AFP dental service

Media

Part of Philippine Armed Forces Journal

Title: AFP dental service
Language: English
Source: Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume IX (No. 6) July 1956
Rights
Fulltext: the Philippine Consta- places to see a dentist who was so bulary was organized on 8 scarce at the time. Thus, the grim August 1901 by Brigadier realization that a dental service was General Henry T. Allen badly needed gained force in con(Capt-Cav, USA), who later became nection with the mission of the Medthe first chief of the organization, ical Service in preserving and conthere was no provision for a dental serving the general health of the service. Dental heaJth, in considera- troops. tion of the general well being of an Toward this end, the Chief, Philindividual, was not of much account ippine Constabulary recommended in then. Surprisingly enough, dentistry 1915 to the Philippine Legislature was more of a vogue than a neces- the creation of a dental division in sity. the PC. With the passage of the During the early years of the PC's legislation in the same year, the deninfant existence, PC personnel found tal division of the PC was finally suffering from dentro-oral diseases created as a component of the Medwere referred to civilian practitioners ical Service. for the necessary dental treatment - On September 1, 1916, Luciano a practice which cost the government Ferraren, a cirujano ministrante and much in money and precious man registered practicing dentist was hours. commissioned 2nd Lieutenant and deUnit commanders were bothered by signaled Dental Surgeon of the PC. continuous requests of officers and Ferraren's appointment marked the men for leaves of absence and passes birth of the present AFP Dental so that they could go to some distant Service. The new Dental Surgeon Once a neglected branch of service in the old P 1i ippines Constabulary, the Dental Service Corps is now a distinct and separate unit in the AFP-manned by dental officers and technicians who had trained and · specialized abroad ·on modern trends in dentistry PHILII'l'IN1:S ARM!;D FORCES JOURNAl, formerly' rl>e denio! pl>o<e on mililory check-vpr woo gi .. n HH!e or no oHenlion ol a!! by the oulhoritoe• Tl>ir woo porliculorly ro dvring lhe •arly days of t/oe PC. As the yflorr wen! on, howeur, mi!itory /oeo!r/o brou reo!ozed /hoi denio! heo!rl> is 01 we!! indir penJoble os lhe phy<icol ond medico/ Photo obo~e '"""'' en!i,red men "' rl>ey undergo on onnuol check-vp designed IO conoer•e tl>eir dento! heolth by o denio! officer of tl>e AFP was assigned with the HeadquartN~. 1 lentists were commissioned, namely, Philippine Constabulary at Manila. 2nd Lts. Alfonzo Torres, Tirso Abad, With the creation of a dental di- Fidel Soliven, Felix Nieva and Ravision, officers and men stationed in mon Zagala. From then on, as the the provinces were sent to Manila strength of the organization was furwith recommendations from Station ther augmented, more dentists were Commanders for dental treatment. added to the roster of dental offiEscorts of prisoners and others whose cers. duties require travel to Manila were As a result of the reorganization selected from among those necessi- of the PC in 1927, the Philippines tating dental attendance. The prac- was divided into eight dental distice persisted during the many years tricts. The distribution of dental disthat followed but only partly met the tricts - which was later made the acute needs for dental care oi the basis of dental stations- was deemed officers and men. Still the services necessary to carry out more effiof private dentists had to be relied ciently the dental service supPort in upon especially in emergency cases the field. During this period there where the dental patient could not was an increase of troop strength wait for the days of travel to reach from 4,000 to 4,500 and two more Manila. dentists were commissioned, namely Consequently by 1918, with the re- Lts. Mauro Ferraren and Mig\lel R. lative increase of the PC troop Fernandez, who is now the present strength to about 3,000, five more chief of the A FP Dental Service. District 1st Dental District 2od Dental District 3rd Dental District 4th Dental District 5th Dental I;istrict 6th Dental District 7th Dental District 8th Dental District Station PC Hq, Manila Gaga\angin Brks, Manila San Fernando, Pampanga BP.6 uio, Me ProYince Legaspi, AI bay Iloilo City Cebu City Zamboanga City Provinces All traru~ient Officers and EM, Rizal, Cavite, Marinduque, Ca\apan (Mindoro) Samar, Leyte, Palawan, San Jose (Mindoro), Bulacan, Batangas Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, B!rtaan, llocos Sur, llocos Norte, Pampanga PC A.cademy, Batanes, Tsabela, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Abra Tayabas, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Catanduanes, Sorsogon Antique, Capiz, Romblon, Iloilo, Negros Occidental Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, Agusan, Surigao Cagayan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu, Zamboanga Distribution of provinces