UNDER THE MICROSCOPE We’ve seen how some of our roads and highways have been constructed, and literally, it makes me want to laugh with despair. Not only do some roads end nowhere, but even on city streets, we see utility poles sitting right on the roads, presenting a hazard to anyone not...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Once again, we have sensational news, this time of a schoolboy dying 11 days after allegedly being slapped by his teacher. Media went to town, and law enforcement officials are all over the newspapers, radio, and TV, being interviewed and offering their take on the matter, all...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE A historic event happened on Aug. 24, 2023, when over a hundred mayors from all over the Philippines signed a pledge for good governance in the University of the Philippines Diliman, itself a hotbed of change. This was spearheaded by Mayors Benjamin Magalong (Baguio), Joy...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Modern medicine has grown by leaps and bounds since the mid-20th century. From basic physical examinations, we have progressed to delving into the molecular aspects of the human body. Nowadays, to be an expert in a specialty, you must have finished training and passed the...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Rabies is the most dreaded zoonotic disease that kills its victims with 100 percent efficiency. The Philippines’ rabies death toll is 250–300 cases a year. Rabies patients suffer a most horrible death. The facts justify the intense fear that grip animal-bite victims...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE With the downgrading of Covid-19 from pandemic to endemic, our health system should be redirecting its priorities to other more prevalent and preventable infectious diseases. The following are the most prevalent and deadly infections/infestations that deserve a closer look: 1....
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Now that the state of public health emergency has been lifted in the Philippines (a full two months after WHO declared an end to the Covid international health emergency), we can now heave a big sigh of relief. But not so fast, pardner! The next pandemic is just around the...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The recommendation of the Ombudsman review panel to file graft and technical malversation charges against former DOH Secretary and current Congressperson Dr. Janette Garin and four others for the purchase of Dengvaxia vaccines is truly puzzling and contradictory. The panel...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE It has been three years since the Covid-19 pandemic started. Early on, there was a lot of fear, anxiety, and phobias about the disease because it was an unknown entity. Most persons who contracted it at the start succumbed to it or had a critical, lengthy stay in intensive care...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Pardon me if I’m politically incorrect when discussing obesity, but there are no ifs and buts about being overweight. No matter how you say it — fat, overweight, plump, ample, chubby, tubby, big, or plus-size — being over your ideal weight for height has health...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE “Junk Food” refers to food high in calories but low in nutritional value. The Departments of Finance (DOF) and Health (DOH) are pushing to tax junk foods with a bill in Congress, ostensibly to address health issues and to generate revenues for a cash-strapped government....
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Ageism is defined as stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people on the basis of their age (WHO 2017). It is a fairly recent concept, coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, patterned after the concept of sexism and...
