In Bukidnon, medicine supply woes traced to price

The lack of medicines in Bukidnon provincial hospitals and health stations has been blamed on failures in the bidding process, more specifically to the Capitol’s low approved budget for contract (ABC) or price index.

It was reportedly pegged at 2004 rates, a provincial legislative inquiry has discovered.

This seems a simple problem of public policy. But what could be the reaction of every Jose, Caring, and Juana when they are told about this in the front lines, say, in the out patient department of public hospitals?

The public, especially the indigents, are repeatedly being told of the “no available medicines” situation despite the province’s supposed “award-winning” flagship program on health.

Inihanay sa:Access to Information, Bukidnon, Business, Economy, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Life in the Plateau, Local Governance, Malaybalay City, Mindanao, Mindanao's communities, Philippines, Social Security

Pikit stop over: Pamogon coffee break

Pamogon Store
Stall No. 04
Pikit Public Market

For coffee drinkers, a natural choice for a stop over in between Cotabato and Davao cities aside from rest room visits and road side meals, is the Pikit Public Market.

Aside from it being a vibrant and busy market place, it offers Pikit’s famous Pamogon ”excelsa” coffee.

We scoured for that ‘aromatic’ redemption and found it for sale in many stalls at P130 per kilo.  

I had been curious about what makes the humble native Pamogon coffee unique. I’ve been drinking this coffee for a while and I wanted to know more about how this was made.

And in this recent trip to Central Mindanao I wanted to know the answers.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Every Day Mindanao, Food in Mindanao, Health, Mindanao, Trips - Adventures - Escapades

No rice shortage in Bukidnon?

Measuring my rice has been the tease at home — something that has caused me ‘hunger’. When you are carrying heavier load than you should, you know what I mean.

I did try to eat less of it every time I remember; most of the time I failed.

So when the rice shortage news was carried in broadsheets the tease hit me even more. There was a friend who said I was to be blamed. I was also blamed for the protests in Tibet.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Bukidnon, Economy, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Investments in Mindanao, Mindanao

Grade schooler’s suicide draws attention to urban poverty

A mixture of her difficulty in coping with poverty, emotional problems, and her youthful innocence killed the 12-year-old grade schooler, a social worker said.

Grade 6 pupil Marianeth Amper, who committed suicide in the afternoon of All Souls’ Day in a room of their house in the sloping hills in Maa, has caught the national limelight as she was reportedly pushed to kill herself because of her family’s hunger and poverty.

Dalmin Faith Igaña, of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) who interviewed the family on Nov. 7, said Marianeth had reached a stage when she could no longer cope with the poverty around her. This was further exacerbated, the social worker noted, by the fact that the girl had nobody to whom she can express her feelings. Read the rest of the report on MindaNews.com.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Education, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Jobs in Mindanao, Justice, Local Governance, Mindanao, Social Security

One Dabawenyo sports guru

DELAYED BLOGCAST: Last Monday I had a very long lunch with two friends, MC of the Business Mirror and blogosphere’s Mr. Clean Slate, Mo, who also writes for Manila Standard Today.

Time with Mo is time to update about sports. He breathes sporting fire in the city. Not that he is the only one I know. But Mo is a reporter, an advocate and a public servant. In his passion for sports you could see his desire to push for “sports governance”.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Education, Food/Health Related, Fun, Governance, Health, Local Governance, Mindanao, Mindanao Sports

Spray planes grounded

Airplanes used by banana firms to spray chemicals over plantations were grounded following the Davao City Regional Trial Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the city’s aerial spray ban ordinance.

The judicial clearance left no more blocks to execute the ordinance passed since six months ago.

Banana growers have alerted the media of an appeal at the Court of Appeals citing they have prepared for the worst.

Earlier, they have warned that the implementation of the ban would cause serious implications to the banana export industry.

