SciHi student wins TOBS honor

Luffy Descartin

/ Cebu City National Science High School

IN A pharmacy in Cebu City, a mother stood at the counter, counting coins in her palm as the pharmacist waited. When the total appeared, she hesitated—not in confusion, but in calculation. One medicine would have to wait. Maybe both.

Scenes like this often pass unnoticed. But for Cebu City National Science High School (CCNSHS) student Frederick Kesner the moment lingered.

Similar situations occur nationwide daily. In 2023, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that Filipino households paid 44.4 percent of the nation’s total health expenses out of pocket, with the average person spending P11,083—an increase of over eight percent from 2022.

“It wasn’t just the lack of medicine that struck me,” Kesner said. “It was the lack of access.”

Medical advocacy

That realization led to the creation of Project Alaga: Where the Pulse of Service Meets the Heart of Change, a student-led medical advocacy initiative launched in August 2023.

Project Alaga delivers free medical consultations, medicines, dental and optical checkups, and health education to underserved communities in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu, and Naga. Since its launch, the initiative has reached more than 3,000 families.

The project operates through volunteer networks, scouting units, and partner organizations, including the Asian Medical Students’ Association – Accentuating Lives Through Service and Advocacy. Kesner balances academics, leadership, and service while sustaining the initiative.

“If you want to make a difference, you have to be willing to give everything—your time, your energy, even your comfort,” he said. “That’s the only way it becomes real.”

National recognition

Kesner’s sustained service later earned him recognition as one of the Ten Outstanding Boy Scouts of the Philippines 2025, the highest national distinction given by the Boy Scouts of

the Philippines.

Rather than viewing the search as a competition, Kesner described the experience as transformative. “It stopped being about winning,” he said. “It became about building a family that serves together.”

Following his recognition, Kesner joined the Ten Outstanding Boy Scouts of the Philippines Association, allowing him to expand his advocacy beyond medical missions.

When Typhoon Tino struck Cebu, Kesner helped coordinate relief operations through the BSP National Office’s #ScoutsBayanihan initiative, with support from the SciHi Knights – Union of Units of CCNSHS and other partner groups.

Community impact

“Dako kaayo og tabang si Dong Kesner sa iyang proyekto sa among komunidad, ug mapasalamaton kaayo mi kay jud gitabangan mi sa among mga kinahanglanon,” said Irish Catapang, a beneficiary of Project Alaga.

(Kesner was a great help to our community through his project, and we are very grateful because he truly assisted us with our needs.)

While institutions continue to address healthcare access, Kesner’s work highlights the role students can play by identifying overlooked needs and responding through service.

“That day, I realized no parent should have to choose between their child’s medicine and the coins in their hand,” Kesner said. “I made it my mission to change that.”