MHC CO-Executive Directors Grace Valera and Jesse A. Gatchalian with MHC Envoys Carl Abella and Jeannette Calahong visit former Philippine News Agency (PNA) Editor-in-Chief Diosdado Beltran at the Commonweatlh Rehab (used to be Inova’s) in Fairfax, VA
After two years stuck in a hospital near Washington DC, Diosdado "Dado" Beltran, 67, a former news editor of the Philippines News Agency who survived a near-fatal stroke while visiting his daughter in the United States two years ago, is flying home on January 19, thanks to the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), a non-profit and non-government organization (NGO) based in Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Grace Valera, MHC co-executive director, told PNA in several e-mails the past three months that Beltran would like to go home but doctors at the Commonwealth Health and Rehab Center in Fairfax, Virginia, would not allow the veteran newsman to board a plane without a nurse accompanying him.
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Friends and family pose for a final photo before Diasdado Beltran finally flies home
Rodney Jaleco, former news reporter of the Philippine Star, who is now based in Washington, D.C., said Beltran's daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Beltran Panlaqui, "sought the Fairfax-based Migrant Heritage Commission for help."
Last week, two Filipino Samaritans, Carl Abella and Jeanette Calahong, both of MHC, volunteered to escort Beltran to Manila.
Abella owns a travel agency in the U.S. while Calahong is a registered nurse long working in America. Besides, both have previously accompanied other medically-distressed Filipinos in Metro Washington, D.C. flying back to the Philippines.
Immediately, Ms. Valera and two other MHC co-directors, Jesse A. Gatchalian and Arnedo S. Valera, worked out the papers for the return flight of the Filipino journalist.
Diosdado Beltran's daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Beltran Panlaqui with her father
"The most important thing is to help grant his (Beltran's) request to go home right away," Valera said.
Beltran has been booked for a flight to Manila on January 19.
Beltran was visiting his daughter in Fairfax, Virginia in 2009 when he suffered a heart attack. He survived but he has been in the hospital undergoing therapy and rehabilitation for two years.
His wish to return to Manila was previously rejected by doctors, who warned that the grueling 15 hours flight to Manila could be fatal.
It was only last week that doctors gave the green light for Beltran to travel back home when Abella and Calahong agreed to accompany him to Manila.
Jun Pedery, a retired U.S. Navy man and who used to work at Lockheed, said that Beltran now speaks with a slur and has trouble sitting up.
After his stint at PNA, Beltran became a consultant at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). He is a member of the Samahang Plaridel, an association of veteran Filipino journalists based in Manila.
A FREE COMMUNITY SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE MIGRANT HERITAGE COMMISSION (MHC) under its Information, Publication and Research Program
MHC brings people together to foster a culture of UNITY and SERVICE
3 MHC Executive Directors Grace Divina Victoria S. Valera Jesse A. Gatchalian Arnedo S. Valera, Esq.
202-247-0117/ 202-631-8856/ 703-675-6334
migrantheritage@gmail.com
www.migrantheritage.org
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