Editorial 3/28/16 (politics, elections, violence, diabetes, Philippines, lifestyle, health, Davao, Cuba, Obama, poverty)

Philippine Star "Violent contests"

Police have noted that election violence is highest in local races. Violence, however, is not the only problem that authorities must monitor and prevent as the local races kick off. Candidates for local government positions also tend to be the most brazen in flouting election rules, from the posting of campaign materials to spending limits. The Commission on Elections and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority have been active in taking down campaign materials illegally posted around the metropolis. But just outside Metro Manila, in nearby towns of Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon, trees and lampposts are slowly being covered again with campaign posters and streamers. If the candidates are incumbent officials, the campaign materials are unlikely to be taken down. [full text]

Sun.Star Cebu "Heart and discipline"

The days seem longer and hotter. Few children mind that there seems to be more hours to fill when it involves staying outdoors and playing. Parents should welcome the physical exertions of their children. There are 7.3 million Filipinos estimated to have diabetes by the Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (PSEDM). Even more alarming, the Filipinos diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are getting younger, with five-year-olds already acquiring diabetes from excessive consumption of processed foods and sedentary lifestyles that replace regular exercise with TV, computer games and social media. Juvenile diabetes is classically referred to as type 1 because it is first diagnosed in childhood. Ranked 15th in the list of countries with a prevalence of diabetes, the Philippines is an emerging diabetes hotspot, according to the PSEDM and the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF). [full text]

Mindanao Times "An insult"

THERE were reports last week that proponents of the very controversial Sasa port modernization project attempted to court the approval of the city councilors. However, the supposed meeting was aborted as most of the councilors were attending an event in Cebu and that some of them have refused to commit to attend it unless the proponents, particularly the representatives of the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Public-Private Partnership Center, make their presentation before the city council in session. [full text]

Manila Bulletin "An end to the Cold War"

At the end of his historic visit to Cuba Tuesday last week, United States President Barack Obama declared an end to the “last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.” Few people today remember that era of utmost antagonism between the two world super-powers of their time – the United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) – that brought the world many times to the brink of nuclear war. It became known as the Cold War because there was no large-scale fighting between these two nuclear powers that would have obliterated civilization as we know it. There were instead proxy wars, a space race, worldwide espionage, and propaganda campaigns. One of those incidents that spread fear around the world, including our own country, was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1961, when Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev sent nuclear missiles to Cuba, just south of the US. It was just after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion aimed at overthrowing Fidel Castro’s Communist government and Khrushchev’s response was to have nuclear missiles installed in Cuba, only 90 miles from the Florida coast. [full text]

Inquirer "Still poor"

POVERTY REMAINS the one area that overshadows the economic achievements of the Aquino administration. At the end of a six-year term highlighted by enviable economic growths that began in 2010, more than 26 million Filipinos remain poor. And nearly half or more than 12 million of them live in extreme poverty and without the means to feed themselves.
Contrast this with the few Filipino families who land every year in the Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires (in US dollars) and one can do the math: The benefits of economic growth are not trickling down to where these are most needed, and the cause of which is attributed to various factors, among these, a flawed economic growth model that only makes the rich grow richer; an economy where inefficient economic sectors are protected from competition, which could bring down the cost of goods and services; or a government where corruption is so prevalent even at the barangay level, such that it has adversely affected public service. [full page]