WITH 85% approval for his performance in the past three months, Vice President Jejomar Binay is enjoying the highest approval and trust ratings (85 percent approval rating and 86 percent trust rating) anew among key government officials in the latest Pulse Asia Survey. The country’s chief executive, President Benigno Aquino III, received 77% approval and…
IT’S WHAT an idiom would refer to as a “foot-in-mouth” situation. WikiLeaks consecutive release of secret diplomatic cables between the US Embassy and Washington (from 2006-2010) regarding the Philippine affairs may have soured PH-US relations significantly. The latest release revealed former US Ambassador Kristie Kenney’s opinions about the Philippines’ efforts in combating the Communist Party…
ON SEPTEMBER 13, America and the Philippines lost one of its most outstanding leaders – Maria Mabilangan Haley, who died from brain aneurysm. The highest-ranking and most influential Filipino-American official during the Clinton administration, Maria Haley received the highest tributes from top US officials, praising her for an outstanding and inspiring life and admirable work….
LAST week, Ana (not her real name), approached me regarding her situation. She has “loaned or invested” $182,000 to someone who is now missing with the lure of extremely high investment return. So many times I have been personally offered these sales pitches myself. My simple and easy answer, “If it sounds too good to…
Why do we age? Just like machines and engines, our body ages because of the cumulative damages to our cells, tissues and organs (resulting from daily “wear and tear” and the self-abuse humans are well known for) that exceed our body’s ability to repair them. These damages lead to obvious signs of aging: sags, bulges…
GOING to college is a good thing as it can open greater opportunities for employment and has the potential to transform someone to higher level of success. There are various ways to finance a college education, one of which, and maybe the most popular means, is by obtaining student loans. It might seem overwhelming as…
One of the powerful attributes that we admire (or even marvel at) among many elderly, age 80, 90, and older, is the “youthfulness” of their mind. Unfortunately, not every one of them is gifted with senior brain power or brain youth when they reach 70 or older, and some have significant physiological “cerebral handicaps” even…
FRESH from his first state visit to People’s Republic of China, President Benigno Aquino III is set to embark on two more state visits this month. The outcome of Aquino’s China trip has exceeded expectations. The President’s first state visit to the People’s Republic of China was a success, bringing home billions worth of investment…
THINGS seem to be looking up for PH-China relations — at least, in terms of trade and investment. President Aquino’s state visit to China seems to be yielding positive results on the business aspect for the Philippines, and seems to have moved a step forward on the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines over…
To better respond to criminality and improve on implementing peace and order in the country, the government recently released a P1.75 billion modernization fund for the Philippine National Police (PNP). The fund was released amid probes on the anomalous purchase of helicopters and rubber boats linked to the PNP during the term of President Gloria…
TOO many times, taxpayers receive a surprise letter from the IRS, and even the Franchise Tax Board, on taxes owed from a cancelled debt acquired through debt settlement or debt consolidation. The general notion that once a debt has been reduced by a lender, the debtor is absolved of any other financial obligation has kept…
Does aspirin protect us against cancer? Yes, according to clinical studies conducted on patients taking daily aspirin (Acetylsalicylic Acid) for conditions like arthritis, etc., or among heart patients taking aspirin to thin their blood to prevent blood clots and blockages in the coronary (heart) arteries. The findings show that those taking daily dose of aspirin…
“THE world’s battlefields have been in the heart chiefly; more heroism has been displayed in the household and the closet, than on the most memorable battlefields in history.” – Heinry Ward Beecher In the Philippines, National Heroes Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of August. This national holiday is held to honor the sacrifices…
ACCESS to water is a basic human need, a fundamental human right. But according to a 2006 United Nation’s Human Development Report, more than 1 billion people are denied clean water, and more than 2.6 billion of our brothers and sisters lack access to adequate sanitation. Every year, 1.8 million children die as a result…
Despite reports that the number of unemployed nursing graduates in the Philippines continues to increase, many (including those who already have medical degrees, or are already practicing medicine in the Philippines) are still enticed to take a degree in nursing, fueled by the hope that working abroad will be a lucrative means to help them…
