Sayang na naman: Doctors for Hire

It was like a painful shot in the arm that you never thought you will ever have, not at least when you are still at the prime of life and healthy.

It takes you to realities that are difficult to accept.

It is harder when the person involved is someone you admire for her competence, astuteness and resourcefulness.

Two weeks ago one of our own decided to leave for the Middle East to practice medicine after 6 years of private practice in one of the provinces. It came as a shock since her practice is well established and her family has taken root into the community's environment.

Suddenly this decision. I am still unaware of the real reasons. It maybe political. It does not exist only in government but in the medical profession as well where career growth is stunted by those who favor one for the other. It maybe lack of career growth. A feeling I have when I realize that this is all there is to it and nothing good follows after you have done everything you could because of financial and logistic limitations. It maybe financial. Let's face it half of our private patients cannot pay our professional fees and for those who can, only a handful can pay the full amount.

Buti pa nga ang barbero hindi tinatawaran ang pf.

It is sad because it makes me realize that no matter how ideal you are. No matter how strong your conviction is to remain in this country in the end its still survival that takes priority. And the government is not doing anything to make the situation better. With all the bills congress wants to pass that impinged on the practice of medicine with no bill in sight for the improvement of health care services and availability.

After this, I realize that it will be soon when I will be on the same crossroads and I have to prepare myself to decide to leave this country and never regret it.

Twisted CBCP statement

Marahil nga hindi ito ang panahon ng pagbabago. Dahilan ng pagwawalang bahala ng karamihan. Maging ang mga pari ay nagbubulagbulagan. Wala nang saysay ang katotohanan. Kayang kayang bilugin ng gobyerno ang utak ng mga tao. Kung hindi sa paikot-ikot na rason na hindi magtugma-tugma, sa pamamagitan ng pera na ni hindi ko kikitain sa isang taon o sa pamamagitan ng pagpatay ng laya sa pagsasalita at laya ng mabuhay.

Masarap mangarap na magkaroon ng maraming pera. Sana nga ganoon kadali kumita ng pera nang hindi pinaghihirapan. Noong bata ako parati akong sinasabihan na mahirap kumita ng pera. Hindi ko ito napagisipang mabuti noon dahil lahat ng aking kailangan ay agad agad naibibigay.

Subalit sa aking paglaki ay sabay din ang paghirap ng buhay. Bumaba ang halaga ng piso. At kung dati ay hindi mo papakialaman ang mga balita sa telebisyon, biglang lahat ng aspeto ng buhay mo ay para bang apektado ng pinapalabas sa news. Pagtaas ng presyo ng gas. Pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin. Pagpapataw ng VAT. Sunod-sunod na sakuna lindol, baha, landslide.

Sa gitna nito, binubuno pa rin ang araw araw na gawain para mabuhay. Mayroon bang pagbabago?

Sometimes, I pity myself for having to work for free. I labor sleepless nights to keep my patients alive. I try to do my best. Some live. Some die. But in all of these cases I give the best I could. Its just that a third of them cannot pay me in the end. I do not grudge on this matter. It is my service. For those patients who pay me I give 3% monthly to the government. I get charged 10% immediately at the hospital aside from the VAT. And everything gets computed at the end of the year for my tax. I never get more than 500,000 in a year for working in a place where I am the only specialist in my field. Subtract from that the tax I pay to the government.

Nakakainis lang para bang walang kwenta ang pera para sa mg opisyal ng gobyerno at parang isang kibot lang para matikom ang bibig katapat ay 500,000 pesos. I envy them that for nothing they get that much money. For sitting all day long doing nothing except to help perpetuate a system of corruption, the president, cabinet members, senators and congressmen live on the fat of the our taxes while we ordinary citizens try to build this country from the ravages and havoc of their doing.

Hindi ko pinangarap maging opisyal ng gobyerno. Hindi ko pinagrap na maging sundalo. Dahil ang mga ito sa mga panahong ako ay lumalaki ay hindi naging magagadang example para sa akin. Noon gusto kong mag-pari. Lalong lalo na nung ang aking mga gurong La Sallian brothers ang nagmulat sa akin ng importansya ng paghahanap sa katotohanan. At hindi lang basta paghahanap, maging ang ipaglaban ang katotohanan. Bumalik si Brother Armin Luistro pagkatapos ng tatlong araw na pagkawala. Nakatawa at nagkwento tungkol sa pagtulog nila ng iba pang guro namin sa malamig na semento ng EDSA noong Pebrero 1986. Noon humanga ako sa kanila. Hangang ngayon pinahanga pa rin niya ako ng pagiging convenor ng Black and white movement at sa pagkakandili kay Jun Lozada.

