Romblon Obtains X-Ray Machines from Hawaii
By Nic Musico

The seven-member Romblon Provincial delegation that visited Hawaii on October 27-30, 2003 got a surprise bonus when they were offered to have two Room X-Ray machines from Pali Momi Hospital.

It was perfect timing. On their first day in Honolulu, we got wind that Pali Momi Hospital was upgrading their imaging equipment. Governor Madrona who headed the delegation without hesitation scheduled his group to see the machines first thing the following morning. They were astonished when they saw the excellent condition of the machines. They were also astounded by the hospital itself. According to one of them, "Ang linis, parang hotel." When asked by Ms. Jean Ganitano, Financial Counselor of Pali Momi if they wanted the machines, the Governor replied with full confidence, "Yes, we want them." Ms. Ganitano looked at me and said, "Nic, they are yours."

This is how the Room X-Ray looks like prior to dismantling.

The heavy burden and pressure of making it happen fell on the author. The tasks would involve providing manpower help to two Toshiba technicians who will dismantle the machines, hiring a company with proper equipment to move the machines out of the hospital, have them crated, prepare necessary documentations, and shipping to Manila. For a one-man operation, these are enormous tasks, specially given the short deadlines that these machines have to be moved out.

The first order of business was to determine who would pay for the shipping. Governor Madrona had promised that he would present a proposal to the Romblon Provincial Board the minute he returns to the Philippines, that Romblon government would take care of the shipping cost. Almost daily communications transpired between Gov. Madrona and me to discuss status and what options to take.

Before the delegation left Honolulu, they were informed that the cost could be as high as $20,000 per machine to ship. This is total cost. I told them that a similar project by an organization spent $60,000 to ship a CT Scan unit to Ilocos Norte. Their biggest cost however was renting a crane to lower down the machine from the fourth floor through the window.

I was told that Romblon provincial government could afford only $4,000 per machine. Other options were considered. The Governor tried to solicit help from the private sector or NGO, possibly turning over the operation of the machines to them to recover cost, but this did not materialize. The Governor instead opted to solicit help from municipalities to contribute. This is the mode that was chosen although it will take time to have municipal councils act on it. The option of turning over the operation and maintenance to an NGO is still open for consideration.

The author was concerned about timeliness. Funds need to be available now to pay the moving company. The only option was to make a loan and the author was fortunate to get loan approval for $32,000. For the first machine, the estimate was $10,400. The author already paid this amount to Island Movers who moved, will crate and ship the machine. The new development was that Drs. Elpedio and Virginia Fonte from LA volunteered to advance the payment. They sent me a check for $10,400, and I paid off the potion of my loan that was used. The Romblon provincial government therefore owes the Fonte.

We were fortunate to get manpower help from the Latter Day Saint Church of Mililani congregation. My daughter Dawn Musico Uehara who is a member of the church coordinated the volunteer effort. The volunteers were: Chris Uehara (my son-in-law), Frank Worthen, Randy Ishihara, Luis Fierro, and Reid Maekawa. I could have never done it without their help.

I mentioned there are two units. One is already at Pier 42 and being readied for shipment. The second unit will be ready for dismantling about mid-January. If things go well, the first unit should be in Romblon by early part of February and the second unit about April of next year.

We hope that these machines would greatly benefit Romblon. They are simple to use and very versatile. We also hope that the project be looked at positively rather than think about it in terms of politics. I could easily say that I am doing it to benefit the incumbents politically. But that is not the case and I don't have the guts to say something not true. And I don't think the delegation was thinking of how it would benefit them. It was a rare opportunity and a great chance to give something to the people.

There is a chance for RDL-CLEAR to donate the second unit in its name, or in fact, including the first unit. In other words RDL-CLEAR take on the full cost of shipping. All RDL-CLEAR has to do is reimburse the Fonte for their advance payment for the first machine. If this is something the BOD and members wish, it could easily be done.

This project has proven to be quite interesting. I was keeping it secret so that other organizations would not try to grab the other machine before we could dismantle it. The strategy must be working because last week, I was told that some Filipino community leaders are concerned about my health. That someone reported I was seen frequently going to the X-Ray department and I might have serious illness. They were asking what is really wrong with me. Oh boy...people nga naman. :-)