The ‘Rape of Manila’ remembered

Posted by watchmen
March 3, 2020
Posted in OPINION

The battle to re-take Manila from Japanese hands (Feb. 3 to Feb.  29, 1945) was raging. On the eighth day, “a squad of Japanese soldiers entered the Red Cross Building and proceeded to shoot and bayonet everyone in the building, including staff doctors, patients and young babies, nurses and refugees. Nurses pleaded for the lives …

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Liver, cancer, bad teeth

Posted by watchmen
March 3, 2020
Posted in OPINION

People with poor oral health may be at higher risk of liver cancer. A study conducted at the Queen’s University Belfast shows that poor oral health increases the risk of liver cancer by 75 percent. “Poor oral health has been associated with the risk of several chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes,” …

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Stepping up financial outreach to the unbanked

Posted by watchmen
March 2, 2020
Posted in OPINION

Mylene Sanchez, 42, pushes a cart to sell coconuts. Through her BanKo loan, she now has a fleet of 12 carts and she was even able to put up a sari-sari store in her home. She earns P8,000 weekly from the carts and an additional P1,000 daily from the store. She now employs extra hands …

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Cor unum et anima una

Posted by watchmen
March 2, 2020
Posted in OPINION

The expression is taken from the Acts of the Apostles (4, 32). It means “one heart and one soul.” It was used to describe the way the early Christian believers lived. The full text is as follows: “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said …

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VAT-free medicines

Posted by watchmen
March 2, 2020
Posted in OPINION

Just before 2018 ended, the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Health (DOH), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a joint administrative order that basically allowed many Filipinos to greet the new year on a more positive note. Said order — with the corresponding BIR revenue …

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Goodbye fillings: Tooth enamel regrows

Posted by watchmen
March 2, 2020
Posted in OPINION

Chinese researchers have created a new gel that enables the tooth enamel to repair itself. The research was led by Dr. Ruikang Tang of the Department of Chemistry and Center for Biomaterials and Biopathways, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. The co-researchers were from the Department of Physics, Research Institute for Biomimetic and Soft Matter, Jiujiang …

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Work as prayer

Posted by watchmen
February 29, 2020
Posted in OPINION

We should not miss the chance to make our work prayer also. As long as it is honest work, regardless of whether it is manual, technical or intellectual, it can and should be part of God’s providence over us, of God’s continuing work over us. As such, it is something that would be pleasing to …

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Doubt anything happens with the DILG tricycle ban

Posted by watchmen
February 29, 2020
Posted in OPINION

Taking a look at the Bacolod City government’s history with implementing policy, there is little doubt anything happens with the recent release of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular 2020-036, which bars tricycles from national highways. Watchmen Daily Journal columnist Emmanuel Canto has been covering the issue with several articles but, …

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More on Project ECHO™

Posted by watchmen
February 29, 2020
Posted in OPINION

The Project ECHO™ is a unique and laudable international initiative. It links expert specialist teams at an academic hub with primary care clinicians in local communities. The idea is to “demonopolize” knowledge and “amplify” the capacity to provide best care practice for underserving people all over the world. This way, doctors providing primary health care …

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An intergenerational response to climate change

Posted by watchmen
February 29, 2020
Posted in OPINION

The issue of our changing climate can be a matter of a few degrees — specifically, about 1.5 degrees Celsius. A report from the United State’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that at only 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer across the world, about 14 percent of the global population will experience severe heatwaves once …

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