Veep challenges Koko: ‘Be a man’

Veep challenges Koko: ‘Be a man’

Saturday Print Edition (09/06/2014) - Manila Standard Today

Saturday Print Edition (09/06/2014) - Manila Standard Today

NBI’S Virgilio Mendez: Barrio boy walked his way to the top

NBI’S Virgilio Mendez: Barrio boy walked his way to the top

Living a dream on a small island

Living a dream on a small island

Statues make way for Roxas facelift

Statues make way for Roxas facelift

Erap inaugural goes ‘broom’

Erap inaugural goes ‘broom’

Erap inaugural goes ‘broom’

Erap inaugural goes ‘broom’

Vision from a dark world

‘VISION FROM A DARK WORLD’
MACON RAMOS- ARANETA
JUNE 24, 2012

“I DO whatever you do. I also do the Facebook. I chat. I surf the internet and go out with friends,” said Erick Marco Ramos

Marco is one of the 12 IRIS Awardees for ATRIEV’s outstanding graduates. He belonged to the more than 4 million Filipinos who are blind based on the latest estimates from the Department of Health.

Despite being blind, Marco was among those who fought to conquer the old cliché that blind people were limited only to massage and music. The story of Marco and his likes inspire others that there is “success beyond limits.”

ATRIEV or the Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of Visually Impaired is the country’s only computer school for the blind. It makes use of adaptive technology so that the blind and sight impaired individuals will have access to higher education and mainstream employment.

Adaptive technology allows the blind to gain access to computer-based content through various software applications. The screen reader program translates every keystroke and mouse click into a vocal response. The screen magnification software allows font size changes, color contrast changes and color and shape changes of the mouse pointer.

The ‘tools’ he learned from ATRIEV are what make Marco cope up with his studies at the Philippine Normal University (PNU) on Taft Avenue where he is a senior student in the Bachelor of Science in Education major in English Composition.

Marco was belting out an Edwin McCain song “I’ll Be” when we arrived at the SM Activity Center in SM Manila where the awarding was held Saturday (June 23) night.  The audience- and it was a crowd composed mostly of young ‘mall rats’, was enthralled by Marco’s cool voice. But one thing they didn’t notice was that Marco who wasn’t wearing any dark glasses, is blind.

After his performance was over, we sat with him for an interview. He blurted out with pride when I asked him about being an exchange student of the US Fullbright program that he had gone to the United States.

“Yes, I went to the University of Indiana in Evansville under the Rhetoric and Composition program of the College of Liberal Arts,” said Marco.

During his studies in the US, Marco performed at the top of his class. He also extolled he led a normal life there. “I moved around. I lived all alone by myself. I had no tour guide,” he related.

He recalled one of his PNU professors asked him if he’s serious with his plan to get a study-grant abroad. He believed it would be an excellent experience.

Conceding it was a kind of “weird” because of his disability, Marco remembered telling himself and his professor that “It would be fine with him to study abroad.” So he filed the application forms for the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program funded by the US Department of State.

In April 2010, Marco became the first visually impaired grantee for the program which is a global competition involving 20 from the Western Hemisphere and East Asia-Pacific regions. Applicants are initially judged on the basis of academic and co-curricular merits.

Back at the PNU, Marco said he is the only visually impaired in his classes of sighted people. But this was no hindrance for Marco who is expected to graduate with honors during the school’s commencement exercises in 2013.

Marco is also the president of the school’s Debate Society, and has won competitions. Last February, Marco and his team competed in the 21012 Manila Intervarsity Debate Tournament sponsored by UP. Their team ranked 15^th among over 60 teams. Marco finished third out of nearly 200 speakers in the tournament.

At present, he is completing his practice teaching at St. Joseph School of Pandacan in Manila. And he does his job using computers. “Everything now is computers- the school works are being encoded. Without that, I can’t do my work independently. I can’t scan book without computers. I do my job through power point presentations,” related Marco who lost his vision in his right eye when he was three. He was almost completely blind before he reached his 21^st birthday on December 21, 2006.

“There was the stigma, the social stereotype. That was the time I went through bigger challenges. But I’m happy and thankful to God that I survived those trials,” related Marco who lost his vision due to Retinopathy of Prematurity during birth.

A year after being blind, he took ATRIEV’s PC operations with Access Technology program .

After graduating from college, Marco told MST he intends to pursue higher studies in Literature or Creative writing. He wants another study grant. He will teach and inspire others. He also plans to take course either in social entrepreneurship and social development.

Asked if he has a girlfriend, Marco said he has one when he was in high school. But after becoming blind, he never had one.

Like Marco, Josefina Guillermo Olorocismo said the knowledge she got from ATRIEV keeps her struggling for life.

Olorocismo, ATRIEV’s chairman of the Board of Trustees, started her welcome remarks by saying that she had the chance to see the event’s guest speaker, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, before she lost her sight.

“I worked in a TV station, “That’s Entertainment” (the youth-oriented show hosted by German Moreno) was then very popular. And I saw how handsome the vice mayor, now a respected politician,” recalled Olorocismo.

It was in 1999 when Olorocismo became blind. She was at the peak of her career. That was also four years after she got married. She woke up one morning seeing nothing but darkness. “Those were the lowest moment of my life. So I believe in this venue, that there is still life after blindness,” said Olorocismo who belonged to the first batch of students of ATRIEV.

