Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines

11/06/2026

Tzu Chi Eye Center will not accommodate walk-in and old patients on Friday, June 12, 2026, due to a special clinic exclusive for scheduled new patients. Please make sure you received a text message confirming you are scheduled for consultation on the said date before coming. Thank you very much!
------
Hindi tatanggap ang Tzu Chi Eye Center ng mga walk-in at dati nang pasyente sa darating na Biyernes, Hunyo 12, 2026, dahil sa isang espesyal na klinika na eksklusibo para sa mga naka-iskedyul na bagong pasyente. Siguruhing nakatanggap ng text message na kayo ay naka-iskedyul sa araw na nabanggit bago pumunta. Maraming salamat!

11/06/2026

"As we aid others, we are in fact also sowing blessings for ourselves."

08/06/2026

Forgoing the usual balloons, games, and elaborate setups of a traditional children’s party, a couple chose to mark their daughter’s second birthday by giving back to the community.

Entrepreneurs Jachin and Leanne Li recently served vegetarian pancit to over 200 patients and their companions at the Tzu Chi Eye Center in Sta. Mesa, Manila, in honor of Lumi, the couple’s first and only child.

As patients, volunteers, and doctors sang the “Happy Birthday" song to greet and shower little Lumi with love, her parents beamed with pride and joy. Jachin said that a traditional children's party is often remembered more by family and friends than by the child herself, hence, the decision to shift away from the usual festivity. Instead, they opted to create a meaningful moment that will bless their daughter while benefiting others.

"For us, for her good karma, it’s better to give rather than host a party for ourselves,” Jachin explained. He added that they personally prepared and cooked the food, rising before dawn to deliver and distribute the meals in time for the morning clinic. In addition to serving the patients, the family also prepared a vegetarian lunch for the medical team.

At the end of the simple celebration, the couple assisted little Lumi in turning over a red envelope (ang pao) containing a substantial cash donation to Tzu Chi Eye Center in support of its charitable programs.

“Like other parents, I initially wished all the wealth and material abundance in life for Lumi,” Jachin shared. “But sometimes I get scared that with extreme wealth, there will always be pressure on her. I thought about it for a long time. Now, all I hope is that her life will be smooth-sailing. Whether there is money or not, as long as she has people to help her and as long as circumstances always turn out well for her, then that will be good enough for me.”

Lumi may not remember her second birthday, but the lives touched by her family’s generosity will certainly never forget it.

07/06/2026

The kind and evil states within the minds of ordinary people are always in conflict with each other.

05/06/2026

They say beauty is only skin-deep, but Imie Zaragoza had learned early in life that sometimes, reality is not as kind.

Imie grew up walking with a limp and her head bowed due to weak upper and lower right limbs, and a squint, or crossed eyes — complications of a premature birth. Her condition left her with very few friends, and several bullies. The words they hurled left permanent scars in her heart.

Instead of crumble from these cruelties, however, Imie became even more determined to change the course of her life. Her parents, who were both factory workers, could not afford therapy so she mastered her own body through sheer will. Massages and exercises strengthened her right arm so that it could eventually grip pens and pencils. She also started walking slowly and wearing loose pants to hide her flawed leg. However, there was one thing that Imie could not conceal: her squint eye. That was when she decided: “I have to study well and get a good job in order to fix my eyes because the world is biased against people who look different.”

When her parents could no longer afford to send her to college, she applied for scholarship grants, and studied so hard she eventually got a diploma in Education.

Imie landed a teaching post in a private school in Antipolo City, Rizal, where she resides. She helped support her six-member family and looked for ways to treat her squint. However, the expensive surgery discouraged her from continuing treatment until she stumbled upon an online group for strabismus patients that recommended the Tzu Chi Eye Center in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

On her initial visit, hope instantly filled Imie’s heart. She underwent squint surgery on February 11, 2026 – one day before her 29th birthday.

“This is the best birthday gift ever! It's like I was given a new life. This has been one of my dreams – to look normal like everybody else. I am so grateful to Tzu Chi. They paved the way to make my dream a reality,” she added.

With her newfound confidence, Imie works towards her next aspiration: to become a public-school teacher who will nurture positive traits in the youth while providing a better life for her family. This time, she will be unstoppable.

04/06/2026

"Only by allowing mountains and forests to thrive can humans live in peace."

03/06/2026

In just a few years, a state-of-the-art, five-story Tzu Chi Eye Center will open its doors along the Emilio Aguinaldo Highway in Imus, Cavite. Equipped with top-of-the-line diagnostic and surgical machinery, the Center will offer free screenings and sponsored eye surgeries to patients in need—regardless of age, race, or religion.

