Remembering Dr. Fe del Mundo: Pediatrician, humanitarian, and loving aunt

MANILA, Philippines - I remember tita Fe or Dr. Fe del Mundo with admiration and affection. Tita Fe was spoken about with great respect and fondness in our house. Growing up, I knew she was special by the way my father and mother referred to her in conversations. She was my baptismal godmother — the only one, as in those days, it was not the custom to have multiple ninangs.

I took immense pride that I was her goddaughter and I felt special, too. She was my first role model as my first ambition was to be a doctor, which as it turned out, was not to be.

Tita Fe was the first cousin of my father Jose “Pepito” V. Hilario Jr. but they regarded each other more as brother and sister. Their mothers Mercedes Villanueva Hilario and Paz Villanueva del Mundo were sisters. Unfortunately, Paz died early and left behind tita Fe, then 14, and her sisters Carmen, 19, and Corazon, 12, and brother Salvador, 24.

My lola Mercedes became their second mother and cared for them as she did her own sons Pepito, Aris, and Virgilio. The cousins grew up together and formed a bond that endures to the current generation.?Their closeness remained till all reached adulthood and had their own families.

Pepito?married Salud Angeles  from San Mateo, Rizal and raised Rose (Charito), Peng, Florian, and Ditas; Aristides wed Pilar Ante of Legaspi, Albay and begot Lou, Chari, Roy, Bunny, Irma, Selina Steven, and Roderick while Virgilio found his Miss Universe Armi?Kuusela of Finland and had Arne, Anna, Eva, Yussi, and Mikko.?Carmen became Mrs. Antonio Belmonte and they had two daughters Mila and Dede while Corazon was Mrs. Rufo Cruz Jr. whose children are Regina, Gloria, Alma, and the late Bingo. Salvador was married to Josefa Gotauco and their children are Paz (deceased), Luz, Josie, Bubi, and Elisa.

Tita Fe dedicated herself to medicine and found her fulfillment in?the bigger family embracing the Filipino children.?Much has been written and said about the greatness of Dr. Fe del Mundo, the pediatrician, humanitarian, National Scientist, and recipient of multiple, much-deserved international and national awards. This little piece is about the lesser known but very real family life that she had and recollections that will ensure that tita Fe will be immortalized in the hearts of those she loved and love her back.

From the earliest age, I remember that our family went to all the important events of tita Fe and of the institutions she established from The Little Clinic in?Kitanlad to the building and opening of the Children’s Medical Center Philippines?in Banawe, which subsequently was named after her.

The author’s parents, the late Pepito Hilario and Salud Hilario, with Dr. Fe del Mundo

My brother Peng was one of the first resident babies in the well baby section of The Little Clinic shortly after he was born in 1952. He?stayed in the clinic, probably the first 24/7 daycare in the country, for about a?year as my parents took advantage of tita Fe’s expertise and to show?support for her new venture.

When my sister Florian was born a year later,?she also became a resident well baby but for a shorter period.?The bigger Children’s Medical Center was inaugurated in 1958 and I had?the privilege of being part of the grand opening festvities as one of?the young girls chosen to be princesses for the inaugural program. I?was the Princess of Health, along with the other princesses of the CMCP,?Faith, Hope, and Charity.

For a couple of months before the?inauguration, which coincided with the birthday of tita Fe on Nov. 27,?1958, the princesses helped raised awareness and funds for the new?hospital.

On inaugural night, the princesses were presented in a dramatic and?theatrical fashion. Colorful gigantic roses adorned the stage and?unknown to the audience, a little girl sat quietly inside each rose. At the appointed time, the roses “bloomed” and were opened to reveal the princesses who stepped out to delighted applause. It was my cousin Mila Belmonte-Reyes who tirelessly directed and rehearsed us.

I felt so proud to parade around the stage in a beautiful gown my mother had made for the occasion as I?was escorted by another cousin, the late Rufo Bingo Cruz III.?While we joined the many hospital activities, the most important of?which were timed on tita Fe’s natal day, we also found relief and?care in the hospital when we got sick.

My siblings Peng,?Florian, Ditas, and I had all our checkups and confinement, if needed, at?the Banawe Hospital with tita Fe as our pediatrician.

