Houston doctor urges Filipinos to rethink health

Dr. Joseph Varon says the Philippines holds a special place in his heart — and it’s not just because of the food or warm weather.

“I walk through Greenhills like I’m home,” said the award-winning Houston-based physician during a recent media roundtable in Manila. “I know where to go, where to eat, and how to walk. It feels familiar.”

For nearly two decades, Varon has been visiting the Philippines multiple times a year — not only to see friends, but also to meet patients, offer second opinions, and, more recently, push for a shift in how health is approached in everyday life.

Best known for a photo that went viral during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he was seen hugging an elderly patient in full PPE, Varon worked over 700 consecutive days on the frontlines.

These days, however, his focus is on education and prevention.

“We’ve become a society that thinks being sick is normal,” he said. “You get high blood pressure, and the first thing you’re given is a pill, not advice to move, to change how you eat.”

His mission, he says, is to change that mindset. And part of that includes forming new partnerships.

Varon is in talks to establish a Philippine chapter of the Independent Medical Alliance (IMA), a global network of over 17,000 healthcare professionals he co-founded to promote accessible, science-backed information about health.

“We want people to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. So, they can make informed choices,” he said.

It’s a message he hopes resonates with Filipino families. From tackling the rise of obesity and chronic disease to understanding post-pandemic trauma, Varon believes the Philippines is at a turning point.

He credits much of his connection to the country to personal relationships built over time, including his longtime friendship with music icon Gary Valenciano, whom he has cared for as a physician for two decades.

But in addition to his health mission, Varon shares a deep admiration for the country’s nurses, calling them some of the best in the world.

“Filipino nurses genuinely care,” he said. “They don’t know how to say no. It’s like working with family.”