A hellish Big Apple train ride

"I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger."
--Harriet Tubman

By Alex P. Vidal

SINCE it has affected so many cities and provinces in the Visayas, particularly in Western Visayas, the dengue outbreak is definitely part of the "state of our nation".
President Duterte apparently wasn't properly briefed by his health officials and his advisers on the extent of damage wrought by the dreaded disease from a mosquito bite to hundreds of children.
Although Health Secretary Franciso Duque III has expressed alarm and has been telling parents and health workers to be "proactive" in their attitude toward the epidemic, his power in as far as helping contain the spread of the disease is only limited.
Since it was Duque himself who admitted that "the worst is yet to come," the problem now demands an immediate intervention from the highest official of the land.
Dengue is not the only concern of the Department of Health (DoH), although it is the main priority in the list of urgent matters that the department must resolve.
If the President is the one who spearheads the no non-sense campaign against dengue, all the woes and confusion over the lack of hospital beds and facilities, shortage of medicine and equipment, among other problems, will be minimized and addressed properly.
Budget won't be a problem if the President is "on top of the situation."

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I was one of the hundreds of passengers affected by the breakdowns that caused the recent nights of hellish commute in New York City.
Traveling from Manhattan to Brooklyn July 24 night, the Q train stopped at Manhattan Bridge before 7 o'clock in the evening. After nearly 30 minutes, it resumed running but stopped again in the tunnel near the DeKalb Avenue.
I can bear the train getting stranded in an open area like the spacious Manhattan Bridge, but not in the dark and creepy tunnel. It lasted for 10 horrifying minutes.
From the tunnel of the DeKalb Avenue, the train proceeded to the Atlantic Avenue/Barclay Center station. Some horrified passengers disembarked to transfer to the "faster" B train.
I patiently stayed inside the Q train, which resumed after another delay in the Atlantic Avenue/Barclay Center station. But when it reached the Prospect Avenue station, it halted again.

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The delays had scooped off my time travel for more than an hour and I was terribly late for my work, thus I decided to jump out and transferred to the "express" right lane.
When I reached my destination (I had to spend additional 15 to 20 minutes for a bus ride), I was 15 minutes late. In America, it's already a hell if you have somebody waiting-- an appointment or an employer/client.
Delays and service changes were reported on at least 12 subway lines since Tuesday morning (July 23) as the system was plagued by signal problems, train breakdowns and repairs to track infrastructure, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
The main culprit of the transit nightmare that started Monday (July 22), a broken switch at the Franklin Avenue stop in Brooklyn, wasn't reportedly fully repaired until after 7:30 a.m. After the repairs were done, 2, 3, 4 and 5 train service resumed with delays, but the transit authority was warning passengers to "expect long waits" as trains resume a normal schedule. The switch malfunction at Franklin Avenue was first reported around 1 p.m. Monday.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

We are all guilty

"In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so."
--Immanuel Kant

By Alex P. Vidal

TRAINER and recently elected vice mayor in Polangui, Albay Buboy Fernandez has confirmed that Sen. Emmanuel "Many" Pacquiao is eyeing the presidency of the Philippines.
Pacquiao's presidential plans had been disclosed eight years earlier, and it was Bob Arum who floated the idea during our press conference at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas before Pacquiao's TKO win over Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008.
The big boss of Top Rank would introduce the popular Filipino boxer as "the next president of the Philippines" and the crowd seemed to be taking Arum's words seriously.
Before the 2022 presidential elections (assuming he can't wait until 2028), Pacquiao is expected to log two more fights regardless of the result of his WBA duel versus Keith Thurman on July 20 in Las Vegas.
After Thurman, two more licensed maulers will inflict harm on 40-year-old Pacquiao's head.
Let's hope he is mentally intact during the presidential elections.

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THE terrible dengue outbreak that prompted the Department of Health (DoH) to declare a national alert July 15 after the death of 450 people nationwide, would have been avoided if not for our apathy and negligence.
"Alert" is different from "epidemic" in as far as the national declaration is concerned.
It's appalling that the entire nation was caught unprepared as dead bodies of dengue victims piled up.
Dengue outbreak was like a tsunami that lashed at the Philippines just when newly elected officials were starting to warm up in their seats.
Had we prioritized the steps on how to minimize if not prevent its shocking impact, lives would have been spared and logistical, as well as medical preparations, would have been assembled much earlier.

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If we see the statistics, nobody can't escape the blame.
Health issues are always everyone else's issue.
From January 1 to June 29, this year, the DoH record showed 106,630 dengue cases have been reported.
There's no room for passing the buck and finger-pointing now.
Where are we during those period?
What were we doing?
While infants were dying from the horrific virus caused by a mosquito bite, our attention was somewhere else: in the mid-term elections.
Nobody was paying attention to the deadly virus, which causes a high fever from a mosquito-borne single positive-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae; genus Flavivirus.

