Memorial Foundation (RMMF)
By Dr. Alex Vinluan - March 2006

RMMF is an acronyn for Rizal-MacArthur Memorial Foundation, Inc. established in l966, a year after the Filipino American Medical Association (FAMA) was organized, to become its charitable arm.   

The name came from combining the names of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the Philippine national hero, and that of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the American general with Milwaukee roots, who is just as heroic to Filipinos.   The original incorporators included:  Mr. Louis Maeir, Dr. Geronimo Santos, Dr. Mario Tolentino, Steve Wanta and myself.

The following year, Steve Wanta went to the Philippines to help organize a sister foundation, in order to carry out the RMMF mission.  This sister foundation is called the Dr. Jose P. Rizal Memorial Foundation. (DJPRMF).

The DJPRMF was registered with the SEC on July 18, l968, and a joint launching of both foundations was held in New York City on May 17, l969 with Carlos P. Romulo as guest speaker.

Through its charter, the RMMF supports educational institutions in medicine and public health by providing medical services, supplies, assistance and training. There are few medical schools is the greater Manila area and in Bicol who have not been recipient of donations in medical equipment etc from RMMF.  After FAMA merged with the Philippine Medical Association of Wisconsin (PMAW), to become the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), the PMA has become its main support.

In l972 after years of sending medical equipment and supplies, which the DJPRMF distributed throughout the country, they decided to establish a hospital to accomodate the relocation of about 60,000 squatters from Manila to Dasmarinas, Cavite.  In a two-hectare lot in Dasmarinas, leased for 15 years, a starter hospital with 12 beds was inaugurated in l976.  By June 19, l977, (Rizal's birthday) the present hospital now called Dr. Jose P. Rizal Memorial Hospital and Medical Research Center was completed and blessed.  It operated under an agreement between the Department of Health and the DJPRMF, due in part to the establishment of the Emilio Aguinaldo College of Nursing nearby, a private nursing school owned by Dr. Pablo Campos.  The School of Nursing provided the hospital with a medical staff, interns and residents.  On May 2, 1985, the management of the hospital moved to the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres (SPC). Today, the Emilio Aguinaldo School of Nursing has been purchased by the De La Salle brothers and is now known as the De La Salle College of Medicine, and continues to support the hospital through its doctors, interns and residents.  It is a 100-bed hospital with 75 beds earmarked for charity cases and 25 for paying patients.

Yearly, since its inception in l966, the RMMF has shipped containers of medical equipment and supplies to the Philippines.    In the late l980's when hospital donations began to diminish, the RMMF began doing medical missions.  At the start it was limited to members of the Board, and expanded when other volunteer doctors wanted to participate.  Today, it is part of the program plans of the RMMF and the missions are held every two years.  In 2006, there were 111 participants from the US.  This year's mission took the participants to six locations in Pangasinan, all of which are now permanent mission sites.  The RMMF has a hospital in Urbiztondo, which is open 24/7 and also staffs a dental clinic. Claude Carpenter donated the dental office and equipment when he retired from his dental practice in Milwaukee, and a multi-purpose clinic and chapel in Lubas (a barrio of Urbiztondo).   A permanent eye clinic has been established at the Mangatarem District Hospital in Mangatarem, Pangasinan through the donations of the Suson Family, which local opthalmologist/volunteers use in the name of the RMMF throughout the year. These local opthalmologist/volunteers lead by Dr. Monina Posadas also do other eye missions in the name of RMMF in various locations in the Philippines.  In 2004 they went to Bohol and in 2005 they went to Isabela.  The Urbiztondo and Lubas hospital/clinic is supported 100% by funds coming from RMMF - these funds are raised through the annual golf outing.  RMMF has been fortunate to have the support of the local community.  A fifteen member volunteer board of trustees runs the RMMF. The 2006 trustees are: Agnes Cammer, Dr. Thomas Chua, P.E. Kiram, Dr. Rudolfo Lastrilla, Thomas McGinn, Dr. Rolando Mendiola,  Dr. Jose Montenegro,  Dr. Jazmin Parcon, Bruce Robertson,  Teodoro Robles,   Dr. Ruben Romero, Dr. Elieser Suson,   Dr. Michael Uy,  Dr. Alejandro Vinluan &,  Dr.  Jeremias Vinluan. Special trustees are: Rufino Licos (Madison) Mrs. Nilda Lontok (Las Vegas), Dr. Antonio Malapira (Las Vegas), Dan Schifano and Ray Villar (Chicago).