HOTSPOT
The news of Dr. Gia Sison’s passing spread fast among the countless people who found in her an ever-smiling, compassionate, and engaging advocate of mental health. We are heartbroken to lose a friend and champion like her.
We send our condolences to Dr. Rogin Sison, daughter Angela, and the rest of Doc Gia’s family. May our tributes help them in this period of grief.
At a time when we yearn for authenticity and reject artifice, those of us who were fortunate enough to sit with her and share stories over coffee (alright, as friends) never saw a gap between her public persona and what she was in real life.
This realness is matched only by her dedication to mental health. Then-Social Welfare Sec. Judy Taguiwalo and Doc Gia were the two wonder women we had as keynote speakers at the Philippines’ 2017 Social Media Day event in Taguig City.
As I wrote then here in this column: “Thanks to Dr. Gia, we were guided to the first few steps towards a better understanding of mental health issues, especially depression, tweets and posts about which we have seen in alarming frequency in the past few months. Her speech was an eye-opener for all, and an open invitation to those who are suffering to seek appropriate medical help.”
We would cross paths in school forums, especially on the intersection of mental health and social media, especially on call-out and cancel culture, bullying, and trolling.
Doc Gia brought this passion to network television, school talks, Twitter conversations, and wherever people gathered. She was quick to try her hand at podcasting, Twitter Spaces, and Clubhouse. Over at Clubhouse, which became the rage during the pandemic lockdowns, she joined, listened, gave counsel, or just made her presence felt several times. We even made her an honorary moderator of Sari Sari Club, and she honored us by accepting it.
When I referred a friend who badly needed help, she immediately asked that my friend contact her directly and they found a way to meet and talk.
If you search for her name on YouTube, she has lots of videos there speaking to various audiences on various themes under mental health, and on her breast cancer story in her own words.
There is a lot more missing, especially after the shutdown of CNN Philippines and its online channels. The news items on her life and passing mostly paid no mention of this stint as host of G Talks, a CNN Philippines program on mental health. It was probably the country’s first such program on network television.
Doc Gia never claimed to be one, but she was a trusted and sought-after public intellectual. She not only made herself available online but also spoke on issues that she felt were important to herself and to the public. She was an advocate of equality, non-discrimination, inclusion and fairness. She was also in it for good governance and human rights.
When we approached her right in the middle of the pandemic about filing a Supreme Court petition against the draconian terror law, Doc Gia’s answer was quick: Yes, and how do we do it? With help from our counsel, the indefatigable Dean Rodel Taton, we cooperated to draw up a petition and had it signed and authenticated despite all the limitations of movement at the time. She was excited and proud when MacoyDubs and the gang made a huge splash on the day of filing.
We’re preparing to hold an online public tribute to Doc Gia, hopefully this weekend, on Twitter Spaces. It is a small but heartfelt gesture of gratitude to her and an opportunity for her followers to remember and be thankful together.
Communities of students, youth, professionals, and families are grateful to Doc Gia for being our mental health champion. We credit her and others who followed her lead for our growing mental health awareness as individuals and as communities.
Perhaps the best tribute we could give Doc Gia is to be mental health champions ourselves and be a light to others, just like what she had been to us.