The name “Cibo,” meaning “food” in Italian, had the nuts and bolts in my head clicking in place. “Sure,” I told Alma in reply to her Facebook message, “I’ve not been there in years.”

Cibo stirs many pleasant memories of dining with dear ones: legendary copy editor Rustie Otico at the Gateway Cubao branch, where we stayed until closing hour; editor Chato Garcellano and my husband Rolly Fernandez, when I had a whole tiramisu to myself; psychologist Dr. Margie Holmes at the Glorietta branch; and my sisters, with whom I savored good food along with bonding time. I particularly remember the squid-ink pasta that I enjoyed with Margie and that blackened the gaps between my teeth, so much so that she handed me a toothbrush as soon as we returned to her hotel room.

I got to Cibo ahead of Alma and immediately the wait staff escorted me to a table for two near the kitchen and dessert cooler. That was what I have always found impressive about the place: the prompt and efficient service. I cooled off from the walk I enjoyed earlier with a tall glass of mint iced tea. Before I could finish it, Alma arrived, huffing from her walk from the MRT terminal.

We decided to split our orders of squash soup, with a dollop of cream in our respective bowls, and seafood spaghetti. While we dined, we updated each other on our lives and families, our writing gigs, our shared advocacy, the Maningning Foundation poetry competition, what dormant book manuscripts we had in our files, even gossip (more out of concern) about our common friends. Alma said she had a ready collection of essays amassed from recent years and asked for recommendations of prospective publisher/s.

Our soup was warm and comforting with the right sweetness coming from the squash. “Mushroom soup would’ve been as delicious,” Alma said. I agreed. Our split order of spaghetti was filling and had the right amount of mussels and squid rings, the pasta perfectly al dente.

When my companion asked for suggestions for her dessert, I recommended the panna cotta (mango, not strawberry). She wasn’t disappointed and licked her teaspoon of the last morsel of panna cotta just as I did with the bombolini, the Italian doughnut with a custard filling. The pastry was coated in caramelized sugar.

At one point while Alma was animatedly speaking, she knocked over a drinking glass which shattered in several pieces on our table. I promptly told her not to touch anything and to leave the mop-up to the staff. Three members of the wait staff were by our side pronto; they addressed the situation and replaced her glass with warm water, her specification. As though nothing had happened. When she offered to pay for the damage, they declined to accept any payment.

Serendipitously, our dinner date fell on March 23 which happened to be the birthday of Cibo’s founder-chef patron, the recently deceased Margarita “Gaita” Forés. 

Her pictures are prominently displayed in the restaurant’s premises. So are her words: “My mission is to make life and living more beautiful and delicious for others.”

I hope her only son Amado continues that mission.

The post Gaita Forés’ first birthday in eternity gives us a Cibo kind of love appeared first on CoverStory.

“All-out election spending, both on the local and national scale, coupled with easing inflation, will boost household spending and ultimately favor the economy’s growth this year,” said Wendy Estacio-Cruz, USI Research head.

“As seen in the past, election years and spending have a direct impact on the low- to middle-income bracket, driving short-term economic activity,” she pointed out.

USI is the securities brokerage arm of the Unicapital Group, a top independent financial services provider and investment house.

Even before the 90-day election campaign period started last Feb. 11, billboards and banners of candidates have been widely seen around the country. Certain candidates and party list nominees have been giving away bags of groceries, sacks of rice, and t-shirts and other promotional items, while TV and radio ads have flooded the airwaves. 

Local and national candidates spent more than P4 billion in advertisements in the broadcast media from January to September 2024, according to a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, citing data from Nielsen Ad Intel. The rise in public gatherings contributed to increased spending on fast-moving consumer goods. Candidates were reportedly feeding thousands of supporters and attendees in campaign rallies and Christmas parties. 

Now, during the campaign period, bags of rice, canned goods and other basic commodities are also being distributed to households.

“For the past 20 years, it’s been shown that during midterm election years, annual growth of HFCE (household final consumption expenditure) increased by an average of 5.2%. This surpasses the 3.6% average growth in non-election years,” Estacio-Cruz said. 

Similarly, she said, “we saw an average GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate of 5.6% during midterm election years, which also exceeded the 3.4% growth in non-election years.”

The Philippines is expected to be among the fastest growing countries in Southeast Asia this year. Unicapital projects a 6.3% growth in GDP, or the total market value of the goods and services produced and rendered in a country, fueled by higher consumption and lower inflation. 

An estimated P9.14 trillion (US$158 billion) has been allocated for 185 flagship projects under the government’s “Build Better More” initiative. This is seen to create more jobs and expenditures, and to contribute to increased household consumption and spending.

The Strategy Report of USI Research estimates that Philippine inflation is projected to fall below the Central Bank’s 4% target ceiling. 

According to HSBC, Vietnam will achieve higher growth at 6.5% in 2025. Standard Chartered pegs Vietnam’s growth at 6.7%.

