Pia visits wounded soldiers at AFP hospital

MANILA, Philippines – There’s nothing like beauty as balm for the wounded, soldiers confined at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center at V. Luna in Quezon City found out after Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach’s visit yesterday.

“It’s nice to hear their stories, very touching. They say it’s their day, but I feel it’s my day. That’s why we are here. I was able to talk to the wounded soldiers and some people who are affected by AIDS. I sincerely enjoyed the visit,” Wurtzbach said.

Cpl. Florencio Gacutan, still nursing an AK-47 gunshot wound on his left arm and confined along with other troopers at Heroes Ward 3A, said he was touched by the beauty queen’s words to him.

Wurtzbach thanked him for defending the country and wished for his speedy recovery.

A member of the Army’s Special Forces, Gacutan was wounded in an encounter with New People’s Army rebels in Agusan del Sur on Nov. 26.

Aside from Gacutan, Wurtzbach also visited 40 other  casualties of the battlefield at the key military hospital.

Wurtzbach gamely posed for pictures with the wounded troops, saying that her afternoon visit yesterday made her day. Her entourage distributed  brown paper bags marked “Binibining Pilipinas” filled with souvenir items.

AFP deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. Edgar Fallorina described the visit to the AFP Medical Center as “something special as it uplifted the spirit of the battle casualties.”

“The visit boosts the morale of the soldier-patients,” Fallorina said, adding that it was the first time that a Miss Universe – herself a Filipina – took notice of the wounded soldiers’ plight.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. confers the Congressional Medal of Distinction on Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach during her visit to the House of Representatives on Monday. MICHAEL VARCAS