He picked up his instruments carefully, packing them back in his bag. The medical mission had gone very well, he thought, and smiled to himself as he stood up to stretch his 6’3” frame. It had been a long day and he wanted to rest. Gingerly, he got on his motorbike and started the drive home to his rented house.
Maranding, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte was peacefully quiet, the chirping crickets made for a comforting distraction as he sped past. He sighed contentedly…and then suddenly, he felt it. A white hot, searing pain in his body that sent him reeling, as if a bomb had exploded inside him. The impact felt like a jackhammer on his chest, beating relentlessly. Everything seemed to go into slow motion as the adrenaline shot through his entire body. He did not know what was happening to him, but truly, it was the most agonizing thing that he had ever known. The pain blotted out his vision, as he realized that he was slowly choking on his own blood. Then everything faded to nothingness.
Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas, 31, was pronounced dead-on-arrival, when they brought him to the hospital shortly after.
Eyewitnesses claimed that they thought he was having a heart attack while he was driving his motorcycle. Chief of Kapatagan Police Department, Senior Inspector Melvin Loquite posits that Dr. Perlas was allegedly tailed by an unidentified motorcycle-riding gunman (or gunmen) armed with a .45 caliber pistol, shooting him in the back. The bullet pierced his heart, fatally wounding him. As of this time, they are investigating the case, working to look for the motive behind the murder.
You might already have heard of him in the news by this time. Reports everywhere talk about this barrio doctor and the seemingly senseless way he was murdered. He is often pictured as that clean cut, good-looking young man dressed in medical student whites, in photos in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, plastered with the now famous #JusticeForDrey tagline. You may have seen men and women, doctors and nurses, family and friends, his former patients wearing black and holding up signs of the tagline, their faces somber and determined. Everyone who has known him in one way or another have become the loudest supporters in the call for justice for his murder.
Dr. Dreyfuss Bolivar Perlas was a 31 year-old Aklan native, a municipal health officer in Sapad, Lanao del Norte who was shot in the back by unknown assailant(s), while driving home from a medical mission. Dr. Perlas, (or “Drey”) entered the “Doctors to the Barrios” program of the Department of health nearly five years ago, and chose to be deployed in Sapad town, a 5th class municipality in Lanao del Norte. It allegedly had a reputation of a place where “no one dares to work,” because of safety, and difficult access to health services. Up until his two year-long deployment as a barro doctor in that community, the townspeople had not had a doctor for twelve years. The work was challenging, and the resources were lean but in the span of two years (he continued to work there as MHO, staying five years in all), he was able to contribute to the delivery of quality medical service. He lobbied for, and instituted an improved health care program and a maternity clinic during his tenure.
His untimely death catapulted him to national spotlight. He was recently awarded with a posthumous “Bayani ng Kalusugan” (Hero of Health)Award by the Department of Health. Many have lauded him for his work ethic as barrio doctor, and praised his contributions to the town.
Yet before he became “Drey, the hero”, he was many things. He was Drey, the Class President, the “Gentle Giant”, the “tallest student in class, who wasn’t fond of basketball or sports”. He was a diligent student leader who liked to work behind the scenes in school activities. He served by example and always kept his cool. He was always motivating his batchmates when the going got tough, “when all were impatient and weary”. He was also a dutiful son who worked his way through medical school as a scholar, and learned about responsibility at an early age.
In many ways, he was described as regular guy, “always chill”. Dr. Jobee Anotado recalls that he drank beer, he wrote literature, and had awkward dance moves because of his gangly limbs, and even poked fun at himself, when he jokingly taught his classmate who imitated his awkward walk on how to impersonate him better. His friends and classmates all think highly of him, saying he had an infectious laugh, a quiet intelligence, and a “default” face that Dr. Milrose Gamboa, a medical school batchmate, described as “Always smiling…as if everything was perfect, a trait which endeared him to many people. He was also musically gifted. Dr. Gem Villanueva, fondly refers to him as “the note corrector” in their choir group when they were “tone-deaf”.
It is easy to idealize someone when they’re gone, but it is well worth it to consider that while alive, Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas was also idealized because of his seemingly brave choices. In life, he was an idealist, placing placing himself in a community because he somehow felt that he was needed there despite having other more lucrative options elsewhere. In his death, he’s shed light on the plight of barrio doctors everywhere, (and members of the Doctors to the Barrios program) who are making valiant efforts to deliver quality health care to the most far-flung municipalities in our country. They are risking their very safety amidst the backbreaking work, accompanied by the occasional harassment and death threats (sadly, for a time, they had zero hazard pay.)
The recently concluded #BlackMonday (March 6, 2017) was an online campaign where people were encouraged to spread the word and awareness for seeking justice for Drey’s death. People from all walks of life were encouraged to wear Black and post their photos on their social media accounts to show their support. It is the fervent hope that people will become aware, and share Drey’s story to keep it prominent in our collective national consciousness until justice is finally served.
Here was a noble young man who strived for ideal health care for Filipinos in the best way he can, and but suffered unfairly for it. No amount of speculations could ever be enough to justify his murder. “Sharing” his story means #JusticeForDrey.
If we fail at this, it would be as if we condoned a second death for Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas and all he ever stood for. His story will have the saddest of endings; a forgotten statistic a senseless death.
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Dr. Miaco is a psychiatrist and was a few batches ahead of Dr. Perlas at the West Visayas State University College of Medicine, in Iloilo City. The article was a compilation of news articles and interviews with classmates and friends of Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas, including quotes and testimonials from his batch Facebook Page “Aestimateo Anima” (the batch name he gave and was adopted during their time).
