Pests, diseases destroy up to 40% of food crops–FAO
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said plant pests and diseases cause food crop losses of up to 40 percent.
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The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said plant pests and diseases cause food crop losses of up to 40 percent.
The improvement of facilities within St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC)-Quezon City is under way with the completion of Phase 1 under its redevelopment plan, an initiative that is aimed at further enhancing the hospital’s facilities to provide better healthcare to patients. SLMC is pursuing a three-phase redevelopment plan aimed at providing better services to stakeholders.
FINALLY, all’s well between Ernest John “EJ” Obiena and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa).
STATISTICS won’t matter in the semifinals that are tipped to go down to the last spike, block or ace with all four teams putting premium on chemistry and execution in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference on Friday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
TEAM Marikina ruled the Batang Pilipino Basketball League in style by blasting Batang Cainta, 87-72, in the finals to complete a sweep of the pre-season tournament at the Palaruang Batang Lambak in Sta. Elena, Marikina City, over the weekend.
LETRAN capitalized on the absence of big man Justin Arana to overwhelm Arellano University, 96-67, for its second straight win in the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament Wednesday at the La Salle-Greenhills Gym.
DIGITAL solutions provider Globe and campus esports and gaming organizer AcadArena have renewed their partnership to further support the growth of student gamers in the Philippines.
CEBUANA Lhuillier unfurls its summer tennis program with 14 junior age-group tournaments nationwide beginning with the first leg from April 6 to 10 at the Santa Rosa Complex in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.
THE German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) has lauded the passage of the amendments to the Public Service Act, which allows foreign entities to completely own public services in the country.
THE Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of its new office on March 23 led by Ambassador Kim Inchul.
Responding to the series of attacks against members of the Filipino Community, the Philippine Consulate General in New York headed by Consul General Elmer G. Cato issued a statement condemning the senseless violence in the strongest possible terms.
More than a year after the World Organization for Animal Health declared that the Philippines is free of bird flu, the country is once again battling another outbreak of the dreaded bird disease. In February, the government notified the OIE of the outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) Type A subtype H5N1 in Central Luzon farms (See, “PHL reports new avian flu outbreaks in Central Luzon farms,” in the BusinessMirror, February 22, 2022). Philippine authorities told the OIE that the outbreaks resulted in the death of over 42,000 quails and ducks.
The National Police Commission (Napolcom) has completed its set of top executives as President Duterte appointed three more commissioners on March 8, 2022. Their appointment was issued to replace former Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Vitaliano N. Aguirre II, Commissioner Job M. Mangente, and Commissioner Zenonida F. Brosas whose terms of offices ended last March 7.
FREEPORT ZONE—The president and chief executive officer of the government-run Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) said public service at all levels must be a life-long vocation during a speech on Monday before members of the regional Philippine National Police at Camp Olivas in Pampanga.
THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has partnered with A2D Project-Research Group for Alternatives to Development Inc. to further strengthen the disaster preparedness of its partner communities.
CHOCO MUCHO put up a tenacious net defense in the decider and with three straight block points survived a stubborn PLDT, 25-21, 23-25, 29-31, 25-15, 15-11, on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
UNIVERSITY of Perpetual Help System DALTA made short work of Jose Rizal University, 77-56, to earn its first win in the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament on Tuesday at the La Salle Greenhills Gym.
THE new-look Cebu Chooks! is one of eight teams that will compete in the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) 3×3 Dubai Expo Super Quest on Thursday.
THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) strengthened its link with the Bangsamoro Sports Commission (BSC) in a face-to-face courtesy visit by a delegation from Mindanao at the PSC offices inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila on Tuesday.
SAN JUAN CITY, Philippines—Welcoming a new phase of commerce where connections are made and businesses thrive, premier property developer Ortigas Land introduces GH Tower, its first office address at the heart of Greenhills Center in San Juan City.
Anxiety is the feeling of unease, worry or nervousness in anticipation of a future event or an uncertain outcome that we cannot handle. While it is a challenging internal battle, calming our anxious mind is possible.
The Philippine health system has been at a breaking point even before COVID-19, but the pandemic exposed and magnified the gaps in the fragmented system. Leadership is crucial in effecting reforms in the health system, with various issues such as corruption, inclusion, brain drain and others necessitating attention and significant policy change anchored on a people-centered approach.
