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Body handling Marcos case left with one member

COMMISSIONER MARIA ROWENA V. GUANZON — THE PHILIPPINE STAR FILE PHOTO

AN ELECTION commissioner who alleged interference in the disqualification case against the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos on Tuesday said her vote and that of another member of the First Division probably won’t be counted if the decision comes out after Feb. 3.

Marlon S. Casquejo is moving to the Second Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Feb. 3, Commissioner Maria Rowena V. Guanzon, who is retiring on Feb. 3, told a forum hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).

“I think they suspect that Commissioner Casquejo is also for disqualification,” she said. “So, it’s not just my vote that’s being defeated by a junior member,” she added, referring to Commissioner Aimee P. Ferolino, who was assigned to write the decision and whom she had accused of delaying the case.

Ms. Ferolino has rejected the allegation, citing case load for the delay.

Comelec has six members and one chairman. Its two divisions have three members each. Decisions issued by the two divisions are eventually appealed to the seven-member en banc.

Ms. Guanzon, the presiding commissioner of the First Division, on Monday released her separate opinion in which she voted to disqualify Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. from this year’s presidential election after he was convicted for tax evasion in the 1990s. The First Division was supposed to rule on the case on Jan. 17, she said.

She said she released her opinion before the main ruling was issued for public interest.

Also retiring on Feb. 3 are Comelec Chairman Sheriff M. Abas and Commissioner Antonio T. Kho, Jr. This means the agency will be left with only four commissioners.

Commissioner Soccoro B. Inting will become the acting chairperson until President Rodrigo R. Duterte appoints the replacements. Ms. Inting is a member of the Second Division, which on Jan. 17 favored Mr. Marcos in a similar lawsuit seeking to bar his presidential run.

The case is on appeal before the Comelec en banc.

Ms. Guanzon, an appointee of the late President Benigno S.C. Aquino III — Mr. Duterte’s predecessor — has alleged that a senator from Davao whom she has not named was trying to meddle in the Marcos disqualification cases. The other six commissioners are Duterte appointees.

Ms. Guanzon noted that when a presiding commissioner retires, a division ruling is rewritten to accommodate the signature of the incoming presiding officer.

“She disrespected two senior commissioners,” Ms. Guanzon told reporters, referring to Ms. Ferolino. “How can she do that on her own? She must have a powerful person backing her.”

She also said she had named the senator in question to Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, adding that she would name him in case the chamber starts an investigation.

In her opinion, Ms. Guanzon said the facts surrounding Mr. Marcos’s tax evasion “are markedly telling of the character or nature of the acts or omissions committed by the respondent.”

She added that by failing to submit his annual income tax returns for four straight occasions, the former senator showed a deliberate intent to violate the law.

Mr. Marcos did not submit certified receipts that showed he had paid for the tax deficiencies as ordered the Court of Appeals (CA), the commissioner said, citing the preliminary conference on Jan. 7.

Political analysts have said Comelec should investigate allegations of interference at the agency to keep its independence and avoid public distrust.

The integrity of the presidential elections this year are at stake, said Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor from the University of the Philippines. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Daily COVID infections could fall to 5,000 by end-February — OCTA

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

DAILY coronavirus infections in the Philippines could fall to about 5,000 by late February, according to researchers from the country’s premier university.

OCTA Research Group fellow Fredegusto P. David on Tuesday said cases in the country might go down to about 10,000 by mid-February before falling to further to 5,000 by the end of the month.

“We saw a sharp decline in cases like in South Africa and Metro Manila,” he told a televised news briefing in Filipino.

He said infections were declining in almost all areas in Luzon, adding that infections were also falling in parts of the Visayas and Mindanao such as in the cities of Cebu, Tacloban, Iloilo and Davao.

The country has been posting almost 10,000 cases daily after a fresh surge in infections spurred by the highly mutated Omicron variant. On Jan. 15, the Philippines posted record daily infections of 39,004.

The Department of Health (DoH) posted 9,493 coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to 3.57 million.

The death toll hit 54,054 after 51 more patients died, while recoveries rose by 24,210 to 3.34 million, it said in a bulletin.