Estacio-Cruz said the continued easing of key policy rates should provide an uplift to growth due to the potential increase in consumption and investment activity. “Lower borrowing costs may encourage businesses to expand, households to spend more on goods and services, and private sector investments to rise, further stimulating economic momentum,” she said.

The recently signed Create More Law (or Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy) remains a strong driving force for the improvement of the Philippine equity market, powering further growth for domestic and foreign capital inflows.

Despite some uncertainties in 2025 such as the changing political and economic landscape in the United States, the continuing war in Ukraine, and the May elections, the Philippines is expected to maintain its position as one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia, USI reported.

Read more: Candidates aired P4B worth of TV, radio ads before filing

The post Election spending, lower inflation to help boost economy, says report appeared first on CoverStory.

Her feat against World No. 2 Swiatek intensified the buzz among sports fans locally and internationally, with some dubbing her as the new “giant killer” of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

“I could exclaim firmly that Alex’s performance up to this series is world-class. Unfathomable, relentless winners against elite players. Congratulations,” one of them wrote on Facebook. 

Another posted: “Her resiliency, nerves of steel, made it possible to win the game and beat the odds against a formidable player like Iga Swiatek. Alex [is] an absolute inspiration to many people in the world.”

Prior to her performance and her commitment to reach the top in world women’s tennis, Eala graduated high school in 2023 from the Rafa Nadal Academy led by former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who also praised the alumna online. 

“We are extremely proud of you, Alex,” Nadal wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming!”

Present in Eala’s box during her quarterfinals match was Toni Nadal, Rafa Nadal Academy coach and Nadal’s uncle.

Also showing their support online are fellow tennis players, including Australian Olympian Ellen Perez who holds a ranking of No. 17. 

During the post-match interviews against Swiatek, Eala described how she felt as being “on cloud-nine.”

“Thank you all so, so much for all the support. This week has been so unbelievable, so I hope you guys can make it more unbelievable in my next match,” Eala said. 

With her efforts to reach the semifinals, Eala earned a colossal jump in her WTA ranking from 140 to 75. 

The 19-year old tennis star has become the first Filipino woman to defeat three Grand Slam champions in the Open Era with her triumphs against Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Swiatek. 

According to the WTA, Eala’s performance has also “equalled the best result achieved by a wild card at the Miami Open since the tournament’s inception in 1985.”

Eala will face the winner between Emma Raducanu of Britain and World No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the United States in the semifinals on March 28.

Read more: Alex Eala pursues quest in Miami Open, faces World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in quarterfinals

The post Filipinos celebrate ‘giant-killer’ Alex Eala’s Miami Open run appeared first on CoverStory.

At 17, while enrolled at the Mapua Institute of Technology, Dave wanted badly to go pro. He searched for suitable teachers to gain the confidence needed to break into the music scene. Unable to find any, he signed up for music classes at Santa Isabel College and shortly began accepting invitations to gigs. As these increased in frequency and variety, he started missing classes, until he ultimately threw himself to playing bass full time with different groups in as many venues.

This constancy would serve Dave well down the road. So that by the mid-1990s, not quite 30 and eager to dive into a fresh sound, he found himself at an open jam jazz night where a friend, drummer Mar Dizon, introduced him to admired bassist Meong Pacana, who would eventually become one of his mentors.

“This was what was then called a sink-or-swim night, or ‘sumabog’  (literally, ‘exploded’), when young musicians were called on stage to play with the seasoned ones,” says Dave. “There were many of us young ones in such one-off events, as well as the more advanced musicians. It was called ‘sumabog’ to describe those moments when all hell broke loose, and the newbies lost their way through a song. It’s a lot like when kids got lost in the mall—a moment of confusion, mayhem, a time for lessons.”

In one of those sessions, this time at the University of the Philippines, Dave was introduced to the renowned composer, arranger, and double bass player Angel Peña, now deceased, by pianist and jazz historian Richie Quirino. This encounter seemed to confirm that, indeed, the teacher(s) appear when the student is ready, as Angel himself would put Dave through his paces.

As he moved deeper into jazz territory, Dave found himself consulting with who has been described as “Asia’s best bassist,” the late Roger Herrera. “Mang Roger was so generous with his time and knowledge; one call and he readily shared his expertise,” Dave recalls. “I bought my first upright bass from him.”

The constant bassist

Today, Dave lugs his double bass—15 to 20 pounds, including the soft case—to shows or gigs with proper stages, and for recording. He has two other smaller custom-made basses, with detachable necks, ready for a plane ride.

He has also since played for a wide range of musical formats, some of which stand out more than the others: Between 2008 and 2010 he played for jazz-inflected television shows (“The Lynn Sherman Show” and “Sessions on 25th Street”).

Dave eventually got to play with the late saxophone legend Eddie Katindig, and sometime in 2013 with piano supremo Romy Posadas. In 2014 he was part of the orchestra for the musical “Chicago” in Manila. In 2024, he played the jazz bass parts for the Manila show of global sensation Laufey, with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO).

“I enjoyed doing these—playing with the MPO, which was very new to me, and with somebody famous,” he says.