“So for those saying that there is no hope for the blind, I say it’s WRONG! There is still hope after blindness,” stressed Oloricismo. She said a blind people can also equal the sighted.

After taking a curse on medical transcriptionist offered by ATRIEV, Oloricismo said she now works as a transcriptionist of the Philippine Olympic committee and also the associate editor of their Parish newsletter.

The other IRIS awardees are Rhea Althea Guntalilib, first totally blind software developer; Ma. Criselda Bisda, first totally blind recruitment specialist in a call center; Glen Dimaandal, first low vision SEO manager; Raymond Reyes, low vision Rookie of the Year sales agent awardee of BPI/MS Insurance; Rene Orense and Jesse Gervacio, both low vision call center agents; Irish Ayesa Mendez, academic excellence; Mariecell Fornis, totally blind transcriptionists and virtual secretary; Lourdes Borgonia, totally blind web master; Julius Charles Serrano, web accessibility specialist award and Neil Lumba, most inspiring student./END

New York dentist buys planes for love of Batanes

New York dentist buys planes for love of Batanes

Dr. Mike’s duties: Heart stents on weekdays, laundry on Saturdays

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on Mar. 17, 2013 at 12:01am | 1,387 views

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Dr. Michelangelo Sabas

HE performs stenting from the wrist “to fix the heart” of people who had heart attacks and those with heart problems most days of the week, but on Saturdays, he does the laundry at home.
“It’s washday for me on Saturdays! It’s a washing machine and a dryer for me on Saturdays,” says Dr. Michelangelo Luzod Sabas, commonly known as Dr. Mike, an internist-cardiologist or interventional cardiologist at the Medical City in Pasig City.
Despite being one of the country’s topnotch interventionists who perform coronary angiogram (diagnostics), angioplasty (intervention) and stenting through the wrist, Dr. Mike tells MST in an interview that he washes their clothes because they don’t have a house maid.
“It’s only the three of us in our house. We’re not used to having people around us. Since we got married in 1997, we were only two until my wife gave birth,” says Dr. Mike, who ‘s turning 46 on May 8.
Dr. Mike says his wife, an internist-turned full-time housewife, irons her own clothes while he attends to his own clothes and those of their seven-year-old daughter.
He feels relaxed doing household chores and attending to their daughter. “She was born one kilogram, 30 weeks, short of one and a half months. She has some delays, but she’s catching up. She’s in regular school. So my wife focuses on her,” says Dr. Mike, adding their first-born, a boy, lived for only nine days.
“That’s the syndrome of some doctors. Due to long schoolings and long trainings, they get married late and give birth late,” he says.
If not fixing the heart of people, Dr. Mike is embroiled in fixing everything in the house. He’s grounded in their house.
“I seldom go to malls or elsewhere. If I’m not a doctor, I’m a carpenter… I don’t require a carpenter in the house unless there’s some welding job. I also do electrical works. I install electrical [equipment],” he says.
Even on Sundays, he stays in the house, after doing hospital rounds to check on his patients.
“We’re just like that—leading a simple life. I’m simple but my wife is simpler. We don’t like fancy stuffs. The only piece of jewelry we have is our wedding ring. And I don’t even wear it because it might get lost. I remove it everytime I do stenting,” he says. “When someone gifted me a watch, I just gave it away because there are watches all over, even in cellphones.”
He wants everything to be simple. He remembers having a short hair in school because it’s easier to maintain and to shampoo.
But on the five remaining days of the week, Dr. Mike is busy fixing the heart of his patients as a cardiologist and an interventionist.
“Our advocacy here in The Medical City, among us interventionists-cardiologists, —we are doing procedures to fix the heart in non-surgical ways. So we are propagating to fix the arteries of the heart [coronary arteries] through the wrist,” he says.
“You know patients with heart attacks, those having blockages in the arteries, we can fix them through puncture in the wrist. There’s no need to open, no need for stitches and scalpel,” he says.
He says stenting from the wrist is much safer due to less complications, compared to doing it from the groin.
This innovation, he says, affords a patient more comfort since angiogram from the groin prevents him from standing for six hours unlike if it is done from the wrist where he can immediately stand up after the procedure.
Furthermore, it is cheaper because there is no hospital admission unlike the procedure from the groin which needs two to three days of hospitalization.
While the stent from the wrist or the so-called radial approach has been in the country for over 10 years, it is being resorted to only in case there’s a problem with the groin.
“If a doctor can’t access on the groin, the alternate procedure would be from the wrist. But now, our advocacy is do it first from the wrist and if there’s problem, the backup would be from the groin,” says Dr. Mike.
He says the possible complications from the groin include bleeding from the punctured site. On the contrary, there is virtually no bleeding from the wrist because it is easily compressible.
Stroke and heart attack, which are less likely to occur if the procedure is done from the wrist, may also occur. “But these two are rare complications—one in every 40,000 cases,” he says.
The Medical City conducts more than 85 percent of its interventional cardiology procedures from the wrist.
While it is now widely used in the country and at The Medical City for the past three years, Dr. Mike says there are still consultants from other hospitals who are more comfortable doing it from the groin. He also says this is not the first option in other hospitals.
He does not want his accomplishments and recognitions publicized, but prefers talking about his intense passion about making available to all Filipinos the procedure he’s doing—stent from the wrist to fix the heart of the people that would eventually prolong their lives.
