A webinar on Pandemics in Philippine History was hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Madrid on 28 June 2020, streamed live on the official Embassy Facebook page.
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, touching 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 other things.
The event was part of the Embassy’s El Mes Filipino or Philippine Month program held in the month of June to celebrate 122 years of Philippine Independence through 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 and Instagram pages.