DITORIAL - Joy and sorrow

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 25, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (2)
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The joy of Christmas is tempered today by the grief that pervades the flood-stricken areas in Mindanao. As the nation celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, it also offers prayers for the dead, the missing, the bereaved, and those who continue to endure the many miseries of disaster. Farms have been destroyed. Thousands have lost their homes and other belongings and must now huddle together for the traditional Christmas family gathering in cramped evacuation centers. The humanitarian crisis has prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to issue a flash appeal to the world for millions of dollars in relief aid. Both the international community and local groups and individuals are pitching in, making charity a prevailing theme this Christmas. Before disaster struck, with the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan the hardest hit, surveys showed Filipinos being hopeful about the coming year. The mood is certain to have changed in the flood-stricken areas, where rescue and retrieval teams are taking no Christmas break in their work. As of Friday, hundreds of people remained unaccounted for, and there will be no Christmas cheer for those whose loved ones are missing. In many places across the country last night, special prayers were recited for the flood victims during the Midnight Mass. Today families will gather for traditional get-togethers, gift-giving and celebration of a most joyous day in Christendom. Shepherds of the Church have reminded the faithful that beyond the feasting and exchange of gifts, this is a day for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. His teachings are a source of strength, whether in moments of joy or times of deep sorrow. A blessed Christmas to all!

EDITORIAL - Job market glut

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 26, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (4)

The number of the unemployed currently stands at 230,000, and the number is expected to rise in the coming year. The alert was issued by the Professional Regulation Commission, and it refers to the growing ranks of unemployed nurses. For several years nursing was seen as a sure ticket to a well-paying job overseas, improving prospects for alien residency and eventual citizenship in countries such as the United States. Even doctors took nursing courses to boost their employment prospects abroad. This led to an exodus of health professionals so serious it forced about a hundred private hospitals across the country to shut down. Even the job market in health care, however, can be saturated. Warnings about a glut in global demand are apparently being heeded. The PRCs Board of Nursing reported that enrollment in nursing courses is going down. The decline, however, may not be enough. This months licensure examination was taken by 68,000 nursing graduates.

As in any glut, this one is opening nurses to exploitation. Some hospitals, both government and private, are prepared to take in more nurses but only if the nurses are willing to work without pay. In some cases the setup is mutually agreed upon; nurses simply want it on their record that they have worked for some time in a hospital. Labor officials said there is currently no law prohibiting this practice. An alternative being pushed by the PRC is to train licensed nurses in entrepreneurship. Some of the graduates may need access to financing if this project is to take off. The government can also intensify efforts to inform prospective nurses about the high likelihood of being unemployed upon graduation. Most schools cannot be relied upon to give this information; many nursing schools mushroomed in recent years to meet the demand and may have to be shut down. Programs can also be developed to put to use what the nurses have learned without depriving them of decent compensation. In a country that badly needs health professionals, it would be a waste to let nurses pursue other careers.

EDITORIAL - Dangerous revelry

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 27, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (0)

With New Years Eve just days away, two children in Caloocan and a farmer in Bulacan have been wounded by stray bullets. All three were wounded on Christmas Eve, raising the possibility that the bullets were fired in the course of holiday celebrations. The culprits are unlikely to be caught. But in Tondo, Manila, Police Officer 1 Fulgencio Narceda Sideco was arrested by other policemen for firing his gun twice into the air during a party on Christmas morning. Police authorities should make sure he gets punished for irresponsible, dangerous conduct. In another dangerous type of holiday revelry, a man lost his leg after being hit by a giant firecracker early yesterday in Bulacan, the nations firecracker capital. The firecracker isnt called Goodbye, Philippines for nothing: it is so large and powerful you have to be prepared to bid goodbye to the country and life if it is mishandled. Its goodbye, leg for the victim, but he could have lost his life. A few years ago the less powerful Judas Belt killed a reveler. Goodbye, Philippines is supposed to be banned, and its continued proliferation is testament to a failure of law enforcement. Despite annual ceremonies taping the muzzles of guns issued to cops and soldiers, the symbolic reminder to avoid indiscriminate firing of weapons during the holidays continues to be ignored by some members of the police and military. The public probably wouldnt mind if the bullets hit the same individuals who fired the guns, but this is never the case. Every year warnings are issued that a slug falling back to the ground still has sufficient impact to kill. Some years ago a girl sleeping at home was killed by a stray bullet that penetrated their roof. That incident did not put a stop to the indiscriminate firing of weapons, by cops, soldiers and civilians. The best remedy is vigilance by the public. You can text 2920 or contact Patrol 117 to report anyone who still has to learn that a bullet does not disintegrate when fired into the air. The nation cannot be reminded enough that celebrating the holidays should not put lives at risk.

EDITORIAL - Lessons from floods

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 28, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (7)

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With hundreds of people still missing in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, flashfloods have again struck, this time inundating parts of Bukidnon and Surigao in up to three feet of water. This is not supposed to be typhoon or flood season, but many things are being upended in the age of climate change. At least the latest floods did not claim lives and did not have the force of the rampaging waters that devastated Iligan and Cagayan de Oro. The confirmed death toll in the two cities has breached 1,000 and the final count could be over a thousand more. The flashfloods could happen again, and improving the governments response should be given priority in the coming year. While the floods in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were unusual, they were not entirely unexpected. Environmental groups have pointed out that detailed warnings were issued several years ago but were ignored by disaster mitigation officials and local government executives. Obviously the warnings had been completely forgotten by the time tropical storm Sendong swelled rivers and spawned torrential flooding in many low-lying areas of Mindanao. Authorities must take a closer look at the capability of the weather bureau to predict the amount of rainfall. Sendong was not even classified as a typhoon and the worst-hit areas were placed merely under storm warning signal No. 2. The government must also review evacuation protocols and facilities. People typically refuse to heed evacuation warnings because of the inadequacy of evacuation resources and fears of losing their belongings to looters if homes are abandoned. This country is in the path of tropical cyclones and lies in the so-called Ring of Fire, making it prone to powerful earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Its time for the government to develop decent evacuation facilities. Its time to improve its overall preparedness for dealing with natural calamities.

