PH Embassy in Madrid Hosts Webinar on Pandemics in PH History
Consul Mikhal de Dios, Dr. Raphael Gonzalez, and Dr. Francis Gealogo talk about lessons to be learned from past pandemics and parallels with COVID-19. (Madrid PE photo)
MADRID 30 June 2020 – The Philippine Embassy in Madrid hosted a webinar on Pandemics in Philippine History on 28 June 2020, streamed live on the official Embassy Facebook page as part of its month-long El Mes Filipino program to celebrate 122 Years of Philippine Independence.
The event’s resource speaker, Dr. Francis Gealogo gave a presentation on the cholera and the influenza pandemics that swept through the Philippines in 1903-1905 and 1918-1919, respectively. Dr. Gealogo is Professor and former Chair of the Department of History of Ateneo de Manila University and former Commissioner of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. His article "The Philippines in the World of the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19" was awarded as one of the Most Outstanding Scientific Papers of the National Academy of Science and Technology. The webinar was hosted by Consul Mikhal de Dios and Dr. Raphael Gonzalez.
A lively discussion between Dr. Gealogo and the two hosts followed the presentation, with comments and questions from the audience, which touched on indigenous medicines, possibility of second waves, “sympathetic and objective response”, the role of community-level interventions in outbreaks, and the importance of correct data and proper training for frontliners, among others.
The Embassy’s El Mes Filipino or Philippine Month program held in the month of June in celebration of the 122 years of Philippine Independence is a month-long series of virtual events that highlight different aspects of Filipino culture and the Filipino Community in Spain through interviews with Filipino entrepreneurs in Spain, artists, and cultural practitioners.
The webinar may be viewed on replay at the Embassy’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/PHinSpain and Instagram: @PHinSpain. END
For more information, visit https://www.madripe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philembassymadrid.com, or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSpain/.