His passion for maintaining healthy communities and disease prevention can
be seen in his enthusiasm whenever he conducts health education campaigns,
medical and dental missions, and home visitations. His dedication applies
not only in Sitio Canatuan, but also in the remotest villages of Siocon town
in Zamboanga del Norte that before now had rarely seen medical professionals
attending to poverty-stricken dwellers.

When he set foot in Canatuan seven months ago, Dr. Arthur
Luspo, physician of TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc. (TVIRD), pledged
to make a difference in the lives of the company’s indigenous Subanon
hosts. After all, Luspo knows these people quite well. For nine years, he
was town mayor of Siay in adjacent Zamboanga Sibugay province where some 25
percent of its 36,000 residents belong to the Subanon tribe. As TVIRD prepares
for the second stage of its mining operations in Canataun, Luspo has found
the perfect opportunity to continue what he had started in his hometown –
service to the community – this time with the support of his employer.

Shortly after assuming his new post, Luspo immediately expanded
TVIRD’s implementation of all government health programs for mothers
and children in Canatuan, which, as of last count, had a total population
of 2,300. He moved to align these programs with those being funded by TVIRD,
through its Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO) and Human Resources
and Administration (HRAD) Department. Since TVIRD opened a health clinic here
shortly before it began operations in mid-2004, there have been no stillbirths
or mother-infant mortalities, a fact Luspo attributes to the company’s
religious implementation of mother-baby friendly programs.

“Good health starts from the babies’ conception
until birth,” Luspo points out. “And happy and active children
are those who are healthy and loved. Mothers are naturally at the frontlines
in ensuring that their children receive the care and attention they need.”

Among the government health programs that Luspo champions
are: pre-natal care for pregnant mothers; expanded immunization programs that
include vaccines against diphtheria, measles, polio, mumps, tetanus, and hepatitis;
regular de-worming of children; and the distribution of vitamin A. He complements
these with TVIRD-initiated health campaigns such as anti-scabies, anti-filariasis,
and the supplemental feeding program for children. These programs are in addition
to the 24/7 free medical consultations offered at the clinic for employees,
their dependents, and for community residents, as well as the medical missions
in Canatuan’s neighboring villages.

Luspo is ably assisted by company nurses Lois Esnane and
Max Madriaga, and midwife Malou Prestoza. Prestoza works alongside the Siocon
municipal midwife in the conduct of pre-natal care for mothers as well as
of responsible parenthood and family planning seminars.

“Malou took care of me when I was pregnant with my
twins Krizia Pearl and Kent,” relates Inday Dunggon, a resident of nearby
village Pigsolobukan. “She assisted the doctor when I delivered my babies
at the clinic. Now the twins are 11 months old. They have also just completed
their immunization at the clinic. I always run to Dr. Luspo or to nurses Esnane
and Madriaga whenever my children have a cough, cold, or fever.

Roque Elisan, a company carpenter, proudly beams as he shows
off his healthy nine month-old Junior, who also has complete immunization.
So too is Pilar Auza, wife of a company employee, whose two year-old daughter,
Crystal Grace, has been a regular visitor of the clinic since she was in her
mother’s womb.

“They are very approachable,” Virgie Patoh, a
Subanon who is pregnant with her fifth child, says of Luspo’s team.
“They easily understand our needs. They show patience in teaching us
how to properly take care of the babies inside our wombs as well as of growing
babies and children.”

“Before TVIRD operated in Canatuan, we had to bring
our sick relatives and neighbors to Siocon or to Zamboanga City several hours
away,” shares Nanida Lambang, wife of a tribal leader. “Many of
them died without being examined by doctors because it was quite difficult
to bring them to the nearest hospital. The roads were bad and the habal-habal
(motorcycles for hire, usually carrying four to six passengers) was our only
means of transportation. Thanks to TVIRD, we now have good roads and access
to professional medical care.”

Three weeks ago, Luspo and Esnane visited the Day Care Center
at Solonsangan where they treated children with scabies. The medical tandem’s
warmth and sincerity shone through as they tried to soothe a crying child
who was ashamed to show his hands, ravaged by the annoying and unsightly skin
disease. After the treatment, Luspo and Esnane gathered the mothers and patiently
explained that to prevent the recurrence of scabies, they should boil their
linens and clothing. The doctor also advised them to teach their children
to eat vegetables as these are cheaper and more nutritious. “You must
also have clean surroundings,” he told the grateful mothers.

The clinic staffers also never tire of reminding residents to boil their
drinking water to avoid gastro-intestinal ailments, and in teaching the causes
of filariasis and how to prevent the mosquito-borne disease. With the assistance
of The Maple Tree Foundation for Mountain Communities, TVIRD’s medical
team has partnered with the government Department of Health in the distribution
of anti-filariasis medicines to residents of Siocon, Sirawai, Sibuco, Baliguian
and Jose Dalman in the province of Zamboanga del Norte and in Bayug in Zamboanga
del Sur.

The medical team’s health advocacy thrust was given added boost with
the recent launching of Project FAITH (Food Always In The Homes), where women
are trained on sustainable farming, primarily of vegetables and grains, so
that their families are always assured of getting nutritious meals.

Last month, the team, together with CReDO staff member Noelle Nazareno, conducted
a medical-dental mission at Sitio Paduan, whose leaders are staunch opponents
of large-scale mining. Residents flocked to the makeshift clinic for the free
consultation and medicines. Two weeks later, TVIRD received a letter from
the women of Paduan thanking the company for the medical mission and requesting
that they too be included in Project FAITH.

Thess Limpin, CReDO Manager, explains that funds for medicines,
for medical and dental missions, and for other health-related programs are
incorporated in TVIRD’s Social Development and Management Plan (SDMP).
“This enables us to extend basic health services to where they are needed
most,” she explains. “Also included in the SDMP are funds for
the construction of communal toilets and potable water systems in the community
where the ‘counterparting’ scheme is practiced. Under this scheme,
the community and the company share the cost of construction; the community
shoulders the cost of labor, and the company of materials.”

Luspo is not sure if he will run again for the mayoral seat
in his hometown. What he is sure of, however, is that he finds fulfillment
in serving people, whether they are Subanons, Muslims, or Christians –
the cultural groups who comprise Siocon. “I am a doctor and a politician.
But my being a doctor trumps my political inclinations because a doctor saves
the lives of people regardless of their religion, tribe, or status in life…or
whether they are friends or foes. Community service is the name of the game.
This is why this clinic has been serving people from Siocon or from other
towns of Zamboanga del Norte; from R.T. Lim or Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay.
We even provide medical treatment to visiting friends or family members of
the company’s equipment contractors!” (Lullie Micabalo)