Opinion

I arrived at SM City Bacolod Monday, May 3, to accompany elderly relatives, Tito Bert and Tita Edith Espina, for a scheduled inoculation of COVID-19 vaccines.It was much publicized and although it has been hammered that one must have registered online and be part of the priority group – the senior citizens and those with comorbidities only - many still went ahead to line up, not knowing there is a process to follow.In general, there was chaos but it was managed chaos thanks to the staff of the Emergency Operations Center and other volunteers from the Department of Education, private hospitals and even among citizens who were lining-up who managed to appease the crowd and restore order.City Administrator Em Ang who heads the EOC was there on the dot along with EOC Deputy Dr. Chr...

After almost two decades of staying in Metro Manila, I finally decided to return home to Negros Occidental on February 11, and this is for good, I think. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought numerous changes in our lives, and I for one had also been affected. For the first time last year I could not travel, and my work-related activities were confined to online meetings and other computer-based jobs, although quite minimal compared to the pre-pandemic days.Since I started my path as an independent professional in 2003, my assignments in various conservation projects and other initiatives involved intensive travels and interacting with people of different socio-cultural, economic and educational backgrounds in various parts of the country, and to a certain extent in other countries. To be ...

In a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics, an international team of researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, France, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, the US and led by investigators from the University of Oxford (UK) studied 2,130 pregnant women age 18 and older and their newborns at 43 different institutions in 18 different countries from March to October 2020, as part of the observational INTERCOVID Multinational Cohort Study. For each woman who tested positive for COVID-19 before delivery, two unmatched, uninfected women of similar gestational age (±2 weeks) were enrolled. The 706 COVID-19 patients were at much higher risk than their 1,424 uninfected counterparts for preeclampsia/eclampsia (ecl...

There’s nothing that can topple the COVID-19 crisis from the headlines except politics. And ever since former Cong. Albee Benitez transferred his voter’s registration to Bacolod, tongues have been wagging non-stop.The verbal tussle has been waged on social media, oftentimes below-the-belt, by supporters of Albee and those loyal to Mayor Bing Leonardia.The usually feisty mayor who would not hesitate to retort when baited with political questions has been eerily silent since Albee’s publicity-hyped transfer of residence to the capital city.But of course, it is a slap on the incumbent mayor’s face that 28 of 31 mayors in Negros Occidental vowed to back up Albee’s bid if it pushes through. The only reason why the three other mayors were not able to sign the manifesto of suppor...

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also called Good Shepherd Sunday because the gospel reading is taken from Chapter 10 of John, which speaks of the Good Shepherd.For many of us, our favorite picture of the Good Shepherd comes from the idyllic Psalm 23, which portrays the shepherd as one who leads the sheep to green pastures and clear waters; guides them through the dark valley; shields them from every harm; and finally brings them home.In today’s gospel, the portrait of the Good Shepherd is further developed and qualified by the personal relationship between the shepherd and the sheep.The true shepherd does not run away when the wolf attacks, but defends the flock, because he is not a hired servant. He owns the sheep. In identifying himself as the Good Shepherd, Jesus claims ...

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight with no vision. – Helen KellerThe cutting of century-old trees along the old Airport generated more than a week of cursing, ranting, maligning in social media, to a point of tagging those who felled the trees as “murderers.”It all started with a netizen who took a picture, posted it and within a couple of days when media took the issue on air, hundreds of angry social media feeds awakened our local officials who immediately ordered a stop to the operations.Cutting down 26 huge trees probably took a few days and unfortunately, despite thousands of people passing through that area, nobody took notice of the operation until the 26th tree was felled. That act saved nine other trees from being cut down.What made that inc...

Over a year since the pandemic was declared, the cases of COVID-19 are on the rise again around the world. There was a decline in cases at the start of the year, which shows that we can work together to bring the virus under control.While we are waiting for vaccinations to reach everyone, everywhere - we all need to do what we can to stop the spread and help protect ourselves and our communities. We can all play our part by wearing a mask, physically distancing, washing hands regularly and opening doors and windows to let the fresh air in, and reporting misinformation. Unlike previous episodes of widespread disinformation, more of the current content are about manipulated and yet-to-be-proved theories or treatments that are touted as ground-breaking discoveries. ...

My Saturday was spent on a series of webinars from Rotary matters, COVID-19 issues, and Musichikahan with Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and by the time it ended at 6 P.M., I was overwhelmed with emotions from excitement, sadness, anger, and happiness.Happiness because my doctor niece received her negative swab results that morning, putting an end to our isolation since Thursday. Happiest was my granddaughter who was supposed to return home every Friday when school is out, but had to stay put until we get the results.Happiness because the webinar session with Mr. C, as we fondly call Ryan, became a sing-along reunion of sorts among theater friends who’ve worked with him in his various musicals.The morning webinars were with fellow Rotarians in our district and another that involved...

Today’s gospel gives us Luke’s version of the risen Lord’s appearance to his apostles on Easter night. The apostles and some disciples were gathered in a locked room when Jesus stood in their midst and greeted them Peace. Thinking they were seeing a ghost, they were greatly terrified.To pacify them, Jesus showed them his hands and feet, and even asked for something to eat. Then, he reminded them about the things he had said while he was still with them and explained how everything written in the Scripture was fulfilled in him.To show that he was not a ghost, Jesus gave four proofs of the resurrection. He made them see and touch his wounds; ate in front of them; and made them understand the Scripture. The first three proofs pertain to the bodily aspects of the resurrection and...

“A life that touches others, goes on forever.”Death affects us in many forms. Although we are saddened by the loss of someone we love, we were taught by our parents to embrace death as a celebration of one’s access to heaven, a fulfillment of a life well-lived.Acceptance of death is easier especially when a loved one is delivered from a lingering illness but even with the teachings we had, grief takes over and the sadness remains.Thus, it was with much heartache to learn that a family friend, Dr. Julian Raca, suddenly passed away last Monday.Julian was a constant fixture in our lives. He was my sister, Inday’s best friend who helped her during her bout with breast cancer. He was our go-to for medical certificates when the doctors in our family could not issue it.I ...