Read the report on MindaNews.com.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Business, Davao, Economy, Environment, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Jobs in Mindanao, Local Governance, Mindanao, Philippines

Legal battle over spray ban goes to higher court

The verdict is out: the court has upheld as valid and constitutional the city ordinance banning aerial spraying in plantations. In a decision dated September 22, Judge Renato Fuentes of Regional Trial Court Branch-17 junked the petition of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) questioning the constitutionality of the ordinance, the Interface for Development Initiatives Inc. said. Read the rest of the story on MindaNews.com.

But the banana growers, standing in a legal defeat after being favored with a preliminary injuntion three months ago, will appeal the case in the Court of Appeals Branch in Cagayan de Oro City, insisting the ordinance is unreasonable and invalid.

PBGEA said they have prepared for the worst and have rallyied lawyers to prepare for the appeal as soon as possible. Read the rest of the story on MindaNews.com.

Other sectors hailed the decision, read reaction here.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Bukidnon, Davao, Economy, Environment, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Investments in Mindanao, Jobs in Mindanao, Justice, Local Governance, Mindanao, Mindanao Sports, Mindanao's communities, News, Safety

Mining and Mindanao: what fate awaits communities?

A friend Penelope Sanz, an anthropologist and a part-time journalist, has gone deep into both probing mining communities and met with mining firms.

I think she has an extensive and intensive field work on mining in Mindanao. I have always wanted to cover communities as there are both interesting and shocking stories to tell from the mouths of people there.

She has written on how the mining industry has affected human rights and the lives in general of the indigenous peoples. But most newspapers were not able to publish it for some reasons.

So when I found some of her articles from old files I decided to post them here.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, BIMP - EAGA, Business, Economy, Environment, Food in Mindanao, Governance, Health, Human Rights, Human Rights in Mindanao, Jobs in Mindanao, Local Governance, Lumads and Mindanao, Mindanao, Mindanao's communities, Mining in Mindanao, Philippines, Safety, Security

Back to Sports in a Davao neighborhood

Today I broke free from a personal myth that I could no longer play basketball. I still can despite gaining weight and this strange feeling of distrust that I couldn’t even last a minute in the court.

We played ball early afternoon, after a hearty lunch of seafoods and grill today in a friend’s place along Jacinto Extension.

I was with a group of photographers visiting a friend to help him up with some academic requisites. While I began to feel envious of their cameras, I entertained myself with mangosteen and luckily another friend invited me out of respetar if I want to play.

How could I refuse. My last streetball game was in 1999, when we all anticipated the coming of the Y2K bug. That was eons ago.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Food/Health Related, Fun, Health, Mindanao, Mindanao Sports, Monologues, Trips - Adventures - Escapades

Drive vs. mother-to-child HIV infection launched

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 July) – “Make sure that your child is free
from HIV infection. Take the test. Free, voluntary, and confidential.”

The message is from a promotional banner printed in time for the
launching of the “Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV
Infection” (PMTCT) program.

The government-run Davao Medical Center has piloted the program to
prevent infection of HIV-AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus-acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome) from mothers to their children.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Governance, Health, Human Rights, Mindanao, Philippines

DOH downgrades fogging against dengue

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 July) – Contrary to popular belief, fogging
operations alone cannot stop dengue, an official of the Department of
Health said.

Dr. Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, DOH regional director, told MindaNews
employing fogging alone is no longer advisable because it is not a
good health practice.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Davao, Governance, Health, Mindanao, Philippines, Safety

LGUs can keep water districts away from LWUA loans – official

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/17 Jul) – Water districts could venture on taking the option of local government cooperation to do away with loans to fund water projects, an official of the Bukidnon Association of Water Districts said.

Partnerships with the local government units in their areas can help water districts around Mindanao do away with loans from the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Juanito Aroa, also general manager of the Malaybalay City Water District said.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Bukidnon, Business, Davao, Economy, Environment, Every Day Mindanao, Fisheries Industry in Mindanao, Food in Mindanao, Governance, Health, Malaybalay City, Mindanao, Philippines