About Us
The Philippine Medical Society of Northern California (PMSNC), a non-profit organization registered as a 501(c)(3), is staffed by volunteer Filipino-Americans practitioners from the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding areas. Founded in 1972, its mission originally was to foster fellowship among Filipino physicians and to provide charitable assistance to underprivileged Bay Area residents.
The society's membership is primarily made up of healthcare professionals living in the four "regions" of the Bay Area: San Francisco/San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda/Contra Costa, and Napa/Solano/Monterey. The organization elects twenty officers every two years.
The specific and primary purposes of PMSNC are:
- To unite and promote closer personal and professional relationships and better understanding among the members and other medical societies.
- To encourage continued professional growth and development of the members.
- To encourage qualified Filipino and Filipino-American students to pursue the medical profession and to provide financial assistance and other scholarship support to such students.
- To provide medical assistance to the elderly and indigent Filipino-Americans as well as other minority groups in the US and support medical-surgical missions.
The organization conducts monthly gatherings that feature an educational lecture, followed by a general membership and board of directors meeting. There are eight permanent committees: executive, membership, by-laws, continuing education, scholarship, medical missions, and inter-society relations.
PMSNC is run entirely by members and volunteers and operates purely on donations and the generosity of its supporters.
Timeline
Established
The Philippine Medical Society of Northern California (PMSNC) organization was founded by a small group of Filipino-American Physicians practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Inauguration
The first elected officers were inducted at the March Inaugural Ball. This annual induction ceremony continued until year 2015, when the terms of the newly-elected officers were extended to two years. Since then, the inaugural ball has been held every two years.
A Non-Profit Organization
In October, the organization was officially certified by the State of California as a non-profit corporation with a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status.
Programs Introduced
PMSNC started monthly CME meetings that featured high-caliber medical professors as presenters. These CME meetings enabled PMSNC to obtain eight (8) years CME Accreditation.
The first Medical-Surgical Mission to depressed area of Philippines was held.
The Scholarship Award Program was established. The awards are given to 3-5 qualified Bay Area medical students of Filipino descent with financial needs.
More Education Grants
A perpetual Scholarship Endowment Trust Fund was established and since then, has been the main source for funding for all scholarships.
Modernization
An important By-laws amendment was made that expanded the Affiliate and Auxiliary Memberships to include Nurses and other healthcare professionals, volunteers and students.
The PMSNC website was launched and all communications and functions, including meetings, social events and applications are now done online.
Medical Mission On Hold
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the annual medical mission to the Philippines to be halted for two consecutive years. In 2023, the 35th medical mission resumed in Pangasinan.
Golden Anniversary
Amid a global pandemic, PMSNC decided to hold a commemoration event to celebrate the society's 50th anniversary.
Officers 2023-2025
Members-at-Large
Committee
Herminigildo Valle, MD
Standing & Special Committees
Past Presidents
In 2015, office tenure was changed to biennial.
2021N. Thad Padua, MD
2019Ria San Valentin Calinga, MD
2017Pedro L. Cajator, MD
2015Peter N. Bretan Jr, MD
2014Carmencita A. Agcaoili, MD
2013Leila R. Olivera, MD
2012Lourdes O. Agcaoili, MD
2011Robert Ang, MD
2010Reynaldo M. Cordero, MD
2009Victorina Brizuela Bach, MD
2008Clementina Manio, MD
2007Herminigildo V. Valle, MD
2006Emmanuel Cepe, MD
2005Marlene Cordero, MD
2004Carmelo Roco, MD
2003Agnes Y. Alikpala, MD
2002Corazon de Guzman, MD
2001Felicidad Lao, MD
2000Reynaldo M. Cordero, MD
1999Recto de Leon, MD
1998Agaton T. Gualberto, MD
1997Carmencita Jose, MD
1996Lene V. M. Martinez, MD
1995Adolfo Badillo, MD
1994Angelo Ozoa, MD
1993Roger Espiritu, MD
1992Cesar S. Ortiz, MD
1991Valeriano B. Viray, MD
1990Jose Rodriguez, MD
1989Eugenio Balbuena, MD
1988Lourdes O. Agcaoili, MD
1987Besosie Ganal, MD
Dr. William (Bill) Candelario, is a member of the first graduating class of 1957 from the FEU College of Medicine. He completed his post-graduate training all over the Midwest. An internship in Cleveland, Ohio, general practice residency in St. Louis , Missouri, and surgical residency in Nashville, Tennessee. His general medical-surgical practice started in Nashville, Tennessee until his transfer to California in 1966. He was a reserve in the U. Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel for 6 years, barely avoiding the call to action by 24 hours, when the ground war of the Desert Storm suddenly ended in 1991.
Together with the Ibabaos, the Candelarios were the pioneer medical mission volunteers. During his tenure as PMSNC President, he designated Dr. Lourdes Olivares Agcaoili to start a scholarship program for deserving Filipino-American students in the Bay Area schools of Medicine, Dentistry & Pharmacy, and tasked Dr. Besosie Ganal to start a fundraising campaign.
His main interests include golf and the Rotary Club of Pinole. Through his leadership, he has influenced the Rotary Club to pledge $1000 a year to the medical mission--an ongoing pledge that started 36 years ago.
1985Leonilo Malabed, MD
1984Teofilo Ulanday, MD
1983Aguedo Retodo, MD
1982Felix Agcaoili, MD
1981Antonio Abiog, MD
Dr. Florentino (Tino) Ibabao & his wife Dr. Lilia Ferrer Ibabao. reluctantly in 1984, became the original mission volunteers. Upon their arrival in Numancia, Aklan a city outside Kalibo, a group of townsmen gathered in front of their ancestral home to welcome them and to seek medical care from the “state-side” physicians. This continued for the next few days, and the much needed vacation turned into a medical-surgical stand-up clinic.
The following year in anticipation of a recurrence, they invited their nephew Dr. William Candelario, a surgeon and his wife Dr. Reynalda Candelario, an anesthesiologist, plus a few nurses from the Doctors’ Medical Center in San Pablo and Pinole and from Brookside Hospital. These nurses and their spouses were easily recruited with a promise of half days’ work and fun for the rest of the day. The half-day work, of course, could not be honored because of the sheer number of patients who needed to be seen. The Rotary Club of Aklan helped provide food and lodging for the volunteers.
The PMSNC became involved by the 3rd year, and since then, the volunteer count multiplied exponentially. The medical mission has continued to be the major activity of the society.
Dr. Tino Ibabao is a 1951 graduate of UST College of Medicine, interned in St. Louis, Missouri, had general surgery training in Cleveland, Ohio, and trained for two years in plastic surgery in Toronto, Canada. His private practice was in in West Contra Costa County at the Doctors’ Medical Center in San Pablo, at Brookside Hospital, and was one of the twelve MD’s that kept the Doctors’ Hospital in Pinole open for a few years longer.
He retired in 1987 and stays active with his special interest in golf, plus he is one of Stephen Curry's most avid fans.
The Ibabaos have three children, including a daughter who became a nurse after joining a medical mission. They enjoy the company of their five devoted grandchildren, who all live in their community.
1979Godofredo Torres, MD
1978Angelo Ozoa, MD
1977Carlos Delgado, MD
1976Ernesto Hilario, MD
1975Leonardo Martin, MD
1974Eugenio Zarate, MD