August 20, 2025
Tzu Chi provides free surgery and prosthesis casting at Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay
By Dorothy Castro
Tzu Chi’s mission of medicine continues 27 years after its first surgical mission in Zamboanga. It was a much-awaited reunion in service to these patients, many of whom have no financial resources to access costly medical services such as surgeries and prostheses.
“At that time many of the patients came from Zamboanga Sibugay,” said Dr. Anton Mari Lim, Tzu Chi Zamboanga OIC and deputy CEO. Hence, when they planned the 283rd medical mission, holding it in this province was the obvious answer.
Together with the local government of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City Medical Center, and the Tzu Chi International Medical Association, a surgical caravan commenced. Volunteers from various areas within and outside the Philippines, including members from Tzu Chi Youth and volunteers from Tzu Chi University in Taiwan, pledged their support to this mission,
The three-day initiative in Ipil from August 14 to 16 catered to 82 patients in need of surgery, alongside 89 surgery consultations. Additionally, castings for the Jaipur prosthesis camp accommodated 36 amputee patients.
At the busy receiving area of Dr. George T. Hofer Medical Center, patients lined up with the hopes of receiving surgeries for minor excision, hernia, hydrocoele, varicoele, and goiter excision (for non-toxic and non-CA goiter cases).
Among the crowd was 33-year-old April Mae Lacastesantos. The mother of 3-year-old Sab Harvey hoped for a new lease on life for her son who had been enduring hydrocoele for about two years. Living in Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay, meant there were not many opportunities for her son to get free surgery.
“When we say operation, in today’s difficult life, if you do not have P50,000 to P100,000, you would not be able to access surgery for an individual who has a [health] problem,” said Lacastesantos.
While they were reassured that it was not an emergency, Lacastesantos observed that her son’s condition was worsening. Hydrocoele, according to clevelandclinic.org, is a condition leading to swelling in the scrotum due to fluid buildup. Eventually, the swelling grew, and so did her concern for her son’s wellbeing.
“While he is young, my husband and I agreed that we must address his condition to prevent it from worsening,” she said. Her chief concern is that her son might eventually grow up with this discomfort. Through this chance for surgery, her son could live a normal life.
Health complications that require surgery can also hinder one’s dreams. This was the reality for Beverly Juablar, who was an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) for two years but could not further her goals due to her goiter.
“It has been 20 years since I found out I had a thyroid problem. They had a biopsy done, and I was prescribed medication, which temporarily eased my illness. But once I came home, my illness returned,” she recalled. She could no longer work to support her three children; she remained home feeling exhausted, losing the spark she once had.
Feeling once hopeless due to the mounting expenses of an operation, she is now grateful for how Tzu Chi’s free surgical services gave her a new chance to pursue her dreams.
“I am just so happy, because my goiter was removed,” she said through tears. She looks forward to her tomorrow, wanting to work to provide for her family again.
For these patients, this medical mission is more than receiving the free procedure; they also witnessed the volunteers' continued effort to care for the patients even during recovery.
“When I saw a patient unconscious after surgery for her goiter, the volunteers and doctors never left her side until she woke up,” Lacastesantos said, in awe at the foundation’s attentive care.
This attentive care goes beyond the recovery room, especially for hernia patient and prosthesis recipient Cezar Bitgue, 69 years old, whose condition and lack of finances led him to constantly deal with his pain for the past decade.
“Please endure it for the time being,” was all Arjie Bitgue, his son, could apologetically say as they lacked the means to get his father the needed surgery for hernia, a protruded sac in his abdominal wall. All they could do was help ease his pain through medication.
Even as Arjie and his siblings persevered, pooling about P25,000 to P100,000 to pay for their father’s surgery was almost impossible. The siblings were also concerned for their father’s ability to tolerate the surgery due to his age. He’s also an amputee who lost his right leg from a motorcycle accident years back.
When this opportunity for a surgical caravan and prosthesis casting arrived, the Bitgue family did not hesitate to bring in their father with the hopes of finally getting the surgery and prosthesis that he needed.
“We used to only rely on pain relievers, that’s why we are so happy that Tzu Chi Foundation is here,” Arjie expressed. Through Tzu Chi, his father received surgery for his hernia and a casting for a prosthesis of his right leg. The Bitgues are ecstatic for their father’s opportunity to walk again.
“I hope you continue to help people like us,” said Arjie Bitgue.
For Dr. Lim, this is the essence of Tzu Chi’s surgical mission–providing quality of life by restoring the health of patients from all walks of life, young and old.
“As Master Cheng Yen said, ‘The cause of poverty is sickness in the family,’” he said. By alleviating these illnesses of every family member, the lives of patients like Lacastesantos’ son, Juablat, and Bitgue’s father, are transformed and uplifted.
Tzu Chi held its 283rd medical mission and prosthesis casting at the Dr. George T. Hofer Medical Center in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Volunteers help prepare for the medical mission.
Tzu Chi volunteers help set up a signage of Dharma Master Cheng Yen, thanking patients for their participation in the 283rd medical mission.
Inside the Dr. George T. Hofer Medical Center, hundreds of patients wait in line for their surgical consultations.
A Tzu Chi volunteer helps assess patients.
A volunteer nurse helps assess the patient’s vital signs.
At the busy hallways of Dr. George T. Hofer Medical Center, doctors hold the simultaneous assessment of patients.
At the busy hallways of Dr. George T. Hofer Medical Center, doctors hold the simultaneous assessment of patients.
Tzu Chi volunteers help arrange patient charts and information.
Patients line up for their turn at surgery.
Children wait in line for their surgeries.
A volunteer doctor monitors the patient’s vital signs during surgery.
Dr. Josefino “Jo” Qua (second from left) leads fellow volunteer doctors and nurses as they operate on a patient.
Tzu Chi Zamboanga OIC and Deputy CEO Dr. Anton Mari Lim carries patient Sab Harvey, son of April Mae Lacastesantos.
Tzu Chi volunteers help in caring for a patient after a successful surgery.
Student volunteers from Tzu Chi University in Taiwan observe the ongoing medical mission.
Tzu Chi University student Hsiyang Yi Cheng, shares that she saw the need for free medical care, highlighting how many patients travelled far for this opportunity.
Different surgeries are done simultaneously, to help as many patients as possible.
Prosthesis castings were done at the Jaipur Footcamp area of the Dr. George T. Hofer Medical Center.
These castings are used to get the exact measurement of patients’ needed prostheses.
Patient Cezar Bitgue (left) proceeds to the prosthesis casting before his hernia surgery.
A Tzu Chi volunteer tries to comfort a young patient.
Patient Beverly Juablar shares a big smile after her successful goiter operation.
Tzu Chi Zamboanga OIC and Deputy CEO Dr. Anton Mari Lim embraces a patient sharing her story.
Dr. Josefino “Jo” Qua checks on the patient’s wound the next day after her surgery.
Tzu Chi volunteers help patients clean up before sending them home a day after surgery.
Dr. Josefino “Jo” Qua (left), and Dr. Anton Mari Lim (right) give comfort and positive words to patients after their surgery.
Two young patients were given Tzu Chi’s coin cans for them to save money to help Tzu Chi help others.
Patients give a heartfelt “thank you,” after their successful surgeries.