WELL, the people of the Davao Region, as well as those of nearby provinces in both the Northern and Caraga regions in Mindanao, have a lot to thank the national government and its agency, the Department of Health, for.
And that is the realization of the Kidney and Transplant Institute at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
With the facility inaugurated last Friday, Nov. 28, and hopefully fully operational by January next year, many of those who have existing kidney problems and those who will likely develop one in the future can now look forward to a better opportunity to get healed using the best methods there are.
Certainly, the Kidney Institute is a dream come true for the Davaoeños, and it is a good thing that politics have not interfered in its journey. Now there is already the facility to go to for anyone having an infirmity of that particular very important organ of the body. And we assume that any client does not have much to worry about because it is part of the Health Department’s delivery of its service to the people.
Our only wish – and perhaps that of every resident of the Southern Mindanao Region – is that there will be no “palakasan” system for those who desire to avail of the institute’s services.
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The Davao City-operated passenger buses under the Davao Transport Modernization Program will be fielded starting Dec. 5, 2025, in routes earlier designated by the city government.
We have no doubt that the roll-out is both welcome news and a sad one. It is welcome for commuters in areas where public utility vehicles are lacking during certain hours of the day, especially at night.
It is also unwelcome by public utility drivers and operators who stand to be adversely affected in the roll-out. Many drivers will lose their jobs, the least is with a very much reduced daily income because of the preference of commuters to a free-fare daily travel.
On the other hand, operators of public utility vehicles will certainly suffer the brunt of drivers opting for other possible income-generating jobs because of the dearth of passengers when the city bus service of the city becomes operational. They may end up unable to pay the monthly amortization of their units purchased through financing.
And there is one other issue that may have to be factored in on the question of whether or not the Transport Modernization Program is indeed real development for the city. That is, will the fielding of the new and much bigger buses help alleviate the burgeoning traffic congestion in Davao City’s major thoroughfares?
How could it possibly help – if the city’s planners believe it can?
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Now the Philippines’ Supreme Court (SC) has demanded the memoranda on the legality of the arrest of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Clearly, the SC’s action is an offshoot of the Petition for Habeas Corpus of the former Philippine leader filed by his children, who believe that their father was illegally snatched by the International Criminal Court (ICC) through our very own policemen.
The ruling came after three similar petitions filed by Duterte’s children, Kitty, Congressman Paolo, and Mayor Baste, were consolidated by the highest court.
We do not doubt that the children of the former President believe that in filing their petitions, they are on solid grounds and their chances of getting a favorable ruling are high.
However, our take on the matter is that the government could not have allowed the arrest of the Davaoeno former chief executive if its lawyers did not exhaust all possible means to determine the legality of the government’s adherence to the ICC intentions.
Nevertheless, we still are in complete agreement with those who think that the government will likely have a difficult time presenting to the Supreme Court its convincing memoranda on the legality of Duterte’s arrest, and eventually sending Duterte to the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands.
And if finally the Highest Court will make a decision on the consolidated petitions, will the same be able to restore jurisdiction to the Philippine government on the former President who is now in the hands of the ICC?
We are quite certain that the question we are postulating in this space is one major food for thought to any of the country’s lawyers, whether he is well-versed in the laws or one of those at the level considered as mediocre by those who feel they are better in the legal profession.
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Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte has accused the United States and other foreign powers of interfering in the affairs of the Philippine government.
According to the Mayor, the US meddling has, in fact, resulted in the resurgence of the illegal drug trade in the country.
Saying the Philippines is now in “downward spiral,” the mayor expressed his observation that the country – and Davao City for that matter – is now back to an era where a “stark wealth gap” persists.
Earlier, the mayor issued a strong warning against those who are resurrecting their illegal drug trade in Davao City.
But will Baste be as aggressive as his father in the fight against addictive substances, considering his (elder Duterte’s) present predicament?
“Let us to see.”
