Duterte wants orthopedic surgeon friend to work for AFP

ORTHOPEDIC DOCTOR FOR AFP. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte witnesses the conferment of medals on the wounded soldiers he visited at the Camp General Teodulfo Bautista Headquarters in Jolo, Sulu on Monday (July 13, 2020). Duterte said he would ask a certain Eddie Boy Lim, an orthopedic surgeon who also hails from Davao, to work for the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. (Presidential photo)

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday revealed that he plans to tap an orthopedic surgeon as his consultant for the treatment of soldiers who will get injured in battle.

Speaking before government troops in Jolo, Sulu, Duterte said he would ask a certain Eddie Boy Lim, who also hails from Davao, to work for the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Duterte said Lim, a graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP), specializes in orthopedics and is currently affiliated with a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States.

“I have a friend who is the chief of the Cincinnati Orthopedic Hospital. It has something to do with bones. Ito si (He is) Eddie Boy Lim [who] is from Davao,” he said in a taped speech aired on state-run PTV-4 on Tuesday morning. “I’ll try to talk to him and kung puwede ba (if he can be [my consultant].”

Edward Lim, who earned his medical degree from UP in 1977, specializes in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine, according to US-based health publisher WebMD.

Lim is affiliated with the Christ Hospital Physicians Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Duterte said he wants Lim as his consultant because of the latter’s medical expertise.

He also expressed hope that Lim would accept his request to “do a little service” to Filipino troops.

“The guy (Lim) is simply brilliant,” he said. “Eddie Boy is practicing in the United States. I hope that if he would come home, I’d like him to just be a consultant or actually work for the soldiers.”

Duterte made the remarks, as he ensured that his administration’s resolve it to push for policies and programs that would benefit the military.

He also guaranteed that sick and injured soldiers would get support from the government.

He likewise stressed that the AFP Medical Center in Quezon City is receiving PHP50 million a month to enable the hospital to provide medical attention to wounded or sick soldiers.

“If you are injured, lose a leg, do not worry. You will run faster,” Duterte said. “You have my utmost respect as you risk your lives in the name of peace, security, and development efforts in our region.”