Cabral vs Luistro and the Importance of Sex Education

Department of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral may be re-appointed as DOH Secretary. Cabral has earned the admiration of many for supporting for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill.

Cabral also lead the move to introduce sex education to grade schoolers. She asserted that “The Department of Education knows what is the appropriate type of sex education that they will teach our children. Should we wait for teenagers to get pregnant before we teach them sex education that is appropriate for them?” With this, she has earned criticisms from the Roman Catholic Church.

Enter Armin Luisitro of DLSU, a Catholic brother, who is about to be appointed as the Department of Education Secretary under the administration of Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. He is reported to delay the implementation of the integration of sex education in the grade school curriculum.

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Food and Drug Safety Standards

In light of the recall of the Chinese milk and milk products it think it’s a good time to ask, do we have the necessary food and drug standards and tools to measure these standards? Past recalls of Chinese imports were, apparently, due to red flags from China itself or other countries. But no warnings have originated from the Philippines.

Having worked (as a student and as an assistant lab technician in a past life) in academic labs for quite sometime, I know how expensive laboratory equipment are, and how tedious and expensive standards tests are. I am, thus, concerned about the state of our Bureau of Food and Drugs and how they regulate food and drug products. From where do they determine their standards, and how do they measure these? Moreover, do they employ (and justly compensate) qualified personnel? Do they even have enough people to facilitate or monitor the recalls?

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Councilor Angela Trinidad-Librado’s Speech on the LDPC

This is just a clip from the privilege speech of Davao City Councilor Angela “Anging” Librado-Trinidad who is the Chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, and Family. She is defending the passage of the controversial Local Development Plan for Children.

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Grounds for Opposition to the Local Development Plan for Children

Here is a summary of the speech delivered by Davao City Councilor Teresita Mata-Marañon on her Grounds for Opposition to the Local Development Plan for Children:

1. It is a mockery of parental authority and not consistent with respect for family, motherhood and children’s dignity.
2. It is offensive to the virtue of chastity.
3. The civil authority should consider a sacred duty to acknowledge the true nature of marriage and family, to protect and foster them and to safeguard public morality (this is a mandate of our Philippine Constitution).

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Davao City Local Development Plan for Children

Last Tuesday, I attended the regular session of the Davao City Council. The gallery was full of pro-life advocates anticipating the passage of the Local Development Plan for Children (LDPC). During the privilege hour, Councilor Teresita Mata-Marañon spoke of her reasons for opposing the plan. The pro-life advocates were happy.

Then, LDPC’s main proponent Councilor Angela Librado-Trinidad spoke in defense of the LDPC. She further explained that Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has asked that the third and final reading and voting on LDPC be deferred. And it was.

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Important Issues for the 2010 Philippine Elections

While the US Presidential Elections are already heating up with caucuses, debates, and rallies everywhere, the 2010 Philippine Presidential Elections is also starting to get serious attention on the internet via the Filipino blogosphere.

Right now, the media has given a lot of focus on the selection of candidates, of both the administration and the opposition (not to mention the many others in between). Meanwhile, Janette Toral has tagged several bloggers to tackle the issues they feel should be included in the 2010 Agenda.

Off the top of my head, I can easily point out several, no, many issues that should be in the agenda of the candidates. But I feel like there are some that should be given more attention. Right now, here’s my short list:

1. Environment
2. Social Welfare and Health Care
3. Local Government Code and IRA

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Generics Prescription

Tess Termulo, a doctor, explains in her blog why some doctors are against the Cheaper Medicines Bill provision that requires doctors to prescribe only generic names of drugs. While I am all for the enactment of the Cheaper Medicines Bill, I also agree with Dr. Termulo’s points.

She asserts that:

the provision to restrict the use of brand names and to only allow prescription with generic names ONLY is unfair. Though generic drugs and branded drugs do have the same active ingredients, these drugs do differ in the salt carriers used in manufacturing it. This difference in salt carriers used in manufacturing can be cause of side effects or allergic reactions that can vary from one patient to another.

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PBGEA Appeals Aerial Spraying Ban

The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) is now appealing the Regional Court’s decision on the constitutionality of Davao City’s ban on aerial spraying. PBGEA contends that the ban makes their plants susceptible to the Black Sigatoka Disease. They also argue that the ban will eventually lead to the death of the local banana industry.

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