“I just dream the cost would go down and everybody gets this procedure. Right now, I’m optimistic due to the country’s improving economy. I hope because more and more patients are availing of the services. I am surprised. You can tell by the census that what we’re doing has been increasing. It covers those from the ABCD class,” says Dr. Mike, who hopes this would soon be included in Philhealth’s “package treatment.” The procedure amounts to P50,000 to P55,000.
He says stenting has been proven to reduce mortality and morbidity rate among heart patients. If a patient suffered a heart attack, the situation could turn worse, but this can be prevented by stenting from the wrist, although there is no 100-percent guarantee, he says.
Dr. Mike says he never thinks about the cost when a patient comes to him. “My No. 1 concern is to serve patients first without regard if I will be paid or not…..I just talk about the hospital cost since I can’t give it to them. I respect the business part, that’s viability of the hospital. But on my part, that is the least consideration. The first was for me to serve the patients’ needs during that time…. If I don’t get paid, no problem. We don’t keep a list,” he says.
He believes he does not need to go to a government hospital or on a medical mission to serve. “There are many around us who are in need of help,” says Dr. Mike, who is also a consultant of the Philippine Heart Center.
He concedes he can reach out to more poor people in being a rural doctor, if only provincial hospitals could be equipped with a catheter laboratory which would cost millions.
At one point in his life, this “one-of-kind” doctor felt the “calling” to become a priest. After graduating from elementary in his hometown Batac, Ilocos Norte, he went to Manila, and enrolled at the Christ the King Mission Seminary in Quezon City.
“I had this calling, but there was this ‘pull’. My sisters were then studying in medical school… I may have considered becoming a priest, but my role in the seminary was ‘infirmarian.” I was assigned to take care of the sick [seminarians] during that time. We had a role. I was still in first year, I was an infirmarian. So the medical field was ingrained in me even in seminary,” he says.
Upon leaving the seminary with a view towards Medicine, he took up Biology at University of Sto. Tomas and then pursued Medicine in the same school. During that time, her two elder sisters were doctors, one of them an internist who died in the US at the age of 34. There was also an uncle-doctor who was a father figure in the family. An adopted sister, now a nurse, stays with their 87-year-old father, a civil engineer.
Dr. Mike says he met his wife, a MedTech graduate at the UST College of Medicine. They were classmates and seatmates. “I used to copy from her since our seating arrangement was alphabetically arranged-me Sabas and she was Rodriquez,” recalls Dr. Mike.
He was a typical happy-go-lucky student who was seldom seen in the library reading because he would rather spend time with his “barkadas.”
Speaking about his wife, he says they were “sweethearts” since their sophomore years. “There was physical attraction because my wife was very beautiful,” she says.
After graduation, they got married in her wife’s hometown of Mariveles, Bataan.
“We spent our own money for the wedding because we didn’t want to ask. We were very idealistic. We saved up money for the wedding by working in provincial hospitals in Laguna and Cavite,” he says.
Dr. Mike says while they passed the US medical licensure examinations, they did not pursue their dream to proceed with their planned trainings due to several reasons.
Asked if he intends to practice his passion in a foreign land, Dr. Mike says he is committed to spending the rest of his medical profession at The Medical City.
“No, I just go abroad for trainings. There are many Filipinos who have heart problems so I want to do my passion and advocacy of The Medical City here in our country,” he says.
“I would just like to think of myself as a simple doctor at The Medical City whose foremost objective is to give the best service. I am happy where I am now, in fact, more than happy,” says Dr. Mike.
He says internal medicine gives him the chance to interact with patients and know their problems. With cardiology as his subspecialty, he finds the heart a very dynamic organ that does not stop working.
Dr. Mike says he gets some “adrenalin rush” in his profession as there is no dull moment with cardiology.
“If you really want to spell the difference in the field of health, a big chunk of this problem is with the heart,” he says.
Aside from doing household chores at home, Dr. Mike says bringing back to life a patient who is on the brink of death gives him fulfillment./.end

New York dentist buys planes for love of Batanes

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on Apr. 14, 2013 at 12:01am | 2,100 views

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A topnotch dentist and cosmetic surgeon left New York in 2006 to embark on an adventure of a lifetime to a remote beautiful island north off Luzon in pursuit of love. He married a girl in Batanes, settled on the island and used his life savings to buy planes and establish an airline company.

Joel Alcantara Mendoza, or Doc Joel as he is fondly called by people around him, obtained a masteral degree on orthognathic surgery (corrective jaw surgery) from New York University. He had a lucrative career as a dentist and cosmetic surgeon in New York where he lived in an apartment with his mother.

Joel Alcantara Mendoza

He says as a young boy, he never dreamt of buying his own aircraft. The idea to buy airplanes began when he was mesmerized by the breathtaking beauty of remote Batanes, where flights were sparse and infrequent. “I was stunned by the majestic beauty and awe-inspiring view of the island, ” Mendoza says in an interview with the Manila Standard.

The first time he went to Batanes in 2006 was during the “pamanhikan” when he sought the “hand” of Ma. Rosan Castillejos to be her wife. The wedding took place in a church on April 20, 2007 when Doc Joel was 40 years old.

