A Volunteer Doctor to the Lumads

I first met Dr. Roel Cagape in a recollection of the clergy of the Diocese of Marbel in the parish church of Malapatan, Sarangani. He was invited to speak before the priests and bishop of the diocese — to share about his work and his faith. His hometown is Malapatan, but he now lives in Gen. Santos City. He has been doing medical missions on a voluntary basis together with a group of volunteer health workers in remote sitios and barangays in the mountains of Malapatan. I was moved by what Dr. Cagape talked about in his sharing. He has received several awards for the work he has been doing for our poor and less fortunate brothers and sisters. But in spite of it all, he has remained as humble and as selfless as he is.

The second time I met Dr. Cagape was when he was invited by a group of parish organization as a speaker for their recollection which was held in our place — Our Lady of Manaoag Chapel. I approached him and told him that I was able to listen to his talk during the clergy recollection. And I also told him that I was moved with his sharing because I also had the same experience as his, being with the poor people when I was assigned in Babuyan Islands. We exchanged contact numbers and he said maybe we can collaborate on some outreach mission projects in the future.

On one occasion, Dr. Cagape invited me to bless a couple of health centers that he and his volunteers built in the mountains of Malapatan. He asked me if I can endure a whole day of walking up the mountains and stay in the mountains for several days. I proudly told him that I can, since I have been assigned in a remote and isolated island up north. But when I finally went with him on that medical mission, the volunteer rescue workers who were with us had to literally pull me up and push me from behind to be able to make it on top of the mountain. Four days of walking up and down the mountains of Malapatan was no joke. I was so exhausted from walking that Dr. Cagape had to tell me to ride on a horse on our way back.

Every now and then, Dr. Cagape would contact me to ask for support in his medical missions. Or once in a while I would receive text messages from him asking for prayers whenever he would embark on a medical mission up in the mountains. I have introduced Dr. Cagape and his medical mission work to our Lay Dominican group in Gen. Santos City, and they support his outreach projects.

One time, a producer of GMA network contacted me asking for a possible story for their television documentary program “Reel Time”. He was the one who made a documentary and featured our mission in Babuyan Islands several years ago, when I was still assigned there. I suggested that he feature the story of Dr. Cagape. When the producer agreed to take up the story, Dr. Cagape was hesitant to give in to the request. He was already featured on several television programs of GMA, like “I-Witness” by Kara David and “Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho”. When finally Dr. Cagape agreed, the documentary was entitled “Silang Wala sa Mapa”. According to Dr. Cagape, he realized that the places that he visits on his medical missions are not in the map. He said that probably it is one of the reasons why government services do not reach these places because they are not in the map.

Through the years, Dr. Cagape has become a friend and a constant inspiration for me as well as for many others. He continues to serve the poor indigenous peoples in the mountains of Malapatan. To know more about Dr. Cagape’s volunteer work, visit www.heartsbrains.wix.com/missions. For those who might be interested to help, his e-mail address is rozca63@yahoo.com.