A premier airport built for the Middle Ages

During the past many years, I have gone in and out of that ancient, backward, decrepit terminal building of the Davao International Airport over a hundred times. In previous columns, I had described it as one of the lousiest in the entire archipelago, lousier than the terminal buildings of much smaller domestic airports in the Visayas and Mindanao. That the authorities concerned never took a dynamic tack in improving what they had described as a "premier international airport" is hard to comprehend.

The Davao airport's check-in area, servicing our major airlines, is cramped and ill-maintained. The aviation security group has hardly any place to conduct a thorough check of the pieces of luggage being checked in. And the security personnel have not gotten the needed support from the Air Transportation Office, in terms of modern equipment to detect the contents of checked-in luggage.

The point here is that the security personnel at Davao Airport should not be completely blamed for the deranged hijacker's success in sneaking in his grenade and gun. The bigger part of the blame should go to higher air transport authorities who have terribly been lackluster and remiss in the task of modernizing the country's airports, especially the Davao International Airport where the passenger traffic is very heavy.

Thanks a million, and God bless the following kindhearted people who lent a helping hand to the Good Samaritan Foundation:

* Estrella C. del Mundo who, instead of celebrating her birthday with a party, decided to donate P5,000 (Traders #0371463)

* Elaine Sy of Cambridge St., Brookside, Cainta, Rizal, P2,000 (I-Exchange Bank #0036306)

* An anonymous donor from Berkeley St., Brookside, Cainta, Rizal, P500

* Ms. Jojo D. Molina of Camden St., Brookside, Cainta, Rizal P1,000 (BPI #0054725)

* Architect Leonides C. Bolofer of Baclayon, Bohol, P1,000 (UCPB #000282)

Segundina Sudiacal of Mabalacat, Pampanga, is the widow of a soldier who was killed in an encounter between the armed forces and the rebels in Gattaran, Cagayan, about 14 years ago. Since her husband's death, she has taken care of her four orphaned children, mainly through a widow's pension of about P1,940.95 a month. "I know how hard it is to survive, especially during this time of crisis," Mrs. Sudiacal said.

In a laudable gesture of compassion, Mrs. Sudiacal sent to me her one-month pension from the Government Service Insurance System, amounting to P1,940.95. And she had this message to the soldiers in the battlefield: "Keep on praying. I pray for your safety. May God help you and give His abundant blessings to your family. I know that God will not forsake peace-loving soldiers like you."

In the meantime, the Good Samaritan Foundation extended assistance to the following indigent beneficiaries: Gloria Forbes of Mandaluyong City, P1,000, who was injured in a traffic accident; a Muslim-Filipino youngster Rolando Abo, P2,600, for his bar review expenses; Teodoro Recio of Antipolo City, P1,000 for his medicines; students John-John and Miracle of Quiapo, Manila children of a struggling photographer, P5,000, for their tuition fees; college student Jose Singson of Quezon City, P2,500, for his tuition fee; and government driver Ricardo Paraiso of Caloocan City, who went through a severe prostate surgery, P10,000, his medicines.

Thought-provoking is an apt way to describe the ideas of Prudencio Campos Jr. on how to deal with the raging Mindanao problem. Consider the following:

* Why is the AFP not bombing or targetting Camp Abubakar, the GHQ of the MILF?

* The Abu Sayyaf must have some terrible headaches by now. They are on the run, hindered by their families and hostages. They have to feed these people. They cannot even cook, for fear they will be spotted by the AFP. Their resources are dwindling; they do not even know how to replenish them. So, a war of attrition with them will be to the government's favor, like a cat waiting for the mouse to come out.

* On the Basilan hostages, their captors have terrible problems. They have to take care of their hostages, watch them, feed them, and see to it they do not die. While they hold the hostages as prisoners, they are also prisoners, surrounded by the military. They may be able to escape the military cordon, but how far can they go with all those hostages in tow? Split up? Then they will have a hard time communicating with each other. Speaking of communications, can we request the cellphone company to black out the area of Basilan? Keep the kidnappers on the dark, not knowing what is going on, they will go crazy. Then they will come out, sending fillers, shouting for attention to voice their demands. We make that hard for them, that will be torture to the kidnappers.

Here is a very thought-provoking item from author Michael Lerner, as cited in his book Choices in Healing:

One of the most important pieces of medical information for cancer patients seeking to make truly informed choices among cancer therapies is the high level of variation in the cancer therapies offered by physicians in the different advanced industrial nations. Mainstream cancer therapies differ profoundly in England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States.

These five nations are all advanced societies. The physicians in each country have access to the same world scientific literature. Yet in each country, doctors treat cancer patients very differently. And American Cancer medicine stands out among the rest in one key respect: cancer therapy in America is consistently the most aggressive.

Lerner, in his detailed research, listed down how each country deals with its cancer patients:

* FRANCE: Its medical culture is deeply influenced by the aesthetics of human body, to the preservation of sexual organs and fertility. It believes in the importance of the vitality of the "inner terrain" in repulsing illness. Thus, it favors treatments such as rest and stays in spas, and prefers "gentle therapies" through the use of nonallopathic medicines like homeopathy. It also uses lower doses of mainstream drugs.

* GERMANY: It is a great innovator in the field of alternative and adjunctive approaches to cancer, with strong traditions of naturopathic, herbal, homeopathic, and spiritual approaches to medical care. The Germans are obsessed with their hearts, both physically and spiritually.

* GREAT BRITAIN: Its medical culture believes in minimalist medical interventions. Its emphasis is more on relieving and comforting than on cure. It also has strong traditions of vegetarianism, naturopathic medicine, homeopathy, spiritual healing, and social tolerance for alternative approaches to cancer. It is on the side of more conservative, less aggressive, and less toxic treatments.

* UNITED STATES: American medicine is aggressive. American doctors want to do something, preferably as much as possible. They perform more diagnostic tests than doctors in France, Germany or England. They often eschew drug treatment in favor of aggressive surgery, but if they do use drugs, they are likely to use higher doses and more aggressive drugs.

* JAPAN: Cancer patients in Japan are rarely told of their diagnosis by their physicians. Why? Because human beings react very strongly to the notion of death. Japanese doctors want the patients to spend the rest of their short lives without anxiety.

Art A. Borjal's e-mail address: <[email protected]>