These days, Dave plays with five regular groups and then some, bringing the deep-throated joy of his bass wherever it’s needed.

With Sifu, he plays with keyboardist and arranger Elhmir Saison, drummer Rey Vinoya, and saxophonist Tots Tolentino.

With Zenfu, he plays bass with Rey and Tots, and pianist Yong Aquino, with the occasional vocals by Faye Yupano.

With Dixie Sheikhs, he’s with Rey, Tots, Joey Quirino on keys, bandleader Ronald Tomas, and trumpeter Glenn Lucero.

With Up All Night, he’s with Rey and pianist Mike Lichtenfeld.

With The Jazz Standard, he’s with Elhmir, Rey, Tots, and guitarist Daniel Ibasco. 

Dave’s the trusty constant in these moving parts, the years of dedication to his instrument placing him firmly on the roster of go-to rhythm main men.

“Playing jazz calls for the same discipline and dedication required of doctors, lawyers, engineers, or athletes,” he says. “You can’t be half-hearted about it.” 

He passes on his knowledge through individual mentorship, maintaining a virtuous cycle, and his mentees have subsequently found work as musicians, notably on cruise ships.

But to push the love for art further, Dave believes we all should find and cultivate it in everything we do—“from how we choose to spend our day and talk with people, to the food we cook, the coffee we drink, the way we do business, the books we choose to read, how we parent and nurture our most important relationships.”

Dependable Dave: Singers know he’s got their back, and friends cherish his life lessons and laughs, and reliable support—all in perfect timing.

Read more: Portraits in Jazz: Simon Tan’s season of grace

The post Portraits in Jazz: Dave Harder’s moveable feast appeared first on CoverStory.

For some relatives of the victims of his “war on drugs” watching the historic daylong event on television in real time was like an Edsa 1986 moment: They applauded when it was announced that the plane carrying Duterte had finally taken off. It was, until then, hard to believe that the ex-president, who mouths the word “kill” as casually as he blurts “p*tang ina” while ordering the police to wage his antidrug campaign, could ever face trial for crimes against humanity.

President Marcos Jr. justified his administration’s action to surrender his predecessor to the International Criminal Court (ICC), not as an obligation to the tribunal because the Philippines is no longer a state party to the Rome Statute, but as a “commitment” to help the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) implement an arrest warrant. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC in July 2002.

“The plane is en route to The Hague in the Netherlands, allowing the former president to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs,” he said minutes after the chartered jet left Philippine air space. “Mr. Duterte was arrested in compliance with our commitments to Interpol.”

Surprisingly and for the first time, the President used “bloody war on drugs” to characterize Duterte’s signature administration project, a term often used by the media and rights watchdogs.

An official count by the police placed the number of those killed during Duterte’s presidency at over 6,000, but human rights groups say the figure is multiple times higher.

What lies ahead for the former president, the families of the victims of his drug war, and the country?

To help laypersons understand some of the issues and matters related to Duterte’s fate, CoverStory interviewed law professor Raul C. Pangalangan, a former dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law and the only Filipino to sit as a judge of the ICC, where he served from July 2015 to May 2021.

Pangalangan, 66, taught public international law and constitutional law at UP, where he earned his law degree in 1983. He obtained his master of laws (1986) and doctor of juridical science (1990) degrees from Harvard University. He also taught at the Harvard Law School and at The Hague Academy of International Law. He was for a time publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and a weekly columnist (“Passion for Reason”) in its Opinion section. 

“On call” as a judge in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Pangalangan is currently in Washington, DC as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Here are questions and his answers from the interview, with minor editing for ease of reading, plus some notes for context:

From a judicial and political point of view, what is the significance of the arrest of the former president? What kind of message does it send to the Philippines and the rest of the world?

Raul C. Pangalangan (RCP): The ICC was established precisely to put an end to impunity and to ensure that the most serious crimes of concern do not go unpunished. The arrest carries out the fundamental purposes of the Rome Statute. It also sends the message that the Court is serious with its mandate and will move forward despite all the difficulties along the way.

The arrest is being questioned in the Supreme Court. Essentially, the petitioners want to bring him back to the Philippines. Did the Philippine government take any shortcuts in taking him to The Hague? Is it conceivable for a suspect already held in ICC custody to be brought back home?

RCP: If you look at the history of international criminal tribunals, these have been indifferent to how the Court acquired jurisdiction over the person of the accused. By now, you have heard of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi officer who was kidnapped from Argentina, brought to trial in Israel for crimes that he committed in Germany and other parts of Europe. Indeed, the fundamental principle is that, as a matter of fairness to the accused, the Court requires him to be present during the proceedings. We don’t allow trials in absentia, and therefore the presence of the accused is the starting point of the trial.

Based on newspaper reports, one petition I understand is for a writ of habeas corpus. But he’s no longer in the custody of the government, so it’s moot and academic. He’s now in the custody of a foreign court.

So even if you order the government to produce the body, the government can say, “Well, he’s over there, just go after him.”

