Humanity’s Triumph: Eradicating Leprosy in the Philippines
How the Philippines and the Knights of Malta Helped the World Cure Leprosy. “The Land of the Living Dead” — that’s what the leper colony of Culion was once called.
Segregation and Sacrifice: The Tale of Culion under American Rule
By Spanish royal decree, settlements for the lepers were established in Manila, Cebu, and Nueva Ecija in 1830. The afflicted were allowed to roam in public, and given more freedom during Lepers’ Day, which was Fridays.
Origins of Leprosy in the Philippines: A Tale of Exile and Controversy
Molokai, an island colony in Hawaii, had been under American jurisdiction since the 1880s and served as a model for the Philippine leper colony. The choice of Culion was based on its distance, as it is one of the far-away Palawan Islands, where Spaniards had exiled Filipino criminals and rebels.
Journey of Healing: Culion Island’s Leper Colony and the Pursuit of Cure
Civil Governor Luke Wright issued Executive Order No. 35 on August 22, 1905, naming the island the “Culion Leper Colony Reservation.” This
enabled Heiser, who was promoted to Director of Health that year, to start building there.
The Tala Leprosarium
Tala Leprosarium, also known as the Central Luzon Sanitarium, was founded by the American colonial government in 1940 in Caloocan, on the northern fringe of Manila. It accommodated sufferers of Hansen’s Disease on the island of Luzon.
Father Javier Olazabal: Championing Hope and Progress in Culion
Fr. Javier Olazabal, an old Jesuit priest hailing from Spain, landed in Culion on October 15, 1971. He said that it had been his dream to reach Culion and be its Catholic chaplain.
The Three Musketeers
Pedro Picornell, Ramon Pedrosa, and Antonio Infante had been picked by Don José to be his “Three Musketeers.” It was at this point that Soriano, being a devout Catholic, businessman, and philanthropist, was approached by Father Olazabal.
The Tala Foundation
Don Antonio Infante, among Don José Soriano’s “Three Musketeers,” started a non-stock, non-profit foundation, called the Tala Foundation Inc., in 1974, as an adjunct to the Tala Leprosarium founded in 1940.
A Grand Master Visits Culion and Tala
Led by Don José Soriano as the first Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Philippines, the Embassy of the Order of Malta was officially created in the country in 1978.
Cecilia Piñones
The multi-drug therapy (MDT), a type of treatment that consists of giving patients a combination of drugs such as lamprene, rifampicin, and dapsone, was endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1981.
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
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