Editorial

By November 14, 2017Editorial, News

Doctors to the rampart

WITH the implementation of Reproductive Health (RH) Law or R.A. No. 10354, still hanging in the balance that has left the welfare of many women in question if not in peril, another critical and perhaps controversial measure on Filipinos’ welfare will yet take the country by storm. We refer to the proposal to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Of late, Health Sec. Francisco Duque III’s position has already stirred the hornet’s nest, inviting provocative reactions, including a threat to derail the confirmation of his appointment. All that Duque cited was cannabis should only be used for research purposes and limited to patients who are unresponsive to traditional treatment, and explicitly adding that DOH does not support the use of marijuana in its raw form and derivatives.

It is an issue that our doctors cannot ignore and simply leave it to lawmakers to decide what’s best for our health. After all, who rush to doctors for treatment when they feel they are ill? That’s us and lawmakers! Duque is a doctor and we believe his view should not be dismissed as unstudied.

It is in this regard that we challenge our medical sector in Pangasinan, major stakeholders on this issue, to submit its studied position and invite our six representatives in the Lower House to a dialogue.

It is no longer enough for our medical professionals to fold their arms and leave it to non-doctors to decide what’s good for Filipinos’ health and welfare.

 

Santiago sacked

HOW many times has it been said that no one from the Palace Team can think and act on his own as to oppose the position of the President?  The latest casualty to this dictum is Dionisio Santiago, who was sacked when he criticized President Duterte’s mega drug rehabilitation facility in Nueva Ecija. For describing the 10,000-bed treatment center for drug addicts in Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City as a “mistake” and “impractical,” Santiago was sacked as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board.  What a painful exit for Santiago, a retired general who had been chair also of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Correctional chief.  “I have served in the government for 40 years and this is not the way out that I expected,” said Santiago.  One slip of the tongue and all the good things he had earned for decades just got flushed down the drain.

Lesson: Before opening your mouth, think first.

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