Philippine Academy of Medical Specialists Inc. NETWORK

Now that the 13th convention is over and the dust of confusions is starting to settle, the seed of TRUTH will have to sprout. First let me enumerate some of the confusions;

I. Who created these confusions?

A. The Election Mess

1. PAMS Election History

2. No Proper Preparation for Election due to

a. Deceitful No Election Plan by Dr. Rene Catan and Dr. Elmer Punzalan

3. Coercion of the COMELEC

a. Changing Election rules during election time

b. The Angry crowd scenario

c. The Shouting Lady

d. The Politicalization of the Local Chapter Presidents

B. The Conferment Exercise Chaos

1. The Predictable Pattern of an Infantile Egocentric Mind

2. The Battle for the Guest Speaker To Deliver the Inspirational Speech

C. Misrepresentation and Misinformation to The President of the Republic of The Philippines

II. Was it deliberate?

III. If it is indeed deliberate, who should be answerable for it?

IV. Can we do something to end this confusion?

To be able to understand the answers to these questions, one must be knowledgeable on the 3 grounds of personal commitment to an organization, and these are a) MORAL, b) ETHICAL, and c) LEGAL. One must also understand the history of our Organization to be able to appreciate the answer to these questions.

I will not directly answer some of the questions for you, but I will give you facts on how it happened and in the end you will be the one to assess the situation and do the judgment for yourself.

I. WHO CREATED THESE CONFUSIONS?

A. THE ELECTION MESS:

1. PAMS ELECTION HISTORY:

Since the incorporation of PAMS (1994), the composition of the Board of Trustees (BOT) were invited not elected in a General Assembly. It was at the time of Dr. Jun Paglinawan's 3rd presidency (1998) that election of the BOT by the General Assembly during the Annual Convention, was introduced. The COMELEC at that time was just handpicked by someone at that time so as to control the crowd to unanimously accept the verdict, thereby creating a semblance of a democratic election. During that time I have already signified my resentment to the above process but was always prevailed upon with the promise that it would be corrected the following year. Inspite of my yearly verbal protest, this process had been practiced up to the time of Dr. Miguel Ocampo's 6th presidency (2005) due to these people (Fixers) who always want to control the Board of Trustees. During the term of Dr. William Dy as the 7th president, inspite of his best effort to create and institutionalize a credible COMELEC and election rules (please read his letter to The Council of Advisers dated Dec. 2006), it was hampered by these fixers resulting in an extraordinary takeover by the current administration. Now, the integrity of the COMELEC is being questioned by the general membership due to the meddling of the Board of Trustees during election time and God knows who did it! How did it happen? Let me give you the facts;

2. No Proper Preparation, No COMELEC Meetings was done by the Administration of Dr. Catan about Election except during the Election Period wherein he called several BOT-COMELEC meetings (approx every 30 minutes on my count) together with the local chapter presidents.

a) Deceitful No Election Plan by Dr. Rene Catan and Dr. Elmer Punzalan was uncovered- During the emergency BOT meeting last October 20, 2007 (First BOT meeting since May and 20 days before our convention) when asked by Dra. Daisy Camitan (overall chairperson of the 13th Annual Convention)regarding the exact date of the Election as being traditionally exercised by our organization during Annual Conventions, the two persons acting as one were forced to confess to some surprised BOT that they were planning a NO ELECTION SCENARIO during the Annual Convention. How's this? I dont know either, but by some crooked and corrupted legal opinion, they are citing a provision in the Structural Blueprint of our Organization as their basis for extending their term for another two years, hence NO ELECTION. It was deceitful and an act of betrayal against the BOT and our constituents. How was the plan deceitful? Here are the facts;

1) How come it was only revealed 20 days before the supposed date of election.

2) How come it was revealed only when asked by one of our BOT, Dra. Daisy Camitan.

3) How come the benificiary of this NO ELECTION SCHEME is the current Execom Officers and BOTs.(wala na ba kayong Delicadeza?)

*The proponents of this plan was defeated at that time, thanks God, but what bothers me most is their persistence to create a NO ELECTION SCENARIO whatever the cost. Can we consider these acts as mental lapses on the judgment of our president or can you see a pattern of dirty politicking?