When I was in college, I was confined because of H-fever and stayed?in a comfortable suite at the CMCP as I needed to be?isolated. My classmates were wondering and snickering why I was?staying in a known children’s and maternity hospital and were teasing?me if I had given birth to kittens or puppies. But I knew no other?hospital and when I was sent home from school due to red spots on my?legs, it felt so natural to pass by the hospital and seek help there instead of going home.?I felt totally at ease and confident because of the attentive care of the medical and nursing?staff who knew us.

Tres hermanas: Corazon, Carmen and Fe at the latter’s house in Panay Street, which she sold to fund the hospital

Tita Fe saw me daily and her visits morning and afternoon were reassuring and much appreciated.?When we got married and started our families, our children also became?patients in the hospital.

My father Pepito would also be a frequent patient during his last years as he battled the usual old-age medical challenges. Thus, we were a common sight in the?hospital from early childhood up to the present.

I joined my parents and a group of doctors who traveled to Helsinki, Finland with tita Fe in 1964. Also with us were Mammy Carmen and papa Tony Belmonte and tita Corazon and tito Rufo Cruz. That trip was my first taste of bidding for a congress, which eventually became a part of my work in the tourism industry.

We attended the convention of the Medical Women’s International Association and tita Fe presented a bid for the meeting to be held in Manila. In her inimitable gentle but persuasive style, Dr. del Mundo won the bid and Manila became the first city in Asia to host the group. She was also elected conference chair and subsequently, the first Asian president of the organization from 1962 to 1966.

The Filipino contingent of family and medical practitioners, which included the newly graduated Dr. Sylvia Jacinto, was there to support that bid in freezing Finland. There were no hotels then and we were billeted in a spacious and comfortable school dormitory.

As a ninang, tita Fe was most thoughtful and unfailing in showering me?with gifts on Christmas and on my birthday year after year. She was so?consistent in remembering that my siblings were envious.

Certainly, the?devotion in no small measure boosted my self-esteem that someone so?busy and important took time to remember me. She did the same for my?father and mother who always had gift tokens from tita Fe’s travels and several times a year, we anticipated opening her cards to read her messages in that distinctly dignified penmanship so unlike the typical doctor’s scrawl.?While she invited us to the important occasions in her life, tita Fe was ever-present in our parties, from town fiestas to birthdays and weddings of Peng and Bubut Bunag, Florian and Baby Rivera, and mine to Alex Libongco.

She was also a delightful participant in family lunches with cousins Mila Belmonte-Reyes with Ilsa, Chito, Lorna, and Sophie Reyes; Dede and Tom Clemente with Tomi and Lelay Clemente; Reggie and Ed Cailao with Marco, Jenny, and Bianca Cailao; and Alma and Vic Hernandez with Vito.

Tita Fe was truly inspiring and while I did not pursue medicine and?went instead for a journalism degree which led to a hotel career, her person, work ethics, and accomplishments inspired me throughout my school and work years.?Tita Fe was a speaker at a meeting of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association in 2001 when I was its president. We organized an open-air rock concert in Intramuros with the hotel and other travel industry practitioners as audience. We raised a modest amount through the sponsorships of friends and associates and the proceeds were humbly but happily given to the projects of Dr. del Mundo.

In the mid ‘70s and after I graduated from college, Tita Fe?appointed me, along with Mila Belmonte-Reyes and Rufo Bingo Cruz, to be members?of the board of trustees of the Children’s?Medical Center Foundation, a position that I hold to this day.

I am deeply?grateful for this trust that she bestowed on me. While she was active?and able to go about her business, it was easy to perform my role as?a trustee. I had complete confidence in her decisions and vision for?her beloved hospital and supporting her was my easy and primary duty.

Through the?hospital’s and foundation’s many transitions and evolutions, three family?members formed part of the board of trustees together with the medical?staff, benefactors, and professionals trusted by Dr. Del Mundo.

It was?a balanced composition that she must have studied and which she in her wisdom?maintained throughout her active years.??Now that she has gone to the great beyond, I hope to be able to safeguard the?vision and legacy that she has built for the Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical?Center.

It is a gargantuan task that needs the work and cooperation of?all the people she has entrusted the hospital to and who remain faithful to her wishes.?There are many challenges, but I believe that difficulties can be overcome when we let love for the founder and the hospital that she lived for, prevail above all.