It said 28.8% of 31,053 samples on Jan. 30 tested positive for COVID-19, still above the 5% threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Of the 176,053 active cases, 6,133 did not show symptoms, 164,995 were mild, 3,070 were moderate, 1,529 were severe and 326 were critical.

DoH said 73% of the latest cases occurred from Jan. 19 to Feb. 1. The top regions with new cases in the past two weeks were Metro Manila with 1,041, Calabarzon with 775, and Central Luzon with 696. It added that 98% of deaths occurred in January.

DoH said 30 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 17 of which were recoveries, while 16 recoveries were relisted as deaths. Ten laboratories failed to submit data on Jan. 30.

The agency said 46% of intensive care unit beds in the country had been used, while the rate for Metro Manila was 40%.

Mr. David said the Manila and nearby cities could be at low risk from the coronavirus by mid-February.

“Our projection is that maybe one to two weeks Metro Manila will be already at low risk,” he said, noting that the positivity rate in the capital region is expected to fall to 10% from 17%.

He added that the reproduction and healthcare use rates in the region, which is still at moderate risk, continue to decline.

Mr. David said Metro Manila’s average daily attack rate was at 19.58%. “We are waiting for the average daily attack rate to decrease to less than 10.”

The OCTA fellow tweeted separately that Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon and Rizal provinces were also at moderate risk as of Jan. 31, with new COVID-19 cases trending downward.

The government is scrambling to fully vaccinate more Filipinos as it reopens the economy.

It had fully vaccinated more than 59 million people as of Jan. 31, while 60.42 million have received their first dose, data from the Health department showed. About 7.5. million booster shots have been give out. — K.A.T. Atienza

Ex-Aquino officials endorse Robredo for president 

PHILSTAR

FORMER Cabinet members and military officers who served under the late President Benigno S.C. Aquino III on Tuesday endorsed Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo’s presidential run. 

In an e-mailed statement, the officials said Ms. Robredo, who heads the Liberal Party, has a solid track record of serving the public. 

“We commit ourselves fully to Vice-President Leni Robredo’s bid for the presidency to lead the Philippines on an upward path of recovery and greatness,” they said. 

Among those who signed the endorsement were former Aquino spokesman Edwin S. Lacierda, his budget chief Florencio B. Abad, ex-Foreign Affairs Secretaries Albert F. del Rosario and Delia D. Albert, and Senator Leila M. de Lima, who was his Justice secretary. 

Also signing the document were former Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hernando A. Iribberi. 

“We believe that in the May 2022 elections, the Filipino people will make a choice that will shape our future and that of future generations,” they said. 

They cited the need for “leadership that ensures the safety and well-being of all its citizens while respecting human rights and the rule of law.” — Norman P. Aquino 

Rally held over delay in election body’s decision on Marcos disqualification cases

BAYAN MUNA PHOTO RELEASE

A RALLY led by Bayan Muna Party-list was held Tuesday in front of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Manila to press a division of the poll body to release its decision on three of seven cases filed to disqualify presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. 

“Why the long delay? The speedy resolution and the gravity that this decision carry are matters that cannot be taken for granted by the Comelec,” House Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Leader Carlos Isagani T. Zarate said in a statement. 

The consolidated cases were submitted for resolution on Jan. 17.

Mr. Zarate said the delay casts doubt on the integrity of the poll body.

“Is there a deliberate ploy to await first the retirement of the three current Comelec commissioners before the decision is promulgated?” 

Comelec Chair Sheriff M. Abas and Commissioners Maria Rowena V. Guanzon and Antonio T. Kho, Jr. are ending their respective terms on Wednesday. 

Ms. Guanzon announced Friday that she voted for the disqualification of the late dictator’s son as she accused a fellow commissioner of delaying the decision so her unfavorable vote would not be counted. 

Ms. Guanzon released her 24-page separate opinion on Monday.

“Whatever the decision will be, the earlier this is decided by the Comelec, the better so as to give the parties ample time to even seek an appeal before the Supreme Court,” Mr. Zarate said.

“What is at stake here is not only the political future of a convicted tax evader but the survival of our country as well.” — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan

2 senators warn vs lifting of alert level system

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

MOST SENATORS support the elimination of the coronavirus alert level system in the country as the National Economic and Development Authority looks to transition towards an “endemic” state of affairs, but at least two lawmakers are proposing other options. 

Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay-Angeles said on Tuesday the proposal seemed improbable at this time as the country has yet to achieve the “endemic state of public health.” 

“It is ideal that we embrace and accept COVID as part of our daily lives, but we have yet to put in place health safeguards, and almost half of our population is not yet vaccinated,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino through Viber. 

As of Monday, about 59.03 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, while 60.42 million have taken their first shot. The Philippines has a population of about 110 million. 

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said while he agrees with the plan, implementation should be done more cautiously alongside stepped-up vaccination activities. 

“I’m in favor of removing it gradually — maybe (in the) second half of this year,” he said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

Sarangani Bay communities battle crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak

DENR SOCCSKSARGEN

COASTAL communities around Sarangani Bay have been working together to collect crown-of-thorn (COT) starfish as an outbreak threatens coral reefs at the protected area.

Protected Area Superintended Joy C. Ologuin said teams composed of residents, local government workers and volunteers have collected over 100,000 of the COT starfish over the last three months.  

“This is one of the worst COT breakouts not only in SBPS (Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape) but in the whole country,” Ms. Ologuin said in a statement Tuesday released Monday by the Environment department’s Soccsksargen regional office. 

“The 101,323 COT collected do not include those collection efforts from volunteers during weekends.” 

She called on other stakeholders, including businesses and civic organizations, to help as continued gathering is needed.

“We’re afraid that we may be losing our corals reefs if this is not abated.”  

The Protected Area Management Office offers rice-for-work to encourage more community members to participate.

“(T)his problem should be addressed with urgency because our coral reefs are at stake,” said Maria Elvira V. Lumayag, head of Sarangani’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office.

COT starfish, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, “are marine invertebrates that feed on coral. They occur naturally on reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and when conditions are right, they can reach plague proportions and devastate hard coral communities.” 

Outbreaks since 1962 have “had a major impact on the many reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef. A fourth outbreak is currently underway in the World-Heritage Area,” the institute said on its website. — MSJ 

Marawi compensation bill ensures full recovery of war-torn city — rehab chief

DHSUD

SENATE’S final approval of a proposed law that will give Marawi City residents monetary compensation for properties destroyed during the 2017 siege complements the government’s reconstruction program, the head of the rehabilitation team said on Tuesday. 

“The Task Force Bangon Marawi welcomes the Senate’s approval of the Marawi Compensation Bill as a huge boost to the morale of our Maranaw brothers and sisters who were affected by the infamous 2017 siege,” Secretary Eduardo D. Del Rosario said in a statement. 

“They have long been clamoring for this legislation, and, hopefully it will soon be enacted into law,” he said.

Senate bill 2420, or the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act, consolidates two bills as well as the House of Representatives’ approved version. A copy of the bill certified by both chambers of Congress will be transmitted to the President for review, and approval or veto.

At the commemoration of the 4th anniversary of Marawi’s liberation in October last year, President Rodrigo R. Duterte assured residents of his administration’s commitment to “bring back the city’s glory.”

Mr. Duterte also noted that “rebuilding the lives of the displaced” is what is most important. 

“This will ensure the totality of the government-led rehabilitation of Marawi City with the reconstruction of public infrastructures, which is now in the final stages. The compensation bill’s final approval will allow private individuals not only rebuild their properties but also rebuild their lives,” Mr. Del Rosario said.

Under the bill, claims may be made for residential, cultural, commercial and other properties such as home appliances, jewelries and equipment that were affected during the five-month heavy firefight between government forces and extremist groups who laid siege on the city.

Legitimate property owners or their legal heirs are eligible for the tax-free compensation. 

Funding for the compensation will be sourced from the current year’s allocation for the Marawi recovery program while future payments will be included in the annual national budget.

Implementation will be led by a nine-member board, whose chairman and members will be appointed by the President.

Mr. Del Rosario said in late January that more than 800 displaced families have been granted permits to start reconstruction of their homes. — MSJ

NIA sets P545-M earth fill dam project in Guimaras 

DA.GOV.PH

A P545-million earth fill dam will be constructed in the island province of Guimaras with over 1,300 farmers seen to benefit from the project, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) announced.

The Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) includes the construction of a 29.87-meter high zoned earth fill dam and a 375-meter spillway.

The dam, located in the town of San Lorenzo, will source water from Cabano River and serve a farming area of 861 hectares.

NIA is partnering with Silver Dragon Construction and Lumber and Glass Supply, Inc. and Lorenzo Construction and Development Corp. for the project. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Duterte’s evangelist friend endorses Marcos-Duterte daughter tandem  

A FILIPINO televangelist who has been indicted in the United States for sex trafficking and other charges endorsed on Tuesday the presidential candidacy of the late dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. and his running mate, Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Apollo C. Quiboloy, President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s spiritual adviser who founded a Philippine-based church called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, made the announcement during a send-off ceremony at the compound of his church in Davao City, where Ms. Duterte is currently mayor. 

The self-proclaimed “appointed son of God” also endorsed senatorial candidates former presidential spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. and Jose Pimentel “Jinggoy” Estrada, who is still facing plunder and graft charges involving pork barrel funds. The former senator was released on bail in 2017 after spending three years in jail. 

“Quiboloy’s endorsement is expected given that he is a kingmaker in Mindanao and a known supporter of the Dutertes and traditional politicians,” said Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. 

Ms. Atienza, however, said the church’s “reach is only in Mindanao and certain groups of overseas Filipino workers.”

“He and his church are now challenged by court cases and other controversies,” she said. “His endorsement will likely turn off more discerning Filipino voters. 

Mr. Quiboloy last year was indicted along with two US-based church administrators by a federal grand jury for allegedly coercing women as young as 12 to have sex with the religious leader.

Mr. Duterte’s spokesman, Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, said last year the Philippines would cooperate if the US requests the religious leader’s extradition.    

ROBREDO
Meanwhile, former Cabinet officials, retired ambassadors, and former military chiefs who served under the administration of the late Benigno S.C. Aquino III released a joint statement on Tuesday backing the presidential run of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo. 

They said the country needs a leadership that “ensures the safety and well-being of all its citizens while respecting human rights and the rule of law and where law enforcers thus evoke trust and a sense of security.”

They added that the country needs a kind of governance that is committed to protecting the country’s sovereignty and “one that earns the response of the community of nations.”

Progressive coalition Makabayan recently backed Ms. Robredo’s candidacy — the first time it endorsed a presidential candidate from the Liberal Party, which was formerly chaired by Mr. Aquino.

Ms. Robredo, who still chairs the liberal group, is running as an independent candidate.

Mr. Marcos, who is leading pre-election surveys, earlier said he still wants Mr. Duterte’s endorsement even after the latter called him a “weak” leader. 

Presidential candidates Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso and Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson have also sought the presidential endorsement. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

A strategic plan for Philippine education

BW FILE PHOTO

(Part 1)

The last two articles of the series “A strategic plan for the Philippine economy” dwelt on the agricultural sector because of the highest priority that should be given to it by the future Administrations if we are to ever reach advanced economy status in the next 20 to 30 years. The agricultural sector has always been the Achilles heel of the Philippine economy. That is why it is not possible to have a successful strategic plan for the entire economy if the challenges enumerated in these two articles are not met. In fact, the very first question that should be asked of every Presidentiable in the May 2022 elections will have to do with their plans of improving agricultural productivity and consequently the incomes of farmers. As we have written many times in the past, there are enough examples among our East Asian neighbors we can learn from, like Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea, to find solutions to what I can consider our Number One economic problem. We do not have to reinvent the wheel.

Next in importance to our attaining long-term sustainable and inclusive development is improving the quality of Philippine education. I was disappointed to notice that all the Presidentiables running in the May 2022 elections give only passing reference to addressing this very pressing problem, which, if not addressed in the next six years, will seriously inhibit us from fully benefiting from our number one asset, which is our demographic dividend, i.e., our young, growing, and English-speaking population. It is this rare human resource that gives rise to the two strongest engines of growth of the Philippine economy, the Overseas Filipino Workers and the BPO-IT sector, which together account for some 15 % our GDP. In fact, these two human resource-based sectors proved to be the most resilient during the harrowing two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both suffered very minimal declines during even the worst recessionary year of 2020 and bounced back almost instantly in 2021.