3. Coercing the COMELEC

a) Changing Election Rules During Election Time -These conducts are unacceptable because it is unruly, undignified and improper. In Dr. William Dy's letter to the COA dated Dec. 2006 (please read )- , he already have reprimanded them regarding these kind of conducts. As Medical Specialists we do not deserve to be subjected to this kind of exercise because it would produce further dissents and confusions. Was it deliberate? If it was planned, who are the persons responsible?

b) The Angry Crowd Scenario-Since there was no preparation by the Administration to conduct an Election due to previously stated reasons, the COMELEC had announced that the rules applied last year will be the same rules that will be applied for the 2007 election. The COMELEC (composed of some past presidents and Council of advisers) together with the BOT was called by the President on November 11, 2007 (one day before the election date). Together in this room were a newly formed group of leaders who were highly charged regarding the conduct and the manner by which the election will be held. Why is the group there? I don't want to insinuate things but your guess is as good as mine (please read Dr. William Dy's Administrative complaint dated November 8, 2007-it was written before it happened). Who created this scenario? Again your guess is as good as mine. Remember Pontius Pilate when he was presented to an angry crowd by the Pharises?.....his decision was coerced! What is worst is that............. it led to the crucifixion. This things, we must not allow otherwise it would sow confusion amongst us and in the process crucify our organization. But no matter how hard we tried to avoid it, it happened because of the persistent insinuators and fixers deeply seated in our governing body (BOT).

c) The Shouting Lady- Do you remember the shouting lady during the Election period? Well I don't want to dignify her acts with a comment, but remember her for now because she will play a vital role in other confusing events that happened during our 13th Annual Convention.

**Who do you blame for all of these?; the Local Chapter Presidents?

- Certainly Not, the Group of Local Chapter Presidents are not to blame for they are the victims, they had been betrayed by a well planned deliberate deceitful political machinations being perpetrated by some members of the BOT. They had been USED and I believe most of our local chapter presidents knows now who these people are! (Please read the Administrative Complaint Against Dr. Rene Catan dated November 8, 2007- It was written before it happened). Here are the facts to support this claim;

d) The Politicalization of the Local Chapter Presidents

1) President's Presidents Meeting Part I- No BOT approval for the event, No BOT approval for its funding, BOTs not invited and unaware of the event. What is the purpose of this event? Why hide this event to the BOTs?.......can you comprehend the reason why?

2) President's Presidents Meeting Part II- Again No BOT approval for the event, again No BOT approval for its funding, again BOTs not invited and unaware of the event. Again what is the purpose of this event? Again why hide this event to the BOTs?.......again can you comprehend the reason why? Can we consider these acts as mental lapses on the judgment of our president or can you see a pattern of politicking?

- THE PRESIDENT'S NIGHT:

The President's Night was conceptualized by Dr. Wilfredo Tagle and was started during the time of Dr. Miguel Ocampo in 2004. This event was presented and was approved by the Board of Trustees as an annual event to be attended by the Local and National Presidents (past and present), together with the Chairpersons of the National Committees. I can still vividly recall that day when we have a heated discussion about the issue because I am totally against its creation due to our monetary constraint, but I was prevailed upon by the majority decision with the condition that expenses will come from the sponsors. During the term of Dr. William Dy in 2006 as the 7th president, we followed that tradition and held the 3rd President's Night with the Theme "Forging Alliance Towards Nation Building". I really don't know what happened to that event now, we were suppose to observe the 4th President's Night this year but suddenly without any warning, without any permission, without any approval from the BOT, it was changed into "The President's Presidents Meeting" and he did not do it once but twice! Can you smell something fishy about the title? Have you seen Francis Ford Copolla's movie or have you read Mario Puzo's Novel, "The Godfather"? In that movie, The Godfather is also known as "Capo de Tutti Capa" meaning "Boss of All Bosses", this is just an egocentric title to remind everyone Who The Boss Is. Had it been presented to the BOT for approval, I might have died LOL (laughing out loud) or LOTF (laughing on the floor). But seriously, what bothers me more is the wanton disregard to change the concept, and funding it without asking the permission of the Board of Trustees (The highest governing body whose main role is to guard the institutions of our organization).

**Who do you blame for all of these? The Group of Local Chapter Presidents; The COMELEC?; The Board of Trustees?, or The Office of the Presidency?

- No, No, No, The Group of Local Chapter Presidents cannot be blamed for what had happened because they were "used" by the current administration to sow confusion during the Annual Convention. They were victims of deceits and betrayal done and currently being perpetrated by power hungry tyrants within our organization! Although these group is still in its infancy stage and most members are innocent on the real issues, we admire their passionate quest to look for a solution during periods of what they perceive as "crisis". This quick reaction exhibited by the Group of Local Chapter Presidents is a prompt response analogous to a kneejerk reflex, meaning our organization is fast becoming an organism that is alive and kicking and we are proud of them for exhibiting that kind of trait (a trait seldom shown by the BOT). As much as we want to avoid exposing them to this kind of sham, since we are still in the process of nurturing and teaching them the basics of our organization in which they have just recently joined, some misguided elements within the ranks of the BOT saw an opportunity to utilize them instead for their personal agenda. As much as we want to avoid mob rule during the time of election (we think it is already water under the bridge), one thing positive about the incident is that we can see in them our future leaders for one of the essence of democracy is to err in favor of freedom.

