DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/16 December)– The state-run Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City will soon have three more doctors who can perform robotic-assisted procedures after completing months of intensive training in both Davao and Singapore.
Dr. Rolley Rey P. Lobo, head of the Robotic Surgery Unit of the SPMC, said, during Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City on Monday, that the doctors are scheduled to return to Davao from Singapore on Thursday, bringing to four the total number of doctors certified by the Intuitive Surgical Robotic Training Hub to operate the Da Vinci surgical system.
He said Dr. Paula Cruz Limlengco and Dr. Anette Boquiren, both obstetrician-gynecologists, along with Dr. Joffrey Betanio, a general surgeon, have completed more than three months of training, including simulation exercises, under the supervision of expert trainers from Intuitive, the manufacturer of the Da Vinci robot.
“Before going to Singapore, there are multiple steps or milestones that the trainee should be able to hurdle before qualifying to undergo the certifying examination in Singapore. This is the reason why training is slow because we are following a very strict clinical pathway prescribed by Intuitive, the exclusive manufacturer of the Da Vinci robot,” Lobo added.
A total of 23 surgeries have been conducted using the robotic technology since it commenced operations last October 2025. Lobo was the first accredited surgeon in Mindanao to perform robotic-assisted surgical procedures at the SPMC.
“The surgeon has to relearn to be adept at the technology, so we undergo intensive training both locally and abroad,” he said.
He hopes the government hospital will be able to perform more cases with the addition of newly trained doctors.
According to him, the technology acquired by the government for P300 million is capable of performing a wide range of surgical procedures on patients, from the “thorax, abdomen, gall bladder, liver, small and large intestines, prostate, cataract, uterus, kidneys, and even neurosurgery.”
“In the SPMC, we are in the infancy stage of robotic procedure. Kaya hindi pa namin talaga ma-aadopt sa lahat (That’s why we really cannot adopt it fully yet) because we are still in the learning stage, but we are quickly adapting to the technology,” he said.
Lobo added that the SPMC needed to innovate and embrace the latest technology, which he said is becoming the “standard in many surgical procedures worldwide.”
“We cannot not jump on this bandwagon of advanced surgical technology. Otherwise, we will be left behind, particularly with SPMC being a training hospital. We should embrace the technology,” he said.
He said that in many hospitals abroad, about 60 to 70 percent of surgeries are now performed using robotic instruments.
“In our situation, because there is only one robot, we cannot expect to do everything via the robot. We have to choose. We have some indications, particularly complex surgeries,” he said.
“The mission is to make advanced technology not only available in private hospitals, but it should also be available in our government hospitals, so what is available in private hospitals should also be offered to our indigent patients in Mindanao,” he said.
According to Lobo, SPMC is one of two government hospitals in the country capable of performing robotic-assisted procedures. In 2019, the UP-PGH acquired the “Da Vinci Surgical System, allowing surgeons to perform robotic-assisted minimally invasive procedures, affording minimal tissue handling and blood loss.”
Lobo said compared with laparoscopy and open surgery, the robot offers superior dexterity and precision, as well as enhances visualization by providing high-definition 3D images.
“There is also what we call ‘motion scaling,’ meaning to say it completely eliminates human tremors among surgeons. Kahit malikot ang kamay ng surgeon ma-scale down yan dun sa tip ng robotic instrument (Even if the surgeon’s hand movements are unsteady, they are scaled down at the tip of the robotic instrument),” he said.
Patients who have undergone robotic-assisted surgeries experience “less pain, less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery,” he said.
He said the management of the SPMC is doing all it can to bring down the cost of robotic procedures, particularly for indigent patients.
“This is a government hospital. We are finding ways to bring down the costs, to have them almost fully subsidized by the government, because we also want to maintain the ‘no balance billing’ policy as much as possible,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