A special study by medical doctors Eleanor A. Jara, Magdalena A. Barcelon, and Katharina Anne D. Berza seeking to shed light on reforming the country’s’s battered health system was launched last week at a virtual forum organized by leading think-tank Stratbase ADR Institute, with multi-sectoral stakeholder groups.
The paper is entitled Beyond Health Measures: Towards A Genuine People’s Health Agenda.
“Health services should neither be an issue of privilege nor charity. This may be ensured by empowering communities that are able to provide preventive services and assert their right to avail of curative services from public health facilities,” the authors said.
“A people-centered health care system catering to the needs of the poor should be founded on the basic tenets of equity, social justice, and people’s rights,” they added.
“All social services, goods, and facilities must be available, accessible, culturally acceptable, and of good quality. Thus, even as the government seeks to address the most urgent health problems of Filipinos today, it must also solve long standing issues to establish a free, comprehensive, and progressive health care system adhering to these universal principles.”
One of the authors, Dr. Berza, Director for Advocacy, Public Information and Research Department Council for Health and Development, said that Filipinos were still dying of preventable and curable diseases, corruption compromises health financing, and barangay health stations’ manpower complement is sorely lacking given the rate of brain drain among health professionals.
“The Department of Health should be strengthened by making the agency more accountable to our national health care system and emboldened to cater to the health needs of the Filipino people,” she said.
But all is not lost.
Jara, Barcelon and Berza, in their paper, wrote that change remains possible however bleak the public health situation is. Crucial to this is the will and sincerity of the country’s decision makers to genuinely strengthen the public health system with adequate budget to provide free and comprehensive health for the people, especially the poor
They envision a system that “can weather all pandemics and value the people’s health needs and overall well-being.”
At the forum, Berza added that, “The primary and overriding goal must be the provision of free health services of citizens as part of publicly-funded social services,” she said.
Stakeholder reactor Maria Fatima Garcia-Lorenzo, Universal Healthcare Watch (UHC Watch) co-convenor and President of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations, said that the use of digital technology can contribute to an integrated people-centered national healthcare system.
“The use of electronic medical records will ease the patients’ navigation from one health center to another. And patients’ data, which includes information on cultural and family background, can assist medical teams in understanding the patient and reaching appropriate diagnosis and treatment,” she said.
“This will also lessen the patients’ out-of-pocket expenses from diagnostic procedures.”
“The next Secretary of Health must have integrity, have very good managerial skills, and should be innovative enough to integrate into the health agenda programs that will address issues on hunger, environment, etc. and bold enough to shift the health system from being doctor-centric to becoming patient-centric,” Garcia-Lorenzo said.
Stratbase ADRI president Professor Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, in his statement during the forum, said the choice of a president in the May elections is crucial to achieving health reform
“Our next leaders should give high priority to addressing the mounting socio-economic and health issues brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as continuing political issues such as corruption,” he said.
“I have tears in my eyes! So, I beg you. Let us watch every step we make.” These were the emotional words of Sen. Richard Gordon in 2020 at the Senate’s plenary session when he objected to the inclusion of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the country’s other Freeport zones under the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act. The senator objected to the power being given to the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) in approving tax incentives under the bill.
OFFICE space rent and approved loans have started to pick up as more establishments resume their operations amid lower alert levels in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other parts of the country this month.
AFTER being accused by a farmers’ group of misclassifying rice imports under the wrong tariff lines, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said they rely on what is stated in the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) since they lack the technical expertise to determine the rice variety and quality.
MABALACAT CITY—Thousands of blue and white clad supporters of Team MCG marched on Saturday from north and south portions of MacArthur Highway to support the reelection bid of incumbent Mayor Crisostomo Garbo, Vice Mayor Gerald Aquino, and their entire council slate.
AMID poor rankings in most surveys, relatively few political endorsements while some of his rivals are experiencing shakeups in their base of support, Sen. Manny Pacquiao said only God can make him back out from the presidential race. He said he is not ruling out that possibility despite saying earlier he will stick it out till the end.
THE fans were back roaring and so did the Cignal HD Spikers who extended their streak with a 25-14, 25-9, 25-14 rout of BaliPure to clinch the first semifinals berth in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference on Monday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
INTERNATIONAL cycling action returns to the Philippines when Tagaytay City hosts the 2023 Asian BMX Championships and Asian Junior BMX Championships for Racing and Freestyle from March 3 to 6 at the International Cycling Union (UCI)-standard BMX track and at the Tagaytay City International Convention Center (TICC) complex.
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