“The moment I landed in Batanes, I fell in love with the island. So I stayed there for a week after the pamanhikan. I was stunned by its culture. The cultural things you haven’t seen elsewhere are there. It’s very rich in culture. But here in Batanes, you see them alive,” he says.

Doc Joel admires the people of Batanas for being very honest and simple. “That’s how I discovered my wife. I’ve been around the Philippines and the United States and I didn’t imagine falling in love with an Ivatan,” he says.

Falling in love with the quaint charm of Batanes and its people, Doc Joel laid down his cards to pursue what he calls his “wildest dream.”

He finds this dream rewarding as he would help people earn a living. He says instead of Ivatans going to Manila to look for jobs, “we give them jobs in Batanes.”

“I told them, do not leave your island, we will convert it to a tourist spot and the economy would go to your place,” he recounts telling the people of Batanes.

Doc Joel says when he first came to Batanes, there was no commercial flight that would bring tourists to the island.

“During that time, I wondered how come no one pursued Batanes as a tourist spot. So I started advertising Batanes in newspapers. I invited journalists for newspapers and magazines and photographers and paid for their plane tickets to promote Batanes,” he says.

“So I am selling a culture. I then saw the effects of tourists becoming aware of Batanes. Tourists started coming in to the island,” he says.

When domestic flights increased, Doc Joel learned about chartering aircraft. He later launched his own company, the Global Aerospace which handles aircraft maintenance. The company also sells aircraft parts.

When the only local airline flying to Batanes was sold to an international airline, flights to the island decreased until its operations totally stopped.

“When they left, we didn’t have an aircraft. The economy in Batanes which was just starting to boom turned very sad. Batanes again became a lonely place,” says Doc Joel.

He recalls the standoff in the island came just when they were developing it as a haven for tourists due to its natural beauty and abundant potentials in eco-tourism.

The influx of tourists initially led to more businesses in Batanes. Doc Joel says there were only three major beach resorts in Batanes in the past, but the number has grown to seven, aside from several smaller ones.

“And then all of a sudden, there was no airline, no economy. So we’re going back to the same old thing. We’re a liability to the government—this drove me to put up an airline company,” he says.

Flights to the province stopped for eight months. “We tried to talk to other airlines to come in. We knocked on the doors of most airlines and asked them to fly to Batanes, but everybody said they can’t.. No one wanted to fly,” recalls Doc Joel.

“Because of my experience in aircraft maintenance, chartering and leasing, I told myself—why don’t I just put my own airline company that focuses on eco-tourism. That will provide jobs to the local and alleviate their living conditions,” he says.

“I’m not a tycoon, but I have a vision. So I came up with this company which is 100-percent Filipino-owned. And so Skyjet Airline was born,” says Doc Joel, who sits as the company’s president and chief executive

Skyjet is the newest passenger airline in the Philippines. It utilizes British Aerospace BAE-146 series 200 (94-seater) and series 100 (76-seater) four-engine jet aircraft.

Doc Joel says he used his entire life’s savings to buy the aircrafts. “My money was from hard work. I have been working as dentist-cosmetic surgeon from New York. All my savings I put it here. I have been saving for a long time,” he says.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines granted Skyjet an airline operator certificate or the license to fly in November 2012.

The airline company launched flights from Manila to Batanes on Dec. 14, 2012. Two months later, it also started flying from Manila to Busuanga island in Palawan.

Skyjet will also have its maiden flight to Virac, Catanduanes, which is the “gateway” to Caramoan on April 16. (end)

New York dentist buys planes for love of Batanes

New York dentist buys planes for love of Batanes

UNA IN MANILA FIRES FIRST SALVO

OPENING the official  campaign period for local candidates on Easter Sunday, former President Joseph Estrada and his runningmate, re-electionist Vice Mayor Isko Moreno fired the first salvo against political opponent, re-electionist Manila Alfredo Lim.

Estrada cited  the ‘divorce’ between Lim and Moreno which happened exactly one year on the date of their proclamation rally at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.  He said another ‘divorce’ occurred between Lim and 29 of the 36 councilors of Manila who joined Moreno in transferring to Estrada’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

 

“They saw the corruption,  negligence, and the absence of direction under the leadership of Manila,” said Estrada.

 

He noted that these councilors from Manila’s six districts will serve the Manila City Council and will craft the ordinance that will first serve the interest of Manilenos.

 

“The interest and welfare of the poor Filipinos will come first (UNA), “ assured Estrada.

He said the councilors and four congressional candidates of UNA will join him and Moreno in regaining the beauty and order in Manila which have deteriorated under the administration of Lim. 

He even asked the crowd in jest, “is he (Lim) the incumbent or outgoing mayor?”

In opening his speech around 10:30 Monday night, Estrada greeted his orange-clad supporters: “Happy Easter! Happy Easterada!”

“On this day, Jesus Christ resurrected from  the death. We deliberatedly timed this proclamation rally with the celebration of Christ Resurrection because in running for mayor, I aim to resurrect  Manila,” related Estrada.

      

“Let us offer our prayers on Easter Sunday for the resurrection of the poor Filipinos from poverty brought about by criminalities and corruption. Let us all celebrate with Manilenos their resurrection from poverty,” he said.      

He guaranteed to revive the beauty of Manila for each Manileno family with the help of their nine senatoriables.

