| HERMINIA P. FESTIN, M.D. |
Herminia Festin was born in Despujols (now San
Andres), Romblon. As a child, she was a tomboy and
often played with her male cousins and brothers in
boy’s clothes. While playing with dolls, she also
carried a toy gun in a holster in her waist. There was
no TV then and she became a voracious reader.
She was the second of six children. Her mother,
Patria Yap Inchausti Perez, nicknamed her Minnie
after her best friend, also called Herminia. Her
mother was a Home Economics teacher and her
father, Napoleon Fainsan Famadico Festin, was an
accountant at the Central Bank of the Philippines. Her
grandfather, Leonardo Festin Sr, was the longest-
running congressman from the province of Romblon.
Andres), Romblon. As a child, she was a tomboy and
often played with her male cousins and brothers in
boy’s clothes. While playing with dolls, she also
carried a toy gun in a holster in her waist. There was
no TV then and she became a voracious reader.
She was the second of six children. Her mother,
Patria Yap Inchausti Perez, nicknamed her Minnie
after her best friend, also called Herminia. Her
mother was a Home Economics teacher and her
father, Napoleon Fainsan Famadico Festin, was an
accountant at the Central Bank of the Philippines. Her
grandfather, Leonardo Festin Sr, was the longest-
running congressman from the province of Romblon.
Deeply religious, Dr. Minnie comes from an extended family of five priests and three nuns. Cardinal
Sin honored the Festin family for producing several priests and nuns. She remains articulate on
Catholic Church issues.
She finished her elementary education at the Malate Catholic School and her high school education
at St. Paul College of Manila. In high school, she joined every available extra-curricular activity----glee
club, drama, school newspaper, sewing club, Sodality and Student Catholic Action. As part of her
Sodality work, she taught catechism to a special education class. She earned her bachelor’s degree
from the University of Santo. Tomas. Her dream to become a journalist was overruled by her mother
who convinced her to be a physician instead. She continued on in the university, studying Medicine
with the plan to become a family doctor. While in medical school., her parents passed away.
However, she was able to finish her studies because of her father’s veteran benefits for his military
service during WWII while the Philippines was still a US possession. Her father was one of the
soldiers in the infamous Bataan Death March.
After finishing a year of medical residency in the Philippine General Hospital, she was recruited to
work in the USA. It was the height of the Vietnam war and there was a shortage of physicians in the
USA. At the age of 24, she migrated to the US like 90% of her classmates in medical school. In the
US, she pursued an Anesthesia Residency. Because of an overactive metabolism, keeping up with
the demands of an anesthesiologist made her switch to a slower-paced Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation (PM&R) residency.
.Her initial plan to return to the Philippines was derailed by ex-President Marcos’ imposition of martial
law. She then decided to stay in the United States and applied for the proper visa. She thought it was
better for her to stay in the US. She found work at the Bedford VA Hospital in MA where she still works
up to the present. For several years, she was the chief of its rehabilitation medicine service,
supervising therapists. In addition, she teaches and trains PM&R residents from Boston University
Medical School. To complement her teaching, she wrote two books on Musculoskeletal Medicine and
Electrodiagnostic Medicine. An Assistant Clinical Professor of Boston University Medical School, she
is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury, Pain Medicine, Multiple
Sclerosis, Family Practice and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. She is also the Asian-Pacific Islander
Coordinator of her hospital where organize lectures on Asia and the Pacific Islands.
As a physician, she takes care of veterans with various musculoskeletal ailments like amputation,
fracture, stroke, arthritis, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. For 22 years, she also served
as a Medical Officer at the US Army Reserve, retiring a Full Colonel in 2005. Her most cherished
award was a sharpshooter medal earned at boot camp. She still found time to participate in other
professional activities and became Secretary and later President of the New England Society of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (NESPMR). As secretary, she wrote a book on the history of the
NESPMR, including a membership list. In appreciation of her leadership, she received a plaque of
appreciation from the society.
In the past, she was a ,member of the Board of Directors of Bagong Kulturang Pinoy, which
establishes children’s libraries in the Philippines and regularly sends children’s books to these
libraries. While her children studied at the Iskwelahang Pilipino (Philippine School) on weekends,
she participated in various community projects of the school. She is currently a member of the
Executive Board of the Filipino Association of Greater Boston (FAGB) which holds an annual
pilgrimage to the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, Holliston,, MA annually. She is the moderator of the
FAGB yahoogroup, an email group that announces Boston Filipino community events and activities.
Established in 1965, FAGB is the oldest existing Filipino organization in Massachusetts. She also
contributed several articles to the Planet Philippines newspaper, New England edition.
Following her retirement from the military, she intensified her involvement in the Boston Filipino
community. Her love of the Catholic Church led her to become a secretary of the Boston Filipino
Apostolate. She is also a choir pianist. She is active in Couples for Christ and Gawad Kalinga, a
Catholic organization that builds villages for the poor in the Philippines. To call attention to the
growing number of health professionals in the New England area, she founded and became
president of the New England Society of Philippine Health Professionals. The society holds an
annual Philippine Independence Day poetry/essay contest which is open to Filipinos and Filipino-
Americans world-wide.