LAST week, the Obama Administration announced an (immigration) Prioritization Plan. Priority: enforcement of immigration laws against serious criminals who are a threat to our public safety, i.e. deporting them. Not a priority: approximately 300,000 pending immigration court cases for non-US Citizens convicted of minor crimes or “simply” here in violation of our immigration laws. Potential: termination of…
What is Athletic Heart Syndrome? This is a condition among athletes who show a constellation of physiologic adaptations in the body system, especially in the heart, in persons trained to perform endurance exercise. What are these changes? One of them is the so-called resting bradycardia (heart rate is slow, well below 60). The usual normal…
AS an important weapon of the Philippines’ economic arsenal, tourism is becoming to be an industry built through the country’s natural and cultural environment, where the most negligible and innocent gestures can easily wreak havoc on the site’s resources. Tourism holds the assurance of increased employment and income opportunities for Filipinos particularly those living in…
What are Bangkok Pills? Bangkok Pills are a combination drug marketed for weight reduction which had gained notoriety a few years ago for the various serious complications reported attendant to their use. According to the weight control company’s Dr. Wanit T, who responded to my email, the program is known as “ Bangkok Pills” or…
AS an important weapon of the Philippines’ economic arsenal, tourism has become an industry built through the country’s natural and cultural environment. Tourism holds the assurance of increased employment and income opportunities for Filipinos, particularly to those living in rural and coastal areas of the country. But, with last week’s resignation of Department of Tourism…
DIVORCE can be a bit complicated specially if there are community assets and debts involved. Generally, accumulations and earning after the date of separation is each spouse’s separate property. What happens when you use separate funds to pay for community debts after the date of separation such as when one spouse continues to pay the…
A LOT of patients share your concern about bad breath. As a social embarrassment, it’s surely near the top of the list. Since mouthwashes won’t eliminate the problem, let us have a look at some possible reasons for the condition. Bacteria, plain and simple, are the culprit. Bacteria do their work in the mouth, lungs,…
With the 2012 national budget set to be filed on December of 2011, the economic managers of the current administration recently expressed confidence that poverty incidence in the Philippines can be lessened to 16.6 percent by 2015. The positive outlook on the decrease of poverty cases in the country was based on recent reports by…
“Some people just don’t understand what we are doing here. I think we can all work together to uphold artistic freedom and appreciation of art’s place in a democratic society.” – Emily Abrera, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Cultural Center of the Philippines Art is a human inclination that has been around since the…
Worldwide, in the last few decades, victims of diabetes have increased more than twice, and expected to grow from its current 246 million to 380 million in 18 years, by 2025, according to the report from the International Diabetes Institute in Australia. In this column nine years ago, we stated that the rapid growth in…
NOT everyone understands the implications of fiscal developments in an economy. What a simple citizen realizes (and cares more about) is when there’s not enough money to spend, and not enough food to eat. This is the kind of scenario when the country and its constituents are in danger. In the wake of the US’…
I ADMIT that there are days when I really just want to stop and quit. It’s a double whammy when your loved ones are not by your side, during your most trying times. It draws and drains you of all your courage and strength. But then again, if things were easy, there would be no…
LEE-CHUA, (1997) defined a successful family business as “one that has existed for at least 10 years, is still existing, and has made a name for itself in its field. The founder may still be alive and thinking of succession, the second generation may already be in charge, or the third generation may even be…
THE Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986 (IMFA) requires an alien obtaining a green card through a marriage less than two years old to come back at the end of that two years with the petitioning spouse and show that they are still married or, if the marriage was terminated, to show that the marriage…
2010 posted a good year for the Philippines as its economy grew by 7.3 percent (the highest in 34 years) during the last quarter. Aside from the renewed investor confidence over a new government, the surge of remittances coming from the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) was also largely credited in contributing to the overall economic…
