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WE have
been concerned with the protection of our children, our
investment for the future of our country, our hope that
tomorrow’s leaders will continue to improve on the
breakthroughs our government achieve today that future
generations will nurture and enjoy.
Parents
today are pressed with making ends meet in the face of
tuition hikes and other spiraling education costs, but
still they endeavor to make ends meet trusting in
education’s power to guarantee a brighter future for
their children.
Oftentimes for the ordinary Filipino family, education
is their only hope in giving their kids an edge over the
uncertainties of life. This June, millions of students
will reenter school, and we hope that beyond the
teachings of the academe, in their hearts will be
rekindled the flame of patriotism and spur them to help
build a better nation while helping themselves.
*****
Did you
know that the Department of Education (DepEd) issued an
advisory that gives parents the ultimate responsibility
in determining whether their children should go to
school in a downpour in the absence of any storm signal?
This resolves the problem of late announcements of class
suspension when streets are already flooded, endangering
the lives and health of young students.
*****
Our
democracy remains threatened by leftist elements,
encroaching upon our freedoms particularly in the
countryside, poisoning the minds of our young.
Just
recently, military authorities arrested a pregnant
16-year-old girl who is allegedly a member of the NPA. A
few days before, a 17-year-old rebel surrendered to the
authorities.
This is
pure and simple case of corruption of minors, and these
two kids are not alone. There are dozens of juveniles
barely in their teens who have been brainwashed into
joining the rebel groups, teaching the young how to
kill, how to make bombs in order to kill some more.
*****
Lately
we have seen the proliferation of private preparatory
schools, which are nothing but stylized playgrounds for
toddlers.
A young
mother was telling me about her difficulty in raising
the down payment for the enrollment of her youngest
child in one of these private prep-schools which is
charging P50,000 per term.
Does
DepEd or any other government agency control and
supervise this new prep-school business, including the
monitoring of the tuition charged to toddlers exclusive
of uniforms and other school requirements?
At the
rate these prep schools are sprouting all over the
place, this will impoverish hundreds of thousands of
Filipino families as prep-school education is now being
considered as requirement for entering Grade I.
If you
ask me, I believe this is a racket and should be
properly supervised. Now, every garage or garden is a
prep school, sweetened with a little sandwich and cold
drink.
*****
Next to
education, health care is high on the people’s list of
priorities. The Arroyo administration has gone out of
its way to bring to the people the benefits of a
government-subsidized medical program.
But
always there will be those who will exploit such good
intentions for profit. Malacañang recently ordered an
investigation into the reported fake claims by some
private hospitals from PhilHealth, which amounts to
billions of pesos which could have gone to more
meaningful health programs.
*****
On the
other hand, the Hospital Detention Act, which triggered
vigorous opposition from private hospitals and doctors,
has galvanized the professional medical practitioners,
hospital associations and the Senate to put their heads
together in the drafting of the implementing rules and
regulations which, in turn, will be subject to public
scrutiny before these rules can be approved.
Although
the protests were a bit premature, the problem remains
to be critical.
Just
recently, there was this incident in Iloilo City where
an emergency patient in a local hospital was turned away
because the family of the patient failed to raise the
P5,000 deposit. On the way to another hospital, the
patient died.
This is
just one example of a hospital’s inhumanity inflicted on
a patient that must be rectified. We applaud the efforts
of the DOH in bringing together all the parties to come
up with a viable formula to make the law work as
envisioned by its authors.
*****
Meanwhile, there is a pending measure designed to bring
down the cost of medicine through the amendment of the
Intellectual Property Code, allowing for the parallel
importation of medicine that will spur healthy
competition in the pharmaceutical field.
According to Shalimar Vitan, policy coordinator of
UK-based NGO Oxfam, such a law will promote cheaper
generic drugs of the same potency as the branded ones
and providing that all drugs undergo “bio-equivalency”
tests to ensure that the generics are of the same
quality.
We keep
our fingers crossed that there will be enough number of
solons on June 4 to pick up the deliberations on the
House and Senate bills after the election recess.
*****
The
country’s economy posted its fastest growth rate in 20
years for the first quarter of the year by 6.9 percent.
The President happily reported this breakthrough during
her state visit to Australia saying: “The Philippines is
on a roll.”
Thank
you, Madam President.
*****
The peso
has gotten so strong that it is now necessary for the
government to provide for a P280-million fund to help
exporters cushion the drop in their dollar earnings by
enhancing their product packaging and marketing. Due to
our economic success, we have also been prepaying our
foreign debts and piling up on our international
reserves.
A strong
economy fuels a strong currency and it does appear that
our exporters are getting “punished” for the surge in
the economy.
Trust
the business community, it will always find a way to
turn crisis into opportunities. |