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During that period, we were busy watching politicians debate in the campaign for the May 13 elections; and became more busy tallying the results and listening to post-election speeches and other controversies.
We didn't notice that many regions all over the country have already exceeded the epidemic threshold.
Death toll rose in alarming and scary rate.
It took incoming administrations to make the initiative to declare a state of calamity in order to create serious public awareness and tap government resources for a full-blown battle to arrest the outbreak.
All of a sudden, dengue fever jolted the entire nation like there was a cometary impact.
If we did not hold the midterm elections in May, our major focus would have been on how to knock out the mosquito-borne disease in whatever means with the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO). 
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Let's unite to defeat the virus

"Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?"
-Henry David Thoreau

By Alex P. Vidal

ANYTHING that destroys and kills should alarm us and impel us to be united to stop it.
Whether it's a poisonous food and drink, virus, act of terrorism, bad weather, war, animal attack, epidemic, it must be given major emphasis, importance, priority, and full attention.
The bottom line is to halt its destruction, minimize the death toll, and altogether save and preserve the human life.
In the arena of death and mayhem these past weeks, dengue fever has been the "star of the show."
Luckily, we've seen how the government, media, non-government organizations (NGOs), civic organizations, individual Good Samaritans, military, Philippine National Police (PNP) have combined their talents and resources to fight dengue fever, which has reached red alert level in Western Visayas, particularly in the city and province of Iloilo.

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In times like this, we can't afford to entrust everything to the Department of Health (DoH) and relegate ourselves in the role of kibitzers.
Dengue is not the only problem that bedevils the undermanned DoH.
Although it won't scream for help, DoH definitely needs both moral, financial, personnel, and logistical support from concerned agencies and private groups in the battle against dengue.
If help will continue to come from a myriad of sources outside the DoH, there is no reason why we can't help trounce the dreaded virus that have killed many Ilonggo kids and adults.
The signs that many Ilonggo leaders, organizations, and private individuals are determined to help avert a terrible dengue outbreak have been felt this past week when businessman Johnny Que and the Philippine National Red Cross donated folding beds for Iloilo hospitals inundated by dengue patients.

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We are saddened that another media colleague, Eduardo Dizon of the Cotabato-based Brigada News, became the latest murder victim in the country ruled by an iron-fisted president who once threatened to kill "all corrupt journalists."
Under the Duterte administration, Dizon was the 13th casualty from the Fourth Estate.
We have no idea about the issues Dizon had tackled before he was shot to death by two motorcycle gunmen while travelling in a car on his way home in Makilala town on July 11.
Initial reports said his murder was job-related as he received threats during his radio program prior to the ambush.
Journalists in the Philippines are like sitting ducks.
Every now and then we hear reports of radioman or newspaperman being murdered in cold blood.
And we seldom hear that the cases are being pursued seriously by authorities; or, if the culprits have identified, they are brought behind bars and convicted,

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We hate to again mention that the culture of impunity in the Philippines must have emboldened enemies of press freedom to silence Dizon, who was partly a politician.
The danger that crusading journalists face in the Philippines can be compared to the danger combatants in actual armed combat are facing in the battlefield: no one knows who will fall next.
Authorities must exert strong efforts to arrest Dizon killers soon so that the international community will not accuse the government of "abetting" the murder and connect it to the drastic campaign against illegal drugs now that the Philippines is under scrutiny and being monitored by the United Nations for its horrible record in human rights. (The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Insatiable and a spoiled brat

"Man is insatiable for power; he is infantile in his desires and, always discontented with what he has, loves only what he has not. People complain of the despotism of princes; they ought to complain of the despotism of man."
--Joseph de Maistre

By Alex P. Vidal

ARE the ongoing woes being experienced by at least 12 government hospitals in Iloilo a result of the late reaction to seriously address the dengue cases?
Was the May midterm elections the culprit?
If the elections weren't held two months ago, health and local government officials probably would have given full attention to the deadly virus and ample preparations would have been sufficiently made earlier.
The reported spill over of dengue patients in these hospitals that resulted in shortages of beds means the government was caught unprepared when dengue was wreaking havoc.
As early as in September 2018, the Bacolod City Health Office already reported seven deaths mostly children aged 3 to 11; one was 23 years old.

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Also in February 2019, the Department of Health in Central Visayas reported that 28 have died of complications arising from the dengue fever virus since January 1, 2019.
The regional epidemiology and surveillance unit of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) reported that from January 1 to February 16, 2019, they have recorded 3,681 dengue cases, which represents a 233 percent increase when compared to the 1,105 cases recorded over the same period in 2018.
Meanwhile, all the 12 Iloilo government district hospitals are facing a crisis after 1,984 dengue-related patients have been admitted as of July 9, 2019.
The number swelled only about three days after Gov. Arthur "Toto" Defensor Jr. signed an executive order on July 5, 2019 declaring a dengue outbreak.

