When the 3 a.m. alarm went off it should have started a familiar routine that involved hitting the snooze button a number of times, closing my eyes again, and thinking of excuses for welshing on a commitment. To say that mornings are rough is to make an understatement. But this was no ordinary morning engagement,...
Tag: Health
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Why we should continue to wear face masks
Planet Earth has been learning about Covid-19 ever since this highly contagious respiratory disease that killed so many was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The knowledge led to mobility restrictions in many countries including severe lockdowns in the Philippines, not to mention a global race on who could...
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Life with cell tower: Safe technology pushed amid industry rush
(Last of two parts) CITY OF CALAPAN, Oriental Mindoro—When Rosendo Rojas came home from a month-long vacation in Tarlac to vote in last year’s May elections, he was startled by an unlikely neighbor beyond his fence: A rising telecommunications tower. Rojas and the other residents of Camia Street in Calapan’s Sitio 1, Barangay Suqui, asked...
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Life with cell tower: Folks wary of metallic neighbor
(First of two parts) CITY OF CALAPAN, Oriental Mindoro—As far back as Genita Romero could recall, it was in the 1990s when her family’s health troubles began: Her 84-year-old mother Rosita had been plagued with tuberculosis, while her children had abscesses in the groin that had to be surgically removed at the health center. They...
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Has Southeast Asia reached a post-pandemic stage?
By mid-2022, governments worldwide had begun easing up on the severe Covid-19 restrictions and regulations imposed on their peoples and opening their countries to visitors. These moves were intended to ease the debilitating impact of Covid-related policies on the economies and social fabric of virtually all countries. Most economies suffered recession, companies went bankrupt, supply...
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Syrup’s recall a warning on what we give our kids
Back when we were children, our parents made sure we took our multivitamin and mineral supplements every day. It was generally deemed good practice: Vitamins and minerals are believed essential for life, and deficiency in one or more may lead to various ailments. Today’s parents still hold to this belief, but a growing number of...
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How ‘pangalay’ brought ‘ginhawa’ and helped me through the pandemic
I found health in conscious breathing and wave-like movements. The Covid-19 pandemic affected all aspects of our lives, not just our physical health. The lockdown and stay-at-home policies closed businesses, cancelled social gatherings, and caused shifts in working and studying setups. As the pandemic is more than a health crisis, we strived to be well...
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‘Pasadang’ Pandemic: Transport workers during Covid-19
The Philippine public land transportation industry was beset with problems during the Covid-19 pandemic. With restricted mobility and physical distancing measures enforced as early key strategies to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, it was inevitable that the livelihood opportunities of transport workers would be negatively affected as the number of trips and passengers dwindled. ...
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Ensuring a happy end of life for a loved one
Dear Cathy and Mark, My 82-year-old father was recently diagnosed with end-stage heart failure. His doctor informed us that he would likely not survive another year. My mother is 78 and has a number of medical ailments, but overall is in good health. My parents have adequate health insurance to cover my father’s medical care....
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From pandemic to epic: amazing graces
SYDNEY—Up till boarding time at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I continued to receive calls and text messages from friends wanting to know if I was proceeding with my trip. My departure for my nth visit to my daughter Giselle in Sydney would have been uneventful if not for the concern roused by news about...