What is the implication of the Solicitor General’s withdrawal from the case on the position of the Philippine government? Does it weaken it, in the cases filed against it in the Supreme Court?

RCP: These domestic proceedings have no impact on the jurisdiction of the Court. Jurisdiction is vested by law, not by the parties. Opinions taken by certain government officials cannot, on their own, vest jurisdiction upon the Court if it has none, or oust the Court in its jurisdiction if it didn’t. It’s not as if the parties can collude to either grant or withhold jurisdiction. The fundamental principle is that the Court has “jurisdiction over jurisdiction,” the power to decide its own jurisdiction on the basis, in this case, of the Rome Statute.

From March 7, when the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber issued the arrest warrant, to early morning of March 11, until Duterte left Hong Kong, could China, which is a member of the Interpol though not of the ICC, have arrested him?

RCP: China is not a member of the Rome Statute, and has no obligation of “judicial cooperation” to carry out any order of the ICC. It is a stranger to these proceedings

What is important is that, even after Philippine withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the Court retains jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was an ICC state-party. That is provided by Article 127 of the Rome Statute, and is affirmed by the Philippine Supreme Court itself in Pangilinan v. Cayetano. In other words, the substantive obligation to carry out the warrant of arrest is based upon a treaty obligation to which China is not a party. (The Philippines was a party to the Rome Statute from November 2011, when Duterte was still mayor of Davao City, to March 2018, when the country withdrew from the treaty. The withdrawal took effect a year later. -Ed.)

How far down the chain, so to speak, will the ICC prosecutor seek those allegedly culpable of crimes against humanity?

RCP: Thus far, what we have is the former president of the Philippines, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, charged as an indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder. So, the crime charged is murder.

Charging him as an “indirect co-perpetrator” is what we in international criminal law call the “mode of attribution,” the way by which the accused is linked to the crime, how he or she participated in the commission of the crime. In this case, the direct perpetrator is the gunman, the guy who pulled the trigger.

The co-perpetrators are those who either solicited or induced the commission of the crime.

And so, if the question is, will the Court go all the way down to the hitman, to the gunman, the Court can certainly do so, especially if they have evidence to prove it. But do they need to do it? No, they don’t. It’s enough that they identify the masterminds and the planners and the main conspirators for the act. Indeed, for the purpose of the case against former president Duterte, all they need to prove is how he “solicited or induced” others to commit the crime of murder, through his orders, his instructions, his public statements and assurances. 

Knowing what you know about the case against him, and he has been through his initial hearing, is it likely that he would be tried? At this point, the ICC still hasn’t decided to proceed to trial.

RCP: I think one point needs to be explained and clarified in most Philippine debates. Right now, the case is before the Pre-Trial Chamber or PTC. After the PTC confirms the charges and essentially arraigns the accused on those charges, the ICC president will assign the case to a Trial Chamber.

That means that a new set of judges will sit in the trial, receive the evidence, decide guilt or innocence, and if in case of guilt, impose the punishment on the accused and fix the reparations for the victims.

Indeed, we can anticipate that Duterte will raise two matters. He will challenge jurisdiction, and he will request provisional release. Any ruling on those motions will most probably be appealed. It will then proceed to the Appeals Chamber.

Note that, ordinarily, a party may challenge jurisdiction only once. Former president Duterte will have his one shot at jurisdiction. But there are several other persons who are expected to be charged in the Situation in the Philippines. All the subsequent indictees will have their chance to challenge jurisdiction. Perhaps they assume their situation is different. Or they can present better legal arguments. Or perhaps they can have better fortune.

What kind of witnesses does the ICC seek in crimes against humanity? Eyewitnesses, whistleblowers?

RCP: Witnesses are presented to prove certain facts. So, what facts constitute the crime? What crime are we proving? It is murder. What mode of liability? What mode of attribution are we relying on? It is indirect co-perpetrator.

How do you prove those two things? How do we prove that Duterte is a co-perpetrator? They’ll have to prove that the killings were committed pursuant to the instructions, the goading, the support and encouragement of Duterte, or of his subordinates, or with weapons, financing and other resources that he or they provided. They can show his orders, his press conferences, his presidential statements, his repeated assurances to the gunmen. So, if the question is, who are the witnesses? Well, I think you have two DDS (Davao Death Squad) gunmen already. All the family members can testify what happened there. The neighbors can testify if you need evidence of the killings.

Under Philippine law and ICC law, the accused is presumed to be innocent until proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Duterte is old and frail. He will be 80 on March 28. Does the ICC give any consideration to the health and age of an accused in reviewing the weight of the evidence against him?

RCP: The weight of the evidence, the probative value of the evidence is one matter. It will depend upon the credibility of the witnesses and the importance of the fact proved.

A completely separate question is the frailty and the age of the accused. I am pretty sure it will be considered when they impose the penalty. We have a maximum of 30 years [in prison], absolute maximum of 30 years, usual maximum of 25.

