The program’s name may sound a bit silly, but the Department of Health’s newest internal endeavor packs more merit than meets the ear and is one enterprise all government offices might as well undertake—seriously. The concept is not exactly a DOH original; other entities, public and private, have applied it, albeit off-and-on, in many pasts and forms. Taken with even just half the level of sustained dedication and discipline that public service strictly and rightly demands, there’s no question both government agencies and employees would immensely profit from this investment not only in terms of a healthy body but also in terms of a wholesome public impression.
Posted: January 20th, 2013 in Columns,Editor's Pick,Editorial,Featured Columns,Featured Headline,Inquirer Opinion | Read More »
What has happened to the “Doctors to the Barrios” program? Not much has been heard of the government project that then Health Secretary Juan Flavier pioneered in 1993, which encouraged medical graduates to consider spending a couple of years or so of their professional practice in some of the country’s poorest and most remote barrios and villages, where healthcare needs are at their direst.
Posted: November 13th, 2012 in Editor's Pick,Editorial,Featured Headline,Inquirer Opinion | Read More »
By Jose Ma. Montelibano
I decided to take on the objectionable posture of a government agency, the Philippine Regulatory Commission, in trying to apply guidelines and provisions over foreign medical missions that discourage rather than facilitate. It is this posture of PRC that reeks of utak wang-wang, that places people of authority disdainful of the plight of the poor.
Posted: September 21st, 2012 in Columnists,Columns,Viewpoints | Read More »
By Jose Ma. Montelibano
The PRC is the Philippine Regulatory Commission. I believe it is tasked to regulate licenses of professionals like doctors, nurses, engineers, etc. I have never dealt with the PRC although I have been approached by interested parties asking for endorsements to become commissioners in this agency. Of course, I never got to accommodate any of these requests because I have no influence whatsoever with the appointing authorities.
Posted: September 6th, 2012 in Columnists,Columns,Viewpoints | Read More »
The recent outbreak of dengue cases has reached alarming numbers (nearly 70,000 cases, with more than 500 deaths), but still the government, particularly the Department of Health, seems to be handling the “situation” as if it were a normal thing. Whether or not this situation has become a nationwide problem, it should already be a [...]
Posted: August 23rd, 2011 in Inquirer Opinion,Letters to the Editor | Read More »