- No & Yes, The COMELEC is an innocent bystander to the election because they were not given due notice and proper time to prepare for the event. Like the Group of Local Chapter Presidents they were betrayed and "used" by the current Administration. Their decisions were coerced by the Angry Crowd Scenario and they succumb to the pressure of negotiating with the BOT as represented by Dr. Rene Catan & Dr. Elmer Punzalan only to find out that they would be betrayed again the following day (November 13, 2007) and the subsequent hours during that day. The members of PAMS-COMELEC are all Luminaries in our organization and they are; Dr. Wilfredo Tagle (5th President), Dr. Bonifacio Ronsayro (4th President), Dr. Miguel Ocampo (6th President), and Dr. Rhodora Cruz (Co-Founder of PAMS). Dr. Rene Catan (less than two years as BOT) and Dr. Elmer Punzalan (less than one year as BOT) know the composition of the COMELEC and yet they have the audacity and nerve to expose these people to their dirty political maneuvering just to stay in power. As an Independent Constitutional Body, the COMELEC erred and should have stood their ground during election time, but individually, I understand their predicaments for they merely wanted to help resolve the election crisis (created by determined individuals still pushing for a NO ELECTION scenario).

- Yes, the Board of Trustees is partly to blame! Why? Although most of the individual members of the BOT have good intentions, they allowed the Body to participate in coercing the COMELEC during election time, thereby destroying the credibility of one of the mechanism of our organizational check and balance. Each member of the BOT must fully understand their role and the dynamics within, so that collectively the BOT could consciously protect the institutions of the organization and take an active role in governing rather than being used as a mere rubber stamp. Each must have the quality and "diligence of the father of the family" so that nothing would come in harms way against our constituents brought about by external factors and Tyrants Within

- Yes, Yes, Yes, The President and his cohorts are the main authors of these confusions and anarchy, and we don’t have to prove it further because the facts as stated above are too obvious and the logical pattern of events are self explanatory.

B. THE CONFERMENT EXERCISE CHAOS:

- Dra. Daisy Camitan is the overall chairperson of the 13^th Annual Convention and she is the best person to handle the job for she had previous tract record of handling successful conventions of PACDI (Philippine Academy of Cosmetic Dermatology). She is a very responsible person because since day 1 (January 1, 2007), she had been very busy calling and attending meeting by the BOT and the regular meetings of her committee and subcommittees. The Conferment Exercise was delegated to an equally dynamic tandem of Dra. Condrada Apostol and Dr. Leonardo Abogado. Together this trio had been preparing for our conferment ceremony since day 1, they even hired an event coordinator so that it will be assured that the exercise will be a solemn and memorable event for the Diplomate and Fellow conferees. But alas……………Lightning struck because on the 13^th day of the 11^th month of 2007 during the 13^th Annual Convention, the Shouting Lady suddenly transformed herself to a Commanding Lady taking charge of everything that happened in that Event. That Lady is Dra. April Punzalan, the wife of Dr. Elmer Punzalan (a new comer in the BOT but with a tract record at GSIS) and she’s not even a member of the Annual Convention Committee or any subcommittees of that body. Without any warning, without any permission from the organizing committee, without batting an eyelash, guilt or shame, she suddenly changed the program of the Conferment Ceremony. She changed the sitting arrangement of the Honorary Fellows headed by;

1. Dr. Vinzon Pineda (Pioneer in The Discipline in Dermatology)

2. Dr. Lakandula Elayda (Pioneer in Dermatology in the Philippines)

3. Dr. Corazon Jose Collantes (Pioneer in Cosmetic Surgery in the Philippines)

4. Dr. Nicasio Salang (President of the International College of Surgery)

- What is worst is that during the actual ceremony she asked them to leave their seats at the center stage and commanded them to sit at the lower ground thereby subjecting our Honorary Fellows to undue humiliation.

- Where did she get her courage to perform such unethical acts? Is she authorized to do these? On whose authority? What is the motive? If these questions cannot be answered, the most plausible answer is that “she just went crazy”. However most of the organizers and some people in the inner circle believe that there are answers to these questions and the Conferment Chaos was well planned and deliberate with the blessing of the current leadership.

