Members of the Duterte got Doctors Support (DDS). (Photo from the Facebook account of DDS)
DAVAO CITY – A group of medical professionals who call themselves DDS, for Duterte got Doctors Support, has launched on Thursday, February 25 its group to declare support to the Presidential bid of this City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
The group takes its name from another Davao household name, the DDS, the acronym for the notorious Davao Death Squad. The new group refers itself as Doctors si Duterte lang ang Sandigan (Doctors only depend on Duterte).
The group is composed of 400 private practitioners in the medical community, including pharmacists, nurses, medical technologists and medical representatives held a motorcade around the city’s main streets.
The group believes that Duterte’s programs on public welfare and public health “only show his vision and capability as a leader and public servant”.
“Beyond the tough stance, his cussings and indignant rhetorics, we see a man who only has the welfare of his constituents in mind and whose only interest is to serve the interest of the public,” DDS said in statement.
In a press conference, former mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio was thankful that people like the doctors voluntarily threw full support for her father.
“First, thank you for joining the movement for real change and for your support for the presidential bid of Mayor Rody,” she said.
Offers of support, she said, have made it easier for her father’s campaign.
“Thank you for coming out on your own to publicly declare your support for the presidential bid of Mayor Rody,” Sara said. “We need this, especially that the campaign of Digong has limited resources.”
Dr. Bernard Chiew, a cardiologist, said they would volunteer resources to campaign for Duterte.
The support of the medical professionals was latched on Duterte’s programs that promoted good public health.
They cited the Anti-Smoking Ordinance, the Firecrackers Ban, Ban on Aerial Spraying of banana farms, Liquor Ban, the establishment of the Emergency Central 911, the Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation Center For Drug Dependents, and the Lingap para sa Mahirap, a program benefiting not only indigent families of Davao City but also neighboring provinces and towns.
The health professionals also cited the Speed Limit law that reduced road accidents, the institutionalization of programs for the welfare of women and children and the protection of their rights, and the support to children with cancer and the elderly.
In a separate statement, Duterte’s running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano also said the mayor is planning to establish regional specialty hospitals in Visayas and in Mindanao.
Duterte said Northen Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao should have their own Heart Center, Kidney Center, Lung Center, Orthopedic Center and Children’s Hospital and Cancer Research and Treatment Center. These national hospitals and treatment centers are found only in Metro Manila. (davaotoday.com)
