Dr. Lorenzo Rommel Cariño, heart surgeon, outstanding physician and Rotarian, passed away on Nov. 4, 2020, according to his fellow member of the Rotary Club of Cubao West.
Doc Rommel, as he was fondly called by his friends and colleagues, was among the Outstanding Filipino Physicians awardees in 2012 along with Dr. Anthony Leachon, an award that was given by the JCI Senate Philippines.
Cariño was a classmate of Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III at the UST College of Medicine, said book author Melandrew Velasco, a JCI senator and also past president of Rotary Club CW.
Among Cariño’s patients was former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo whom he saved in April 2007 after a 10-hour operation that earned for Doc Rommel the accolade as the country’s miracle heart surgeon, Velasco said.