Dear Dr. Thelma Tupasi
First of all, thank you very much for all the support and opportunity you gave to the Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT) to prove its worth in mobilizing the private sector towards TB control. PhilCAT’s sterling performance as implementer of major projects created a plethora of international praise and distinction. It has made its mark in the international health community with its development of the widely institutionalized Public‑Private Mix DOTS (PPMD), which has made a positive impact on the health of those afflicted with TB. Today PhilCAT is respected locally and internationally. We attribute this to the track record that we were able to develop when you provided us the trust and confidence we needed most during PhilCAT’s early days.
Secondly, thank you for helping build the capacity of our PhilCAT staff to successfully manage and implement multi‑dollar projects. With your encouragement, motivation, and reassurance, our staff were able to come up with valuable research. They are all very grateful for the once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity to attend World Union Conferences to present the Philippine PPM experience. The abstracts presented further added to PhilCAT’s track record so that whenever I introduce myself as PhilCAT, I will always be associated with the numerous and excellent PPM researches and lessons we shared with the international community.
Lastly, thank you for the opportunity to work with you — a great, supportive, and inspiring leader. It has been a great honor and privilege. I will always treasure the time when we did the 1997 Prevalence Survey. I would come every day to the Tropical Disease Foundation after my office hours with Glaxo Foundation, and I did not have to worry at all about going home late because you would always find a way to get me home safely. There were times when I even had to ride with you in your van just to finish our discussions; I would even take my lunch in your home. One time, you invited me to dinner together with Dr. Dong Il Ahn of the World Health Organization on a Sunday to listen to your presentation for the National Prevalence Survey. I witnessed Dr. Ramos giving his comments to make the presentation excellent — very inspiring indeed. In addition, I am truly grateful for the time you spent participating in our PPM activities, monitoring the PPM sites, and attending our Program Implementation Reviews. Your presence stirred our local partners to perform well and give their best effort.
You will always be in our hearts. You instilled in our minds the importance of always keeping TB patients at the center of whatever we do and to take hold of all opportunities to help them. Thank you for initiating the need to address MDR‑TB patients. It was a very challenging beginning, yet you persistently pursued this need, looking for opportunities to fund the TB drugs required to treat them. Thank you on their behalf.
We will miss you, Dr. Tupasi — a great and strong leader who inspired people to care more for TB patients and never let go of any opportunity to help them in their journey back to normal lives.
Forever we will be grateful to this great lady, our mentor and inspiration.