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The last time I interviewed Alan Peter Cayetano was in June 2015 at the Philippine Consulate in New York City.
He was then a senator and trying to coax would-be presidential candidate Rodrigo R. Duterte to be the former Davao City mayor's runningmate.
He got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong."
Cayetano wanted to become vice president but was badly clobbered by now Vice President Leni Robredo and second placer Bongbong Marcos.
The son of the late Sen. Rene Cayetano had also wanted to become a senate president but fellow senator Koko Pimentel dashed his dreams to pieces.
But when he wished to become the foreign affairs secretary, this time Alan Peter Cayetano got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong."

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When Alan Peter Cayetano left the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)-with a not-so-impressive performance--he ran and won as representative in Taguig-Pateros in the recent elections.
Now an elected congressman, insatiable Alan Peter Cayetano wanted to become the House speaker.
After so much jostling and cajoling, the spoiled brat of Philippine politics again got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong"--albeit a term-sharing deal with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
Alan Peter Cayetano is perhaps the only Filipino politician who thinks a public office is a Ferris wheel or a tour bus.
He is both insatiable and a spoiled brat under the Duterte administration; and this made so many people suspect that he is not really sincere in public service and only wanted to establish a record in government service for himself.
We won't be surprised if, after they have mangled the constitution and change the system of government on the behest of President Duterte, Alan Peter Cayetano will next aim to become a prime minister.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Man is a political animal

“The human being is in the most literal sense a political animal, not merely a gregarious animal, but an animal which can individuate itself only in the midst of society.”
--Karl Marx

By Alex P. Vidal

ALMOST all provincial governments in Western Visayas have belatedly taken Dengue seriously and were starting to declare a state of calamity one after the other.
They started to pull the plug, so to speak, after Dengue fever has rapidly spread and killed some people.
Well, it’s better late than never.
Meanwhile, if we live anywhere in the Philippines and we are experiencing a severe joint and muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, exhaustion, and rash, we need to immediately go to the hospital.
They are symptoms of Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease that has rapidly spread in all regions of World Health Organization (WHO) in recent years.
Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent, Ae. albopictus.

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This mosquito also transmits chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika infection. Dengue is widespread throughout the tropics, with local variations in risk influenced by rainfall, temperature and unplanned rapid urbanization.
According to the WHO, severe dengue was first recognized in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand.
Today, severe dengue affects most Asian and Latin American countries and has become a leading cause of hospitalization and death among children and adults in these regions.
WHO added that Dengue is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family and there are 4 distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the virus that cause dengue (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4).
Recovery from infection by one provides lifelong immunity against that particular serotype. However, cross-immunity to the other serotypes after recovery is only partial and temporary. Subsequent infections (secondary infection) by other serotypes increase the risk of developing severe dengue.

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With power of speech and moral reasoning, man is a social creature, according to Aristotle.
Aristotle’s Politics, a work of anthropology as much as of science based on the famous idea that “man is by nature a political animal,” can be taken in a number of ways.
One reading is to say that man is naturally sociable (the Pufendorf-Grotius line) and that they are naturally drawn to various political associations in order to satisfy their social needs.
Another reading, which sees the word “political” in a less charitable light, might state that, since politics is based upon violence and threats of violence, the phrase emphasizes the “animal” side of human nature rather than its rational and cooperative side.
Those who turn their back on the violence inherent in politics, in Aristotle’s view, according to the Library of Liberty, also turn their back on society-they declare themselves to be outlaws, without a “tribe”, and without a heart.
His likening them to a “bird which flies alone” reminds of the Rudyard Kipling story in The Just So Stories (1902) about “The Cat who walked by Himself”, because he of all the wild animals refused to be domesticated by human beings.

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Meanwhile, he doesn’t mean that we naturally crave to attend party conventions, but rather that we naturally tend to organize and ultimately to associate politically under the auspices of a state, according to Michael Macrone in It’s Greek To Me.
He explains that the building block of the state is the patriarchal household, which serves the family’s basic needs and provides protection.
Households naturally band together into villages, which are capable of satisfying a broader range of needs and of achieving a great good.
Finally, villages naturally tend to unite themselves “in a single complete community” which is relatively self-sufficient.
As the ultimate expression of human nature, the state is Aristotle’s idea of the greatest good, and man is thus by definition a political animal.
Needless to say, Macrone emphasizes, not everyone has shared the philosopher’s admiration. In its advanced form, as expressed in the modern political party and the negative campaign ad, state politics impresses few.
Man seems to have fallen from a political animal to a political beast.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)