Like father, like son. That best describes Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines president Dr. Antonio Say and his son, Emil Anthony.
Tzu Chi is the non-profit organization running the Tzu Chi Eye Center (TCEC), an ambulatory clinic in Sta. Mesa, Manila serving underprivileged patients. The elder Say is among the volunteer doctors of TCEC providing free consultation and surgery to its patients. He also serves as chief medical officer at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center and chairman of the CSMC’s Department of Graduate Medical Education.
Meanwhile, the son is also an ophthalmologist based in South Carolina, United States. When he returned to the Philippines for Christmas, the visit was more than have a reunion with his family. Early on 26 December, he accompanied his father to the operating room at CSMC and together performed retina surgeries for Tzu Chi patients.
The father watched his son perform complicated retina surgeries, embodying the Jing Si Aphorism: “The best way to repay our parents is to make the most of our ability in the service of humanity.”
A graduate of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), Dr. Emil moved to the US more than 10 years ago to specialize in ocular oncology and vitreoretinal diseases. Today, he practices and teaches in Charleston, but his heart remains tethered to his father’s humanitarian mission.
“It is impressive that he has been doing this for all these years,” Dr. Emil shared, reflecting on his father’s work with Tzu Chi, according to the foundation’s Facebook post. “He has helped so many and built a program that will outlast him by training the next generation. I feel blessed to return every year to do this with him. It is deeply fulfilling, and I hope to continue this tradition for years to come.”
The father, who pioneered phacoemulsification procedure in the country, is also a dedicated teacher. He has been a member of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery since 1984, and also teaches at CSMC. He was named the 2026 Thomasian Outstanding Medical Alumni awardee for Medical Education by the UST Medical Alumni Association Inc. during its 86th Grand Alumni Homecoming last 17 January. The award recognizes Dr. Say’s dedication and transformative contribution to medical education.
Part of his teaching method is inviting students to Tzu Chi’s medical outreach in poor communities in the country and abroad as well as teaching local surgeons his techniques. By witnessing the struggles of patients with eye diseases, he believes that they will learn to be compassionate and serve the community not for monetary gain but for the satisfaction of easing a patient’s suffering.