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...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Our esteemed lawmakers are at this time proposing to build more penal facilities. They cite extreme overcrowding in our jails and even quote the UN minimum standards for detention facilities and 1987 Constitution, which “vehemently opposes the use of substandard or...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE It’s summertime and the fruit picking are easy... (apologies to George Gershwin). But truly, we in the Philippines are blessed with a wide variety of fruits to enjoy in the summer. Mangoes are just exploding literally on our rooftops, as they are so abundant, and we can’t...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Nitrous oxide is known as the laughing gas for its effect when inhaled in certain quantities. So I had to laugh when I read a front-page story last week that the PNP is considering to include it in its list of dangerous substances. Nitrous oxide is a gas that is used as an...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE On May 5, 2023, the WHO declared an end to the Covid-19 health emergency. While this is reason to celebrate, having endured three years of various restrictions, we have to pause and consider the repercussions on the testing labs. To combat the pandemic, over 300 Covid-19...
LUCENA CITY, Quezon – An open tryout will be held for the Alona party-list 18-under team for the Pilipinas Super League basketball tournament on Friday, May 12, at the Sariaya Sports Complex in Sariaya, Quezon. Quezon Rep. David C. Suarez and wife Alona party-list Rep. Anna V. Suarez have...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Travelling to other countries is always a good way to broaden your perspective and see the contrasts between your home country and that of others. I was in Krakow, Poland, last week for a three-day pathology conference and again saw how much farther the Philippines is...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Summer is upon us and with it comes the usual complaint: “Walang tubig!” Our water authorities have imposed water rationing once more, with the threat of longer periods of dry taps due to the rapidly declining water levels at the La Mesa and Angat Dams. Construction of the...
