History
The PULSE of the Philippine Diabetes Association (PDA) began to throb thirty six years ago, in the early part of July 1958. This was about the time when a group of internists and devoted physicians committed to the care, protection and recuperation of the diabetic patient banded together "to form the nucleus of the PDA".
It was the aim of this group to unify all interests and entities in the Philippines concerned about diabetes mellitus into a single association. Thus, today, PDA stands as the umbrella organization of all associations involved in the care of the diabetic patient.
On February 22, 1962, the Association was incorporated under the term of Dr. Basilio Valdes, who maintains the distinction of being the only physician to have served as Army Chief of Staff.
Among the purposes for which the PDA was founded were to foster and support studies and researches on the prevention and care of diabetes mellitus, including cooperation with government agencies to this effect; to collect, analyze, interpret, interchange and disseminate information about the disease in accordance with the latest findings; and to affiliate or establish relations with other diabetes institutions in other countries.
Finally, the organization sought to promote understanding of individuals with diabetes so they could lead normal and useful lives and conduct a Diabetes Detection Drive to find undiscovered diabetics.
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For 11 years as PDA President, Dr. Litonjua brought vigor and dynamism to the association. Under his able leadership, PDA projects were pushed one after the other.
PDA became a staunch advocate of education as a right of the diabetic patient and as a fundamental component in the treatment of diabetes mellitus in addition to nutrition, exercise and hypoglycemic medication.
In line with this, educational clinics were established nationwide alongside the PDA Chapters which started to be organized in 1987.
The provincial chapter was tasked with the setting up of local educational clinics that would serve the community, making the Philippines a frontrunner in the ASEAN region in this aspect.
Training of trainers was accomplished through a two-day course carried out by Dr. Litonjua himself with the assistance of diabetes educators of the Makati Medical Center Diabetes Educational Clinic and various Endocrine Fellows of the Makati Medical Center and UP-PGH Medical Center.
PDA underwent several milestones during the period 1983-1994. The PDA Lay Organization was set up.
The Association won recognition as a member of the prestigious International Diabetes Federation (IDF) as well as IDF Western Pacific Region.
It came out with the semi-annual publication of DiabetesWatch with 15,000 to 20,000 copies per issue given free to physicians and patients.
The efforts of the organizing group bore fruit when the PDA came into being on September 27, 1958.
The memorable event was prompted by the visit to the Philippines of a distinguished pioneer in diabetes mellitus from Joslin Clinic of Boston, Massachusetts, Dr. Howard Root.
On this date, the charter members and a few other internists met at the historical Club Filipino.
The first set of officers were elected as follows:
Dr. Wenceslao Vitug – President
Dr. Paolo Campos – Vice-President
Dr. Carmen Salgo-Ora – Secretary
Dr. Aniceta Barcelon Guevara – Treasurer
Dr. Antonio Ordonez – PRO
Elected to the Board of Directors were Dr. Mariano Alimurung, Dr. Agustin Liboro, Dr. Conrado Pascual, Dr. Jesus Nolasco and Dr. Alfredo Navato.
Their terms of office extended up to 1960.
To date, the complete list of the PDA Presidents is a display of distinguished names in Philippine medicine:
- Dr. Wenceslao Vitug (1958-1960)
- Dr. Basilio Valdes (1961-1965)
- Dr. Agustin Liboro (1966-1968)
- Dr. Paolo Campos (1969-1970)
- Dr. Carmen Salgo-Ora (1970-1971)
- Dr. Gonzalo Austria (1971-1972)
- Dr. Sergio Rustia (1973-1974)
- Dr. Aurora V. Cinco (1975-1976)
- Dr. Germinio J. Germar (1976-1977)
- Dr. Lim Uy-Ching (1977-1978)
- Dr. Nestor M. Santiago (1978-1979)
- Dr. Virgilio L. Gonzales (1979-1980)
- Dr. Leland S. Villadolid (1980-1981)
- Dr. Flora Pascasio (1981-1982)
- Dr. Augusto D. Litonjua (1983-1994)
- Dr. Mary Anne Lim-Abrahan (1995-1996)
- Dr. Lina C. Lantion-Ang (1996-2000)
- Dr. Ruby T. Go (2001-2002)
- Dr. Rosa Allyn G. Sy (2003-2004)
- Dr. Ma. Teresa Plata-Que (2005-2006)
To date, The DiabetesWatch has a wider circulation, with copies now being sent to Metro Manila's Medical School Libraries including UP-PGH, UST, FEU, MCU and UERMMMC.