by dis- examination given April of the same tricts was not based mainly on their year. Those who qualified and were gE>ographical location. The availabil- subsequently integrated into the regity of transportation facilities was ular force, Dental Corps were Agusa\so a factor. Dental officers tra- tin L. Zarate, Clifford F. Hawkins, veiled with dental practic:antes (den- Tomas Paredes and Salvador Ocamtal technicians). Travels were made po. by the use of every conceivable When the Philippine Army was ormeans of transportation - banca, ganized in the latter part of 1936 boat, truck. Most of the time these pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. dental officers hiked inland with 1, the Philippine Constabulary which hired cargadores- served as its nucleus became a sepaIn 1935, the PC was further reor- rate division in the new organizaganized. To give more efficient den- tion. Camp sites sprouted in practal Care to' its personnel four more tically every province in the whole dentists were commissioned 2nd Lieu- archipelago. Cadre buildings were tenants after passing the competitive constructed and cantonment areas were developed and prepared to re- ricers were called to train for 21 ceive and train the first batch of days on the basic course of the !'tiedthe 20-year-o\d trainees due to re- ical Field Service School at Camp port for training on January of the Murphy. A second batch of 25 densucceeding year. tal officers trained in December. A Dental Corps was organized as Graduates from both classes were a component of the PA Medical Serv- then called into active duty and imice. Not enough dental officers could mediately assigned to the di!ferent be drawn from the PC to man the training centers to render dental Dental Corps of the new army. Con- service. sequently, on June, 1935, a competi- The Philippine Constabulary 1..as tive examination was given to about separated and placed under the De300 dentists from all parts of the parlment of Interior in the middle cv•lntry. One hundred and seven part of 1938. Different departments qualified in the test given at the were created and in July, six dental Rizal Memorial Stadium and were oHicers were drawn from the PA commissioned 2nd Lieutenants on and assigned to the different zones. September 28 of the same year. This number gradually increased as Some dentists holding commissions the dental needs of the newly sepaas US Army reserve officers were rated organization became apparent. also inducted into the Philippine As the years rolled by, the infant Army. First batch of 25 dental of- Philippine Army buckled down to the Modern opporoluJ i• on odiuncl lor on elliclenl denio/ ••r~ice Photo obove Jhow• o dentol officer moking u•• ol an x.ror on one of ~'' potienll Ourin~ lhe ICoreon wor dtnlol /eomr wert •en/ lo lht fitld lo 9i~e dtntol lrte>lment lo /he lroop• O> •hown in pholo obo•t intricate task of organization. It~ rigged and tuned to the feverish talk mission of building up organized rr- of war. serveS was a brain-child of thal With the war clouds hsnging low Grand Old Man of the Philippine:;, in the Philippine horizon, various Manuel L. Quezon. The late Pres· refresher courses for dental of!icers ident could not have taken a more were conducted under the tutelage qualified and capable adviser than of US Anny officers at Fort Wm the now renown General Douglas McKinley. Infantry divisions were MacArthur. organized and all the dental officers The year 1941 heralded a world on active duty were assigned under condition foaming and seething with the following organizational setup: turbulence. Statesmen of various. ~a- lst Regular Division, Capt. Genar·o tions .were .uneasy . over the d:sm- Ong, DC; 2nd Regular Division, Capt. ~~~etr~~e ~~l~:~~~on~~re rs~:~:i~~ ~~t~;t~iv~~io~~e~~r.' ~~~e13~;t F~~: the horizon on probable battlefields, nandez, DC; 41st Infantry Division, the Philippines felt the tremor of a Capt. D. Fausto, DC; 51st Infantry tense ·situation. The battle of com- Division, Capt. Gil Gutierrez. DC; muniques raging among belligerent 6lst Infantry Division, Capt. Jose P. nations was a cue and the PA was Rodriguez, DC; 71st Infantry Divi1'/IILWPINES ARMED .'ORC£5 JOURNAL A denial aflicer 1~awn in p~ala abaYe o11end1 lo an enliJied mon in one ol lhe E•aminolion Sedian• a/ l~e Oonlol SerYice, AFP sion, Capt. Crcsentc Arnaldo, DC; resistance to the invaders. Some 81st Infantry Division, (Not fully or- men rose to glory. Others were vangani1:ed); 91st Infantry Division guished. The travail and sufferings CaJit. Miguel Garcia Jr., DC; IOI><t of the Filipino people were just an Infantry Division, Capt. Teofilo Ro- index of the trials and tribul~tions . jas, DC. that mt>mbers of the resistance moveIn the annals of the history of tht> ment underwent. That was the hisPhilippines is written in bold letter:<- tory of a people written in blood and how the USAFFE fought a valiant tears for three years. fight and lost. Bataan and Corregi- The Dental Service sacrificed a dor, battered that they were by the number of its able officers