Dr. Juan A. Vallejo

Who was the first doctor of Plaridel, Misamis Occidental?

To those who are old enough to remember, the name that comes to mind is Dr. Juan A. Vallejo.

In the 1930's, he was assigned by the Bureau of Health Services to Plaridel as the Municipal Health Officer (MHO) and to establish the Rural Health Unit (RHU) of the municipality.

But, Dr. Vallejo was not a native Plaridelian. He was a full-blooded Spanish gentleman, who was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1900.

His family migrated to the Philippines in 1905 and settled in Pasay City. This was at a time when the Spanish colonial reign has already ended and the Americans have established their own colonial government.

He studied and obtained his Physician's degree at the Universidad de Santo Tomas (UST), Manila, in 1925. UST, the oldest medical school in the country, was run by the Dominicans, Spanish friars of the Order of Preachers.

The state of the public health system in the 1920's was described as having an acute shortage of doctors, nurses, and sanitary personnel.

And yet, in spite of the country's dire need of physicians, Dr. Vallejo could not find employment. This was because of his Spanish citizenship.

So, he renounced his Spanish citizenship, applied for and was granted the status of a naturalized Filipino citizen. He was then accepted by the Philippine Health Service (today's Department of Health) as a physician, to work in the government's public health service.

His first tour of duty was his assignment to Siquijor, Negros Oriental. He headed a team that would later be called the Rural Health Unit (RHU). Also in that team was a nurse named Felicidad Curamen, a winsome Genuine Ilocana from Paniqui, Tarlac.

Juan and Felicidad fell in love and became man and wife in 1928. Their marriage was blessed with seven children. The eldest, Salud was born in Siquijor, while the rest were born in his next place of assignment. Here's a family picture, circa 1948:

After his sojourn in Siquijor, he was transferred to Plaridel, Misamis Occidental in 1930, as Municipal Health Officer.

This was a welcome development as before his arrival, the townspeople's major and minor ailments were treated by the albularyo or locally known as mananambal. Childbirths were handled by the mananabang.

Dr. Vallejo was in the forefront in the government's drive to eradicate the illnesses plaguing the country and particularly, the town of Plaridel. The challenge was to control tubercolosis, the leading cause of death and such other diseases as malaria, smallpox, malnutrition, beri-beri, and even leprosy.

His service to the people spanned more than three decades, from the American administration (1925-1935), to the Commonwealth (1935-1942), the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945) and the post-independence Philippines under the administrations of Presidents Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay and Garcia. He retired at the start of President Macapagal's term in 1960.

He made Plaridel his home, raised his children and lived there permanently until he passed away in 1965 at the age of sixty five. He was buried alongside his wife at the Catholic cemetery in Lao, Plaridel, Misamis Occ.

Dr. Vallejo and Mrs. Vallejo were well-loved and highly respected in the community. They were fondly and plainly called as "Dr." and "Mrs.". So if you speak of "Dr.", you most certainly were referring to Dr. Vallejo. And if you mention "Mrs.", you actually meant Mrs. Vallejo.

Four of the Vallejo children followed in their father's footsteps and are also physicians:

Four of the Vallejo children are also married to physicians:

The Vallejo children and their spouses:

Today's generation of Plaridelians may no longer recognize the name Dr. Vallejo, but in all likelihood their grandparents and great grandparents were once taken care of by the good doctor himself.

Salud†	Cesar Mendoza†
Teresita†	Salvio Edmilao†
Manuel†	Thomasina Ogrodowski
Mercedita	Salvador Estillore, Jr.
Pilar†	Oscar Azcona
Felicidad	Leonardo Ventura
Arturo	Consorcia Chan