So, I imagine if he is convicted, they will take into account the fact that 80 plus 30 is 110. But it will affect the trial only if his age will render him incapable of standing trial, if he is senile or basically unable to be aware of what is going on. And the record there is the Khmer Rouge tribunal. 

This arrest is being framed by supporters of Duterte as a retaliation by the President against the Dutertes—father and children—for their attacks and criticism of his administration and as a way to deflect attention from the problems he is facing—the alleged corrupt budget, the misuse of PhilHealth funds and corruption.

RCP: I’d rather not comment on domestic Philippine politics. I don’t want to get drawn into that. For me, the most important point here is that many of the big developments in law, if you look at the history of both human rights and international law, draw from unusual historical accidents.

I don’t expect the scenario to be neat. And it’s almost like the lawyers are playing catch-up with history. You know, history marches forward by its own cadence and law is trying to play catch-up on how to take into account, how to accommodate, how, in this case, to achieve justice under the circumstances.

Can you comment on former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea’s statement at the initial hearing? He said: “Two troubled entities struck an unlikely alliance—an incumbent president who wished to neutralize and choke the legacy of my client and his daughter [Vice President Sara Duterte] on the other hand and a troubled legal institution subject to delegitimization and desperate for a prized catch and a legal show today on the other hand.” Wasn’t that an affront to the ICC?

RCP: When I read the statement, for me, the innuendo was a collusion between the Philippine government and the ICC. I don’t think he was alluding to any other entities.

So, if your question is, was it an affront to the Court? Yes, it was. And it’s rather unusual to hear these polemics because, you see, to what end will one criticize the Court, the Court you’re calling upon to give justice to your client? But anyway, I leave that to the lawyer.

If Duterte is convicted, where will he serve the sentence and can the family ask that, okay, now he’s convicted, just bring him back, we’ll keep him in a local jail in Davao so we can visit him every day?

RCP: The ICC does not have a jail facility for the service of sentence. The jail facility in The Hague is merely for people undergoing a trial, the accused.

So, what will happen is the ICC will negotiate with member-states who are willing to provide prison facilities for the convicted person. … By the way, that’s no longer the purview of the judges. … That’s the carrying out of the order. We just find him guilty and we send him to prison. For me, hypothetically, I imagine Duterte will not want to be held in a place with severe winters. … Maybe he will ask for a facility close to good hospitals. Maybe he will ask for a facility where he is culturally comfortable.

The post Retired ICC judge Raul Pangalangan: The Court has ‘jurisdiction over jurisdiction’ appeared first on CoverStory.

Through Philippine folk dances and an open-style segment choreographed by FDC members and artistic director Michael Barry Que, the company will present a collection of stories of Far Eastern University’s “unseen” community, or those who contribute to FEU in essential ways yet remain in the background. 

A frame highlights an image, draws attention to its details, and emphasizes its significance. In the concert, frames will symbolize the windows through which the narratives of the unseen will be witnessed. Like a moving gallery, frames will highlight each performance as a captured moment. 

A key goal of the concert is to amplify the stories of FEU’s unseen heroes, to “elevate” their visibility as an expression of gratitude and empowerment. Says artistic director Que: “It’s not about creating perfect pieces, but making honest ones to authentically highlight the stories being told through the language of dance.”

Part I of the concert features rarely performed Philippine folk dances under the overall direction of Que and FDC folk dance coach Zahreen Sadia. Part II is devoted to open-style pieces that capture the unseen stories of the FEU community, with choreographies by Xyron Apostol, El Bautista, Jaztin Correa, Ronieth Dayao, Alliana Dionisio, Arianne Dumol, Johann Jabrica, Eadward Lladoc, Jaina Noble, Tonnie Padayao, Akira Padilla, Norberto Martin Pascual, Rose Adelaine Perez, Radiance Sta. Ana, Amadeus Sto. Domingo, Joseph Torres, Caroline Vasquez, and Que. FDC alumni are participating with choreographies and staging by Jeffrey Inocencio and Julius Quitalig.

Tickets to “FRAMES: Elevating the Unseen,” at 6 p.m. on March 28 and 29 at the FEU Auditorium, may be purchased through Ticket2Me and the FEU Dance Company’s official Facebook page. Prices are at P100 for the FEU community, P200 for those from outside FEU, and P300 for Loge seating.

The post FEU Dance Company presents concert honoring university’s unseen heroes appeared first on CoverStory.

Sycip-Wale was born in Cebu in 1935 to a Chinese mother, Tim Wa Lee, a doctor, and a Filipino Chinese father, Daniel Sycip, a businessman.

She wanted to pursue a degree in agriculture so she could help in the family farm, but her father wanted her to follow in her mother’s footsteps. After completing a bachelor’s degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman, she acquired her medical degree at the Far Eastern University. She went on to complete her residency in pediatrics in the United States and a postgraduate course in tropical public health in the United Kingdom. She joined the Silliman University Medical Center (SUMC) in 1967.