While it was during the second decade of the present century when we started to get rid of our reputation as the “sick man of Asia,” it was also during this period when the rot in the Philippine educational system was exposed. In 2019, in an international test called Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) by the Netherlands-based International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Filipinos fared worst among 58 countries in an assessment for mathematics and science for Grade 4 students. The Philippines scored 297 in math and 249 in science, registering a deterioration since 2003 when the relevant scores were 358 in math and 332 in science. TIMSS is held every four years to measure student achievement in these two fields. In the field of reading comprehension, Filipino students did not fare any better. In 2018, Filipinos also ranked last among 79 countries in reading comprehension and second lowest in both math and scientific literacy in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is a worldwide study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils’ scholastic performance in mathematics, science, and reading.

Before we attempt to formulate a long-term strategic plan for Philippine education, it would be useful to summarize some of the major points about the state of Philippine education raised in an interview with radio host Jarius Bondoc given by Dr. Chito Salazar, President of the Philippine Business for Education Foundation (PBEd). According to Dr. Salazar, the poor results shown by Filipino students were already recorded as early as 2003 by TIMSS. The poor quality of Philippine education has been the result of long-term policy and institutional failures and inadequacies. That is why it is not fair to put all the blame on the present leadership of the Department of Education. There is a need for some drastic reforms equivalent to the game changing K to 12 curriculum that was introduced with great political will during the Administration of former President Noynoy Aquino, despite very strong opposition from some sectors. For very long, we lived under the illusion that compared to the highly motivated youth of such tiger economies like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, our basic education students are so brilliant that they can prepare for university studies within a 10-year period compared to the 12 years that their counterparts in Asia and other countries have to spend to prepare for higher education.

Decades of neglect of Philippine education by the Government is evidenced by the fact that in East Asia the average expenditures by the State is 6% of GDP while we have been spending only 3% of GDP. We have to let the next Administration aspire to reach the 6% level in the same way that the outgoing Administration was successful to upping the percentage of expenditures on infrastructures from less than 3% to close to 6% in their implementation of the Build, Build, Build program. In the same way that there has been significant reliance on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach in the construction of major infrastructure like airports, skyways, ports, etc.

Dr. Salazar also suggested in the interview that the Government look for creative ways of involving the private sector to bear part of the burden of improving the quality of education. For example, it was not necessary for the State to spend huge amounts in putting up more classrooms when they could just have taken advantage of the excess capacity of private schools by subsidizing the fees of pupils in the latter schools. The same can be said about saving on the salaries of public-school teachers if there is this public-private partnership in basic education.

Dr. Salazar also said that other sectors of society should be involved in improving the quality of education. The most obvious one is in food and nutrition. A major reason why our Grade 4 students in many public schools obtain very poor results in the international tests cited above is that their brains might have been damaged because of undernutrition or malnutrition when they were growing from zero to five years of age, the most critical period for brain development. There must be effective programs implemented by both the State the civil society to address this most serious problem of child undernutrition. There are enough outstanding models of the so-called First 1,000 Days in which LGUs subsidize the feeding of a child for three years from the time that he or she is conceived in the womb of the mother. The most successful programs have been implemented in the provinces of Cebu, Quezon, and Bataan, among others. According to Dr. Salazar, there are others stakeholders in every barangay that can contribute to feeding programs to assure the wellbeing of our youth. It is hoped that a significant part of the added revenues that LGUs will receive starting 2022 under the so-called Mandanas-Garcia ruling will be channeled to these feeding programs.

In fact, speaking of LGUs, another very important reform suggested by Dr. Salazar is the devolution of some tasks being implemented by the Department of Education to the LGUs. There is over-centralization of such essential tasks as curriculum development and the recruitment and training of teachers. Provinces should compete in producing quality students. The Department of Education should spend its time and resources in helping those LGUs that have weak local leadership in the field of education.

Finally, it is recommended that the Assessment Office should not be under the Department of Education but should be under the Office of the President.

This preliminary introduction to vital issues in the Philippine education sector, as perceived by the Philippine Business for Education management, should now prepare for a more thorough going process of formulating a long-term strategic education plan that can span the next three Administrations till 2040.

(To be continued.)

