The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. paid tribute to the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) for its steadfast commitment to promoting immunization and safeguarding the nation’s health, describing the group as a model of genuine service and integrity in public health.
In a speech delivered by PFV adviser and former Health Undersecretary Dr. Enrique A. Tayag during the organization’s 25th anniversary celebration at Rizal Park Hotel, Marcos praised the foundation for its unheralded yet impactful work.
“The PFV has done what many promise and few deliver, not for the spotlight but for the long, hard, and necessary work that strengthens our country,” Marcos noted.
He further reflected on the significance of PFV’s efforts amid modern challenges to institutional trust, emphasizing that “in an age when faith in institutions frays easily, to persist in this work is to declare, without spectacle but with resolve, that public health is not an event —it is a discipline, practiced daily, until it resembles something lasting: a nation not only protected but prepared to believe in itself again.”
From far-flung villages to improvised clinics in schoolrooms, the President acknowledged that the PFV’s reach has extended where it matters most—where service is needed more than recognition. “In remote sitios and health centers, in humid classrooms turned into clinics, the PFV has shown up, not for spectacle, but for service,” he said.
Beyond providing vaccinations, the foundation has fostered confidence in healthcare systems, building what Marcos described as “a quiet infrastructure of trust.”
He also called on the public to emulate PFV’s example by continuing to protect and uplift the dignity of all Filipinos through committed service.
The PFV, as described by the World Health Organization, is a non-stock, non-profit organization dedicated to advocating vaccination as a vital tool for disease prevention, especially among infants and children.
During the anniversary program, the foundation also honored several Vaccine Heroes—individuals who have tirelessly promoted the value of immunization.
The awardees included Benito Atienza, Remedios Coronel, Alicia Tamesis, the late journalist Sheila Crisostomo, Eduardo Gatchalian, and former Health Secretaries Enrique Ona Jr. and Francisco Duque III, along with Jonathan Flavier.