      

“First our name is UNA. We don’t go for party names because that’s only good during election time. After elections, they (candidates)  are the only ones dividing among themselves, the poor are already out of the picture,” related Estrada who remains confident of grabbing the mayoral seat.

“So our name is UNA because you should come first (UNA), the Filipino people should come first (UNA) and the poor should come first (UNA). Our candidates are all screened by Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senate Speaker Juan Ponce Enrile. All of them have no taint of corruption. Their names can be trusted by our people,” Estrada spoke of their candidates.

 

Binay and Enrile are stalwarts of UNA and the party’s top endorsers. Binay’s PDP-Laban coalesced with Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) to form UNA.

Reacting to the pronouncement  of Lim’s camp that they set their proclamation rally on April 1 Fool’s Day to remind voters not to be fooled by the false promises of their political rivals in Manila, Estrada remarked: “puro luko-luko ‘yan (Manila local candidates) kaya gusto nila April Fools.  

Estrada’s vice mayoral candidate said it was exactly one year when he and the 29 councilors woke  up to the truth nothing  more will happen under the  current administration.

       Moreno noted that if they will just talk about their interest, it would be much, much better to be an ally of the mayor.

       “Do you not wonder why of the 36 councilors, 29 left the Mayor and joined me and former President Estrada?  Are we that foolish to just do it? Was there’s something wrong with us, or was there something wrong with them? Think about it,” said Moreno who is running on his third and last term of office.

       He said they set aside all their interests and took the risk in leaving Lim’s side  which caused them all their privileges and resources that were supposed to redound to the benefits of their constituents.

        He attributed the current occurrences in Manila to the election for the past 21 years of only two mayors who were even at odd with each other—Lim and his predecessor, Lito Atienza.

       Lim was Manila mayor in 1998-2007 and 2007-2013 while Atienza from 1992-1998.

“My question is that 21 years ago,  is there such a thing as Fort Bonifacio in Taguig? Before, it was called  the municipality of Taguig, province of Rizal, but   21 years later, it is Taguig City, Global City.  Twenty-one years ago, was there such a thing as Eastwood development?  It was then called Libis where salvage victims are being thrown. But now, there is Eastwood, Eastwood development in Quezon City. Have you gone to Fairview? Before you reach Fairview, there is UP on the left and Ayala Techno Hub on the right, in Quezon City again. Twenty-one years ago, it was a grazing area for carabaos and cow....Twenty-one years ago, was there a Mall of Asia? In Pasay, now there is SMDC development, but 21 years ago, people bathe there in the sea.There’s  such thing as Entertainment City in Paranaque City. Last March, they opened one of the five- Solare... So what’s in Manila after 21 years?” asked Moreno.  

He then urged the Manila voters to try another leadership, the one being offered by Estrada. 

As a Manileno, Moreno said he is proud to have a former President running the Manila City Hall.

Estrada is running under an agenda of urban renewal with a plan to make over the city and restore its lost glory caused by years of mismanagement and neglect. (end)
 

ERAP HOLDS UNA RALLY IN MANILA

Erap holds UNA rally

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on Apr. 01, 2013 at 12:02am | 1,046 views

Former President Joseph Estrada held his proclamation rally on Sunday before an estimated crowd of 75,000 in front of the Post Office building at Liwasang Bonifacio.

“It’s about time for Manila to rise,” said Estrada, who will slug it out with former ally-turned political nemesis, Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Lim, running under the Team PNoy slate, is seeking his third and last term of office. He will be proclaimed today by President Benigno Aquino III.

Estrada and his partymates were officially endorsed by Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Binay and Enrile, along with Estrada are the so-called “Three Kings” of the United Nationalist Alliance, a coalition of the Vice President’s PDP-Laban and Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.
Aside from Estrada, UNA also endorsed re-electionist Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, and the 26 councilors who left Lim’s party to join the Erap-Isko tandem. .

Lim, who was appointed by Estrada as Interior and Local Government Secretary when he was President, had picked former showbiz talent Lou Veloso as runningmate.

Also endorsed in Sunday’s event are four congressional reelectionists in Manila–Representatives Edward Tan and Amado Bagatsing of the second district and fifth district, respectively and Dionix Dionisio of the first district and comebacking Benny Abante of the sixth district.

Present in the rally were UNA senatorial candidates Nancy Binay, daughter of the Vice President along with JV Ejercito and Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile, sons of Estrada and Enrile, respectively, Senator Gringo Honasan, former Senator Miguel Zubiri, former Tarlac Gov. Tingting Cojuanco, Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, former Senator Dick Gordon and Ernie Maceda.

