Juan Martin Flavier (; June 23, 1935 – October 30, 2014) was a Filipino physician and politician. He served as the

Secretary of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ...

under President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

from 1992 to 1995, and was later elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, serving from 1995 to 2007.

Early life

Flavier was born in

Tondo, Manila Tondo is a district located in Manila, Philippines. It is the largest, in terms of area and population, of Manila's sixteen districts, with a census-estimated 654,220 people in 2020. It consists of two congressional districts. It is also the se ...

. He was born in a very poor family to semi-literate parents. He eventually moved to

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

where he finished his secondary studies at the Baguio City National High School. He is trained as a doctor and received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the UP College of Medicine at the

University of the Philippines Manila The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, public research university located in Ermita, Manila, Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It is the oldest of eight constituent ...

in 1960 and Masters in Public Health from the

Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university primarily based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded as the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1969. He was known for his short stature at only 1.50 meters (4 ft 11 in).

Career

"Doctor to the Barrios"

Flavier went to serve poor rural

barangays The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the precolonial polities of the same name, modern barangays are political subdivisio ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

and

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

as a " doctor to the barrios". He was a "country doctor" for 30 years. His work was recognized and he was appointed president of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement. in 1967. From 1978 to 1992, he was president of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction.

Department of Health

In 1992, Philippine President

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

appointed Flavier Secretary of the Department of Health. During his term, he initiated various health programs such as "Lets DOH it", "Yosi Kadiri",''Oplan Alís Disease'', ''Kontra Kolera,'' ''Stop TB'', ''Araw ng Sangkáp Pinoy'', ''Family Planning'' and ''Doctor to the Barrios Program''. During his term

barangay health worker Barangay health volunteers, also known as barangay health workers (BHWs), are health care providers in the Philippines. They undergo a basic training program under an accredited government or non-government organization, and render primary care ...

s were organized. He served as Secretary of the Department of Health until 1995. He was regularly rated one of the most popular government officials and his department one of the most effective. He was perhaps the most popular Secretary of Health.

Philippine Senate

In 1995, he ran for senator and won under the Ramos administration ticket and was re-elected to a second term in the 2001 elections, placing second among the 12 winning candidates. As senator, he authored and sponsored several landmark bills including the Traditional Medicine Law, the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act, Philippine Clean Air Act, Indigenous People's Rights Act, Anti-money Laundering Act, Barangay Micro-Business Enterprise, National Service Training Program for Tertiary Students, Dangerous Drugs Act, Plant Variety Protection Act, Philippine Nursing Act, the Tobacco Regulation Act, and the law declaring Eid'l Fitr a national public holiday in the Philippines. When he was senator he had a perfect attendance record during sessions, a fact mentioned in the Senate resolution marking his death, which read in part, "The hard-working legislator registered a perfect attendance during the sessions and was instrumental in the enactment of landmark legislations promoting public health care and improving the quality of life of the people." He was also the "poorest" senator, with a net worth on his 2005 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) of 3.49 million Philippine pesos. Flavier was also formerly a resident presenter on '' Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko'', a public service programme on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

Popular culture

Flavier was portrayed in Magpakailanman by

Ogie Alcasid Herminio Jose Lualhati "Ogie" Alcasid Jr. (born August 27, 1967) is a Filipino actor, singer, songwriter, comedian, director and producer. He is best known for his songwriting and collaboration with other musical artists. He has appeared in fi ...

Death

Flavier died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

-related

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

and

organ failure Organ dysfunction is a condition where an organ does not perform its expected function. Organ failure is organ dysfunction to such a degree that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained without external clinical intervention or life support. It i ...

at 16:00 PST ( GMT+8) on October 30, 2014, at the age of 79. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the

National Kidney and Transplant Institute The National Kidney and Transplant Institute is a tertiary referral hospital located in Central, Quezon City, Philippines. The hospital opened on January 16, 1981. The National Kidney and Transplant Institute, or NKTI, is a tertiary medical ...

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

as early as September 11.

Works

Flavier wrote a regular newspaper column about his experiences as a doctor in the countryside, even while he served at Health Secretary. Below is a listing of works authored by Flavier,''Books › "Juan M. Flavier"''
amazon.com including '' Doctor to the Barrios'', wherein he narrates his experience working with and for the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement.

Books

*'' Doctor to the Barrios, Experiences with the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement'' (1970) *''My Friends in the Barrios'' (1974) *''Back to the Barrios: Balikbaryo'' (1978) *''Parables of the Barrio: Vol. I'' (1988) *''Parables of the Barrio: Vol. II, Nos. 51-100'' (1989) *''Parables of the Barrio: Vol. III, Nos. 101-150'' (1991) *''Let's DOH It!: How We Did It'' (1998) *''From Barrio to Senado: an Autobiography'' (2009)

Papers

*''Mobilizing Local Leaders for Rural Development: The Case of the People's School (IIRR working paper, 1980)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flavier, Juan 1935 births 2014 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in the Philippines Deaths from sepsis Filipino general practitioners Filipino medical writers Filipino non-fiction writers Filipino public health doctors Filipino United Methodists Health and wellness writers Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni Lakas–CMD (1991) politicians Lakas–CMD politicians People from Tondo, Manila Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines Ramos administration cabinet members Secretaries of health of the Philippines Senators of the 10th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 11th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 13th Congress of the Philippines University of the Philippines Manila alumni