Local executives worthy of note

Kudos to our Mayor, Florencio “Jun” Bernabe of Parañaque and to Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando for being cited by no less than the World Health Organization for their outstanding achievements in their respective cities last month.

The awarding ceremonies held last Oct. 25 in Tokyo, Japan recognized both city executives’ continuing efforts to uplift the lives of their constituents. In Mayor Bernabe’s case, his focus on mother and infant care caught the attention of the world health body. WHO, working with the Alliance for Healthy Cities, closely monitors and chooses among its 120-member cities those they deem exemplary in promoting health. Incidentally, in the Philippines, this alliance has 10 member cities.

Unknown to many outside Parañaque, and I guess even to many of us here in the South, the kind mayor has chosen to focus on maternal care because of the many indigent families living in the area. Most of them cannot afford to go to hospitals because of the prohibitive costs of medical care now. Even lying-in hospitals which many middle class patients now prefer because they are at least 60 percent cheaper are not affordable to most of these families, so they end up giving birth at home with the help of the neighborhood comadrona or worse, even the town hilot.

In most cases, the comadrona has absolutely no formal training or education, just “ouido”, and though they pull off most of the jobs without hitches, they are clueless when faced with a scenario just a wee bit off the normal procedure. So, if uncontrolled bleeding occurs, or when the mother’s blood pressure gets elevated, she drops her trusty old scissors and declares herself out of the picture. Just like that. As to the new-born, you can only imagine the survival rate in such cases where hygiene and professional medical attendance are both sorely missing.

In one of the poorer sections of the city, in Barangay San Martin de Pores, Mayor Jun built the city’s first free birthing facility. It is a simple one, nothing fancy but equipped with all the basic requirements for birthing. Most important, it is staffed by competent health care personnel. It is clean, hygienic and well maintained.

The City of Parañaque was cited for its “creative development” and “great dynamics”, but I guess this translates to Mayor Jun’s efforts towards maternal and infant care as well as the nutritional programs he has initiated for his constituents. Note that these are two separate awards, a feat indeed.

One can imagine that residents of Barangay San Martin de Pores consider this free birthing clinic heaven-sent. In fact, even outlying barangays end up in the facility, clogging up the clinic. So, the kind mayor is building more free birthing facilities for the indigent families of Parañaque, and work has started for the expansion. Expect a few more birthing clinics to come up as early as next year.  

As for Mayor Marides Fernando, she certainly needs no introduction. This empowered and diminutive dynamo has transformed Marikina from a sleepy locale to a progressive and energetic city, following up on her husband Bayani’s relentless efforts. Her community-building efforts where she has successfully kept a balance of progress and healthy environment with radically reduced pollution and a high degree of sanitation has earned her a berth in the short list of awardees of WHO-AFHC for this year.

Did you know that only Marikeños are allowed to work in their city hall, for example? She also encourages her constituents to choose their place of work judiciously. Preferably, it should be within walking distance or one that requires one ride only. This costs them less travel time, they have fewer commuters in the city, less pollution, and ultimately saves the workers transport/gas money. Makes a helluva lot of sense indeed, something so simple that it makes one sit up and appreciate the pretty mayor’s wholistic approach to governance.

These two cities, Parañaque and Marikina, and the city executives behind their success, Mayors Jun Bernabe and Marides Fernando truly deserve the honor and recognition from these respected world bodies. Way to go!

SRP for pork? Why not?

Just a short rejoinder on the controversy hounding the country’s hog raisers and Sec. Arthur Yap who is seriously considering the imposition of SRP (suggested retail price) on pork. Pork prices have remained stuck on P150-160/kilo, but farm gate prices have gone down to P82/k. Look at the spread. No wonder the traders or middle men are up in arms over this prospect.

The hog raisers, meanwhile, though not in favor of government price control, hail this development as positive because lower prices would mean more purchasing power for the consumers, and that is what they need these days. Even the monetary authorities recognize that household purchases have gone down significantly these last couple of months, and this is true even for the most basic commodities like food.

Yet, it is also true that, for less volume sold, their production and overhead costs remain the same, so how and where will they recover the difference? Having adequate facilities for freezing and storage would certainly help keep the oversupply of products and maintain a good balance of supply and demand. Incidentally, do you realize that, if you go to market late in the morning, say around 11 a.m., the pork or beef that you buy has been dead and exposed to the elements for a good seven to eight hours already? The animals are slaughtered even before the crack of dawn, and they are transported and displayed for sale without the benefit of refrigeration for that long. 

We do not have a price control law in the country now, so it would be difficult to enforce this. Maybe the government can allocate a fund for storage and refrigeration? It’s going to be a huge budget, but it could be workable.

Memories... and more

Last week, we did not run this series due to space constraints. Here’s one from Lance AC Acampado, “I am just 39 years old but during my growing up years my family lived in Eastern Samar where television was not yet available. I only get to watch TV shows during summer vacations.... (in) the city for two months... During my childhood in Sulat, Eastern Samar, we listened to (radio dramas) Tagani (our local Tarzan), Sisang Tabak, Hinamak nila ako’t inapi, pinagmalupitan...) Daniel Bartolo sa Sapang Bato... Zimatar... Magnon with his nemesis Punekula, Ito and Palad Ko, Sa Lilim ng Ninikat na Araw, and more. With regards to TV... we enjoyed Iskul Bukol, TODAS, Chicks to Chicks... Piling-Piling Pelikula (PPP), of course Eat Bulaga unless my sister opens Student Canteen first.”

Thanks Lance.

You have your memories? Write them in.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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