Images from the Miss DMC 2008 Pageant held August 15, 2008 hosted by Ginoong Negros 2006 Mark Xander Fabillar. Photography: Aleksi Mari B. Gumela. Learn more.

Cheer Dance winner:

The Community Extension Services Department (CESD), the appendage of DMC in reaching out to the outside community especially to the less privileged group of people, successfully accomplished its goal to aid the victims of typhoon frank (International Name: Fengshen).

On a sunny Wednesday morning, on July 16, 2008 the group led by Ms. Pilar Cruz, the Coordinator for community extension with a number of ROTC Officers headed by Mr. Jeffrey Laput, Mrs. Mary Rose Buzon of the Special Project Office and Mr. Renante Salvaña of the Criminology Department delivered the solicited goods at Laoy, Barangay Olingan. Thankfully, the said sitio was the only area badly affected by the typhoon in the City

A total of 585 people, children included, were affected by the tidal surge of which 21 homes were totally washed out to the sea and the rest were just partially damaged.

DMC was able to hand out used/old clothes, canned and packed goods to the family heads of the 21 homes that were wiped out. The recipients were thankful and smilingly accepted the bundles that DMC distributed at the newly erected Center of the place.

Ms. Cruz opined that the success of the operation was in part due to the cooperation of concerned government agencies. Mrs. Susan Lumanta of the City Social Welfare and Development Office was the one who identified and released to CESD names of those affected by the tidal surge. She also witnessed and assisted the group during the distribution of the goods. The Local Government Unit through the Barangay Captain, designated Ms. Edna Castillon, a member of the Lupon Tagapamayapa of the barangay to facilitate the activity.

Mrs. Lolita Elico, a resident, helped in gathering the victims/families at Sitio Corales.

“We are thankful to all the donors, though we could not name them all, the people of Sitio Laoy for welcoming us, Mrs. Elico and Mrs. Castillon, the Barangay Council and DSWD for contributing in one way or another for the success of the operation”, Ms. Cruz of DMC-CESD happily said. The relief operation was silently monitored by the AVP for Administration of DMC, Dr. Gerald T. Concha. The event was likewise, covered by the local ABS-CBN.

[PR/DMCCF]

Dr. Elena Gonzales, Engr. Anne Marie Montano, Atty. Diane Concha & Corporate Treasurer Mrs. Filomena Concha on a recent visit to Singapore of OJT linkages.

DMC officials recently flew to Singapore to study the Singapore Recruiting Program for OJT or Practicum and meet with hotel and restaurant operators to discuss linkages and partnership. “We wanted to see for ourselves and study the working and living conditions of Filipino students who were there for their On-the-Job Training or Practicum because we want to be sure our students will be in good hands. We also want to adequately prepare them.” says Atty. Diana Concha, the Dean of newly opened School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management of DMC.

DMC’s HRM students enrolled in practicum subjects have the opportunity to acquire practical knowledge, skills, and desirable attitudes on actual hotel and restaurant operations in foreign hotels. This will develop the Filipino work values as they relate to a different culture and a foreign work environment. “I was quite surprised because as soon as we arrived in the hotel I met Filipino students who were working there. I interviewed them and the Hotel Manager and he told me that their guests appreciate Filipino workers because they speak very good English and they are so warm and welcoming.” adds Atty. Concha.

Last year, Singapore’s visitor’s industry hit a record high of 10.3 million visitors. This number is roughly three times the city’s own population. The goal for 2008 is to bring in close to $11 billion in tourism receipts. Within seven years’ time, Singapore hopes to attract 17 million visitors annually. A joint publication by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower and the Workforce Development Agency, the Labour Market Highlights states that: “Demand for waiters, cooks, room stewards/chambermaids, bartenders, customer service executives and restaurant managers will be needed as the popularity of Singapore as a tourism destination increase tremendously”.

DMC officials were toured by DMC’s partners in Singapore to Sentosa Island, a tropical island which is being transformed into the biggest theme park in Asia, and one of the largest in the world, covering some 1,300 acres. Construction is in full swing at Sentosa, there will be at last six major hotels, as well as a casino and the largest Universal Studios outside the US. Steven Spielberg will also open the first Dreamword digital animation studios outside the US. There will also be a spa, a golf course, a cable car and the largest oceanarium in Asia. There will be full docking facilities for regional cruise liners to tie up to, as more and more cruise companies are now making Singapore their regional home port.

Atty. Concha quickly adds that the good news is that the Singapore tourism boom means not only more jobs for those who want to work in hotels and restaurants but for other sectors as well. DMC Commerce and IT students are also eligible to apply for the international OJT program. “The tourism boom translates to growing affluence in Singapore. The retail industry is also intensifying its demand for sales and marketing executives, managers and sales assistants. The I.T. industry is also in need of skilled professionals. DMC’s International Practicum program is not just limited to those in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management. The International Practicum or OJT program will also be available for our Commerce and I.T. students”
DMC recently added to its list of programs BS Hotel, Restaurant Management. While DMC already has kitchen laboratories, a mock-up hotel lobby and hotel rooms, DMC is gearing up for big things. Construction is under way for a 4-storey building which will house luxurious hotel rooms, state of the art kitchen laboratories and function rooms.

[Press release and photo via DMCF]

For the first time in the history of Zamboanga del Norte, two cases of brain surgery were performed recently at the operating room of Dipolog Medical Center by neurosurgeon Dr. Gaudencio Arseno Tan Ligutom III.

Using DMC’s state-of-the-art neurosurgery equipments, Dr. Ligutom operated on a gunshot victim who sustained a through-and-through bullet wound on the front area of the head. The surgery, which lasted just over eight hours, was done to limit the damage in the brain’s frontal lobe and remove bone fragments driven by the impact of the bullet. Prognosis for the case was not very promising due to the initial involvement of the patient’s other body systems which became detrimental factors for recovery and also due to complications expected in major trauma cases.

The second brain operation involved the removal of a meningioma, or a tumor on the brain’s protective sheet-like covering, which started to compress the patient’s brain structures in addition to being outwardly manifested in the head like a horn. The procedure was performed by Dr. Ligutom the day after the gunshot case, and was completed after a mind-boggling ten hours. Full recovery was expected for the patient, who was discharged after 8 days; successive check-ups showed no negative signs or symptoms.

Under the vigilant supervision of DMC’s Medical Director, both surgical operations went through without a hitch, serving as a huge milestone in the history of the fast-growing hospital and as a quantum leap in the history of Zamboanga del Norte as well. In both cases, veteran nurses and midwives Maria Lindy Jandug, Doreen Lacay, Marife Divinagracia, Aileen Abapo, Gerry Balladares and a few volunteer student-nurses assisted the neurosurgeon, making him relaxed during the operation and rendering recovery easier for the patients. It was through the marvelous insights and efforts of the Surgical and Nursing Staff that DMC made such history.

Neurosurgery is the most difficult field of specialization in medicine, and there are only less than one hundred doctors in the entire Philippines who are qualified neurosurgeons. Neurosurgery cases usually include those which cannot be treated by any other conventional means, and some of them are trauma cases, such as those due to vehicular accidents that involve the brain, spinal cord, or nerves. Often, brain operations imply that the alternative is irreversible, severe or fatal. Read the full story