SPMC:striving to give the masa quality healthcare

“Marginalized people deserve the best too, especially in health care because they do not have a choice but the government hospitals.”

Dr. Leopoldo J. Vega, Chief of Hospital of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) lived by this mantra ever since he took over the reign of the hospital.  After six years, the SPMC stands at par with even the best hospitals in the city in terms of facilities and services.

SPMC has come a long way from a 25-bed capacity hospital along San Pedro St. where it was known as the Davao Public Hospital, to a 1,200-bed capacity hospital which was transferred to J.P. Laurel and through Republic Act 1859, renamed Davao Regional Medical and Training Center. Republic Act 09792, which was enacted in November 19, 2009, however changed the hospital’s name to the Southern Philippines Medical Center. 

The SPMC has recently undertaken an estimated P75 million modernization and expansion project and is now equipped with modern facilities. With the limited funds available, the renovation was done gradually in a period of six years. Today, the SPMC is equipped with facilities that can rival even the best private hospitals in the city and the world, with much-improved operating rooms, diagnostic machines and a separate heart center capable of conducting heart surgeries.

While the hospital has a 1,200 authorized inpatient bed capacity, it regularly caters to an additional 900 people on an outpatient basis and up to 750 patients at the emergency room on a daily basis. Around 75% of SPMC’s patients are from Davao City while the rest are from the rest of the region.

“Up to 80% of our patients here are marginalized and indigent patients who have no other access to healthcare,” he said. With the government’s universal healthcare program, SPMC is now able to provide healthcare even to these indigent patients while sustaining its operations.

Vega said the common belief that SPMC offers free healthcare is not really true since majority of those who cannot pay are given financing through PhilHealth. He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is trying to enroll as many indigents to the government’s healthcare program because “free is no longer tenable.”

“We also enroll our patients to PhilHealth if they come to us without the capacity to pay but they have to be qualified first,” he said. The social workers assigned at the hospital will have to verify the qualification of the indigent patient and the SPMC pays for the P2,400 premium for one year. Surprisingly, SPMC is actually earning from PhilHealth with 80% of its financial income coming from the government health fund.

SPMC’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) for the last five years has remained at a rate of P55 thousand per year but the hospital’s electricity expenses alone is pegged at P48 thousand annually. The hospital has not received a share from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for its capital outlay for the last five years and has only received an infrastructure and capital outlay of P120 million this year.

  

“We thus have to make sure that we are operating sustainably,” he said. The Davao City government is providing a P20 million annual assistance through the Lingap Para sa Mahirap Program of Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte.  The 1,200 bed capacity of SPMC requires 3,500 regular plantilla employees but even if it is servicing twice this number, it only has 745 plantilla employees augmented by 1,500 contractual employees.

“There is a big gap in the number of regular plantilla personnel but we manage thanks to the city’s assistance especially in the hiring of contractual workers,” he said.

Mr. Vega is also very proud of the hospital’s computerized hospital information system which allows doctors to see a patient’s x-ray and other laboratory results in any desktop. The hospital’s portable electronic capability allows the medical records of its patients to be fully digitalized such that the hospital can easily check a patient’s hospital records from 10-15 years ago.

While SPMC also caters to patients who are financially capable and get the same facilities and services enjoyed by the indigent ones, Vega said it is the latter which matters most to them since these are the patients who have no other alternative when it comes to health care. “I am more fulfilled in providing care for these people,” he added/

The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) was officially awarded by the TUV-SUD-PSB with an ISO 9001:2008 certification making it at par with even the best hospitals in the world.

The TUV-SUD-PSB is an internationally accredited certification body known for its expertise in auditing and certifying a wide range of internationally recognized management systems related to health, safety and environment among others.

“The ISO has been planned two years ago and we have attained it three months ago. We are now given a status of an institution that provides standard of care that is at par with the best hospitals in the world,” Vega said. However, the hospital management is now more concerned in maintaining such accreditation. 

The ISO 9001 Quality Management System is the most popular quality improvement standard worldwide. It is in fact the only standard in the 9000 family of standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that can be used for the purpose of conformity assessment.

BFAR XI release crablets

TAGUM CITY-The city government  successfully concluded the 1^st Crab Seeding Ceremony at the Tancuan Creek in Barangay Bincungan.

More than 500 crablets of Mud Crab, also known as King Crab or Mangrove Crab (Scylla serrata) were ceremoniously released at the mangrove reforestation area where they will be grown until they reach the appropriate size and weight.

