Bonifacio Mencias
Philippine physician
Bonifacio Lopez Mencias (14 May 1888 – c. January 1944) was a Filipino physician, epidemiologist, guerrilla sympathizer, and martyr. He is best known for providing aid to the Philippine guerrillas in his capacity as Dean of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines – an act which led his capture and presumed death at the hands of the occupying forces just before the liberation of Manila.
Prior to his term as Dean, he was already notable for having been an early president of the Manila Medical Society (now known as the Philippine Medical Association), and as the first editor in chief of the UST Journal of Medicine.
Service during World War II
Dr. Mencias had been appointed Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Santo Tomas in 1936, and continued in that capacity when war broke out in December 1941 and when the Japanese forces firmed up their occupation of the Philippines in 1942. Throughout this time and the period of guerrilla resistance which followed, Dr. Mencias aided the resistance by secretly treating wounded guerillas and soldiers, both Filipino and American.
Personal life
Bonifacio Lopez Mencias was born on May 14, 1888, in Villasis, Pangasinan. He graduated from Colegio de San Juan de Letran and was an active alumnus who once served on the 1939 Alumni Board.
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