In June 1991, the PDA Board decided to change the PDA seal to dramatize present concern for the family, not only the diabetic patient.
The original seal contained the staff of Aesculapius, the cup and the beehive in the background. After a nationwide PDA Logo contest, the present seal portraying the family being cupped by two hands was recognized in December 1991.
The motif was based on the winning entry of Dr. Gregorio del Moral of UST.
Whereas before, the PDA had no permanent headquarters, it now beams with pride to have a permanent home located at Unit 25, Facilities Centre, 548 Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.
E-mail: phildiab@pworld.net.ph
The offices were inaugurated on June 15, 1992 with the attendance of past PDA presidents and the heads of its pharmaceutical corporate members.
The PDA co-hosted with PSEm the 8th AFES Congress at the PICC in Manila, Philippines.
A total of 1,002 delegates attended the Congress, so far unsurpassed as of this meeting. They remembered the Banquet Night where Mrs. Lydia Buendia, a professor of UP, led the delegates to the rhythm of Macarena as a form of healthy exercise at the Nayong Pilipino fair grounds.
The PDA joined forces with the PSH & PLS in putting up seed money to conduct Hypertension, Diabetes and Lipid Survey in the Philippines in cooperation with FNRI-DOH to update data on the three diseases for 1999.
Other researches completed for 1998 were the Diabetes Data Collection Program (DCDCP) and Diabcare Asia Study.
An Advanced Module on Diabetic Foot was conducted by Dr. Teresa Plata-Que on April 11, 1999.
A mini lecture on Medical Nutrition and Exercise was conducted by PDA as per invitation of the Medical Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on March 10, 1999.
A total of 88 personnel listened to lectures given by Dr. Rosa Allyn Sy and Imelda Cardino, moderated by Dr. Lina Lantion-Ang, President.
Gleaning from a meritorious past, truly the PDA has emerged as a staunch guardian of the diabetic patient and his family. Yes, the PDA will be around until diabetes mellitus is no more.
The first PDA chapter was established in Davao City in 1987. Other PDA Chapters followed, bringing the number to a total of thirty one.
Existing PDA Chapters
PDA and Philippine Society of Endocrinology co-hosted the 4th Congress of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies held at the Manila Garden Hotel, now Dusit Hotel, from December 5-10.
PDA Workshops were conducted in various places of the country beginning in 1990.
The workshops were conceived to provide an intensive three-day course to physician members of the PDA chapter which coordinated the respective workshop.
The medical members of the PDA Board of Directors served as faculty members. The different aspects of diabetes mellitus were tackled in each workshop with the intention to upgrade the participants' expertise in the management of diabetes mellitus.
Para-medical personnel, including nurses and dieticians, were allowed to attend the first day of the PDA Workshop.
The intensification of the education drive included regional training courses for diabetes educator nurses and dieticians, the holding of a midyear PDA Convention with the first one held on July 10, 1992 aside from the annual convention, and the active participation of PDA during Diabetes Awareness Week.
President Fidel V. Ramos Proclamation No. 213 on July 22, 1993 designated the last week of July of each year as Diabetes Awareness Week.
