Ang Na-Sotto. Bow.

Imitation is the best form of flattery. That is how the old saying goes. However, the story gets a 360 degree turnaround when it’s being done unto you.  It is like taking an exam where someone copied most of your answers and got a higher score.

I am annoyed, not with the fact that my work was plagiarized, but rather with the idea that this blogger can’t think or feel for herself.  It’s such a sad, sad situation when you copy the lines verbatim, edit the information to suit your liking, and add some more lines to make it at least personal. Voila! A blog post!

I’m really am thankful for Verlene of http://funkyjunkienars.wordpress.com (please do visit her blog by clicking the link) who blogged about the issue even before I knew about this. She even left a comment on the blog post itself which went like:

Probably, that’s the reason why the blog was set to “invite only” afterwards.

But then again, even if you set your blog to private,  people are still able to get information from it. 

So I did a little research using the ever-reliable Google. And here are the results of my search.

I also have her Facebook account. I might give her a message soon for her to take down that blog post. Let’s see if I muster enough energy and time to do that. But seriously, it’s so not nakakatawa. 

Suyang suya ka na ba sa RH Bill? Eto pa isa.

Image from mypinoy.tv

I've been following the sessions on about the RH bill in the newspapers. Amused as I am with the theatrical argumentation that could pass as an season-long episode in Face to Face, I do worry about the impact of this bill. As I mention a lot whenever this bill becomes the topic, I am neither pro or anti RH. Heck, I don't even get the point of being anti/pro since I think that the best way for this to work is to hear out and reconcile the points of each of the two factions and then come up with a bill that would benefit the people. Our legislators should stop squalling and get together to pass this bill if it needs to be passed.

Then again, I also worry about the proactive stance of the government to pass this bill. While the bill may have several beneficial effects (of which I still have some reservations)  we cannot discount the permanent negative ones as well.  Will it really reduce maternal mortality rates or increase the incidence of hormone-related cancers? Will it affect the population curve positively which will allow our country to properly allocate its resources or will it trim down the population like what happened to other countries which drastically implemented birth control methods? Will it reduce STI's and HIV prevalence or promote promiscuity? Will it make parents more responsible in Family Planning and sex education for the child or will it lead the children to be knowledgeable yet unguided? Will it empower women or lead them to dependency on contraceptive menthods that are proven to be not 100% effective?

At the end of the day, I do believe that there is still much that should be discussed about this bill. These are crucial times for the country and we simply can't play trial and error since the bill has very polar effects. I am not saying that this bill shouldn't be passed but methods on how this will be implemented must be straightened out first before doing so. Because at the moment, I am not yet too confident on how the bill will be implemented if  it will be passed soon. Are you?

Epal Politicians, shot straight.

Two days of no work allowed me to devour on the text version of Eat, Pray, Love. I'm currently halfway through and there was this part of the story that struck me the most (Theology reflection paper ito?haha) It was when Giovanni, a friend of Liz who was the main protagonist of the story, was telling her that every place has its own word. A word that predominates the mindset of the people in one geographic location.  They go on telling each other words that describe the places where they came from; SEX for Rome, ACHIEVE for New York. 

This makes me think of a word that would describe the Philippines now that it's facing heavy flooding. 

Could it be UNITY? Surely, this tragedy showed how resilient Filipinos are. That feeling of bayanihan spreading all over the streets and social media. 12,000 inmates of Bilibid prison even skipped their meals to have something to contribute.  Celebrities doing dole out public service and mass information campaigns. Everyone in a complete and synchronized action toward public safety. It makes makes me feel good knowing that everyone is trying to do their part. 

How about HOPE? The government and relief operations seem to be more responsive. PAGASA is currently doing a good job by implementing new form of citizen alerts (Red, Yellow, and Green) and doing weather reports, not the most accurate but still very helpful. The MMDA gives instant information over social media about traffic and flood situations. I think we're getting better  at this disaster management thing. I see no trace of helplessness in Juan dela Cruz these past few days. I am ecstatic.

Unfortunately, some politicians night have another word to describe the Philippines now: OPPORTUNITY. 

