Dateline PhiliPPines House approves hybrid Con-con on 2nd reading

by Delon Porcalla Philstar.com

MANILA — The House of Representatives approved on second reading a resolution allowing Charter amendments through the creation of a hybrid constitutional convention.

Through voice vote, most of the members of the supermajority coalition approved the measure when presiding officer Rep. Raymond Mendoza of TUCP party-list asked for their votes.

The approval on third and final reading of Resolution of Both Houses 6 will only be a formality.

A separate bill was filed and is now pending in the House appropriations committee for tax purposes since Con-con delegates will receive remuneration for their skills.

PH has only 300 oncologists for cancer patients – expert

MANILA — The number of oncologists that can attend to the needs of cancer patients nationwide is only 300, according to a cancer expert.

“We are about 100-plus million Filipinos and the number of oncologists around the Philippines is only 300 and, admittedly, majority are here in Metro Manila,” University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Medical Oncology fellow Dr. Kenneth Samala said at the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel media forum held on Monday, February 27.

Samala stressed the need to develop more cancer experts and “get trainees who, after being trained, can go back to their communities and serve.”

“Actually, there are local government units and municipalities that are OK with this and send their scholars (to our institution). We train them and they go back to their communities after that,” he said, as he noted that treating cancer is multifactorial.

“You need manpower. You need oncologists, nurses, surgeons. You need equipment to be used for diagnosis. Of course, you need medicines, so it is somehow challenging,” he added.

Meanwhile, for Philippine Foundation for Breast Care Inc. vice president Aileen Antolin, there is a need to train more experts, like oncologists and pathologists, to attend to the needs of cancer patients.

“What I have observed is that the funding is usually being used to build infrastructure, although what should be highlighted also is the need for manpower or experts,” Antolin said.

“There is a cancer center, but there are no oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, radiologic technologists and mammography technologists. What happens is we just build structures, we acquire machines, but we lack experts to use the facility and equipment,” she added.

If the country has medical and technical experts in these facilities, then the care that can be given to patients becomes complete, according to Antolin.

At the same time, she expressed hope that the country’s young students or scholars will have interest in the field of cancer, so that “we can have more experts who will take care of the needs of our cancer patients.” (Philstar. com)

Sustain fight vs human trafficking - ex-DoJ official

FORMER justice undersecretary

Jose Vicente Salazar on Tuesday, February 28 urged the government to keep the fight against human trafficking “at all costs” as he welcomed the Senate investigation on the reported human trafficking at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

He was referring to the Senate blue ribbon committee (BRC) probe on the alleged “new highend” human trafficking scheme at the country’s premier gateway.

Salazar was once at the forefront of the country’s fight against human smuggling as head of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

The Senate probe was an offshoot of Sen. Mary Grace Poe’s expose on what she said could be another grand design of a “human trafficking” scheme at NAIA involving a private aircraft and foreign nationals.

The senator said that “the Manila International Airport Authority, Bureau of Immigration, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Aviation Group and the Globan Aviation will have a lot of explaining to do.”

In a speech last February 15, Poe claimed that police and airport authorities failed to stop the departure of a Dubai-bound flight that carried 10 foreigners, but only seven were declared before immigration officials.

“I believe there is more to this kind of a high-end modus that concerned government officials must look into the soonest possible time,” said Salazar. “The Senate’s move is a step in the right direction to unearth the identities of perpetrators at the soonest possible time.”

The “modus operandi” was exposed when the PNP Aviation Security Group received an “anonymous tip” about a human trafficking activity involving an aircraft that was set to depart for Dubai at about 10 p.m. on the same day at the NAIA.

It said that only six passengers were declared but 14 passengers boarded the aircraft.

“We say that there could be more to this that might have been perfected a long time ago and every time with cargoes as well in such instances. If human trafficking can take place, how much more with illegal drugs,” Salazar, who also served as undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, said.

“This is a very serious matter because if human trafficking can take place using private planes, how much more with illegal drugs that might only be considered as mere cargoes,” he added.

“As I said, the recent accidental discovery of the latest illegal activity could only be the tip of the iceberg. Thus, a Senate inquiry into this is a very welcome step,” he said.

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go has expressed apprehension over the reported human trafficking scheme at the NAIA since it might involve national security.

“This is very disturbing and we condemn this new case of human trafficking using private jets,” Go said in Filipino and English during a chance interview in Quezon City on February 17.

“It appeared on the report that there are foreign passengers on board,” he said. Go voiced concern that some groups “use our airports as transit or exit point for smuggled people.”

“This should be stopped. This should be looked into thoroughly because there could be ‘national security dimension’ in this case,” he said. (ManilaTimes.net)