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• EDD K. USMAN | X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News

EDSA SHANGRI-LA, Mandaluyong City, May 29, 2025 (SDN) — Magic wand, or social media? Which do you prefer, given the chance?

It’s a pity that magic wands are true only in Harry Potter movies.

Obviously, anyway, the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), all of 73 summers behind it, now lead by Dr. Rodney M. Jimenez, president, has already chosen social media. A no-brainer, really.

As told by PHA Director Dr. Luigi Pierre S. Segundo to SDN – SciTech & Digital News in an exclusive interview, the heart-centered organization has been into social media to leverage its powers in communicating to the larger Filipino audience. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, he added.

But imagine what the PHA, clothed with constancy and ever committed to its nature of being, and its passionate medical professionals can achieve with its “PUSO MUNA” (Heart First) drive if magic wands and its powers are true not just in movies but, more importantly, in real living life!

You’ve seen how magic wands do magical things. With a wave of the hand, a wand with its untold capabilities can make people, things, appear or disappear, create something out of nothing, and put a spell and control the mind. That’s how this little piece of contraption weaves magic in movies.

The PHA, without a magic wand is already doing and achieving many things, putting its many advocacies into a working reality, benefitting hundreds, thousands, even millions, of people since it started its social services — free, of course.

Now, imagine what the PHA can further do with a magic wand, like people falling into a spell and following all the advice, recommendations, suggestions of the heart-focused aggrupation of dedicated and committed individuals who happened to be professionals in medical and healthcare. And full of heart!

PHA members can just wave their wands to get people to attend PHA seminars, lectures, watch online, listen to experts and put in practice every heart health recommendation they give and make every Filipino realize that at the heart (pun not intended) of being healthy and, thus, live a bit longer, is caring, and sustaining, that fist-size lump of soft muscle inside every woman and man’s breast.

In fairness, the PHA has already achieved milestones in its campaigns, absent a magical contraption. Credit, certainly, should go to Dr. Mariano M. Alimurung and his colleagues in 1952 for the establishment of the association that is “still steadfastly committed to its mission to reduce the ravages of heart diseases in our country and intently focused on its vision to make the Philippines a leading center of cardiology in the region.”

PHA sees improvement in its social media presence

So, what’s the next best thing to have or do without a wand that weaves magical spells for PHA to capture a lot more people and maximize the reach of its messaging? Spread the message more extensively, exponentially if possible, and turn the nail on its head, so to speak.

If your guess is “social media”, you are rightly correct.

It’s what PHA’s Segundo relayed to SDN in an interview on Tuesday, May 27, at the sidelines here of the PHA-Philippine College of Cardiology (PCC) 55th Annual Convention and Scientific Meeting, with the theme revolving around “Preventive & Promotive Cardiology Advocacy Hour Usapang PUSO sa PUSO: From a Programmatic to a Policy Analysis“. PHA-PCC’s event runs for three days.

The healthy heart-centered organization’s Advocacy Hour on the event’s first day showcased and tackled the synergetic collaborations that move the needle among the PHA, Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Association for the Study of Overweight and Obesity (PASOO), and ImagineLaw, and with the participation as special guest of one of the “priceless gems” of Philippine showbiz — Ms. Cherry Pie Picache in person.

Segundo laid down the PHA’s foray into social media, noting how Filipinos have been into it and been one of the world’s top users of various platforms.

He confirmed that their organization is already into social media messaging for its advocacy programs and projects, harnessing the apps known to every netizen across a digitally-savvy world.

“We know that today many of our fellow Filipinos, even the olds, the middle aged, and especially the youth, we are number one in (using) social media. And we also know that with Filipinos it is more effective if we can capture their imagination, their interest,” Segundo explains.

The PHA official explained further.

He said this is the reason why the PHA, aside from visiting various communities for face-to-face interactions, some of the new things being done is linking up with senators and congressmen, at the same time hoping that (Filipinos) are aware that PHA has a Facebook page, Instagram, and now TikTok (accounts).

“We know that short but simple messages are more effective on TikTok. We are also making instructions on how to put into practice and maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet using our social media platforms.”

It’s been a while, Segundo pointed out, when the PHA leadership realized the importance of leveraging social media.

“If you visit our Facebook page, that’s been there for many years,” he clarifies, adding that they realized around five years ago that using social media has already become a profession, not just a mere hobby anymore.

To put this in practice, he said the PHA has connected with partners to help inject a more creative and lively social media presence. “I would say in the past two years our improvement is big. Hopefully, it would be appreciated.”

The PHA, he noted, now has consultants helping the organization on how to create better posts, what time is more effective to put online social media content.

Segundo said their organization is now into a multi-prong strategy. Netizens can expect more lively contents which, aside from being informative, should also be entertaining. He hastened to add that being informative is the meat of any PHA content on its social media accounts.

The PHA has also put weight on policy advocacy, like what was discussed in the Advocacy Hour before the interview with SDN, with panelists Dr. Ruth Divine Agustin of DOH, PASOO Trustee Dr. Carolyn Narvacan-Montano, movie celebrity Picache, and ImagineLaw’s lawyer Mikhail Lawrence Millan.

Poverty determines a Filipino family’s food — healthy or unhealthy

Agustin, officer-in-charge (OIC) of Disease Prevention & Control Bureau-Evidence Generation and Management Section at DOH, gave updates on health-focused advocacies and policies that involve food manufacturers.

Narvacan-Montano provided tips on winning the “battle of the bulge” (meaning, overweight/obesity).

ImagineLaw is a partner of PHA in its policy advocacy, thus, Millan discussed having legislations like the Trans Fat Free Philippines Act (House Bill No. 4737), and Healthy Food Marketing Environment Bill, or the Front-of-Pact Warning Label that aims to ensure consumer protection and food safety by stamping diagonal shape warnings on food packages. Like an early warning device (EWD).

Narvacan-Montano also they are mad on the spread of fake news that distort and misuse PASOO interviews to suit perpetrators dark agenda. “We counter them (distorted interviews) and point out they are fake news,” she says, adding some doctors were already victims of these disinformation.

Agustin spoke of some myths, including ampalaya as a “cure” which leads people to stop taking their doctor-prescribed medicines. She also debunked another myth that claims a “fat” child is healthy, indicating it is not necessarily true.

Parents, the DOH official suggested, should stop giving children a phone to entertain them.

Picache welcomed being part of the PHA-PCC event as she was in the Advocacy Hour as well like Agustin, Narvacan-Montano, and Millan.

“It is also nice that we take part in this event because we are learning a lot,” the movie celebrity points out, as she promised to share the knowledge and information from the event. “It is high time to call on Filipinos to do their share (about fake news).”

PASOO’s trustee revealed that those getting overweight and obese are getting younger and younger. Narvacan-Montano said this twin problems are getting to be community or already country concerns, “obesity is a big problem, so we go to public and private schools (to bring our advocacy).”

“We’ve been talking to every administration,” she says, lamenting that “poverty is a social determinant” whether a family is eating healthy food, or not.

On the other hand, Millan said their campaign in Congress against trans fat and early warnings on food packages is still on its early beginnings. “We will remind them (legislators) again. Now it is the 20th Congress, we are not starting from scratch. We have champions (helping us).”

At the end of the interview, Segundo reminded Filipinos that in whatever period, whatever condition, whether child or old, “we should not forget the heart, even if you are broken hearted, or happy, it’s better to take care of the heart and make our lives more meaningful.” (/)

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