and men relentless fight waged by the invad- in the pursuit of that war for deing Japanese Forces, stood their mocracy. Dental officers, both in ground for several months but to no the active and inactive statu!; ,{1-t the avail. Crumpled before the enemr outbreak of the war partit:ipated a('onslaught, these officers and nwn tively in the different guerrilla were marched to the different ~on- g roups. Others organized and headed centration camps, humblE"d phystcal- groups and units of their own. Some ly but not spiritually. survived to tell tales o( their escaThen came the upsurge of the un- pades and skirmishes with the Japdcrground movements to give further anese occupation forces. Foremost among them are: Lt. Bernardo AguiDuring the Koreon wor, PffTOfC boHofoon brougl>l will> il denlol officer> Photo obo>'e •l>ow• on officer gi,.ing denio) lreotment to one o/ it• membefJ. Ia, who organized the Aguila Regi- signments of officer·s and enlisted ment; Dr. Moises Montalbo, a reserve men. Excess Jlersonnel were reve1·ted dental officer in the inactive status to inactive st:rtus in line w1th the who headed a big group of guerrillas; general demobilization of USAFFE Lt. Honorio Matoto, who organized units preparatory to the mustering a guei-rilla battalion which was ab- out of units from US Army attachsorbed by the Straughn organization ments. In the meantime, a group of and later recognized by the US Ar- six dental officers were sent to the my; Capt. Tomas Paredes, who joined United Stales and attended on-thethe USAFIP, a northern Luzon guer- job training and Refresher courses. rilla organization which made his- Those who were sent to the United tory during the war, and many others States were Majors Miguel R. FerThe dental service's contribution to nandez, Agustin L. Zarate, Genaro the sacrificial days of war were Ong, Antonio Santos, Clifford F. Capt. Salvador Ocampo, and Lts. Hawkins and Captain Vivencio P. Jose Sapinoso, Angel Gonzales and Santos. Jose Dominguez. Later, other groups of dental ofLiberation came and with it new ficers were sent abroad to study and concepts. The PA, and the Dental make observations in the newest Corps with it, was reorganized under trends in dentistry. Upon their rethe new concept of organization. Ta- turn to the AFP, they were given bles of organization and Tables of key positions in major dental instalDistribution became the basis of as- lations. All these invigorated and PHILIPPINES ARMED FORCES JOURNAL llll!lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!ll!!llilillUillii~~!~II!!!W of the Dental Service as a distind \1111 entit·y in the AFP. On August 1, 1954, the Dental Service was activated with Col. Miguel R. Fernandez, DS, as its first chief. Fernandez is the first dental officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines to have attained the rank of Colonel. Immediately after its separation from the Medical Service, the new Dental Service undertook a series of renovation. This was aimed at correcting the \·arious ills of the service which had developed during its long • ~ periodofdependency. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~IWI~IIImi~~-lll~mllllllllllll Th• """'";""'" oam• .. a moC~iel, oenrol s.,,.;,., AFP rale booster to the off1cers and men in the service and brought about gave a boost to a once neglected marked increase of unit and indiviCorps in the AFP. dual efficiency. Units were organDeaths and retirements had great- ized where they are most needed ly reduced the number of regular white others with overlapping runeofficers in the Dental Corps. Thus, tions were deactivated. Intensive on \\lay 1950, a large group of re- training of dental officials and techserve officers were integrated into nicians were undertaken to fur1her the regular force. remove the web of lethargy th:!!.t had When hostilities broke out in Ko- long shackled them due to an exrea, every PEFTOK battalion brought lerna\ domination. with it a dental officer in its midst. The Dental Service's latest venture This gave an eye opener and a very into the field of advancement is the effective training ground for dental activation of the AFP Dental Service officers in actual combat situation.~. Center of the Dental Service Group. In the eventful year of 1950, Re- Aimed at undertaking the training of public Act No. 481 was passed anri dental personnel, conducting dental autonomy was granted the Dental researches and operating a central Corps. With the passage of this piece dental laboratory that will· serve of legislation, a more forceful and on an army-wide basis, the center is daring move among officers, men and presently headed by Lt. Col. Agustin supporters of the Corps was under- L. Zaute, DS, concurrently the Detaken - to make the Dental Service puty Chief, Dental Service. a separate and independent service of The laboratory is also experimentthe AFP. The move culminated in ing on the use of Ticonium metal, the passage of Republic Ad No. believed to revolutionize Prosthetic 1128 which provided for the creation Dentistry in the AFP