Masbate Governor and congressman

While the victims of the flood highly value the relief goods donated by politicians, they do not need to see the donor's faces on their every meal. (Surely, these cans do not contain parts of their bodies in brine or tomato paste) Some say this was just black propaganda but if this was true, it's very surprising that they even thought of this initiative with all that's currently happening. Instead of using all the help they can use to pack more supplies, they use part of the manpower to individually place stickers on each can of sardines. Which I think is more tedious than placing everything in a plastic bag. Now that the original wrapper is gone, how will the people of Masbate even know if what they got is the original or spicy variant of sardines? 

Mayor Echiverri of Caloocan must've enjoyed this photo op for his upcoming political agenda as he was handing his Echiverri-branded relief goods to this woman. And I don't think this is just black propaganda

Mayor Echiverri and his branded relief goods

Looks like Mayor Echiverri wasn't alone in using this promotion strategy. Benjo Bernabe and Rico Golez also says "Yes!" to uncalled for campaigning and self-promotion. 

PNoy, Kris, and cabinet members in Muntinlupa

PNoy, having more visibility during times like these, visited an evacuation center in Muntinlupa. It might have been a well-meaning gesture if not for his entourage, who were allegedly future senatorial candidates. A report in Bandila said that PNoy was only with his sister and cabinet members. How come I see Risa Hontiverros in the picture? Hmmm. Probably if they just split up and went to different locations, they might have helped a whole lot more Filipinos. 

If this rubber boat is private property, ergo not funded by tax payer's money, a little break on self-promotion might help make this effort more sincere. Must public officials have their names printed on everything?

Castello

This practice had been going on for so long and nothing seems to have been implemented yet to address the issue except for that proposed "Anti-Epal Bill"  by Sen. Miriam Santiago. It a responsibility for public officials to serve their people. The public do not owe them anything for helping out. I wish that politicians would focus less on their selfish motives and rather live up to the public service that they campaigned and were elected for. 

Filipinos must be more vigilant and less tolerant with these kind of acts. If these officials want publicity for themselves, then lets go ahead give them the publicity they deserve. Something... like... this...

Here's the result:

While I was looking for pictures, I came across a group page in FB named Anti-Epal and a blog which feature your favorite politicians doing what they do best. The blog is even in need of Epal Hunters, volunteer if you wish :)

To one of the most outstanding barangays in Manila, with love.

One of the requirements for my new job is a photocopy of two valid IDs. I already have my passport at hand that’s why I just need to get another valid ID. Since getting a barangay clearance is pro bono and just takes about a few hours, I opted to apply for that.

I went to the barangay hall yesterday, met the barangay secretary, and got my clearance signed by the chairman. I can say that the process was really fast. I didn’t even wait for 5 minutes to have it signed.  I headed straight to the HR office of the company that afternoon. However, they told me that they couldn’t accept the clearance since the stated purpose was “for whatever legal purposes it may serve”. They wanted it to be more specific like “for bank requirements” or  “for local employment”. They asked me to go back to the barangay hall to have the purpose changed.

And so I came back to the hall and met with one of the kagawads who turned out to be one of our neighbors. He was very accommodating. He got my barangay clearance and even offered to deliver it to our house as soon as it was edited. I thought I was going to get the clearance soon until I haven’t heard from him since last night.

So after my 10pm-6am shift and 2-hour rest,  I went directly to the barangay hall to see if my clearance was already done. For some reason that I do not know, there was no one present in the barangay hall. I asked  the people around for the whereabouts of the secretary and one of the tricycle drivers answered, “Ah… Pumunta lang sa SM” That was fine with me since I know that these people have their own personal lives to attend to. I went home and returned again around 1pm but still, there was no sign of any barangay official.

