UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo In pathological terms, irreversible applies to diseases so severe that recovery is no longer possible. Let’s apply that to the political arena. The Marcos Jr. camp is saying the survey leads are such that there is no way for him to lose. But let’s look at...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo It took 40 days before Dr. Naty Castro, who was illegally arrested for kidnapping, was freed by Judge Fernando Fudalan Jr. He cited the PNP actions on her as “repugnant,” a very strong denunciation of how the legal system has been co-opted and weaponized...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo Wow, I didn’t imagine I could cause such a furor over a tweet I sent two days ago. In it, I put a photo collage of an orchid hybrid I named after Vice President Leni Robredo with a comment: “Seven years from pollination to blooming. A labor of love for one...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo The whole world watched in horror and dismay when the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, invaded Ukraine. We watched in shock at the utter destruction and deaths that the indefensible war has wrought on an independent, peaceful country minding its own...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo Fifty years ago, Sept. 21, 1972, to be exact, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. proclaimed martial law in the Philippines, beginning his reign of 14 years as an unelected president. I was then 21 years old and in second year medical school in UP. I distinctly remember it...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymundo Lo Watched the KBP Presidential Forum and was struck by the question on drugs and congestion. Here are the candidates’ views: Pacquiao — build mega prisons. Guzman — arrest drug lords and rehab the users. Moreno — constrict supply chain. Lacson — holistic...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymundo Lo There is nothing worse than a medical doctor whose newest contribution to the infodemic is to aggravate our pandemic woes by promoting vaccine hesitancy. Such is one who writes for a major daily. He persists in presenting alternative “facts” and long...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymundo Lo A new year has begun. I’m sure many have made their New Year resolutions, mainly to lose weight after binge eating for the past two weeks or so. I wonder how many of these will be fulfilled? I really don’t make resolutions at the start of the year. When an...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymundo Lo Coming round to the New Year celebrations, I went through our lab data in the Philippine Childrens Medical Center COVID-19 Testing Laboratory and saw that the trend was an increasing positivity rate for OFWs but that local cases were declining through the third...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymundo Lo As we approach the Christmas holidays, the news about the Omicron variant is turning ominous. The DOH announced the identification of two Omicron variant cases, which was really to be expected, as no measures can completely prevent entry of new variants into the...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymundo Lo Maria Ressa, the first and only Nobel Peace Prize winner from the Philippines, delivered a powerful message in her acceptance speech in Oslo. It resonated with me on professional and deeply personal levels. I saw the parallelism between journalism and medicine....
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymundo Lo A recent full page advertisement in a broadsheet argued against forced vaccinations, supposedly from a group called “COVID Call to Humanity.” Let’s examine vaccine mandates and what and how they are done. It is one thing to legislate mandatory vaccinations...