- The “Inspirational Speech” as previously agreed upon by the organizers and the Presidents’ President, Dr. Rene Catan, should have been delivered by our Founder, Dr. Nestor Pasamba, but Lo and Behold upon the intercession of the Shouting Lady, someone else delivered the inspirational talk. THIS IS THE MAIN REASON WHY THEY CHANGED THE PROGRAM!

WHY? The answer is…!#@!$##&^%*&^(&(^*&%%$%$#%$#&%^$*&^$#%$

To understand why men do such things, we must have a deeper knowledge about psychology and his sociological background.

1. The Predictable Pattern of an Infantile Egocentric Mind:

The following are excerpts from a book entitled ”Critical Thinking: Tools For Taking charge Of Your Professional and Personal Life” by Richard W. Paul and Linda Elder

Key Idea #4: Our Native Egocentrism Is a Default Mechanism

To understand the human mind, we must recognize its essential duality. On the one hand, the human mind has an instinctive tendency toward irrationality. On the other hand, it has a native capacity for rationality. To effectively take command of our mind, we must develop the ability to (1) monitor the mind's tendency toward egocentric or irrational thinking, and (2) attack it with corrective rational thought.

Our irrational mind is not concerned with the rights or needs of others. It has no ethical dimension to it. Our rational mind, properly developed, is both intellectual and ethical. It has intellectual command of itself and ethical sensitivity as well. Intellectual skill and fair-mindedness are joined into one integrated mode of thinking. When our rational mind is underdeveloped or not engaged, however, our native egocentrism functions as a default mechanism. If we don't control it, it controls us!

Key Idea #8: The Egocentric Mind Is Automatic in Nature

Egocentric thinking, unlike rational thought, operates in a highly automatic, unconscious, and impulsive manner. Based in primitive, often thought patterns, it reacts to situations in programmed and mechanistic ways. We must recognize, therefore, that it often will spring into action before we have a chance to sidestep or prevent it. It fights. It flees. It denies. It represses. It rationalizes. It negates. It scapegoats. And it does all of these in the blink of an eye with no conscious awareness of its deceptive tricks.

Key Idea #9: We Often Pursue Power Through Dominating or Submissive Behavior

When thinking irrationally or egocentrically, the human mind often seeks to achieve its goals by either dominating or submissive behavior. Put another way, when under the sway of egocentrism, we try to get our way either by dominating others or by gaining their support through outward submission to them. Bullying (dominating) and groveling (submitting) are often subtle in nature, but they are nonetheless common in human life.

Power is not bad in itself. We all need some power to rationally fulfill our needs. But in human life it is common for power to be sought as an end in itself, or used for unethical purposes. One of the most common ways for egocentric people and socio-centric groups to gain power is by dominating weaker persons or groups. Another way is by playing a subservient role toward a more powerful other to get what they want. Much of human history could be told in terms of the use of these two egocentric functions of individuals and groups. Much individual behavior can be understood by seeing the presence of these two patterns in the behavior of individuals. The more power egocentric people have, the more dangerous they are.

The Height of Egocentricity of the Presidents’ President

“You cannot change the mindset of a person who has something to prove to himself, and there is nothing wrong with that, the trouble begins if he is operating within an organization and harmonious teamwork is necessary to do a certain task”.

….drhilongtalilong

Last October 13, 2007, while the Presidents’ President is busy presenting his Powerpoint propaganda report to the Local Chapter Presidents (Presidents’ President Meeting Part II), there was another group of PAMS officers meeting at a nearby restaurant (Goong Restaurant-Tomas Morato St.), and it was the 1^st attempt of some concerned BOT members to call for a regular meeting since it was last convened on May 2007 (5 months w/o BOT meetings). Those who attended the meeting were:

1. Dr. Nestor Pasamba- PAMS Founder

2. Dr. Wilfredo Tagle- Council of Adviser

3. Dr. Miguel Ocampo- Council of Adviser

4. Dr. Fresco Yapendon- BOT & Execom member (Secretary General-Vice-President).

5. Dr. Nicanor Escutin- BOT & Execom member (Treasurer)

6. Dr. William Dy- BOT & Execom member (Ex-Officio)

7. Dr. Daisy Camitan- BOT member, Overall Chairperson of the 13^th Annual Convention

8. Dr. Danilo Vergara- BOT member

9. Dr. June Camitan- Chancellor in the Discipline of Community & Preventive Medicine

All of the BOTs were invited, some were not able to come due to their own valid reasons but some were not able to come because they were told that only the President of PAMS has the right to call a BOT meeting. The meeting was called “Joint Consultative Meeting of the BOT with the COA”, the presiding officer was Dr. Fresco Yapendon and the Agenda were;

A. Crisis of Miscommunication

1) Unruly conduct of previous BOT meetings

2) No regular BOT meeting since May 2007

3) No coordination of activities between President and BOT

4) Unethical and unprofessional conducts by some BOT members being tolerated by the President.