I returned around 3:30pm that same day and saw the barangay secretary. I approached him and explained why the company didn’t accept the clearance. After much explaining, we tried to make a resolution and here’s how the conversation went:

R: Sir, baka pwede po i-edit yung sa last part na “for whatever legal purposes”

S: Ay…yan lang kasi binibigay namin dito eh…

R: Baka pwede po palitan kasi hindi po tinatangap nung kumpanya kung hindi “for bank requirements”

S: Anong gusto mo palitan natin yan para lang sayo? (They have pre-printed clearances in the hall.  Ironically, the barangay clearance I got from the province seems to be better since it has blanks where they can type individualized purposes)

R:  Hindi naman po sa ganun. Siguro po pwede i-dagdag na lang dun sa huli na naka parenthesis yung “for bank requirements” pagkatapos nung “for whatever legal purposes” para mas specific

S: Eh ayaw nga ni Chairman eh! Sinong masusunod ikaw… o si Chairman? (his voice escalating)

I was really upset that time. This incident might show any of these three things: the barangay is doing a trabahong tamad by giving out these generic clearances,  the secretary didn’t really want to put up with much hassle, the chairman doesn’t understand the need of his people, and/or I was asking a lot from these officials . Being a nuisance is last thing I would want to be although I do think that these officials should’ve been more accommodating. Besides, typing “for local employment” in a barangay clearance doesn’t require more effort than Anabelle Rama mouthing public insults over another person.

As a public servant, I believe that they should respond to the needs of the community. To succumb to the paternalistic idea that the leader’s  words are unquestionable may reflect the authoritarian style of leadership that officials implement and passiveness of the people who are not willing to question and reason out.

If I don’t get the clearance by today, I guess I have to shell out 300 pesos and get that postal ID instead.

Random

I believe and respect the rule of law. As one of the framers of it, I must and will continue to safeguard its integrity from any circumvention or misinterpretation by any party.

I do believe that such law must be enforced to protect the rights and the interest of those concerned.

Should any confusion arise from the law, the rightful interpreters of it shall have give the final interpretation.

Following the principles of management, problems of designation shall be coursed primarily to the one who is directly involved in the appointment. And not to the one appointed as he/she has no direct control over the process. Talking to the appointed person might be a good idea, yes, but it will not directly solve the issue.

I believe in discourse taken through writing, it’s formal, facilitates action, and subsequent resolution.

I value my opinion as much as I value others.

Although I generally am open minded and can change opinions as necessarily, I stand firm to my principles and to what I believe is just.

Then again, I do believe in a peaceful resolution by mature parties on any issue at hand.

Why It's More Fun in PRC

There’s no turning back. That’s what I realized after receiving my Notice for Admission (NOA) for the Nurse Licensure Exam on June 30 and July 1. The entire process of application went around 3 hours, which was faster than I expected (I was assuming that most government offices have slow processing time) This was also contrary to the rumor that when you arrive at 6am, you finish application at 6pm.

I arrived around 6:30am at the PRC and met with some schoolmates. I got some of the requirements photocopied from the shops in front of PRC where they charged 2 pesos per page! Over sa mahal! The line was really long, around half a thousand people infront and countless others behind us. The place was looming with vendors, who seemed to be too well concerned with the applicants. They advertise themselves as one stop shops who sell almost about anything you’ll need in your application. Ballpens. Paste. Long brown envelopes. Cedulas. Metered stamps. Pati katauhan mo pwede mo na rin yatang bilin dun.

Unfortunately and stupidly, my classmates and I became one of their customers. We got into buying their fake metered stamps and envelopes which cost around 35 and 20 pesos a piece. Later on, we got to know that the official ones have signatures in blue ink in them. They were sold inside the PRC building for just 22 pesos! Tengene.

I can’t believe that some people can live with such conscience, earning their keep from fooling people. But what’s more unbelievable is the fact that the PRC doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. There were no signages outside their building that went like “Wag bumili sa mga tao sa labas” or “Bumili lamang ng metered stamps sa loob ng PRC”. We reported the incident to the one who sold the official metered stamps inside the building, he said “Ganyan talaga, maraming manloloko diyan sa labas”. This means that the administration of PRC is very aware of this trade yet they choose to be apathetic about it. Nagbubulagbulagan ba. Even the guards, who are supposed to be in charge of the security of the office and its applicants, don’t even warn the applicants about the practice of these illegal vendors.  Does their job description limit only to fixing the applicants’ lines and checking our bags as we enter their premises? If fixers are being taxed with monetary penalty and jail time of God-knows-how-long, why can’t these illegal vendors be charged with the same weight?

