The emotional floodgates opened and memories from his past came rushing back, including why he wanted to be a doctor in the first place: At the tender age of six, he had decided to dedicate his life to serving others after watching A Boy Named Kree, an animated film about love, sacrifice, and spiritual triumph.
     Finally, the fog lifted, and Ong rediscovered his sense of purpose.
    Together with his wife, Anna Liza, who is a general practitioner, he has embarked on five projects he collectively calls THUMB: television, history, “u” to signify the extended arms involved in charity, Movement for Idealistic and Nationalistic Doctors (MIND), and books.
     The couple first went on the air to host a health talk show that let callers phone in their questions for the guest experts. The Doc Willie & Liza Show lasted two years on RJ TV before the Ongs returned with a different format, a “reality show” that follows the husband-and-wife team extending medical services to the poor, as they travel around Metro Manila in their van colorfully painted with the title of the series, Makabayang Duktor.
     Just completing its second season, the 30-minute RPN program is a collaborative effort with television personality Boy Abunda, whose name and media savvy, the cardiologist remarks, were critical to getting what was an “unmarketable” project green-lighted. The show has spawned an eponymous foundation that lets a person adopt a patient for PhP20,000.
Ong continues his outreach mission even when the cameras are off. Out of the spotlight, he and Liza devote every first Sunday of the month to the Pasay Filipino–Chinese Charity Health Center, which was built by his father. For more than 10 years, he has attended to the needs of 400 to 500 indigent patients a day who queue for two hours to get free check-up, medicines, and out-patient treatments.
     That, apparently, isn’t enough for the good doctor. Since the start of this year, patients at his clinic in Manila Doctor’s Hospital are not charged a single centavo. Instead, Ong earns his bread and butter by helping out in the family business and by working as a doctor on retainer at his brother’s company.

     The generous physician has also committed his time and energy to the establishment of the country’s first and only medical museum that is open to the public. “William Osler said that one must study medical history to be a great doctor,” Ong explains. Located along Taft Avenue, Medical Museum and Library has seen over 10,000 visitors since July 2006.
In homage to great physicians and an inspiration to future healers, Dr. Willie and Liza also compiled Legacy of Medicine: Interviews with Distinguished Filipino Internists. Partial proceeds of the book, along with other medical titles the couple has authored, go to charity.
     Concerned over the growing exodus of health professionals to other countries, Ong created MIND, a movement aimed at curtailing brain drain by promoting nationalism. He spreads the advocacy by going to med schools and conducting seminars that teach students “how to pass the boards and survive in the Philippines.”
      With the help of the Philippine College of Physicians, he also instituted the Doctor’s Covenant, a promise made by the undersigned to practice in the Philippines for three years, and to spend at least one day each month to charity or give free consultation to financially disadvantaged patients. The covenant garnered 1,800 signatures from specialists.
Recently recognized by the Jaycees International Senate, Philippines with the The Outstanding Filipino Physicians (TOFP) award, the cardiologist with a huge heart has chosen the road less taken and raised his commitment to the Hippocratic oath to a higher level. At 44, Ong has not only found his sense of purpose, he has become a hero to many. M