“The newly-released crablets were hatched from the P2-million Multi-Species Hatchery in Barangay Liboganon which was inaugurated in September last year,” said BFAR XI Director Fatma M. Idris. The hatchery is capable of hatching up to 76,800 crablets per quarter.

While BFAR provided the funding for the hatchery, it will be managed by the city government. The land where the hatchery stands is the city's counterpart to the project.

City Agriculturist, Engr. Harold S. Dawa said in just seven months, the crablets could already weigh 1.5 Kilogram (kg) to 2 kg which can be sold at P400 to P600 per kg.

Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario, who was also present during the ceremony, said Tagumenos have no choice but to make the mud crab industry competitive considering that the ASEAN Economic Cooperation (AEC) has started and this product is expected to be one of those that will be meet with huge demand in the market.

"The fingerlings from the hatchery will be distributed to the fisherfolk so that we will have sufficient supply of crabs in the future," Del Rosario said. It is also expected to be an income-generating project for the fisherfolk in the area.

Del Rosario said raising mud crabs or soft shell crabs is very profitable not only because of the increasing demand in the local but also in the international market. Among the countries already importing the crabs are Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Europe and the United States. 

In Davao del Norte, the growing of soft shell crabs is pioneered by AB Maningo Farm which is included in the Tagum City River Cruise which aims to promote eco-tourism in the area. Among the few countries that produce the crabs are Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Most consumers prefer the soft-shell crabs since these are not only available whole year round but can be eaten whole once cooked.

The hatchery, which will not only focus on mud crabs but other fish species as well, took ten years of intensive planning before it was finally realized. The hatchery is equipped with a larval tank, algal tank, a reservoir, a power supply system and a nursery.

Tagum City Mayor Alan L. Rellon said the release of the crablets does not only signal the beginning of the mud crab production in the city but it will also pave the way for the realization of the city’s dream of making Tagum the crab capital in this part of Mindanao.

Dawa said the hatchery plans to release some of the crablets to the wild every production season so it is also expected to increase the number of wild crabs along the Creek which would be advantageous to the fisherfolk who could make a living out of it.

Zamboanga back in tourism map

ZAMBOANGA CITY-Bienvenidos! The moment you hear that word which means welcome, you realize that you have indeed arrived at Asia’s Latin City. And once you experience the Chavacanos’ charm then you learn to just let go of your fears and inhibitions.

Call it nostalgia or déjà vu but one can’t help but be brought back somewhere in time when the Spaniards reigned in the country, the moment you step down at the Zamboanga International Airport. It used to service international flights to Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia until it was cut off due to the Asian financial crisis. 

But still, the airport which sports a very distinctive Mindanao design, is kept busy by domestic flights to and from Davao and Metro Manila especially this October with the month-long celebration of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival which is being held in honor of the miraculous Our Lady of the 

UZAMBOANGA CITY-Bienvenidos! The moment you hear that word which means welcome, you realize that you have indeed arrived at Asia’s Latin City. And once you experience the Chavacanos’ charm then you learn to just let go of your fears and inhibitions.

Call it nostalgia or déjà vu but one can’t help but be brought back somewhere in time when the Spaniards reigned in the country, the moment you step down at the Zamboanga International Airport. It used to service international flights to Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia until it was cut off due to the Asian financial crisis. 

But still, the airport which sports a very distinctive Mindanao design, is kept busy by domestic flights to and from Davao and Metro Manila especially this October with the month-long celebration of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival which is being held in honor of the miraculous Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of Zamboanga City.

But that was not the case after the September 2013 siege of Zamboanga when Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces landed in the city, forcefully took over the city, hostaged residents of Barangays Rio Hondo, Sta. Catalina and Mariki and engaged the Special Operations Group of the Philippine Navy in a firefight which resulted to the death of civilians, military and the MNLF themselves.

“Zamboanga is going to be back in the tourism map judging from the number of visitors in this year’s festival specifically the Regatta de Zamboanga,” said Councilor Vincent Paul A. Elago, chairman of the City Council committee on tourism at the sidelines of the vinta competition conducted along R.T. Lim Boulevard which sued to be known as Cawa-Cawa. While the kilometer stretch of the boulevard used to be occupied by families, mostly Badjaos who were displaced during the siege, the tents are gone and replaced along the shores by traditional vintas with colorful sails. 