EDITORIAL - Manhunt for Palparan

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 29, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (14)

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How hard is it to find a prominent fugitive in this country? Hard enough for the government to dangle a reward of P500,000 for information leading to the capture of retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. The man who reinvented himself as a party-list representative upon his retirement from the military has disappeared since his arrest was ordered by the Bulacan Regional Trial Court shortly before Christmas Day. Palparan is wanted in connection with the disappearance of University of the Philippines student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeo in 2006. The two, who remain missing, were reportedly tortured and detained at an Army camp in Central Luzon when Palparan was the Armys commander in the area. Palparan has denied involvement in the disappearance of the students.

The last time Palparan was seen, according to the National Bureau of Investigation, he was in the company of heavily armed men. Palparan owns a security agency. He had tried to fly to Singapore on Dec. 19 through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga, shortly after the Department of Justice ordered his indictment for kidnapping and serious illegal detention. After being barred from leaving, he disappeared. Wanted posters bearing the image of the man dubbed as The Butcher have since spread across the country, no doubt with the help of militant groups that have long accused him of responsibility for the torture, disappearance and summary execution of many left-wing activists. Yet Palparan continues to elude arrest, raising suspicion that he is getting help from some of his former colleagues in the military. Meanwhile, his two co-accused, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado and S/Sgt. Edgardo Osorio, have secured a court order, without the knowledge of the DOJ, to be transferred from the Bulacan provincial jail to the Philippine Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig. Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines had expressed readiness to assist in the hunt for Palparan. Apart from assisting, the AFP brass should send the message down the ranks that anyone found harboring a fugitive will face sanctions. Palparan is innocent until guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt, and he deserves due process. But his trial should be seen as part of a cleansing process in the AFP. In a democracy, there must be no room for kidnapping, torture and summary execution in the military.

EDITORIAL - The best of the Filipino

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 30, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (3)

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In several countries today, ceremonies will be held in honor of a Filipino: Jose Rizal. The Philippines national hero impressed the world with his intellect, his writings and other talents. In developing his full potential, Rizal defied concepts at the time that Filipinos and Asians in general were inferior to western races. Rizal worked to promote his ideas both overseas and at home, where his writings inspired a revolution and cost him his life. The struggle for independence or, in his case, autonomy eclipsed his other advocacies, particularly the role of education in liberating people from poverty. Today that advocacy continues to resonate, as the deterioration in the quality of Philippine education leads to a decline in national competitiveness. Rizal was an advocate of human rights many decades before it became fashionable. No fan of the Catholic friars, he promoted freedom of religion and expression, and equal opportunities for men and women. He was also an early advocate of non-violent protest. As Rizals writings showed, he also pilloried the excesses and abuses of the local elite who assisted foreign colonizers in oppressing the poor. Rizal would have felt at home in the 21st century. He wanted his compatriots to become global citizens a century before the phrase was coined, and before the lack of decent opportunities at home forced millions of Filipinos to seek employment in other lands. He became an ophthalmologist at a time when Filipinos were seen to be too stupid to learn a foreign language. Rizal was a walking challenge to all the concepts about the inferiority of certain races. And his life should continue to inspire Filipinos to strive to achieve ones full potential, to compete with the world and aim for excellence.

DITORIAL - Be merry, be safe

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 31, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (1)

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Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction thats what APIR stands for. Its this years program to bring down the number of injuries resulting from firecrackers and pyrotechnics. Every year there is such a program, starting weeks ahead of the New Year revelry, promoting safe merrymaking and warning people to be careful in handling firecrackers. Yet every first day of the year there are reports of hundreds of people suffering from burns, serious wounds and other injuries caused by fireworks. Occasionally, deaths are reported. Every year, a few days after New Years Eve, there are also reports of people suffering from tetanus arising from firecracker-related injuries. Obviously, theres no stopping Filipinos from greeting the New Year with the loudest bang and the most brilliant fireworks they can afford. The best that the government can do is to tighten the enforcement of product safety rules imposed on the fireworks industry. Imported fireworks have not been blamed for deaths, burns, mutilated fingers and other serious injuries. Theres no reason why Philippine products cannot be just as safe to handle. Enforcement of safety standards in the local fireworks industry, however, leaves much to be desired. Several small firecrackers were banned years ago because of the high likelihood of ingestion by children and the high risk of causing wounds that might lead to tetanus. Those firecrackers continue to be manufactured and sold openly. Bigger firecrackers such as pla-pla were also banned many years ago but continue to be sold. Last year Goodbye, Philippines eclipsed Super Lolo in explosive power and was supposed to have been banned. Yet only recently a man lost his leg in a Goodbye, Philippines explosion. The failure to enforce prohibitions on the manufacture and sale of powerful firecrackers not only poses a danger to life and limb but also puts a burden on taxpayers. The Department of Health reported that from P2,000 to P25,000 is spent on every person brought to government hospitals for treatment of firecracker injuries. The treatments range from cleaning of minor wounds to amputation of mangled limbs. It cant be emphasized enough that welcoming the New Year can be loud, dazzling, fun, and still safe.