Willie Ong
Willie T. Ong | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | October 24, 1963 | |||||||||
| Nationality | Filipino | |||||||||
| Education | ||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Cardiologist, writer | |||||||||
| Spouse | Anna Liza Ramoso | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2007–present | |||||||||
| Genre(s) | Informative, vlogging | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 6.4 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 809 million[1] | |||||||||
| Associated acts | Liza Ramoso-Ong | |||||||||
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Last updated: September 6, 2021 | ||||||||||
Willie T. Ong (born October 24, 1963) is a Filipino cardiologist, internist, writer and vlogger. He is known for giving medical advice through Facebook and YouTube. Ong was also a candidate for the 2019 Philippine Senate election, largely capitalizing on his social media following.
Early life and education
Ong was born in Manila, Philippines on October 24, 1963.[2] He later went on to the De La Salle University College of Medicine for his medical degree. His father was Ong Yong, was an immigrant from Jinjiang, China who settled in the Philippines in 1922. Better known as Co Tec Tai in the Chinese Filipino community, the elder Ong was an active charity worker who served as president for various civic organizations.[3] For his elementary and high school education, the younger Ong attended Xavier School in San Juan, Metro Manila. In college, he pursued a degree in Botany at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City.[2]
He accomplished his medical degree in 1992 at the De La Salle University College of Medicine.[3]
Medical career
Ong did his Internal Medicine Residency in Manila Doctors Hospital where he was the chief resident. After his residency, he further pursued a Cardiology fellowship in the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital where he was the chief fellow. Ong also achieved the award for the highest academic performance when he did his Masters in Public Health at the University of the Philippines Manila.[citation needed]
Ong has also authored books. His first publication is the Medicine Blue Book which is often used by Filipino medical students and neophyte doctors. He also wrote the Cardiology Blue Book, which is a guidebook for diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions.[4]
He has also worked as a consultant with the Department of Health from 2010 to 2014.[4] Ong also established the Co Tec Tai Medical Museum in Pasay, named in honor of his father and reportedly the first medical museum in the Philippines.[3] The museum documents the history of healthcare in the Philippines.
Television and journalism
In 2005, Ong became part of RJTV where he produced his own television show.[5] From 2008 to 2018, he made appearances on ABS-CBN's Salamat Dok. He did not have a regular segment on the television show and only participated as a volunteer. He left Salamat Dok in October 2018 to pursue an electoral bid for the Senate in 2019.[6][5] Ong also wrote for The Philippine Star and its sister publications, Pilipino Star Ngayon and PM PangMasa as a columnist.[4]
Social media presence
Willie Ong started maintaining an online presence when he set up a YouTube channel in 2007 where he posted video health tips.[6] According to Ong, he first started to have presence in Facebook in 2012, when mainstream media outlets posts the medical advice articles he wrote for them on the social media platform. In 2013, Ong approached an impersonator who maintained a Facebook page with at least a million followers under his name and likeness and ask them for advise on how to "get more followers". He then went on continuing to produce articles.[5]
Political career
Ong launched a bid to get elected as a Senator in the 2019 Philippine elections.[7] His electoral campaign had a focus on health issues, particularly on providing a "holistic approach to providing total health care", leveraging on him being the "only doctor running for the Senate". If he won, he would be the fifth physician to be elected in the Congress' upper house preceding Juan Nolasco, (1931–1935). Jose Locsin, (1954–1957), Juan Flavier, (1995–2007) and Luisa Ejercito Estrada (2001–2007).[8] Outside of health issues, Ong also expressed openness for the introduction of death penalty for heinous crimes, the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility, and the adoption of federalism as the form of government for the Philippines.[9]
Running on the banner of the Lakas–CMD political party, Ong said he did not rely on campaign donations to "avoid being indebted to anyone". Instead he relied on his online presence on Facebook and YouTube where he has 9.7 million followers and 1 million subscribers respectively as of March 2019.[8] His campaign was also backed by 23 other pages with over 800 thousand followers and 28 groups with about 87.6 thousand members in Facebook. According to Ong's wife, some of these presence were managed by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who volunteered to support Willie Ong's campaign. Ong was also backed by other social media pages which supported other candidates backed by President Rodrigo Duterte's administration such as Imee Marcos and Bong Go.[6]
Ong also supported the Anakalusugan Party-list's election bid, by featuring for two seconds in an advertisement supporting the organization.[6]
He failed to win one of the 12 contested seats in the Senate finishing 18th in the polls with 7.5 million votes. According to his wife, about P500,000 on his personal campaign. Counting only votes by OFWs, Ong ranked 2nd behind Bato dela Rosa.[6]
Personal life
Ong is married to Anna Liza Ramoso, who is also a physician.[2][4] They have two daughters.[4]
References
- ^ a b "About Doc Willie Ong". YouTube.
- ^ a b c "ONG, Willie Eleksyon 2019". GMA News Online. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Tacio, Henrylito. "Pasay medical museum shows how epidemics shaped history". GMA News Online. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Flores, Helen M. (July 21, 2019). "Willie Ong: The doctor is 'in'". The Philippine Star. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ a b c ""We should uplift the conversation. Should I change myself in order to please them to get the votes?"-Dr. Willie Ong, Senatorial Candidate". Esquiremag.ph. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Almost victory: Doc Willie Ong's OFW votes, social media support". Rappler. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ Orellana, Cathrine Gonzales, Faye (October 11, 2018). "Dr. Willie Ong files COC for Senate bid". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Ong, Ghio (March 16, 2019). "Doc Willie: Health sector needs voice in Senate". The Philippine Star. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- ^ "PROFILE: Who is Doc Willie Ong?". Rappler. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
External links
Willie Ong at IMDb