Who is Juan Carlos Manalo, the Filipino doctor missing in Nepal flash flood?

Juan Carlos Manalo, a 30-year-old physician from Tarlac City, was in Nepal for a pilgrimage tour when he went missing following a flash flood at the Nepal-China border, according to his family.

His sister, Chiara Manalo, described Juan Carlos as a physician who has also spent the past few years pursuing his interest in yoga and spirituality.

Juan Carlos graduated from the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health in 2021 and currently practices as a general physician.

He previously worked as a physician-on-duty at the dialysis center of Tarlac Provincial Hospital.

Outside medicine, Juan Carlos has been part of the Isha Sadhguru group for several years. His involvement with the group led him to India in May this year for a long retreat and later to Nepal in August for the Kailashyatra pilgrimage.

“He’s been into yoga and inner engineering for a couple of years now,” Chiara told GMA News Online.

Chiara said Juan Carlos had told the family that he planned to go on a long retreat that could last a year or more. He had also mentioned returning to Nepal and Tibet, where he and the group had traveled the previous year.

His latest trip to Nepal was not simply a vacation, but part of his continuing spiritual journey, his family said.

Juan Carlos last communicated with his family on August 25, when he sent a “good morning” text at 1:21 p.m. Philippine time.

The family learned only the following day that he had been at an immigration office in Nepal when the flash flood occurred, after receiving information from a contact in the Philippines connected to the Isha group.

“He said he’ll be on a long retreat for a year or more,” Chiara said, recalling what her brother had told the family before leaving.

The Philippine Embassy in New Delhi, which has jurisdiction over Nepal, has confirmed that one Filipino is among those reported missing following the disaster.

Philippine Ambassador to India Josel F. Ignacio said the missing Filipino is not a resident of Nepal, based on information from Nepalese authorities and the Nepal Tourism Board.

Ignacio said the embassy and the Philippine honorary consulate general in Kathmandu are coordinating with Nepalese authorities and awaiting official information regarding the missing Filipino.

As of the ambassador’s latest update, no family member had formally reached out to the embassy or the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the missing Filipino.

The Manalo family is now seeking information that could help locate Juan Carlos and assist authorities in the ongoing search and rescue operations. —LDF, GMA News