left to right: noel vasquez, sj, oyen and eddie dorotan, allan and maribel dionisio, joy and myself in a wedding anniversary of common friends pia and jam malanyaon (http://tinyurl.com/2tp2ey)irosin hit the headlines during the martial law years when the NPA raided the town hall and raised their red hammer and sickle flag in a brazen show of force. they held fort for a few hours one morning while the whole town froze. otherwise, irosin was a sleepy class 5 town with decrepit roads but great sparkling hot springs situated at the tip of sorsogon. some movie mogul made a movie out of the incident bearing the town's name as title.
eddie dorotan was a fresh graduate of PGH at the time and was initiating cooperative farming that aimed to finance health services. it was one of the early prototypes of the successful community health financing programs in philippine rural areas. the military branded him a communist, a sympathizer at best. but the NPAs branded him a CIA lackey because of his ties with the jesuits. somehow, the NPAs consider the jesuit order a front of the CIA. he was easy target. why he managed to keep on was due to several factors. a major factor was the support he was getting from the farmers. theirs was a formidable organization of farmers in sorsogon. perhaps, it helped that he was part of a well-respected clan in irosin. his brother was a former mayor affiliated with Marcos under KBL. it might have also helped that another brother died a heroic death protecting his wounded NPA comrades in a skirmish with the military. (i was there when the family just recovered his mangled body that was dumped in a dry well. i heard that he was a high-ranking cadre of the NPA). the dorotans was a small philippine republic with the full political spectrum of society represented. he called it a mini-republic where democracy was practiced.
cory came to power and the political waters became potable. he became mayor for two terms. he converted irosin into a town with well-paved farm-to-market cement roads, a modestly equipped district hospital whose reputation as a reliable hospital spread even to the visayans who would take the boat and brave the waters to avail of their services. these accomplishments made him one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in the late 80s. he kept a clean and efficient government with meaningful participation of people's organizations.
i looked up to eddie. he was the rare model who opted a path that was more in keeping with the times. while many doctors brag about their jetlags during their aseptic lectures, eddie dorotan lived a life of simplicity and a rare brand of patriotism. he spoke none of its travails even when he lost in the congressional elections. he just went back into NGO work doing what he knows best -- being a doctor of the people in the grassroots.
i met him in a wedding anniversary a few months ago in his usual faded maong pants and sport shirt. (http://tinyurl.com/2a45kx) he was also with his ever-loyal and loving wife oyen (an astute social development manager), a gorgeous daughter who is now a lawyer, and two of his handsome sons who are in college and doing well. he also has a daughter doing post-graduate medicine specialization in USA. i almost forgot his twin daughters who are also in college, one of whom is my wife's godchild.
i am watching pampanga as another ed, a priest, has again been making headlines lately. fr. ed panlileo is actively supported by tootsie herrera, a leading figure in his election bid and his current reform campaign, a nurse, a kumadre, and a co-worker from my NGO days.