Mr. Elago estimated the spectators, who stood from end to end of the boulevard to cheer for the Regatta, to at least 50,000 including foreign visitors.  The Regatta de Zamboanga, a traditional race of colorful vintas, also had a record-breaking number of participants with 180 bangkeros trying their luck this time and vying for the P20,000 first prize and the P7,000 and P5,000 for the second and third prizes respectively.

“The vintas are one of the most popular icons of Zamboanga but most of the Badjaos who used the vitnas for fishing have started to look for other means of livelihood in the city so we feared that the vintas would disappear,” Mr. Elago said. Fishermen in the area have ceased to use their vintas for fishing and have become middlemen and traders. He said the local government hopes to bring back the art of fishing and of sailing the vintas through the holding of the Regatta de Zamboanga every year.

Hajad M. Hamid, who used to be a fisherman but now works at a state university here, and his brother Danny paddled and steered vinta number 006 to victory, making them the undisputed winner of the Regatta for the past consecutive years now. “It took me almost a month to practice whenever I have free time,” he said in the dialect.

“Zamboanga’s vibrant tourism industry suffered a setback because of the siege but we have recovered and are rebuilding tourist confidence in the area,” Department of Tourism (DOT) IX Director Mary June G. Bugante said. Convincing tourists to visit the city was a big challenge considering that the months after the seige was already the peak months for the city’s tourism.  

While the region’s tourist arrivals dived after the siege by almost 50 percent to 344,000 from 658,000 in 2012, the tourists have started to come back with 370,000 arrivals last year, most of them domestic travelers.

Eleven Islands

Ms. Bugante admits that the top attractions of Zamboanga remain to be its culture and beaches. Zamboanga’s vibrant culture is easily recognized with the vivid colors of the vinta sails. The area was already a trading center as far back as the 13^th century but Spain’s influence is best seen not inside the museums of Zamboanga but at Fort Pilar which was built in 1635. Fort Pilar used to be a military fortress but now it houses a Marian Shrine and the regional museum of the National Museum of the Philippines which continue to attract tourists and devotees up to now.

Fort Pilar is a National Cultural Treasure as declared by virtue of Presidential Decree 260 issued on August 1,1973. 

With so many beautiful islands in Zamboanga, it is not surprising that Mr. Elagois pushing for the development of the Eleven islands in the east coast as additional tourism products of the city. Ms. Bugante is fully supporting the development of the Eleven Islands as tourism brings many benefits to the people including the improvement of their economic status.

“The Eleven Islands could be our next attractions but we have to make sure they are developed sustainably,” Ms. Bugante said. While each of the islands have fine white sand and crystal clear waters, she said each has its own unique beauty that will surely attract nature lovers.

Culture and heritage

A tour of Zamboanga City is much like a walk back in history starting with the Zamboanga City Hall which was built by the United States to house the American Governors during World War 1 including Governor John J. Pershing who started the construction of Pasonanca Park in 1912. The City hall is made with adobe stones exterior walls, red terracota roofs and hardwood interiors. The belfry-like tower of the building is easy to spot.

A few minutes away from the City Hall is the Pettit Barracks, which was named after James S. Pettit, a United States Army Colonel who used to be commanding officer of the Second Military District and later Inspector General and officer-in-charge of Civil Affairs, Zamboanga. History lovers would have a grand time walking along the Pettit Barracks which has been declared by the National Historical Institute as a heritage zone not only because this used to be the station of the US Army’s 43^rd Infantry Regiment and the defense headquarters of the Japanese after that but the streets are also lined with heritage acacia trees that are more than a hundred years old that have been properly strapped with a metal plate showing their scientific and local name, date of declaration, approximate age, registry number and location. These trees are considered “ecologically, historically and culturally valuable.” 

With its rich history, culture and charm, it easy to say Quiere yo contigo (I love you) Zamboanga. The very same reasons why you cannot help but keep coming back to Zamboanga again and again.

Sara’s hashtags, skinhead stirs Dabawenyos

 photo courtesy of indaysaraduterte

In her Instagram post the previous day (October 13), Sara posted the following hashtags    “indaysaradutertesending #goodvibes to #Digong #Duterte2016 #pussyfooting.”

Sara’s Instagram followers took her posts and hashtags as a good sign that there is still a chance for Duterte to run for president. Duterte cited Sara’s letter telling him not to run for president because he does not owe anybody anything and that he has done enough for the country as one of the reasons for his decision.