Sin tax doomed with high rates

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on September 19, 2012 |

 

Contending parties on the ‘sin’ tax proposal have been asked to look for a middle ground so that the Executive won’t ask Congress for a new bill once the measure fails to meet its P60-billion additional revenue target.
That was the proposal made by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who said the government can optimize the tax gains with a rate that would not encourage smuggling and diminish consumption.
He warned that imposing very high taxes on liquor and cigarettes will defeat the government’s twin goals of raising P60 billion in additional funds for health care and discouraging Filipinos from drinking and smoking.
He told Finance officials that pushing for a tax hike of up to 1,000 percent for alcohol and tobacco products is unrealistic because exceedingly high tax rates come with unavoidable costs.
“One of these is a decline in revenue collections from cigarettes and liquor because a drop in consumption will result in high taxes and, subsequently, high prices,” said Enrile.
While he agrees with Finance officials and health advocates that there is an urgent need to eradicate diseases from smoking and drinking, Enrile said the economics should also be factored in.
Tobacco farmers and manufacturers said there are jobs and livelihood opportunities that will be lost if the tax rate is increased unreasonably.
Smuggling will also prosper, Enrile said, noting that smuggled goods in the black market will fill the void if low-income consumers are left with no affordable choices.
He had cautioned the Finance officials that the Philippine Navy or even the entire Armed Forces would not be able to prevent smuggling, particularly in the country’s highly porous entry points in the South.
Anti-tobacco groups, however, decried the tobacco industry attempts to improve their image through “social responsibility projects” and partnerships with NGOs to increase legitimacy and improve public perception.
Romeo Marcaida, head of the Patient Navigation Program of the Philippine Cancer Society, said smoking is not just the leading cause of preventable death world-wide – it is the most preventable cause of cancer around the world.
Health Undercretary Ted Herbosa said the cost of treating the top four killers of Filipinos, all smoking related, amounts to P188 billion.
But farmer leader Benedict Montero said the sin tax hike will displace hundreds of thousands of jobs, and forego revenues that would have financed delivery of public health care services.(END)

 

Survey: JV is top newbie senatorial candidate

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on September 18, 2012 |

 

SAN Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, son of former President Joseph Estrada, is the most popular first-time candidate for the Senate, according to the survey pollster Pulse Asia conducted from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7.
The 42-year-old Ejercito actually tied for third rank with incumbent Senator Alan Peter Cayetano who also got a survey respondent preference of 49.9 percent, behind survey topnotcher, re-electionist Sen. Loren Legarda (67.3 percent) and re-electionist Sen. Francis Escudero (61.2 percent).
But Ejercito was the highest-ranking among the newbie senatorial candidates, followed by Cagayan Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile Jr. (who was at fourth with 47.4 percent), Aurora Rep. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (10th at 35.9 percent), former congresswoman Cynthia Villar (11th at 32.7 percent) and Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” Binay (12th at 27.4 percent).
At fifth to 9th were re-electonist Senators Antonio Trillanes IV (41.2 percent); Gregorio Honasan II (40.6 percent); and, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (39.2 percent) and former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri (37.4 percent).
Asked about the survey results, Legarda said it inspires her more to work even harder for the people.
“I thank God and I thank the Filipino people. The result of the recent Pulse Asia Survey inspires me to work harder and do more especially for the poor and needy because people appreciate the work that I am doing,” Legarda said.
She stressed that with several more months before the 2013 elections, she will continue championing environment protection, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, women’s and children’s rights, better opportunities for the poor through viable rural livelihoods and protecting the welfare of Filipino workers.
“We should never be complacent, we must always work hard for the very people who have given us the chance to serve them,” said Legarda who admitted that these numbers are flexible, and not permanent.
“One or two, you are still a senator. One or twelve, you’re still a senator. But I can’t deny that I feel happy if you know that the people appreciate what you’re doing, and they feel the job you’re doing. I will work harder,” she said.
Legarda maintains she is running under the Nationalist People’s Coalition of which she has been a member since 2007 and she intends to announce on Monday if she will be a guest candidate either for the United Nationalist Alliance or the ruling Liberal Party. (END)

 

Santiago gets even, snubs Senate sessions

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on September 18, 2012 |

But she will be at CA hearing to block Roxas’ confirmation'

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago began a boycott of the Senate sessions Monday to register her displeasure at her colleagues, who snubbed a hearing she called Friday to investigate the controversies surrounding resigned Interior undersecretary Rico Puno, a close associate of President Benigno Aquino III.
Santiago, a member of the Commission on Appointments, had also threatened to block the confirmation of Cabinet members who stayed away from the hearing, including incoming Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, triggering a response from the President Monday.
“That is up to her. But I hope there will be due process where there are rules and regulations that have to be followed as well by members of the legislative branch,” Mr. Aquino said in an interview in Lucena City.
He said Santiago, a member of the powerful Commission on Appointments, should have a basis for using her veto on Roxas, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje.
Mr. Aquino insisted that the Cabinet officials did not snub the hearing but merely wanted to be informed of the scope of questions they would have to answer.
“It is not right [to say] that we did not cooperate. I think the record will show that we have always cooperated (with the legislative branch),” Mr. Aquino said.
“All that we are saying is that there is a provision under Article VI of the Constitution, Section 22, that if you call the alter ego of the President, the Executive branch has the right to know what questions will be asked so that are officials come prepared instead of saying ‘I don’t know’ when they are asked as resource persons,” the President said.
He also expressed confidence that Roxas would be able to hurdle the confirmation hearings despite Santiago’s threat to invoke Section 20 of the commission’s rules that allows any member to effectively veto a nominee.
In a statement issued at noon, Santiago said she would skip the remaining three days for the week’s session before Congress goes on recess on Sept. 22. When the session started at 3 p.m., Santiago was a no-show.
But she said she would check to see if a confirmation hearing was scheduled Wednesday so she could attend the session to block Roxas’ confirmation.
“If a Cabinet member who snubs my hearing is presented for confirmation this Wednesday, I will attend the confirmation hearing to cast a veto, to fulfill my promise,” Santiago said.
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said Roxas was scheduled to appear before the commission Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., and acknowledged that they could do nothing about Santiago’s veto.
“If she invokes Section 20, which is the prerogative of any CA member, then let the cards fall where they will,” he said.
“If the government function is disrupted in the Department of Interior and Local Government, then let it be faulted to whoever is responsible.”
Sotto also denied he snubbed Santiago’s hearing and noted that it went ahead despite questions about proper jurisdiction because there was a quorum, even with only two senators present. Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Aquilino Pimentel III were the only senators who attended Friday’s hearing.
Sotto also shrugged off Santiago’s boycott, saying most sessions did not have 100 percent attendance.
“The absence of one or two is very common. What is important is that a senator attends to the committee job. We are tied to the committee work,” he said.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile earlier said he would try to speak to Santiago about her veto plan.
“I will talk to her. Well, if she’s ready to talk to me, I am always ready to talk to any member of the Senate,” he said.
Enrile also said there was no plan among the senators to boycott Friday’s hearing.
“It’s simply that there were conflicts of schedule,” he said, adding that if Santiago wished to boycott the Senate sessions, that was her prerogative.
“We are independent republics,” Enrile said.
Senator Franklin Drilon, on the other hand, dismissed Santiago’s threat, saying the President could simply issue an interim appointment to Roxas once Congress is in recess.
“And Secretary Roxas can immediately do his job at the DILG after the interim appointment,” he said. (END)