This noble endeavor is made possible by the incredible generosity of Filipino-Chinese entrepreneur, Mr. Carlos Chan. His affinity with Tzu Chi started in the wake of the devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and the Bohol earthquake in 2013. Tzu Chi's relief and rehabilitation efforts in Leyte and Bohol province, including the implementation of a massive cash-for-relief cleanup drive that revived the local economy of Tacloban City, deeply moved Mr. Chan. Eventually, he met with Tzu Chi founder Dharma Master Cheng Yen in Hualien, Taiwan. During this meeting, he presented a donation to support the construction of the Tzu Chi Great Love Village in Ormoc. Out of over 1,500 pre-fabricated housing units built for Typhoon Yolanda survivors, Mr. Chan generously financed 1,000 units. Today, the Village stands firm, continuing to provide safe housing to thousands of survivors.

Beyond disaster rehabilitation, Mr. Chan is also a staunch supporter of Tzu Chi's eye care services. In 2022, he donated a specialized adjustable surgical bed to the Sta. Mesa Eye Center, giving elderly patients with severe spinal curvature a comfortable and safe way to undergo operations.

In 2023, he pledged to build an Eye Center branch in Imus. "I have the land and I’ll put up the building for you and you run it,” he told Master Cheng Yen in a meeting.

Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines CEO Alfredo Li said the donation was a welcome help as the current Eye Center in Manila has already hit its capacity limits. Conveniently located along a major thoroughfare, the Imus Eye Center will serve patients from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon provinces, which has a collective population of nearly 17 million.

Thank you, Mr. Carlos Chan, for your inspiring, and invaluable gift to humanity!

02/06/2026

02/06/2026

Today, we remember our beloved Bro. Michael Siao. He was the deputy chief executive officer of the Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines. In the global Tzu Chi community, Bro. Michael was renowned for being the first to implement the massive "cash-for-work” disaster relief model, which empowered nearly 300,000 survivors of Typhoons Ondoy and Yolanda to rebuild their own communities with assistance from the Foundation. Wherever there were disasters in the Philippines, he was one of the first Tzu Chi volunteers to mobilize and lead the relief efforts.

On this day last year, he passed away. Bro. Michael donated his body for medical education through Tzu Chi’s Silent Mentor Program, helping teach future doctors to treat patients with gratitude, respect, and humanistic values.

He lived a life of selflessness, humility, and extraordinary depth, never wasting a second and teaching those he mentored that life is a precious, impermanent gift. He was a true role model whose life will continue to inspire all who walk the path of service. Now and always, we honor and remember his legacy.

01/06/2026

Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines broke ground for the Tzu Chi Eye Center’s newest branch in Imus, Cavite. On May 31, Dharma Masters from the Tzu Chi headquarters in Taiwan, Tzu Chi volunteers, doctors, donors, partners, supporters, and patients numbering to 760 gathered for the ceremonial dig, marking a new chapter for the organization's medical mission in the Philippines.

The 2,500-square-meter parcel of land in Imus City was donated by Filipino-Chinese entrepreneur, philanthropist, and staunch Tzu Chi supporter Mr. Carlos Chan. In addition to providing the property, the Chan family committed to covering all construction expenses for the building while entrusting its long-term management to Tzu Chi.

Located along Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, a major thoroughfare, the Tzu Chi Imus Eye Center will be highly accessible to patients from Cavite and neighboring towns. The envisioned five-story facility will feature top-of-the-line surgical and diagnostic machinery, including dedicated consultation rooms, diagnostic suites, and a specialized floor for operating rooms. Drawing inspiration from the success of the flagship Manila branch, the Imus Eye Center will offer free screenings and sponsored surgeries, providing quality vision care, eye health education, and other medical services to all patients regardless of age, gender, race, or religious affiliation.

With a population of over 4.3 million, Cavite province is the most populated in the country. Department of Health (DOH) IV-A Regional Director Dr. Voltaire Guadalupe said building an Eye Center at the heart of Cavite will give much-needed access to many Filipinos. “[Tzu Chi] is something that should be emulated. We need to raise it up as a good example of selfless service,” he added.

Tzu Chi founder Dharma Master Cheng Yen, through live videoconferencing, gave her blessings for the project and thanked donor Mr. Carlos Chan for his generosity and service to humanity. Other highlights of the ceremony include an energetic, drum-beating performance by volunteer residents and fellows from the Tzu Chi Manila Eye Center and the staging of an adaptation of an excerpt from the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines President Dr. Antonio Say led volunteer doctors, Tzu Chi volunteers, and staff in the performance, which symbolized their deep commitment to Tzu Chi's mission and their pledge to “Save Sight and Inspire Lives.”