[Updated on April 8, 2020] They knew very well the risks of their profession but it didn't stop them from serving at the frontline of healthcare. Let's all pay tribute and celebrate the life of our true heroes, the fallen doctors who fought COVID-19.
Dr. Greg Macasaet is an anethesiologist from Manila Doctors Hospital.
Dr. Greg Macasaet passed on March 22, 2020 at 4 A.M. His wife and fellow anethesiologist, Dr. Evalyn Macasaet, also tested positive for COVID-19 but is already on her way to recovery.
Dr. Israel Bactol is a 34 year-old cardiologist at the Philippine Heart Center.
Dr. Israel Bactol lost his life on March 21, 2020 due to COVID-19 after an exposure to an elderly patient, who lied about his recent travel to China. The patient, who only disclosed about his trip three days after getting admitted, has also passed on.
Dr. Raul Diaz Jara is one of the pillars in cardiology in the Philippines. He was also the former president of the Philippine Heart Association.
Dr. Raul Diaz Jara passed away on March 24, 2020, at 2:16 A.M. He was among the frontliners attending to patients at the Philippine Heart Center.
Dr. Rose Pulido is a medical oncologist from San Juan de Dios Hospital.
Dr. Rose Pulido passed away on March 21, 2020 due to COVID-19.
Dr. Marcelo Jaochico served as the provincial health officer in Pampanga. He was also the first ever doctor to the barrios assigned in Apayao for about 16 years.
Dr. Marcelo Jaochico lost his life battling COVID-19 on March 24, 2020.
Dr. Sally Gatchalian is a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at the Philippine General Hospital and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. She is also the current national president of the Philippine Pediatric Society, Inc.
Dr. Sally Gatchalian's sister, Ruby Rodriguez, confirmed the sad news that the former succumbed to COVID-19 in the morning of March 26, 2020.
Dra. Helen Tudtud is a Cebu City-based pathologist from Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
Dra. Helen Tudtud succumbed to death due to COVID-19 complications late Friday evening, March 27, 2020. She was 66.
Dr. Dennis Ramon Tudtud is the husband of Dra. Helen Tudtud. He is a medical oncologist from Cebu.
Dr. Dennis Ramon Tudtud passed away due to COVID-19 on March 31, 2020, a couple of days after his wife succumbed to the disease.
Dr. Nicko Bautista works as a frontliner from the Mandaluyong City Medical Center.
Dr. Nicko Bautista lost his life at a tender age of 33 on March 29, 2020. He was the doctor assigned to accompany a patient in a medical evacuation to Japan when their aircraft caught fire and exploded while taking off.
Dr. Leandro “Jun” Resurreccion III is a pediatric transplant surgeon. He is the head of the Pedriatic Surgery Division in the Philippine Children's Medical Center.
Dr. Leandro “Jun” Resurreccion III died of Acute Respiratory Failure due to COVID-19 on the morning of March 31, 2020.
Dr. Mary Grace Lim works at the Department of Emergency Medicine and Quality Management Department at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center.
Dr. Mary Grace Lim succumbed to COVID-19 after battling the new coronavirus disease as one of the Filipino frontliners. Her untimely death at the age of 40 was announced via the hospital's Facebook page on April 6, 2020.
Dr. Ephraim Neal Orteza is the medical director and pediatrician of Ospital ng Paranaque.
Dr. Orteza served as one of the frontliners before he was infected with the coronavirus. He succumbed to COVID-19 on Wednesday night, April 8. On a tribute she wrote for her brother, veteran actress-director Bibeth Orteza said, "A frontliner, to the very end. Manang Bibeth is so very, very proud."