B. Malversation / Mismanagement of fund

1) Unethical and unprofessional conducts being committed by some Execom officers.

2) Excessive utilization of fund for political purposes (Powerpoint Propaganda Presentation & Presidents’ President Meetings) without prior approval from the Board of Trustees.

C. Demoralization of some Annual Convention Organizer

1) Egocentric style of management by the President

2) Uncertainties created by the President himself.

a) Schedule of Annual General Assembly Election for BOT

b) Guest Speaker to deliver the Inspirational Speech during the Conferment Exercise.

**The meeting adjourned without making any resolutions but agreed to meet again the following week. As a result the Presidents’ President preempted the move and was forced to call a formal emergency meeting of the BOT on October 20, 2007. The conduct of the meeting was videotaped and it will be available SOON on our new Television Station www.pams.tv!

The Battle for the Guest Speaker To Deliver the Inspirational Speech (What the Child wants, the Child gets)

Fact#1: The Presidents’ President wants Dr. Fulgencio to deliver the Inspirational Speech during the Conferment Exercise.

Fact#2: The Presidents’ President was previously forewarned by two (2) elders to get clearance from Dr. Nestor Pasamba (our Founder) because the said speaker was expelled(?)/resigned(?) from the Board of Trustees during the time/term of Dr. Jun Paglinawan (the 3^rd President).

Fact#3: Inspite of this information, The Presidents’ President summoned Dra. Daisy Camitan and without informing her of the situation, he asked her to invite the said speaker. Dra. Camitan only became aware of the problem during the October 13 meeting at Goong Restaurant. It deceives.

Fact#4: During the subsequent meeting (October 20, 2007-Lifebuoy Conference Room) the Board of Trustees, The Council of Advisers, The Organizing Committee and the Presidents’ President agreed that, Dr. Fulgencio will no longer be invited and the Inspirational Talk will be delivered by Dr. Nestor Pasamba.

Fact#5: After that meeting, The Presidents’ President visited Dr. Pasamba in Olongapo to rationalize to him that he will be in a tight fix since Dra. Camitan had already invited the Guest Speaker to deliver the Inspirational Speech. Dr. Pasamba acceded and gave his blessing to the request but upon learning from Dra Camitan that the invitation had not yet been forwarded to the Guest Speaker, Dr. Pasamba informed the Presidents’ President that he is withdrawing his blessing. It distorts.

Fact#6: After that visit, the Presidents’ President called for an emergency BOT Meeting at Anabelles Restaurant wherein some BOT members were not invited to try to have a board resolution regarding the conduct of the Conferment Exercise specifically on the subject of who is going to deliver the Inspirational Talk. No resolution was formed due to No Quorum. Childish.

Fact#7: No coordination with the organizing committee and the subcommittee on Conferment Exercise of Dr. Abogado and Dr. Apostol.

Fact#8: THE REST IS HISTORY…………..THE CHILD HAD HIS LOLLIPOP………AND THE SHOUTING LADY?…………SHE IS THE WILLING SCAPEGOAT!

Coming SOON…………… The Misrepresentations to the President of the Republic of the Philippines and the CREDIT GRABBING INTERPLAY of the RAIDERS of the COVENANT OF PAMS…..NICE TOPIC EH?

Philippine Academy of Medical Specialists Inc. NETWORK

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Deceptive Appeal

Walang ginawa

Look Who's Talking

Confusions at the 13th Annual Convention of PAMS

The following are excerpts from a book entitled ”Critical Thinking: Tools For Taking charge Of Your Professional and Personal Life” by Richard W. Paul and Linda Elder

Key Idea #4: Our Native Egocentrism Is a Default Mechanism

Key Idea #8: The Egocentric Mind Is Automatic in Nature

Key Idea #9: We Often Pursue Power Through Dominating or Submissive Behavior

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Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:13 pm Post subject: 2/10/2008

LUk whos toking about election.d 1 who plan 2b in power months b4 d election,repetitively present false& achivments of oders 2lure suport,used d chapter pres 2politize d once harmonious system dat rsulted 2pams growth&change d rule of comelec 1day b4 election. luk whos now using d SEC/corp law! d1created activitis/spend d funds wtout consulting d parents/ advisrs ofpams, no bot aproval dsregarded previous bot/comelec resolution, now calling 4 election to hide his tru intention.used d quorum of d execom insted of d bot 2create a false impresion of suport using god yet violate#3,5,9 of d 10comandments.pls pass