 

Herbal drugs: In greens, there’s gold

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on July 15, 2012 |

THE country’s herbal medicine market has grown into a P3-billion industry, and the figure is increasing. Take it from the expert, Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, former Health secretary and now an advocate of herbal medicine.
The World Health Organization estimates that 80 percent of the world population uses herbal medicines for some aspect of health care.
“So there is massive public acceptance,” Galvez Tan said. “In the Philippines alone, Lagundi is working. The market is thriving. Lagundi even surpassed the No. 1 cough syrup; the same thing with ampalaya. Lagundi has reached sales of P800 million, now nearing P1 billion; ampalaya, P600 If million; and sambong, P300 million.:
“It won’t reach the present time if it (herbal medicine) was not effective,” said Galvez Tan, who had an enviable record of having been involved in community work in far-flung doctorless rural, areas as well as in national and international health planning and programming. He is also an advocate of clinical practices that combine Western medicine and Asian and Filipino traditional medicine.
“If indeed the herbal business is booming, how come there are only ten firms approved by the Health department for use.? asked Galvez Tan.
More acceptable
Galvez Tan said that the herbal medicine industry would be more acceptable if government would enable the creation of law, a governing body like an institute, a board or authority to address all concerns on medicinal plants. “This will amount to a big leap for the industry which pales in comparison to the P100 billion pharmaceutical industry in the country,” he said.
“I wish that government would utilize our medicinal plants for commercial purposes and make money out of it. There should also be for instance, the National Lagundi Board or the Institute for Sambong or Institute for Ampalaya,” said Galvez Tan, author of eight books, including Fruits and Vegetables with Medicinal Properties published in 1983 and Medicinal Fruits & Vegetables published in 1983 and 2008, respectively.
He said the government should give additional funding to the Department of Science and Technology for research on medicinal plants, while noting that it takes P20 million to do research work on a particular medicinal plant.
He said that the government pays little attention to the billion-peso herbal medicine industry. He lamented that all the other DOH secretaries who came after him and even former Senator Juan Flavier did not even bother to add to the existing number of the herbal medicines approved by the department.
“When you look at the global market, the industry is really huge, up to $60 billion, but in the Philippines, the industry is still weak,” Galvez Tan said.
The Philippines has a rich natural resources, and has been documented to cultivate 1,500 medicinal plants in the country, making it a repository of proven and potential medicinal plants and herbs.
But compared to other countries, Galvez Tan said the Philippines has yet to fully exploit its natural resources of medicinal plants for business, commercial and scientific purposes.
He said that out of 1,500 medicinal plants found in the country, around 240 have been studied, and 10 underwent full-scale studies. To this day, the number of medicinal plants approved by the DOH remained at ten.
“That a was very long time ago, and we still have 10. It was in 1993 when we launched the “10 Halamang Gamot,” said Galvez Tan, who was then a Health undersecretary. He became secretary in 1995.
The 10 herbal medicines endorsed by DOH through its “Traditional Health Program” are Lagundi (Vitex negundo), anti-cough and anti-asthma; Sambong (Blumea balsamifera), excretion of kidney stones; Ampalaya (Momordica charantia), anti-diabetic; Akalpuko (Cassia alata), anti-fungi; Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii), analgesis; Garlic (Allium sativum), anti-cholesterol; Tiyaang Gubat (Ehretia microphulla Lam.), anti-diarrhea; Bayabas (Psidium guajava), antiseptic; Niyog-niyogan (Quisqualis indica L.), intestinal parasites and Ulasimang Bato|Pansit-Pansitan (Peperomia pellucid), anti-gout.
Galvez Tan said he has listed 10 more plants which can be added to the current number of medicinal plants approved by the DOH, namely banaba, balbas pusa, saluyot, malunggay, coconut oil, siling labuyo leaves, camote leaves, colitis or uray and luyang dilaw.
“We could do a lot more. I’m waiting for the day when the government, a high official, will carry the banner for medicinal plants. We want wealth creation. We want the Philippines to move out of poverty. We have one of the highest poverty rate. We should no longer look for other exotic poverty alleviation.”
Key players
Still, Galvez Tan said he never loses hope that the herbal medicine industry will get the attention of President Simeon Benigno Aquino III, Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo, and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala.
“These are the key players. Health can also do so much but you need the Agriculture (department), and even the Department of Trade and Industry.”
The agriculture department, Galvez Tan said, can support the use of herbal medicines, by asking tobacco farmers to switch to planting medicinal plants instead of tobacco, which is harmful to health.
He stresses, though, that government officials must exercise political will if it wants to fully develop the herbal medicine industry.
Galvez Tan commended former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap for endorsing malunggay as both nutritious and medicinal, but he still lamented that the government has not created a “body” to support and promote its use.
He acknowledged that Filipino and multinational pharmaceutical firms engaged in manufacturing and promoting herbal medicines.
Galvez Tan, who has a masteral degree in public health with Letter of Excellence at the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium in 1984, said multinationals are now venturing into the use of natural medicine.
Amid all these developments, Galvez Tan, who also teaches at the UP College of Medicine, said the industry is confronted with the lack of supply of raw materials.
Lagundi didn’t have a hard time gaining acceptability commercially because there were thousands of hectares planted to lagundi.
Ampalaya, a popular vegetable used for Filipino dishes, is not available commercially as a raw material for medicine because the country uses it for food, according to Galvez Tan. Ampalaya is being sourced from China, India and Vietnam, rather than from the Philippines. (End)