Like an old Filipino saying goes, “Walang manloloko kung walang magpapaloko”, so I guess we were also to blame for that incident. Pero wala rin naman maloloko at manloloko kung walang pumapayag na may manloko, tama diba?

On Academic Freedom

Last semester, I was set aback by the letters that kept on coming in the student council office. They were individual letters from the different RLE groups in the third year containing concerns addressed to the president of the student council. Later on, I’ve learned that these letters had been set as a “requirement” in one particular subject. Some arguments mentioned in the letters seemed sound and feasible yet some are just too ridiculous to be implemented. I wish not to comment further on the suggestions. Yet, one question that made people raise their eyebrows is the fact that those letters were even made as a “requirement.” It would only serve either purpose: to help the student government better themselves or to ignite a black propaganda by encouraging fault finding in the incumbent government. I wish to believe it was the former.

This made me think on whether this activity can be considered valid, as justified by the academic freedom of professors, or not.

"Academic Freedom", as defined by Britannica Online Encyclopedia is the freedom of teachers and students to teach, study, and pursue knowledge and research without unreasonable interference or restriction from law, institutional regulations, or public pressure. It includes the freedom of teachers to inquire into any subject that evokes their intellectual concern, to disseminate and teach the information and the conclusions gathered by the scholar without control or censorship. This freedom is also upheld by the Philippine Constitution as it was stated on Article XIV Section (2) that “Academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning.” Therefore, all universities are covered and academic freedom is made available to every student and professor.

According to Russel Kirk, an American political theorist, Academic Freedom includes the promise to “guide and awaken the students but not indoctrinate them”. This presupposes that students should be the ones to reach their own conclusions and determine their own opinions based on their own independent thinking. We go back to the “requirement.” It must be a good exercise in the part of the students to apply the lessons in class to their student government. I find this exercise very refreshing to stimulate some mental workout although requiring it to be passed to the student council (who wasn’t even informed of such activity) can be in a way considered as indoctrinating them. Students must be given a choice whether they would like to pass the letters or not. I was talking with some student leaders from the third year and some verbalized that they were quite hesitant to pass their works. One even shared that their RLE group recognize that some of their suggestions are inappropriate as their proposals must be in line with the thinking of a certain philosopher assigned to them.

Former UP President Vicente Sinco (1984) once emphasized that academic freedom, aside from being an individual right, is also an institutional right. As such, the university’s jurisdiction still covers on the four essential freedoms, which are to determine: (1) who may teach; (2) what may be taught; (3) how it shall be taught; and (4) who may be admitted to study.

Therefore academic freedom, like all other freedoms, is not absolute. It is still grounded on the policies of the university as an institution. Like other freedoms, it goes hand-in-hand with responsibility. It can be said that, although professors have the right to explore subjects on what they deem is important in their subject matter; they are still bound to work towards fostering the students' education, aligning their teachings towards the legitimate pedagogical goals of the course that they're teaching them.

As a self-governing body, a student government exists to provide additional learning that cannot be gained from didactics alone. It is through this mean where leadership skills of the students are developed as the virtues of responsibility, accountability, and decisiveness outflow. With this, I remembered my high school's philosophy, “Seipsum Facit Persona” (Man Makes Himself). It recognizes that through the right interrelationship between the child, the adult and the prepared environment, the students will become self-developing and productive members of the society One factor that is believed to be needed in this system is independence, through which the learner is expected to learn from their own experiences while being guided by the teacher. Metaphorically speaking, this system of learning is like having an MS Word without the autocorrect feature. It does not correct the learner as he types, allowing the one to discern his mistakes by himself so as to serve a long term benefit.  In relation to this, mentors to the student leaders must take a less active role by guiding but not dictating; influencing but not controlling, channeling all the experiences to the development of the student government.  