“THIS IS IT!!! Magstay nako ng pinas for good!!! Babangon na ang pinas,” a certain Karen Atienza commented on Sara’s post.
 

Other followers expressed their thanks that Duterte finally had the guts to run for president, win or lose.

A netizen previously criticized Sara for her “selfishness” in not giving her blessings to her father’s rumored presidential bid. Sara told her critic to shut up even as she questioned the latter’s intellectual ability.

As of this time, no one from the Duterte family has filed a Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) even if the last day for filing is on October 16.

Cayetano declares VP bid in Davao

DAVAO CITY-Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano announced his vice presidential bid in the city today and hinted that he is still waiting for his possible presidential partner to declare his bid for the presidency.

“I am running for vice president of the Republic of the Philippines. I am putting my faith in God and to you our people," Cayetano said. He was accompanied by his wife Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano.

While he did not mention the name of the person which he will support as president, Cayetano hinted that he had Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte in mind when he said "Just like you, I am still waiting, praying and hoping that this person will run for president."

Among the reasons why he declared his vice presidential bid in Davao City, the bailwick of Mr. Duterte, are decentralization, transformational changes in Davao City and the city being the battle ground for peace and development.

"I have been mouthing that we should get the funding and focus out of Manila so it is but proper that I announce it here," he said. The city is also known for many transformational changes, he said, and it has been known as the battleground of peace and development.

"Davao is a good example of progress. I took my oath as a Senator in Cebu and I am privileged to announced my vice presidential bid here in Davao," he said.

While it is not yet clear if Mr. Cayetano will run under the Nacionalista Party or as an independent candidate, it is clear that he will be pursuing his vice presidential bid even if he does not get the party's support.

Aside from Mr. Cayetano, two other members of the Nacionalista Party have indicated their interest to run for vice president in the 2016 elections namely Senator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Jr. and Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV.

"Our party will meet in a few days. NPC is not committed to any one group and there are no talks of coalition yet. That will come when it is clear who among the party members will run for vice president and president," he said. All three of them, he said, had a previous agreement that there will be a free zone if all of them decides to run.

While Mr. Cayetano has not named the president he will support next year, the presence of Mr. Duterte's political team including former North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel F. Pinol and former Davao City Councilor Peter T. Lavina has raised suspicions that there could be a brewing agreement between them.

“It is usually the presidential candidate who initiates his choice for vice president," he said. Asked about Mr. Duterte's previous declaration that he will not run for president, he said "It’s really up to Mayor Duterte but I think it is the country that will lose if he doesn’t file as president."

Mr. Cayetano met with Mr. Duterte during the Kadayawan celebration on August 21 but he said "we barely discussed politics that time." However, he admitted that his sister Senator Pia S. Cayetano is flying in to Davao night of September 29 for a possible meeting with him and Mr. Duterte.

"I hope to run with a person who is as passionate as I am. He will be my wingman, parang Batman and Robin. You work well together," he said.

What struck him about the Million March Rally initiated by Mr. Duterte's supporters in Manila last Saturday was not only the number of people who went there voluntarily without being paid but also the boxes where supporters can contribute one peso for Mr. Duterte.

"With a campaign that is primarily supported by the people he will be in one of the best positions because he is able to run without owing anything to people with vested interested," he said.

He denied any plans to preempt the declaration by the LP today (Sept. 30) considering that LP has previously intended to declare their vice presidential candidate on Sept. 28 which did not push through.

While Mr. Cayetano said there are many candidates who have the capability to rule the country, it dies not include Vice President Jejomar C. Binay as "he is marred by corruption issues, we should not tolerate graft and corruption."

Mindanao agenda

In his introductory speech before declaring his bid for the vice presidency. Mr. Cayetano stressed that the whole of Mindanao, and not only the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), should get a BBL-like law and not just the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

He said the demand for Federalism which Mr. Duterte is promoting is getting louder and he is supporting it although is tis only one of the ways of decentralizing Manila's powers.

Mr. Cayetano said he introduced the Mindanao Peace and Development Plan which provides a specific plan for Mindanao's development. "Given the BBL's budget of P100 billion a year we prepared a plan which will only require P65 billion for a 200-kilometer Mindanao Railway and this is already with the National Economic Development Authority," he said.

