our partners - a patient partner - if I may add, (patient nga pasensyoso, dire pasyente) in our effort to answer the health needs of the less-fortunate Calbayognons.
As we salute you on your anniversary, we look forward to more years of fruitful partnerships with St. Camillus Hospital and the Camillian community.
Again, on behalf of the City of Calbayog, I extend my Congratulations and wish for a meaningful anniversary celebration.
Salamat ug maupay nga gab-i sa atun ngatanan!