The relationship of the students with their mentors are never abused for one’s vested interest. Since the mentor may be a professor or an academic official, he or she should not take advantage of his or her position by introducing topics that are clearly outside the scope. As Dr. Esther Garcia, President and Chief Academic Officer of the University of the East (UE), would say in the January 2007 issue of UE Today, the professor, as the students’ intellectual guide should be an “epitome of utmost integrity, impeccable scholarship and high standard of professionalism”. Now, if the requirement still has that tiniest possibility to pass as “within the scope,” the professor must evaluate if the requirement is really necessary based on the possible outcomes.

Or, just like in the case of the professor involved in the news that I've heard, he or she should ask himself or herself a question: Would the requirement lead to a better student government or just a futile move as a flamebait?

***

The author would like to express gratitude to Mr. Jan Robert Go, a Teaching Associate from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, for allowing me to borrow the sources from his thesis on Academic Freedom and for sharing his valuable insights regarding the topic. 

Dito sa UST, “No Money, No Entry"

The University of Santo Tomas recently made a new enrollment policy of not accepting promissory notes, banning the issuance of “pre-enrollment forms” to those who may want to reserve slots but are currently short of cash, and not allowing students with previously unpaid accounts to enroll. (with reports from The Varsitarian) With the implementation of this new stringent policy, students who can’t pay the minimum down payment for installment fees are likewise not allowed to enroll. 

This announcement was posted through a memorandum which circulated during the final examination during last semester. During the days of enrollment several signage bearing the words “NO PROMISSORY NOTES ALLOWED” were clearly displayed.

Here's the memorandum from the Vice Rector for Finance:

Aside from the fact that the announcement was done on a short notice and did very little to provide ample time for the parents to prepare their pockets, I believe that this policy is again an incident of lack of consultation with the students. No dialogue was done with the student body. The policy making rested solely on the administrators. We, the students, had become passive recipients of this memorandum, forcibly fed onto us and we, like abused children, apathetically opened our mouths to whatever gustatory dread awaits us.

Good thing not everyone accepted this policy with open arms.

I was talking yesterday with a leader from the Anakbayan-UST Chapter who spearheaded a move against this policy. Together with the Central Student Council president Lorraine Taguiam, they went on a dialogue for the reconsideration of the policy. On November 23, 2011, the Varsitarian released an update announcing that the administrators lifted the policy.

The University will be entertaining late enrollees starting today, while promissory notes will be accepted again but will be subject to the approval of the Treasurer’s Office - Central Student Council 

***

When you come to think of it, the policy is in itself covered with a dark shade of elitism. It presupposes that if the student can’t pay the exact fee on time, one's right to education is rightfully waived. In another way we may ask, “Has education been confined only to the elite who can afford it?” This also speaks of the commercialization of education where issues of money come first before the fulfillment of the university’s mission, which is to provide education, so to speak.

It must be an arrogant statement for a student to demand education without doing his part by first paying the tuition fees, but then again, due consideration must be given by the administration since not every family can afford to produce money in time with the enrollment and some even technically depend on promissory notes to enroll.

To sum up, I suggest consultation must be done with the students with regard to such policies that directly affect them. As per the university administrators, they must carefully consider the possible consequences of the proposed policies so that the interests of the students are not sacrificed by a less than effective administrative process.

***

I enjoin the student councils and organizations of the different colleges, let us continue to do our part in protecting the students rights and interests. May our functions extend more than that of organizing activities. The student body technically gave us our positions and it is but just that we work for the people we serve and not for another party. Kudos to the CSC President Lorraine Taguiam, Anakbayan and other students who participated for this feat!

Nurses: Available at your nearest employment agency!

Not cool. 

This picture was uploaded on Facebook by my professor, Asst.Prof. Rowena Chua, which she captured while she was on her way to work. See how the Nursing profession is lambasted by being included in this list along with the houseboys, drivers, cooks, yaya, and attendants just to name a few. No offense meant to the other workers but you can really see the difference among those jobs written: Nurses/Midwives have academic degrees, pass the government exams and are by their own right, professionals.

