Businessman donates P1-M to St. Luke’s

Businessman Jose de Venecia III has pledged P 1 million to the St. Luke’s College of Medicine’s William H. Quasha Memorial for clinical researches.

A memorandum of agreement signed last week by De Venecia and school officials led by Dean Jesus Perez Jr. and medical director Arsenio Cantos mandates the former to contribute P 1 million which will be remitted in five tranches of P200,000 to the school of medicine. St. Luke’s shall administer the funds to be used in the establishment and maintenance of the Jose Perez de Venecia III professional chair in Gastroenterology and related fields.

"I believe in St. Luke’s noble mission of producing the best doctors for the country so that Filipinos will no longer have to go abroad for medical diagnosis and treatment," said De Venecia, chair and chief executive officer of Internet firm Broadband Philippines.

The St. Luke’s College of Medicine is the first medical school in Metro Manila approved by the education department after a six-year ban. It now joins the roster of well-known medical colleges such as University of Sto. Tomas, University of the East, and the University of the Philippines.

Dr. Perez noted that excellence in a college of medicine is dependent to a great extent on its faculty and physical teaching facilities as well as the social and cultural philosophy of those persons setting the policies, guiding the progress of the school, and especially those who support the mission.