Rufino Abriol

In July of 1946, he was appointed as the first Filipino Director of the Quarantine Service of the Philippine Islands; he would hold this position until 1955.

He graduated from the Philippine Normal School in 1908 (where he met his wife, Rosa). He completed his medical degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1913. He garnered the highest rating during the 1913 Philippine Medical Board Examinations. He earned his post-graduate degree in Tropical Medicine from the UP in 1916. He earned a Certificate in Pubic Health from Johns Hopkins University in 1921.

In 1917, he was a professor of surgery at the College of Medicine at the UP. He was elected as president of the Philippine Islands Medical Association (now known as the Philippine Medical Association, or PMA), a position he held from 1935 to 1936. He was a Fellow of the American Medical Society, and a member of both Manila and Pampanga Medical Associations.

He started using 'Abriol' as his surname in 1913.

References:

1) The University of the Philippines Catalogue; 1915 - 1916; Bulletin No. 6

2) Official Gazette of the Philippines; Appointments and Designations: July 1946

3) The Johns Hopkins University Circular: School of Hygiene and Public Health; New Series 1922 No. 3; p 81

4) http://kaplistorian.blogspot.com/2018/10/96-18-notable-kapampangan-...

5) https://pcs.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/INCISIONS-OCTOBER-DEC...

6) https://quarantinedoh.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/brief-history-of-qua...

Photo courtesy of PCS Newsletter; Oct - Dec 2011