BALANGA, BATAAN — Popular cosmetic doctor and beauty guru Dr. Vicki Belo spoke about how we can “make change work for women” in the field of aesthetic dermatology during the celebration of the National Women’s month organized by the Bataan Provincial Women’s Commission (PWC) last Friday where she was the keynote speaker.
The virtual event, attended by nearly 300 women from the different sectors, was successfully mounted by PWC Chairperson Mrs. Victoria S. Garcia, mother of Bataan Governor Albert Raymond S. Garcia, and the board members of the commission, including Ms. Isabel Garcia, wife of Bataan’s 2nd District Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia.
The event also exhorted the efforts of the women of Bataan in their untiring contribution for positive change to fight against COVID-19. Mrs. Victoria Garcia said, “The women of Bataan persevere in the face of difficulties and just like all the challenges that we have faced in our storied and historic past, we will conquer and overcome.”
She called all women to action by saying, “we have to be the prime examples of discipline and leadership in our family and communities. We have to follow protocols and ensure that others do this as well. In effectively protecting one another, we will quickly rise as one to eliminate the Coronavirus and all the ills that it brings to our people.”
In her talk, Dr. Belo, who confessed to having been bullied as a child because she was “fat, ugly and adopted” said she knew at a very young age that she wanted to be a doctor of beauty. “I thought then that because I was fat and ugly, my real parents didn’t like me and decided to give me away. So, I had to be become a doctor who could make people beautiful so their parents won’t give them away.”
It was a childhood dream that resonated well with her name Belo, which means beautiful in Portuguese and Italian.
The trailblazing dermatologist who pioneered laser technology and dermatologic surgery and tumescent liposuction in the Philippines also talked about the transformation of four other women — upcoming GMA talent Jessica Villarubin, model and events host Bianca Valerio, ABS-CBN artist Morisette Amon and Jinkee Pacquiao, wife of International boxing legend and Philippine senator Manny Pacquiao.
What is common among these ladies after their stints at the Belo Medical Group (BMG) made them look better and feel better and consequently gained confidence in themselves and what they can do.
Belo added, “it really makes me happy when I see how the physical changes in my patients affect them in the most positive way. They are able to get opportunities in life that were not even possible before their transformation. That’s really priceless and you cannot put a price tag to that. I feel so fulfilled to help change their lives this way.”
The doctor however said that there is such a thing as “addiction to cosmetic surgery” and that at her clinics, they have hired psychologists and therapists to help her patients process their unrealistic demands. “Because some of them have been enjoying the praises they reap after a procedure, they tend to ask for more and sometimes what they want done is no longer beneficial for them. At Belo, we help people look better by enhancing their natural look,” she explained.
The Belo Medical Group’s “people before profit” principle is a foundation of their past, present, and future.During the height of the pandemic last year, the Belo Medical Group has chosen to be a blessing to countless people affected by the onslaught of COVID-19. Aside from taking care of their employees, Dr. Belo spearheaded a donation drive for their stock PPEs beginning at the crucial time when it was scarce, and served 1,000 meals a day for the frontliners in various hospitals for 45 days.
Dr. Belo was the only Filipino among the top 10 beauty doctors who joined forces to create a position paper establishing international protocol in the proper reopening of aesthetic clinics post-quarantine which was published by the Journal of Dermatologic Therapy in May, 2020.
The doctors came from the Philippines, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Sweden, Norway, India, and South Africa, among other countries.
The more than 30-year old Belo Medical Group whose mission is “to make the Philippines the most beautiful country, one person at a time” now have 15 clinics all over the country - 13 in Metro Manila, 1 in Cebu and 1 in Davao.