Marina Maternity Clinic

Daniel Sycip donated land in his birthplace, Dauin (some 14 kilometers from Dumaguete City), for a maternity clinic to be named after his mother, Marina Alabata. In 1972, SUMC’s Marina Maternity Clinic opened as an extension community clinic, with financial support from the Gottingen Reformed Church (Germany) and the United Presbyterian Church (United States). 

Sycip-Wale oversaw the 12-bed hospital with a resident physician, a postgraduate intern, a full-time nurse, a midwife, a driver, and two janitors.

Marina Clinic and its team provided maternal and child healthcare for minimal fees: P10 for delivery and P3 for consultation. They advocated for health education and prevention, teaching patients and their companions about personal hygiene and nutrition, so illnesses could be prevented from developing and spreading at home.

Their services reached fishing and farming families not only in Dauin but also in Zamboanguita, Siaton and even Bayawan City (20, 40, and almost 100 km away, respectively). Within a year, more people were coming to the clinic to consult for other medical concerns because it was the most accessible to them.

Marina Clinic evolved from serving as a medical facility to bringing a multidisciplinary and people-based healthcare program to remote communities with a vision of sustainability.

Soon, Sycip-Wale was heading medical missions to far-flung barangays to respond to the needs of communities that were beyond the reach of the rural health unit.

“We first engaged with the rural health unit’s mothers’ club, which quickly evolved into the parents’ club, because fathers were also in the community during our meetings, and they would present their health and hygiene concerns,” she recalled. 

The team encouraged individuals to eat a balanced diet and secure a safe water source, and encouraged community members to build sanitary toilets and use them. 

The clinic also became a model area for households to grow organic food and herbal medicines. 

Better public health

All these measures contributed to overall better public health.

The team brought immunization for infants and administered this on-site. They also started training “mananabang” or “hilot” (midwife/birth attendant) after observing a high incidence of tetanus cases among newborns.

Their medical extension services came to include providing training for volunteer barangay health workers with help from a rural health doctor. The volunteers gathered once a week over the course of eight months. It was a grueling schedule of travelling over bumpy, unpaved mountain roads, spending the night in the barangay, then returning to their duties at Marina Clinic the next day.

“It was difficult to reach those places,” Sycip-Wale said. To get to Barangay Mag-aso, for instance, the team took almost two hours traversing a road full of mud and potholes. “We had to travel slowly in the clinic’s pedicab,” she said, adding that at points marked by big and deep holes, they had to alight, walk beside their vehicle, then after some distance get into it again.

The team engaged with communities through an integrated approach to healthcare: with agriculture, food production, livelihood and better income opportunities, preschool programs, and others, depending on the needs of each community’s members. They brought agriculturists, nutritionists, and community development leaders to provide services and skills training, in the process empowering the rural folk in sustaining their endeavors.

They organized the communities in Mag-aso, Libjo, Panubtuban, Boloc-boloc, Bunga, Magsaysay, and Batuhon Dacu in Dauin. Consequently, each community built a small bamboo hut to serve as its clinic, not charging fees for the services. Some of them also established consumers’ cooperative stores. Today, rural health units operate in those areas.

Complementing cures

Community members, mostly composed of fishers and farmers—historically the poorest sectors in Philippine society—could not afford to buy medicines prescribed to them by the doctors and barangay health workers, or could not complete the required number of doses. Serendipitously, in the early 1980s, Sycip-Wale learned through a nongovernment organization about alternative medicine, particularly herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion. She has since become a staunch advocate.

“Not all illnesses necessitate Western medicines,” she said. “Herbal preparations like a lagundi decoction coupled with hydrotherapy and lots of rest are good for treating viral influenza. These are much cheaper than Western therapies.”

It was not difficult to convince the rural folk to undergo acupuncture, it turned out, because insurgents—or members of the New People’s Army—who visited those areas had introduced them to its benefits, and administered the service for free. 

“They made their own needles from guitar strings, sharpening the edges,” Sycip-Wale said.

In 2000, Sycip-Wale retired from full-time work as a physician. But she continued to work on several programs, managing projects for Marina Clinic and Silliman University’s Health Extension Program until 2017. By then, the Department of Health had recognized Marina Mission Clinic as a primary healthcare facility.

Under Sycip-Wale’s leadership, the Health Extension Program helped establish units of the government’s community primary care hospitals in the municipalities of Kalumboyan, Amio, Nabilog, Pacuan, Inapoy, Luz-Sikatuna, and Dawis.

Marina Mission Clinic also conducted training programs for barangay health workers in Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and North Cotabato.

Social phenomenon

Looking back, Sycip-Wale said: “We learned to recognize health as a social phenomenon: that many factors affect health—not just physical and biological factors. Others equally important, like economic, sociopolitical, cultural, and biological/environmental factors, must be considered. 

“People came to understand that ill health is a byproduct of inequality and injustice. We put their health in their hands by not simply organizing free clinics, but by also organizing communities to help identify the real problems and find solutions to their health problems.”

Finally, “Most important is the transformation from a purely medical model into a health program concerned with social transformation,” she said.

