Coming to America
Hawaii, June 1968
We landed in Hawaii in June of 1968. That is where they gave us our green cards, right there at the airport, before we ever saw the mainland. John was with us. He was born in March, so he was only three months old, a baby in our arms.
We had packed something from home that one of the family had given us to bring, and the customs officers confiscated it. I am sure they did that to a lot of Filipinos. And I am sure they did not throw it away, either.
It was summer when we arrived, so it was fine at first. Then fall came, and suddenly it started to get cold. That was the hard part. We had never known cold like that.
Brooklyn: the job was already waiting
We went to Brooklyn first. My job was waiting for me there. I started on July 1, and by October I already had my license.
There were other Filipino doctors at that hospital, but they were not immigrants. They were exchange visitors. Under that program you came for your training, and when you finished your residency you had to leave. Only after you left could you apply for an immigrant visa. I was the only immigrant among them.
That made a big difference. Your uncle graduated in 1957 and came over right away, but he came as an exchange visitor, so he had to pay his own way here. I came as an immigrant, and the hospital paid for my fare. It was your Uncle Hill who was able to find that hospital for us.
Why America needed doctors
You have to understand the timing. This was during the Vietnam War. The government was sending American doctors to serve through what they called the Berry Plan. Even doctors who were not really military, ones who had been through ROTC, had to pay back their time with service. So the hospitals here did not have enough doctors.
That is why I could come as an immigrant. And shortly after that, it opened up even more. Even teachers and accountants could come.
Queens, and the courage to start
After Brooklyn, we went to Queens. A lot of the interns I knew went out to Long Island, to Suffolk County and Nassau County. I said no, that is too far for me. So I looked in Queens, where there were about three hospitals, and I applied there.
Dr. Torio, who was from Mangatarem like us, had told me to come work with him when I finished. But I did not go right away to Perth Amboy. I was worried. In private practice you are on your own. There is nobody to back you up. If the patient is obese and diabetic, you have only one chance. You have three minutes, and the patient might die on the table. So I waited. After one year, I said okay.
Our first house
When we bought our first house, we went to a lawyer. He asked me about the down payment. I told him I had $1,500 in savings, and that I was getting a loan from the national association of residents and interns. It had not arrived yet, but it would come in time for the closing.
"This is the first time I have seen somebody so brave. You have not even started your job yet, and you are buying a house."
We did not look at a lot of houses. We liked that one because it was on a court, it was brick, and it had a lot of rooms in the basement.
The basement
The man who sold it to us said, "You are a good carpenter," because of all the work I did fixing it up.
For a while, some people from Mangatarem stayed down in that basement, free, for about six months. They were so embarrassed that they did not even want to take a shower or cook. I told them, you can stay here, it is free lodging. I never charged them rent.
One of them was able to bring his family over, and one of his children finished medical school at Georgetown University. That family was smart. They were from the Institute in Mangatarem, the high school where your grandfather graduated.
Mom's nurses
After we settled, your mom started recruiting nurses from the Philippines. At first there was a lady from the Philippines who was supplying nurses to hospitals in New York. She needed capital, so we became partners. I think we put in $25,000. We were silent partners. We just expected to receive the money.
Nothing came. Then she asked for more capital. I said no, I have no money. I told your mom, you better go to Manhattan and take our investment back. So that is where your mom went. She was taking the bus and learning the business.
The other agencies collected money from the nurses, but your mom did not. In the advertisements in Manila, it said everything was free. At first the nurses did not believe it. But when the first nurses arrived, they called their friends and said, "No, it is true, everything is free." That is why we had so many. And when they took the board exam, they passed 100 percent.
That is how your mom became known. Even the president of Saint Barnabas said he only wanted to work with her.