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Rare diseases patients should not be left behind

DCSTUDIO-FREEPIK

The continuing global pandemic posed several challenges and showed the gaps all throughout the health ecosystem. Undeniably, addressing the country’s COVID-19 situation has been the priority and concern of the government for two years now, and still counting. Patients who have other health conditions, such as those who were diagnosed with rare diseases, are sadly kept on the sideline.

According to the Department of Health, as of Dec. 31, 2021, there are 887 cases registered with rare diseases. For sure, there are more undetected and most of them likely belong in the lower socio-economic group who really require external support either from the government or other stakeholders. Adhering to the principle of universal healthcare, every Filipino should have equal access to health services and “no one should be left behind.” Access to quality, safe, and effective healthcare and treatment should be for all, regardless of age, sex, status, and/or condition.

The Rare Disease Act of the Philippines or Republic Act No. 10747, signed into law on March 2016, is a comprehensive policy that addresses the needs of persons with rare diseases. The law primarily envisioned that those patients afflicted with the diseases are diagnosed early and have access to available interventions so that their rate of survival is increased, and they potentially can live a normal way of life.

Like all law-mandated programs, adequate funding is crucial for implementation. For the first time, stakeholders have successfully advocated for its long-delayed funding in the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA). The allocation, worth P104.9 million, was lodged in the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) which is specifically intended for the implementation of the Rare Disease Act.

On Jan. 27, the Stratbase ADR Institute, in partnership with UHCWatch and the Philippine Society for Orphan Disorders, held a virtual roundtable discussion entitled “No One Should be Left Behind Amid the Continuing Pandemic — Facilitating the Implementation of the Rare Disease Law for 2022.” The roundtable gathered relevant stakeholders from the academe, government agencies, civil society/patient organizations, and private sector to discuss ongoing programs and needed support for the effective utilization of the allocated budget. Avenues of collaboration on how different stakeholders can collaborate were tackled in line with the implementation of the Rare Diseases Act.

Prof. Dindo Manhit, President of Stratbase ADR Institute, said in his welcome remarks that due to the low prevalence and the widely dispersed distribution of patients with rare diseases, there is an evident disproportion in the availability of treatments and resources. Various stakeholders can proactively collaborate in the decision-making process so that through this whole-of-society approach the country’s health systems could achieve better health outcomes, he added.

According to Dr. Carmencita Padilla, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines-Manila, “we [Philippines] are very fortunate because we are the model for the rest of developing world, wherein we were able to take care of patients with rare metabolic disorders. However, no single agency can make this happen.”

Dr. Eva Maria C. Cutiongco-dela Paz, Executive Director of the UP-NIH, mentioned that there was an on-going project for the development of the Integrated Rare Disease Management Plan (IRDMP) for the period of 2022-2026. Part of this five-year plan is the development of the guidelines for medical societies in preparation of the rare diseases list.

Daisy Cembrano, Director for Healthcare Policy of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines, emphasized that the importance of ensuring sustainable patient access to diagnosis, treatment, and care is foremost. She explained that over the past two years, most resources were reallocated to the pandemic response and it is worth looking at some innovative financing models implemented by other countries for the treatment of rare diseases.

Dr. Lizette Kristine Lopez, Chair of the Subcommittee on Drugs of the Health Technology Assessment Council, in her reaction to the presenters mentioned the importance of inclusiveness and her preferential regard for the underserved and unserved. According to her, “rare disease patients need to be included because despite the rarity of their conditions, they are definitely underserved and some of them are probably unserved considering the financial impact and also the lack of specialists.”

The start of the year provided a brighter tomorrow for patients with rare diseases. The current challenge is how to facilitate the development of the IRDMP for the optimal utilization of the allocated funding for this year. This plan will also serve as the basis for funding the succeeding years and will determine the additional types of rare diseases to be covered.

To be true to the mandate of the Universal Health Care Act and the Rare Disease Act, all rare disease patients must receive the assistance and treatments they need to enable them to be productive citizens of society.

 

Alvin Manalansan is the Health and Nutrition fellow of Stratbase ADR Institute and is an UHCWatch convenor.

‘Sapiens’? Humans aren’t wise. Just too smart for our own good.