Sycip-Wale has received accolades for her achievements, among them the Albert Schweitzer Award, Outstanding Oriental Negrense Award for Excellence, and Outstanding Sillimanian Award in Community Health Service.

Much has changed from when she spent many hours travelling long distances to listen to and respond to the many problems of those who live in remote communities. Now, they are more health-conscious, embracing preventive practices in their daily lives, using alternative medicines when appropriate, and, when ill, going to their nearest rural health unit for consultation. 

Sycip-Wale finds fulfillment in knowing that she and her team contributed to that development.

“We empowered the communities to take care of themselves,” she said. “We encouraged them to do whatever they can in terms of prevention. Subsequently, they can now help themselves and others in the barangay.”

Read more: We need mental health care in times of calamity

The post Looking back on a life serving and empowering rural communities in Negros Oriental appeared first on CoverStory.

This comes after her historic upset victory against Grand Slam champions World No. 5 Madison Keys (6-4, 6-2) of the United States and World No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia (7-6, 7-5) in the previous rounds.

In the opener, Eala, the 19-year old WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) star and ranked No. 140 before the tournament, scored her monumental main draw victory against World No. 73 Katie Volynets of the United States, 6-3, 7-6.

She is now making waves in the tournament as a wild card entry and the first Filipina to ever defeat Grand Slam players one after the other since the WTA rankings began in 1975.

Eala won her matches against Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, and Keys, the Australian Open champion, and with Badosa’s sudden pull-out, she will face five-time Grand Slam Champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals on March 26.

The Filipino sensation was emotional during an on-court television interview after her victory over Keys. “Growing up it was tough. You didn’t have anyone from where you’re from to pave the way. Of course, you have many people to look up to around the world, but I think—I hope this takes Filipino tennis to the next step.”

When she was 13 years old, Eala’s family made the tough decision to accept a full scholarship to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, where she graduated in 2023. 

“My family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there.” she said, adding:

“But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I’m able to be where I am now. And I think the combination of everything that I’ve been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities.”

Present during her graduation ceremony was Swiatek, her next opponent in the Miami Open. Although taking the feat against Badosa was a walkover, Eala is still determined to power through her march against Swiatek.

“Not the way I would want to move on to my first WTA1000 QF. I wish Paula a speedy recovery. Looking forward to my match on Wednesday,” she wrote on Instagram.

Swiatek is formerly ranked at No. 1 for a total of 125 weeks before Aryna Sabalenka reclaimed the spot.

Read more: Alex Eala notches a first for the motherland

The post Alex Eala pursues quest in Miami Open, faces World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in quarterfinals appeared first on CoverStory.

Today is World Tuberculosis Day. Last March 19, Siemens Healthineers and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) held a media roundtable at The Westin Manila to introduce an AI-powered TB screening program intended to accelerate and streamline the normally long-winded screening process of diagnosing the illness.  

The Siemens-PBSP project is dubbed “Advancing Client-centered Care and Expanding Sustainable Services for TB” (or Access TB). It aims to deploy AI software qTrack—developed in partnership with Indian health tech company Qure AI—to assist in reading digital chest X-rays for potential TB findings in up to two minutes. Waiting time that normally takes two or three days would be condensed to a minute, thus doing away with the hassle of multiple hospital revisits for sputum tests.

Panel members Michael Schmermer, president and managing director of Siemens Healthineers Philippines, Tisha Boatman, Siemens Healthineers executive vice president for external affairs and healthcare access, and Elvin Uy, PBSP executive director, each delivered short remarks followed by a brief Q&A with media representatives. Select NGOs, patient advocacy groups, representatives from Qure AI, Valenzuela City Hospital, and the Department of Health were also present during the event.

Recommended by WHO

“TB is absolutely a number one global health priority, and we want to continue to reinforce that,” Boatman said. “The WHO changed their recommendation a few years ago and suggested that AI-assisted chest X-ray is the optimal way to screen for TB…This is the first disease in the world where the WHO recommends the use of AI in screening.”

The WHO recommendation represents a “significant opportunity” to move the screening process forward for an illness that has been “generally managed in the same way for many, many years,” Boatman said.

“The application of AI can significantly improve the quality of early case finding in early detection,” she added.

The Philippines is considered one of the biggest contributors to new tuberculosis cases in the world. The country’s TB incidence accounts for 6.8%, or about 739,000, of the total 10.8 million global count, and this number does not include “missing” patients, or those who are undiagnosed.

“We’re not doing well on tuberculosis,” PBSP executive director Uy said. “It’s high on the precedent…We have poor health outcomes in tuberculosis and other communicable diseases.”

‘Screen and treat’

Uy said 42% of patients experience “catastrophic costs.” “They are one bad disease episode away from financial or economic ruin.” he said. “That’s unacceptable for a country that will be upper-middle-income, mathematically, by the end of this year.”