Nurses do not deserve to be treated like this just because there is an oversupply!

Arcade Justice

Angel Capili Jr., the perpetrator of the death of Charice’s father had already surrendered yesterday to the local authorities. 

If you had noticed, it was only five days until a barangay chairman “convinced” Capili to submit himself to the authorities. This made me ponder on why can’t the government apply the same swiftness in other cases? Can this be due of the hype the media fueled to the issue that led to its quick resolution? Or is it about the hefty reward amounting to 200,000 pesos given by the governor of Laguna and the mayor of San Pedro?

If one of those above is the case, this situation reaffirms the notion that this country has an arcade concept of the judicial process where a token must first be inserted before the machine would actually work. How about those who cannot afford to buy their tokens? Do the less financially fortunate deserve a slower response from lady justice as they can’t readily hand a reward to those who may help in the case’s resolution? Justice must be available to all. Everyone is entitled to it, regardless of one’s standing in life.

I hypothesize that those who give the reward and the family of the victim benefit from the reward symbiotically. The victim’s family, most of the time, get the justice they deserve while those who gave the reward would have instant publicity (like for an upcoming election). Ehem…Governor Estorga…Mayor Cataquiz. 

Fine, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and attribute their “generosity” to serve one humanitarian act but you should know that the scenario above is not far from happening. Add a little dancing/singing, shaking of constituent’s hands, and an insincere yet well delivered platform and you’ll have the definition of Philippine Politics.

Another interesting point in following this story is that after Capili surrendered in Laguna, he was taken to Camp Crame in Quezon City . Reason? So that he would be presented to Interior Secretary Jesse Roblero and other high ranking police officials.

Uh….okay.

Well… Guess what? The perpetrator is not a freak show that needs to be presented to the officials. I got held up months ago and the suspect was arrested but he didn’t get the privilege to be presented to some secretary!

A crime is a crime, a murderer is a murderer. Does it make a startling difference (in terms of gravity of the situation) if the murderer happened to kill the father of some international pop star? No.

Good thing, I still don’t see those hideous photos of the suspect being presented to the officials in the newspapers or else I just might barf like I did with the DPWH’s amateur photoshopping skills.

On a serious note, I still don’t see the point of him being brought to Manila given that he will face the charges against him in Laguna. Is this for publicity and for picture taking again?

Not the Doctors' Assistant

You probably have the same perception. 

That nurses are just but assistants to the doctors. 

The Yayas. 

The Chimays.

The Utusans.

The Aliping Sagigilid.

(insert other derogatory descriptions you would call a nurse here.)

Pardon the exaggeration on the first few lines but allow me to expound on that claim in a while.

I was reviewing my brother weeks ago about their lesson on “Community Helpers”. It was a thin pamphlet on the different jobs that people do in the community. You probably know the drill on these types of lessons. The schoolers identify the job based on the description indicated, vice versa. Things were going quite well until we got to the item about the nurse. I knew back then that what I saw would readily feed my next blog entry. I just had to take a picture of that specific number.

Here’s it is:

No wonder why society looks down on nurses! It’s probably because even in the primary level of education, they had been accustomed with the idea that nurses are assistants to the doctors, that they are inferior to them. That they are sunod-sunuran to whatever the doctor orders.

This notion may be traced to the early history of the nursing profession when nursing was viewed as a vocation with their actions being limited to what the doctors instruct them to do so. This was the scenario until Nursing finally became a profession and later on developed its own organized body of knowledge and scope. 

From my three and a half years of taking up Nursing at the UST, I was in no way acquainted to this ridiculous idea of being an “assistant” to the doctor. We were taught that we are an independent profession that focus on the more humanized aspect of health care. Yes, we may collaborate with doctors on certain aspects of the patient's medical management but nurses clearly do more than work on the disease’s pathophysiology!  

