Fe del Mundo, grand dame of PHL pediatrics, laid to rest

Dr. Fe del Mundo, the Grand Dame of Philippine Pediatrics, was laid to rest at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani on Thursday, nearly a week after she passed away at the age of 99. Del Mundo died of a heart attack on August 6. President Benigno Simeon Aquino III attended the necrological rites for Del Mundo at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Taguig City on Thursday morning, radio dzBB's Tuesday Niu said. During the rites, Aquino expressed hope that Del Mundo, the country's first female national scientist, will be an inspiration to Filipinos, the report said. Outstanding pediatrician Del Mundo, born in Manila on November 27, 1911, studied at the University of the Philippines and received an Associate in Arts degree and later a medical degree with highest honors. In 1940, she obtained a masteral degree in bacteriology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Del Mundo was also the first woman to be admitted as a student of the Harvard Medical School also in the US. She founded the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines and earned international recognition for her pioneering work in pediatrics in the Philippines. She is credited with studies that led to the invention of an improved incubator and a jaundice relieving device. Del Mundo was noted for authoring the "Textbook of Pediatrics," a fundamental medical text used in Philippine medical schools. In 1977, she was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1977. She was also awarded the rank and title of National Scientist of the Philippines in 1980. In 2010, she was conferred the Order of Lakandula, one of the highest honors given by the Republic of the Philippines. - VVP, GMA News