Dawning of a New Age

In 1956, against overwhelming odds and formidable circumstances, an intrepid group of U.S. trained Otolaryngologists - all Fellows in good standing of the erstwhile Philippine Ophthalmological and Otolaryngological Society, inspired by Dr. Tierry F. Garcia - agreed it was time to incorporate a separate and independent group to establish a competent O.R.L. practice in the country. 

Encouraged initially by Drs. Napoleon Ejercito and Angel Enriquez - the 2 other Otolaryngologists with the UP-PGH Medical Center then - the idea began to shape. When the final draft of the Constitution and By Laws was completed by the Troika of the Talk of the Town of the Manila Doctors Hospital, the 5 other E.N.T. men in the country, Drs. Cesar Villafuerte Sr. (deceased), Jose Antonio L. Roxas Sr. (deceased), Vicente Songco (deceased), Antonio Vicencio (deceased), Macario Tan (deceased), were invited to join while Dr. Ariston Bautista who was still at the State University of New York was inducted in absentia. This was how the group became known as the “Heroic Nine,” a quote attributed to Dr. Frank Co Tui - Creedmore Institute Science Director - who was the guest of honor and speaker at the inauguration rites. Under Secretary of Health Dr. Rafael Tombokon inducted the charter members, charter directors including the society’s President - Dr. Tierry F. Garcia at the Dao Room of the Manila Hotel on February 17, 1956. Hence, the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology and Bronchoesophagology, Inc. was born.

Affiliations

At that point in time, no serious effort was exerted to affiliate with the Philippine Medical Association. Somehow, in 1958 when the Philippine Ophthalmological Society (P.O.S.) came into being after the (P.O.O.S.) was surreptitiously transformed into an academy, the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology and Bronchoesophagology came to be referred as a "daughter" society together with the just established Philippine Society of Ophthalmology (P.S.O.) of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology (P.A.O.O.); The P.S.O. being its creation the P.O.S. was made to appear as a splinter group. In as much as the academy was a P.M.A. affiliate, the P.S.O.B. became indirectly and unofficially tied up with the umbrella organization. (P.M.A.).

Truth to tell, the above designation which connotes "inferior to or lower to " was not well received by the Heroic Nine. And so in a regular meeting of the board of directors of the P.S.O.B. held at the old Metropolitan Theater it was voted to abrogate this tie-up with the academy. A letter to this effect, signed by the entire directorship of the board was forwarded to the academy and a true copy provided the P.M.A.

Soon after, the P.S.O.B. became a member of the International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (IFOS) in 1967. With encouragement of the Japan Otolaryngological Society, it co-sponsored the First Asia-Oceania Congress of Otorhinolaryngology in November, 1967 in Manila. Foreign participation numbered close to two hundred.

For the second time around, the Asia-Oceania Congress of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery - 9th that is - is again hosted by the Philippines from February 7, 2000 to February 12, 2000. The duo of Alfredo Q.Y. Pontejos, Jr. (over-all chairman) and Generoso T. Abes, MD (Honorary Chairman) being at the helm expect the unexpected.

Certifying Board

To enhance competent ORL practice and protect the public from self styled specialists the society created the Philippine Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 1971.

Membership to the board were drawn initially from Fellows of the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology and Bronchoesophagology who are diplomates of the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Although authorized a maximum of nine (9) directors, the original five (5) were themselves the incorporators.

The board has the following objectives-to establish standards of qualifications for otolaryngologists who desire and request board certification; to determine which candidates fulfill these standards to examine such candidates and issue certificates upon satisfactory completion of all requirements------." This is the second epic triumph of the society.

Membership

Membership to the PSO-HNS is by invitation only and limited to certified specialists of the Philippine Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inc., thus making the "rite of passage" to the society solely on the basis of merit and excellence. An average of 25 new candidates are now inducted into the society yearly.

Goals

By and large, the officers of the society working unceasingly accomplished much to foster the ideals for which it was created - top among which was the separation of the specialty from its traditional combination with Ophthalmology.

While the Manila Central University - Felimon D. Tanchonco Medical Foundation pioneered the establishment of a separate and independent Department of Otolaryngology in its medical school in 1957, it is, however, the creation of a separate Department of E.N.T. at the College of Medicine, University of the Philippines and its teaching affiliate - the Philippine General Hospital - that gave impetus and boasted the society's objective at complete separation. That momentous event was made possible through a resolution of its Board of Regents in its 690th meeting on November 1961.

Although pursued with vigor, it is true but trite to say that progress has been slow. While medical schools proliferated, the Association of the Philippine Medical Colleges - perhaps ignorant of the society's fundamental goal - failed to give its wholehearted support.

The creation therefore of a separate Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Sto. Tomas - Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in 1984, although long in coming, rekindled that goal and broke the myth that it has been left unaltered by time and progress. That this "breakthrough" is bigger than the facts can only gleaned when one realizes that the pontifical institution's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery is not only the oldest but also the biggest of its kind in the country. Changes of lesser magnitude - at the University of the East - Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, Far Eastern University - Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the De La Salle - Emilio Aguinaldo College of Medicine - among the new crop of medical schools, and a number of hospitals - St Luke's Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Ospital ng Maynila, Davao City Medical Center, The Manila Doctors Hospital among others - kept the Society's fundamental objective alive. Of these number, only 20, UP-PGH Medical Center, UST - Faculty of Medicine & Surgery, the PLM-Ospital ng Maynila, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, MCU-FDT Medical Foundation, FEU-Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, UE-Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center, St Luke's Medical Center, Davao City Medical Center, Medical Center Manila, Manila Doctors Hospital, Baguio General Hospital, The Medical City Hospital, Ospital ng Makati, Quirino Memorial Medical Hospital and Rizal Medical Center, Western Visayas Consortium, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and Veterans Memorial Medical Center are accredited for residency training in the specialty. Moving towards the third millennium an innovative breakthrough was initiated by the PBO for residency training in the specialty outside the NCR to entice aspiring candidates to train and eventually open up practice outside Manila. Situations, where hospitals are close enough to one another where one is equipped with all the tools of the trade (ear microscope, endoscope, etc) but with no qualified teaching staff to teach or vice versa were grouped together provided they coordinate with one another qualify for accreditation. The Western Visayas ORL-HNS Consortium of hospitals composed of the Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City as the base hospital, the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City and St. Paul's also in Iloilo City were accredited provided they coordinate with one another as a single unit. This is the same situation that obtain with the Tondo General Hospital as an affiliate of the Ospital ng Maynila-PLM.