Boatman also made note of the “economic and clinical” implications in the TB screening alone, where a patient will have to wait up to two days for test results from the initial screening, and if their results present symptoms of the illness, will have to return to the health facility for a sputum test. “Somebody who was suspected of having TB, has interacted with others, been in their community, potentially had lost wages for a second day,” Boatman said, adding:

“What’s absolutely critical with AI is being able to make a diagnosis on the spot, to see what we call in global health ‘screen and treat.’ Very quickly, a person who is presumptive of TB will be confirmed with a clinical sputum test, and the person can be started on their anti-retrovirals.”

The AI software will be deployed across 28 medical sites, including public hospitals and health centers, in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, which collectively account for more than 60% of tuberculosis cases recorded last year.

Uy estimates that 126,000 people will be screened using the AI-assisted technology across those first three regions. “That’s a big number,” Boatman noted, pointing out that “1.5 million more people per year in the Philippines [would have] access to TB screening.”

Using the qTrack software, the healthcare worker can capture the patient’s risk roots and symptoms by accessing the data in the interactive patient channel. It will be able to detect and localize over 30 chest abnormalities from a chest X-ray, and generate a comprehensive report based on the findings. The healthcare worker can also use the app to follow up on the patient to schedule confirmatory lab tests.

“We expect these tools to help our local health frontliners do screening more accurately, more effectively,” Uy said.

Up front, this will narrow down the timeline for a diagnosed TB patient, who will have to be treated for six months, while also accelerating detection of transmissions within close contacts. 

“We’re talking about results in seconds, instead of manual reading of chest X-rays,” Uy said. “That’s why screening can be a game-changer.”

The post AI can cut tuberculosis screening time from 2 or 3 days to a minute appeared first on CoverStory.

The billboard also echoed the repeated police justification for killing drug suspects: “nanlaban” or resisting arrest. Poor cockroach. And poor human beings. Treated like cockroaches and exterminated at every opportunity.

The drug war touched all Filipinos, no matter how peripherally. The husband of my wife’s former secretary was killed in “tokhang” (the original name of the Duterte antidrug program, which was an abbreviation of the Cebuano words “toktok” or “knock” and “hangyo” or “request”). Also killed were the son of an elderly caddie at a golf course where I play and the husband of an aunt’s long-time “kasambahay.” In fact, the word “natokhang” came to common use and meant a person who was killed in an antidrug operation. People would also say “dapat matokhang” to indicate someone who “should be killed.” The word came into popular use the way “salvage” did during Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship to describe extrajudicial killings. 

That the words “salvage” and “natokhang” became part of daily discourse is testament to the Philippines’ sad history in which justice is as elusive as progress. 

More than the actual deaths, it was the repeated pronouncement of “kill, kill, kill” during the Duterte administration that damaged the country the most. A state-instigated program that in many instances resulted in extrajudicial killings could not but lead to the further cheapening of human life. 

From an extreme ideological perspective, it makes perfect sense. One of the defining features of a capitalist society such as ours is to assign monetary value to all human activity and to humans themselves. Clearly, the poor have very little monetary value, especially the unproductive poor. The working poor at least have their labor to sell and thus have some value, while the unproductive, drug-addicted poor are liabilities to the state. Might as well get rid of them then, the thinking goes.

Corollary to this breakdown in values is the mob mentality that gripped some Filipinos, rejoicing in the deaths of those unfortunate to be involved in illegal drugs. Tacit approval was given by making light of the killings and even using them in product advertising.

Rodrigo Duterte was elected to the presidency on his reputation as being tough on crime. His campaign appeal transcended class and geographic barriers, enjoying support and popularity among all economic classes and in all regions of the country despite coming from the far south, far from the national center of political power, and despite not having previously held an elective position beyond district representative and mayor of his native city of Davao.

His misogyny, irreverence, and foul mouth added to his tough-guy image and made him look like he could also be tough on corruption and government inefficiency.

Woe to the country.

Many people may have hoped that he would grow into the presidency and bring to the office at least a measure of dignity and temperance, if not statesmanship and national inspiration. But he somehow exhibited a discomfort with the presidency, preferring to be called “Mayor” instead of “President,” and held office in Davao and not in Malacañang early in his term. He even denigrated academic achievement (among others), noting in self-mockery that he barely passed his academic courses but that the honor students among his former classmates had become his subalterns. In international affairs, he did not seem to grasp the landmark significance of the Philippines’ victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s sweeping territorial claims that included the West Philippine Sea, dismissing the ruling as a piece of paper instead. These misappreciations showed a mental makeup that made him ill-suited to govern a country that needed a president with a vision and not a goon-like person with a foul mouth.

Even his signature antidrug war sought to replicate his Davao’s “Project Tokhang” on a nationwide scale, expanding into the more ominous-sounding “Oplan Double Barrel” which targeted drug dealers and syndicates as well. What may have worked in Davao did not translate to the country, where whatever excesses were multiplied a thousandfold.

Ah, well, power does have its privileges, as we witnessed when the former president was arrested by virtue of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. At least we can all say with a straight face that he managed to stay alive: “Hindi nanlaban. Buhay pa.”

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