 

Flood victims’ litany of woes

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on September 16, 2012 |

 

Many victims of last month’s flooding in Bulacan have only their shirts on their backs as their “prized possession.”
With their clothes soaked in mud, they have painstakingly begun to rebuild and carry on with their lives.
Street sweeper Marilou Trinidad, 65, has a sad story to tell during an interview with Senator Bongbong Marcos who gave gifts to mark his 55th birthday anniversary.
Trinidad says that until now, she has been ‘picking up the pieces from the fragments ‘left by habagat’s intense rain and severe flooding.
“We are still removing mud from our clothes… from our pillows. We are still fixing everything, the house. The roof leaks every time it rains,” related Trinidad.
After losing everything to the flood, Aling Malou said she does not know where to begin.
“We have no money to repair the house or buy new clothes. What we’re getting from sweeping the streets are just enough to buy food,” said Aling Malou whose husband, Manuel, 58, also cleans the streets for a living.
She was also saddened from losing a small television set and the DVD, which they were able to buy from long years of sweeping dirt.
“Iyon na nga lang ang libangan naming mag-asawa, nawala pa,” lamented Aling Malou who said their house literally went under water.
Fifty-year old Yolanda Francisco, another streetsweeper, shared the sentiments of Trinidad, her neighbor in Brgy. Banga.
While their house has a second floor, Francisco said she and her husband sleep on the ground floor together with their other children and their own families. Actually, she said they have seven children who also stay with them despite being married.
All five families were “packed like sardines” in the Francisco household in Sitio Suloc, Brgy. Banga.
She recalled being rousing from sleep by the floods. “I woke up already soaked in water. The floodwater immediately mounted until it reached the second floor,” Trinidad said.
She, her husband and the rest of the family sought refuge to a nearby vacant building together with their neighbors.
Nelia Nasareta, 37, told MST Sunday, that you can’t really think of saving your valuables when disaster strikes.
“Your first instinct is to run for your life. And that’s what we did. We gathered our three children and went to higher ground. We were brought to the Word of Truth building where we stayed until the water subsided a week later.
After returning home, there were only clothes left, and a few pieces of furnitures.
Teresita Aquino, 76, a widow, remembered her apo rushed to her to join others in fleeing to the evacuation center when the waters suddenly grew high. “Lampas tao na,” she said.
When they went to the street, she saw the over-flowing flood and the rush of mud.
“Mga damit na lang ang napakinabangan namin. Nilabhan na lang. Sira lahat,” she said.
Julie Belo, 51, said only their clothes were left useful after the neck-deep water inside their house.
Trinidad, Francisco, Aquino and Belo belong to the 1,000 beneficiaries of first-even gift-giving activity of Marcos on his birthday, held at the gymnasium of Banga Elementary School in Brgy. Banga.
Cecilio Contreras, a member of the Barangay Justice in Brgy. Banga, told MST the beneficiaries were chosen from among the victims of the recent ‘habagat’. He said they were given bags of goods consisting of rice, grocery items, an unused blanket and mat.
Marcos admitted it was the first-time he celebrated his birthday giving gifts to the needy.
“I thought of gift-giving to celebrate my birthday. So I asked them who will be my beneficiaries. And I was informed there were areas where some of the flood victims haven’t returned to their homes yet. So I decided to see them,” said Marcos.
At his age, the only son and namesake of the late president said he could no longer ask for more with all the blessings in his life.
People at the school gymnasium who lined up to get a bag of goods were delighted to see the young Marcos. As majority of them were still reeling from the devastation inflicted by the monsoon rains, the sight of ‘donations’ gave them hope. (END)