PDA Workshop Milestones
- 1st Albay, Camarines and Sorsogon, November 30 - December 2, 1990
- 2nd PDA Workshop – Cebu, April 12 - 14, 1990
- 3rd PDA Workshop – Davao, August 11 - 13, 1991
- 4th PDA Workshop – Quezon City, October 28 - 30, 1992
- 5th PDA Workshop – Bulacan, December 7 - 9, 1992
- 6th PDA Workshop – Cagayan de Oro, July 15 - 17, 1993
- 7th PDA Workshop – Quezon, Laguna and Albay, September 3 - 5, 1993
- 8th PDA Workshop – Baguio-Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan, June 23 - 25, 1994
- 9th PDA Workshop – Iloilo, October 1 - 3, 1994
- 10th PDA Workshop – Negros Occidental, Iloilo & Capiz, July 18 - 20, 1996
- 11th PDA Workshop – Pangasinan DDVHH Diabetes Club, November 22 - 24, 1996
- 12th PDA Workshop – Albay & Sorsogon, April 9 - 11, 1997
- 13th PDA Workshop – Davao, August 21 - 23, 1997
- 14th PDA Workshop – Century Park Hotel, October 3 - 5, 1997
- 15th PDA Workshop – Olongapo, Bataan, Zambales and Pampanga, February 6 - 8, 1998
- 16th PDA Workshop – Ilocos Norte & Ilocos Sur, June 29 - 30, 1998
- 17th PDA Workshop – Cavite, April 9 - 11, 1999
- 18th PDA Workshop – Laguna, August 6 - 8, 1999
- 19th PDA Workshop – Tacloban City, March 24 - 26, 2000
- 20th PDA Workshop – Lucena City, July 7 - 9, 2000
- 21st PDA Workshop – Baguio City, May 26 - 27, 2001
- 22nd Diabetes Workshop – EDSA Shangri La, Mandaluyong City, April 27 – 28, 2002
- 23rd Diabetes Workshop – Iloilo City, September 28 – 29, 2002
- 24th Diabetes Workshop – Bulacan, February 1 – 2, 2003
- 25th Diabetes Workshop – Bohol, April 11 – 12, 2003
- 26th Diabetes Workshop – Cebu City, September 19 - 20, 2003
- 27th Diabetes Workshop – Nueva Ecija, March 13 - 14, 2004
- 28th Diabetes Workshop – Cagayan de Oro, September 24 - 25, 2004
- 29th Diabetes Workshop – Legazpi City, April 29 - 30, 2005
- 30th Diabetes Workshop – Capiz/Roxas, October 28-29, 2005
- 31st Diabetes Workshop – Sorsogon, May 12 - 13, 2006
- 32nd Diabetes Workshop – Batangas City, September 22 - 23, 2006
- 33rd Diabetes Workshop – Daet, Camarines Norte, March 9 - 10, 2007
- 34th Diabetes Workshop – August 10 - 11, 2007, Century Park Hotel, Manila
- 35th Diabetes Workshop – March 14, 2008, The Legend Hotel, Palawan
- 36th Diabetes Workshop – May 9, 2008, Hotel Roma, Tuguegarao City
- 37th Diabetes Workshop – February 20-21, 2009, CAP Building, Vigan City
- 38th Diabetes Workshop and 1st Diabetes Forum – August 7-8, 2009, Grand Men Seng Hotel, Davao
- 39th Diabetes Workshop and 4th Diabetes Forum – February 25-26, 2010, Casablanca Hotel, Legazpi City, Albay
- 40th Diabetes Workshop – June 10, 2010, Casino Espanol de Cebu, Cebu City
- 41st Diabetes Workshop and 6th Diabetes Forum – April 1-2, 2011, Baguio Country Club, Baguio City
- 42nd Diabetes Workshop and 7th Diabetes Forum – July 15-16, 2011, Iloilo Business Hotel, Iloilo City
- 43rd Diabetes Workshop and 8th Diabetes Forum – October 7-8, 2011, AsiaBlooms Hotel, Resort and Restaurant, Sta. Cruz, Laguna
- 44th Diabetes Workshop and 9th Diabetes Forum – March 16-17, 2012, Diamond Hotel, Manila
Diabetes Forums
- 1st Diabetes Forum – August 7-8, 2009, Grand Men Seng Hotel, Davao
- 2nd Diabetes Forum – February 23, 2010, Golden Palace Restaurant, Daet, Camarines Norte
- 3rd Diabetes Forum – February 24, 2010, Villa Caceres, Naga City, Camarines Sur
- 5th Diabetes Forum – June 11, 2010, Baseline Restaurant, Cebu City