RAWPIXEL.COM-FREEPIK

WHAT a piece of work is man, I often wonder with the Bard. How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, how like an angel, like a god. So join me for a moment in celebrating us — homo sapiens, “wise man,” humanity. For we are an incredible species.

What other beings could — as we just did — position a telescope between the earth and the sun? Like a new god wafting between Gaia and Helios, it has an eye so powerful that it can peer backwards in time to see light emitted during the Big Bang. With it, humans are one step closer to literally observing creation.

Extend that sense of awe for just another moment. In a Large Hadron Collider underneath the Franco-Swiss border, other angels of science are smashing unimaginably tiny particles into one another. They’re closing in on the Higgs boson — also called the “God particle.” It’s some sort of vibration which gives mass to other elementary particles, like quarks and electrons — thereby making possible, well, everything.

And now our exaltation screeches to a halt. No, it’s not just, as Hamlet realized, that this amazing piece of work — humankind — amounts to a quintessence of dust. It’s so much worse. It’s that we do have reason, faculty, even hints of divinity — and yet no wisdom to speak of. A better name for us would be homo stultum, foolish man.

Just glance at this week’s news again. Even as some people devote their ingenuity to fathoming the universe, others are deploying theirs to oppress their compatriots and threaten other nations with war, death, and suffering. I’m thinking of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of course, as he menaces Ukraine. But I could name others, now and in the past.

There’s no question people like Putin are intelligent. He’s a KGB-trained master at manipulating other people and messing with their minds in order to gain and keep power. But he’s using this might not to make his country and its people thrive. He’s wielding it to keep them down, and to turn neighboring countries into failed states, lest their prosperity and freedom should ever inspire Russians to demand the same. It’s wit without humanity — and becomes the accomplice of evil.

That’s just the way it always has been and will be, you say. And I agree. Almost a century ago, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr were also debating the unimaginably vast (general relativity) and the unfathomably small (quantum mechanics), and also glimpsing divinity as today’s scientists now do at CERN or NASA. Simultaneously, the likes of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin had their thugs roaming the streets like hounds of hell.

Another couple of centuries back, Isaac Newton was disseminating his insights into the workings of our world just as the good Puritans of Salem were hanging 14 women and five men for witchcraft. I hear the echoes today. Heroes like Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, the founders of BioNTech SE, are giving us mRNA vaccines to fight the pandemic. Simultaneously, the followers of QAnon are spreading drivel about Bill Gates wanting to inject us all with microchips.

Perhaps that’s what ultimately defines our species — neither wisdom nor folly, but the ability, as F. Scott Fitzgerald put it, to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. How else could Thomas Jefferson have written that all men are created equal — and endowed with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — even as one of his slaves, Robert Hemings, was tending to his every need.

We are a species that contrives the most sophisticated logistics and supply chains conceivable — and then uses them to literally sell bottled farts. We develop antibiotics that kill the bacteria that harm us — and then overdo it so much that we breed even stronger microbes that will one day be our nemesis.

We figure out that E=mc2, then spend the rest of eternity trying to find ways not to blow ourselves up with that knowledge. We capture the energy of photosynthesis that was buried millions of years ago in the fossils under our feet — and forget that we’re thereby polluting our home. One day, we may become the only creatures simultaneously foolish enough to destroy our own planet and genius enough to colonize another.

The late B.K.S. Iyengar, a yogi, once said that intelligence, like money, is a good servant but a bad master. Even science has explored why and how smart people can be so foolish. In a nutshell, it comes down to a cocktail of egocentrism, narcissism, and arrogance that overpowers everything else — or what the ancient Greeks called hubris. 

So, should I sing a paean to humanity, or a dirge? I never know. But let me tell you where I sometimes go to reflect on all this. In central Berlin, near our office, there’s a park. On one edge of it stands a monument to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of the most enlightened minds in the history of Germany and the world. Directly across the street, 2,711 slabs of concrete stretch over an area that also covers the remains of Hitler’s bunker. This is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

There are plenty of places to sit — benches on the park side, the concrete blocks on the other. So, I sit and look at them, the poet and the slabs, the light and the dark, the apex and the nadir. But they just gaze at each other in silence, unable to answer that question: What a piece of work is man.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

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