Pero isa si Brother Armin sa mga natitirang tunay na kawal ng simbahan. Ang simbahan ay tila yata nawalan ng saysay sa mga bagong usapin. Mukhang ang korupsyon ay pumasok na rin sa mga sagradong lugar at nabulag na rin ang mga obispo at paring mahihina ang loob. Tao lang. Pero ang tunay na alagad ng Diyos ay nasa panig ng katotohanan.

Sa ngayon nagpapasalamat ako na pinigilan ako ng tatay ko na pumasok ng seminaryo. Mukhang walang natutuhang magaling sa loob lalong lalo na sa seminaryo na pinasukan ni Sec. Gaite. Siguro karamihan ng obispo ay gradweyt din ng seminaryong pinangalingan ni Sec. Gaite.

Katotohanan lamang ang hanap ko. Siguro sa pagbabayad ko ng tax may karapatan akong malaman ang katotohanan. Katotohanan lamang. Walng bawas. Walang kulang.

ZTE: Deal or No Deal

Is this the reason why they axed Kris aquino's show? Maybe the network saw that the ratings of Jun Lozada testifying in the senate was higher than the game show.

But going to more serious matters. Seeing how the issues were laid and the personalities involved, it is my stand that people in government should tell the truth and if they dont want to resign or leave their post, I recommend that at least they confess to their mistakes, face the consequences and change their ways.

It seems like I have lived a hundred lifetimes if again we will have to resort to the street to topple an inefficient and corrupt government. To see three revolutions in a lifetime is bordering on insanity. It only proves that we as a country have not learned anything from our actions. It is good that people are involved one way or another in this debate of wheter we should change our society right now. And everyone is entitled to their opinion. What I am afraid of is that when all of these is over and we settle back to how we all live we will forget all about the runnings of the government and let it be corrupted again by the evil hand of politics.

Why can't we be more vigilant with how the government is run? Why can't we demand from government that transparency? Why can't we demand how our taxes are being spent?

Somebody opined that the change that the country needs will not come from big things but from small and insignificant changes we make with our lives. I agree up to a certain point. We should make our lives more productive to help the country. But a body with cancer cannot survive with low doses of medicines. Cancer cells multiply so fast that if you want cure, a good dose is needed to kill all these cells to prevent them from multiplying.

Dr. Jose Rizal have diagnosed what ails this country a hundred years ago. Up to now with new advances in medicine, we never get the cure we badly need. The stop gap measures of people power have made us hopeful once in a while but the prognosis is not changing. Maybe what we need is to consent to chemotherapy which will get rid of all those cancer cells and aim for cure nothing less.

I am for the truth. And if the truth hurts a lot of people then they have to take it. We deserve nothing less since we pay our taxes.

The Plot Thickens

It is like a good thriller although the bad guys always win. The recent Lozada expose only makes you crave for more. The writers of soap operas should take a cue from this mess. A very good subject for a high brow read or a suspense thriller.

Cheaper Medicines Bill

Everytime I call my mother and ask her about her health, she would complain to me not because she suffers from anything, but because of the cost of her medcines for hypertension, asthma, hypothyroidism and elevated cholesterol levels. All in all she spends 300 pesos a day for medicines only. That amounts to 9,000 pesos a month. She once resulted to taking them every other day just to save money until I found out about it because her blood pressure was not controlled after two months of medication. Since then I made it a point to check on her and count her medicines when I visit. I make sure that she has the exact number of tablets so she wont crimp on taking them.

With the cheaper medicines bill, my mother said its about time that such law is passed. But I doubt if the cost of her midicines will change since all her medicines have no generic counterparts. With all the medical conditions she has with their side effects being balanced out by the other, the danger of passing the decision of which drug to take to the user becomes a recipe for disaster.

Is this the real answer to the health problem of the country o pampapogi na naman ba ito? I work in a government hospital. I see indigent patients who cannot afford even the cheapest available medicine like a one peso paracetamol. Patients who cannot afford an intravenous set and fluids for hydration that would cost around one hundred fifty pesos. Government hospitals run on empty. Personnel make do of what is available and resign helplessly as they lose their patient because they cannot do anything else.

The Philippine government's budget for health is one of the lowest in the entire world. Government hospitals do not have provisions for free medicines. Only a small portion of the population has health insurance that do not cover for catastrophic cases.

Health has never been a primary concern of the Philippine government. It only looks upon it on outbreaks where endless witch hunts are conducted by the media to find faults on almost all personnel.

The congress has not spared the health sector. In fact it is its favorite scapegoat when they want to make papogi. Time and again it issues punitive laws that does not have any logic enough to look at the actual situation of the country's health delivery system.

Take for one, government hospitals cannot add personnel unless congress makes a plantilia or opens a position for a new doctor or nurse. A ward for sixty patients is usually manned by one doctor, one nurse and one midwife. And yet congress occupies itself with bills that seems self serving to its constituents, who are owners of generic drug distributorships or those being lobbied by multinational companies.