Duterte not running

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has put to rest all speculations about his plans cor the 2016 presidential elections.

"Hindi ako tatakbo. Wala akong ambisyon maging presidente (I will not run. I have no ambition to become president)," Duterte said in a press conference yesterday afternoon.

Duterte apologized to his supporters, the Moro people who believed in him and to those who have spent money, albeit unsolicited, for his advertisement and promotion.

"I am sorry. I told you it was just federalism all along," he said, referring to his Federalism Speaking Tour in some parts of the country. He said he will support candidates who will in turn support federalism and asked his supporters to just follow his lead.

He said he will support people who will run for the Senate and mentioned the names of Representative Roman Romulo, Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Samuel Pagdilao and Mark Villar.

Duterte said he will retire from public office in 2016 with the hope that his daughter, former Mayor Sara Duterte will run for mayor next year. However, Sara said she has not yet decided but the people will know her decision in October during the deadline for the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy.

He also warned that there will never be peace in Mindanao unless the Bangsamoro Basic Law in an acceptable form is approved by Congress, or without it, federalism is given to the people. 

Duterte has repeatedly denied he is interested in running for president for various reasons including health and finances. However, he has become more emotional in the past few weeks and even said "the presidency is a failed dream"

"Nakig-istorya na ko sa akong mga anak...Si Baste, Veronica, Inday...dili sila manugot. Sorry!," was Duterte's reply when asked if he has already sought the consent of his children regarding the possibility of his running for the 2016 presidential elections at Almendras Gym last week.

Duterte’s rating at the SWS and Pulse Asia presidential surveys has consistently been on the rise. A presidential electoral survey conducted by the University of Mindanao-Institute of Popular Opinion (UM-IPO) from July 11 to 18 this year also showed him at the top of the list with a rating of 80 percent compared to last year’s survey where he got a 65.8 percent rating.

Meanwhile, Mar Masanguid of the Duterte for President Movement said he is not giving up hope that Duterte will still run for president because there is still time.

"Mudagan si Mayor. Motoo mo sa ako. Mag uban man mi sa Manila sa September 14-16 ngano muadto pa man dya didto kung di dya mudagan," Masanguid said.

All systems go for K to 12 in Davao Region

The Davao Region is 97% ready to implement the K to 12 Program, with the Senior High School (SHS) up for full implementation  by 2016, despite the cases it is facing at the Supreme Court. 

“We started the advocacy for K to 12  as early as 2010 even if the law was only signed in May 2013,” said Dr. Luzminda Onor, Chief of the DepEd Curriculum and Learning Materials Division (CLMD).

The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education to include six years of primary education, four years of Junior high school and two years of senior high school. Through this, the Program aims to prepare the students to master concepts and skills and prepare them for employment and entrepreneurship.

There are two laws that regulate the implementation of K to 12 and these are Republic Act 10157 or the Act institutionalizing Kindergarten Education and Republic Act 10533 which is the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

In Region XI, a total of 43 private schools have been given permits to offer SHS and the list is still growing since the DepEd is still evaluating the capability of the other private schools. While Schoolyear 2016-2017 will be the full implementation of the SHS, there are schools that have volunteered to be the early implementors by 2015.

On the other hand, almost all public schools are allowed to offer the SHS. However, Onor said, those with a population of more than 5,000 will have a standalone school that will offer SHS. There are three standalone schools in the city namely the Sta. Ana National High School, Davao City National High School and the Daniel Aguinaldo National High School

“By 2016 there will be 145,192 students that will enter Senior High School,” Onor said.

While DepEd will spearhead today a commemoration-celebration for the signing of K to 12 into law, there are other sectors that are not convinced with the K to 12 Program and have questioned its constitutionality with the Supreme Court.

The Council of Teachers and Staff of Universities and Colleges in the Philippines (COTESCUP), Suspend K to 12 Alliance and the Coalition for the Suspension of K to 12 questioned the constitutionality and petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of K to 12, Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 and its Implementing Rules and Regulation.

Earlier, Father Joel Tabora, President of the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) and vice president of he 1,300 member schools of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said K to 12 has already began and it is impossible to put a stop to it now.

"We at CEAP are all opposed to any postponement. we have already began. This isn't just something you can stop," Tabora said.

Tabora said "It is way too late to ask for postponement now. I am disappointed that we have responsible Congressmen with whom we have been speaking all the time (about the K to 12) who are now saying that we have to postpone it.”