When she learned that her great-grandfather, Leon Inchausti, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in
1995, she researched and published a book of his life. To write the book, she painstakingly
translated several articles from Spanish to English. The book was widely circulated in Manila and
Romblon. A devotion to Blessed Leon and the seven Martyrs of Motril is held every first Wednesday of
the month at the Sacred Heart Church, Quincy, MA.
While attending a Filipino neighborhood party in the summer of 1977, she met Alfredo Rene Navato
PhD, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They married
one year later and settled in Lexington, MA. They have three children---Sylvia, a law student at the
University of Concord, Alfred, an MIT graduate of civil/environmental engineering, and Eric, a computer
science student at the Northeastern University in Boston.
Dr. Minnie regularly writes a column in PinoyAdsCentral.com, an online Filipino newspaper. To view
her articles, just click on PAC columns.
Sin honored the Festin family for producing several priests and nuns. She remains articulate on
Catholic Church issues.
She finished her elementary education at the Malate Catholic School and her high school education
at St. Paul College of Manila. In high school, she joined every available extra-curricular activity----glee
club, drama, school newspaper, sewing club, Sodality and Student Catholic Action. As part of her
Sodality work, she taught catechism to a special education class. She earned her bachelor’s degree
from the University of Santo. Tomas. Her dream to become a journalist was overruled by her mother
who convinced her to be a physician instead. She continued on in the university, studying Medicine
with the plan to become a family doctor. While in medical school., her parents passed away.
However, she was able to finish her studies because of her father’s veteran benefits for his military
service during WWII while the Philippines was still a US possession. Her father was one of the
soldiers in the infamous Bataan Death March.
After finishing a year of medical residency in the Philippine General Hospital, she was recruited to
work in the USA. It was the height of the Vietnam war and there was a shortage of physicians in the
USA. At the age of 24, she migrated to the US like 90% of her classmates in medical school. In the
US, she pursued an Anesthesia Residency. Because of an overactive metabolism, keeping up with
the demands of an anesthesiologist made her switch to a slower-paced Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation (PM&R) residency.
.Her initial plan to return to the Philippines was derailed by ex-President Marcos’ imposition of martial
law. She then decided to stay in the United States and applied for the proper visa. She thought it was
better for her to stay in the US. She found work at the Bedford VA Hospital in MA where she still works
up to the present. For several years, she was the chief of its rehabilitation medicine service,
supervising therapists. In addition, she teaches and trains PM&R residents from Boston University
Medical School. To complement her teaching, she wrote two books on Musculoskeletal Medicine and
Electrodiagnostic Medicine. An Assistant Clinical Professor of Boston University Medical School, she
is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury, Pain Medicine, Multiple
Sclerosis, Family Practice and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. She is also the Asian-Pacific Islander
Coordinator of her hospital where organize lectures on Asia and the Pacific Islands.
As a physician, she takes care of veterans with various musculoskeletal ailments like amputation,
fracture, stroke, arthritis, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. For 22 years, she also served
as a Medical Officer at the US Army Reserve, retiring a Full Colonel in 2005. Her most cherished
award was a sharpshooter medal earned at boot camp. She still found time to participate in other
professional activities and became Secretary and later President of the New England Society of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (NESPMR). As secretary, she wrote a book on the history of the
NESPMR, including a membership list. In appreciation of her leadership, she received a plaque of
appreciation from the society.
In the past, she was a ,member of the Board of Directors of Bagong Kulturang Pinoy, which
establishes children’s libraries in the Philippines and regularly sends children’s books to these
libraries. While her children studied at the Iskwelahang Pilipino (Philippine School) on weekends,
she participated in various community projects of the school. She is currently a member of the
Executive Board of the Filipino Association of Greater Boston (FAGB) which holds an annual
pilgrimage to the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, Holliston,, MA annually. She is the moderator of the
FAGB yahoogroup, an email group that announces Boston Filipino community events and activities.
Established in 1965, FAGB is the oldest existing Filipino organization in Massachusetts. She also
contributed several articles to the Planet Philippines newspaper, New England edition.
Following her retirement from the military, she intensified her involvement in the Boston Filipino
community. Her love of the Catholic Church led her to become a secretary of the Boston Filipino
Apostolate. She is also a choir pianist. She is active in Couples for Christ and Gawad Kalinga, a
Catholic organization that builds villages for the poor in the Philippines. To call attention to the
growing number of health professionals in the New England area, she founded and became
president of the New England Society of Philippine Health Professionals. The society holds an
annual Philippine Independence Day poetry/essay contest which is open to Filipinos and Filipino-
Americans world-wide.
When she learned that her great-grandfather, Leon Inchausti, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in
1995, she researched and published a book of his life. To write the book, she painstakingly
translated several articles from Spanish to English. The book was widely circulated in Manila and
Romblon. A devotion to Blessed Leon and the seven Martyrs of Motril is held every first Wednesday of
the month at the Sacred Heart Church, Quincy, MA.
While attending a Filipino neighborhood party in the summer of 1977, she met Alfredo Rene Navato
PhD, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They married
one year later and settled in Lexington, MA. They have three children---Sylvia, a law student at the
University of Concord, Alfred, an MIT graduate of civil/environmental engineering, and Eric, a computer
science student at the Northeastern University in Boston.
Dr. Minnie regularly writes a column in PinoyAdsCentral.com, an online Filipino newspaper. To view
her articles, just click on PAC columns.
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