The honorable congressmen argues that the same brand manufactured in countries like India and Thailand cost a hundred times cheaper that the ones here in the Philippines. Point well taken. I want to know why? Is it because of the tariff paid by these companies to the government? Is it because of the cost of advertising? Is it because of the added cost of doctors junkets?

The innovative vaccine prevenar costs the company wyeth P320 to manufacture. Before it was marketed in the Philippines, the company already recovered all its overhead for research from marketing in first workd countries. Here, it is marketed to the consumer between 5000 to 6000. The difference from hundreds to thousands in cost benefits the manufacturer, the distributor, the doctors and most of all the government. With all the taxes the manufacturer, the distributor and the doctors have to pay, the government gets half of that final price.

I dream of a time when I dont have to consider cost when I am treating a patient. I dream of a time when I dont have to worry if I get paid or not, but rather enjoy the beautiful profession of healing. But that is just a dream here in the Philippines. Here you don't just heal, you become a counsellor, a social worker, a philantrophist, a charity foundation donor. And most of all a scapegoat for a governments inadequacies.

I look at the receipt after buying my mother's months worth of medicine. I cringed at the cost. There was VAT. I paid 900 pesos to the government for keeping my mother healthy. What do I get in return from the government? A bill prohibiting me from using experience and what I have learned in treating my patients.

Matters

I thought I have been strenghtened by all those years in training seeing premature babies die. But each new one becomes my son or daughter and as I guide them through the rough road of the first days of their lives, they become a part of me. And it still hurt seeing some of them go.

Today I lost another one after a long battle with difficult feeding which turned out to be an obstructed bowel, he underwent an exploratory laparotomy. He was doing fine the first two days, but a hospital acquired infection set in quickly and spread like fire burning paper. The medicines could not alter the course and in four hours, he succumbed to death. I admired most his mother who despite two abortions and a neonatal death, she was calm and composed. It was me who wanted to cry. I have lost another one. I have another angel in heaven. I hope my angels would all help me now so I can save the lives of their brothers and sisters to come.

Happy New Year from The Next Big Thing - Bukidnon

It has been a back breaking trip, driving through the roads of Mindanao. One time you are surrounded with paved roads and bustling vehicles the next you are stuck in long stretches of coconut plantations or rice fields as far as your eyes can see. It's amazing now when I think about it how many mountains we traversed during this travel from Zamboanga City to Davao City. There are roads that curve around mountains and there are those that cut through the mountains. The coast line is breath taking much more if seen on top of the mountains. It's like an ancient road trip where you see the view of a city emerging like an oasis from tops of mountains, from a blind curve over the hill, from rolling plains and winding roads of a plateau.

Of course, the best place in Mindanao, hands down is Bukidnon. If I am to be given a choice, I would not think twice. It has the almost perfect weather like Baguio. It has the rich fertile soil. It is quiet. It can be busy if it wants to. Without even trying, it is a piece of paradise cut off by its steep roads from the menacing clutches of modernization. Alas the roads are already built and slowly development and commercialization are threatening to spoil this last peice of paradise.

I suggest a visit as soon as possible and enjoy. Recommendations include:

1. For good coffee and pastries if you are longing for home after a long trip, go to Mint Leaf. Tucked away on the end of a side street in Malaybalay. They serve coffee and lemon squares and a ambiance to match.

2. The best place to stay is the Pines Hotel on the Malaybalay main road. The walls are filled with works of modern Fiilipino artists. The interiors are a blast from the eigthies but a good place to stay with running hot water. Try their restaurant which serves good pork ribs and steaks.

3. The Catholic Church on Malaybalay, built like a huge barn. Dedicated to San Isidro Labrador. Across is the city park.

4. The Monastery of the Transfiguration. Perched on top of a hill. Designed by the National Artist Leandro Locsin, the Church stands as a pyramid amidst the background of green lush fields and mountains. Home to the famous designer turned Benedictine monk, Noli Hans. You will be thankful going there and start believing again. The monks sell organically grown strawberry, coffee and peanuts.

5. The famous Sumilao farms. Home to farmers who walked from Bukidnon to Manila to ask for their rightful ownership of the land they till.

6. Del Monte Clubhouse in Cawayanon. They have a reputation for serving the best steaks. You will forget you are in Mindanao and think you are in Camp John Hay.

7. The roads are the best for a pleasant road trip. Except for the slow moving huge trucks the ride over roads that dip and rise and over tall bridges with fantastic views of gorges, waterfalls and mountains is worth it.

8. The road from Bukidnon to Davao. Not as zigzaggy like Baguio but almost like it. With clouds drifting by the car window as you pass by children lined along the road with one hand outstreched asking for money.

In the next few years, as the politicos are snaring investors into the area, these places will drastically changed. As with Boracay and Bohol, I bet progress will go unchecked and what this beautiful area has now may change forever. So go now and enjoy while it lasts.