MALACAÃAN PALACE
Manila
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
PROCLAMATION NO. 168
DECLARING MAY 19 OF EVERY YEAR AS FAMILY DOCTORS’ DAY
WHEREAS, Article II Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution states that “The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them”;
WHEREAS, family medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive, personal and continuing health care for people of all ages in the context of the family and the community;
WHEREAS, family medicine was recognized in 1979 by the Department of Health (DOH) as one of the fields of specialization where its doctors can train;
WHEREAS, family medicine and family doctors play a very important role in the healthcare system of our country;
WHEREAS, the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), of which the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) is a founding member, has created and launched the “World Family Doctors Day” on 19 May 2010 and will have its first commemoration on 19 May 2011; and
WHEREAS, there is a need to express our appreciation for the work of our family doctors and to spread awareness of their vital contribution to the country.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare May 19 of every year as Family Doctors’ Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.
DONE in the City of Manila, this 16th day of May, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Eleven.
(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
By the President:
(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.
Executive Secretary