What I’m trying to say is that although assisting the doctor may be part of the responsibilities of a nurse,but it does not constitute their entire scope as professionals. In R.A. 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 it is stated that the functions of a professional nurse are as follows:

(a) Provide nursing care through the utilization of the nursing process. Nursing care includes, but not limited to, traditional and innovative approaches, therapeutic use of self, executing health care techniques and procedures, essential primary health care, comfort measures, health teachings, and administration of written prescription for treatment, therapies, oral topical and parenteral medications, internal examination during labor in the absence of antenatal bleeding and delivery. In case of suturing of perineal laceration, special training shall be provided according to protocol established;

(b) establish linkages with community resources and coordination with the health team;

(c) Provide health education to individuals, families and communities;

(d) Teach, guide and supervise students in nursing education programs including the administration of nursing services in varied settings such as hospitals and clinics; undertake consultation services; engage in such activities that require the utilization of knowledge and decision-making skills of a registered nurse; and

(e) Undertake nursing and health human resource development training and research, which shall include, but not limited to, the development of advance nursing practice;

As far as I’ve read and studied in my Professional Adjustment subject, there was no single line that mentioned about nurses in the same light as the textbooks would put it. 

Sometimes it pains me to see some staff nurses panicking when a doctor arrives. One of our clinical instructors, who our group dearly call Mama V, would tell us that “Hindi kayo utusan ng mga clerks (4th year medical students).” And I loved her for that. If the nurses themselves won’t stand up for their profession, who would?  

As stated in the Philippine Code of Good Governance,

” No one group of professionals is superior to or above others. All professions perform an equally important, yet distinct service to society.”

READ: NO NURSE SHOULD BE AN ASSISTANT TO ANYONE.

Let this be a call to the Philippine Nurses Association to look into the erroneous descriptions of nurses on text books and other educational paraphernalia. I believe that this issue, albeit small, directly affects the society’s perception on the profession and thus must be addressed immediately.

Mandatory Referral of Hospitals in the RH Bill

“…the conscientious objection of a healthcare service provider based on his/her ethical or  religious  beliefs shall be respected; however, the conscientious objector shall immediately refer the person seeking such care and services to another healthcare service provider within the same facility or one which is conveniently accessible who is willing to provide the requisite information and services…" – HB 4244

The passage stated above is one of the most debatable parts in the Reproductive health bill among health professionals. It requires every medical professional (doctors, nurses, etc.) to refer a pregnant woman to another professional if one cannot perform an act due to conflicting ethical views.  So to speak, medical professionals can refuse, but they should provide a contact person to do it. 

Some people argue that this is unethical especially when the client asks the professional to do abortion. That by referring the patient, you are already acting as an accomplice to the morally disturbing situation. However, I believe that patient’s right to information should also be upheld and health care services be extended to all, even those who choose to undergo abortion. 

For example, a patient asks about abortion, you as a health care professional can’t just deny them of all information that they deserve as patients. Therefore, the responsibility then of a doctor/nurse who is under ethical distress is to explain the risks, harm, and other ethico-legal issues to the patient. 

When it comes to performing an abortion, the medical professionals must set clear their values to determine what they would do in such morally distressing circumstances and refuse to participate if it does not conform with their beliefs. Medical professionals know what is good for their patients however they should not impose their beliefs on them and not step on their right to autonomy. It is the body of the patient thus they have the authority to decide for themselves.

 Should the patient still persist to have abortion be done, referral to another medical professional is one good way of ensuring that the abortion will at least be safe. Unsafe abortion as defined by the WHO as ”a procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy either by individuals without the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimum medical standards, or both.”  These women usually  resort to self-induced abortions or receive it from traditional healers whose credibility is questionable due to inadequate medical training. (WHO, 2004) I am not saying that abortion is moral and that there is absolutely no wrong with it since it has its own ethical issues and legal implications which are also conficting with my values.  Although when you consider that an estimated 68,000 women die every year (eight women per hour) due to unsafe abortion (WHO, 2004), you will realize how salient it is for them to receive adequate health care.  This is also supported by the study of Juarez, Cabigon, Singh, and Hussain (2005) where they recognized that policies and programs on postabortion care in the Philippines needs improvement.

In a nutshell, patient’s decisions must be respected with their autonomy valued. Nurses/doctors must  assist the patient in coming up with an ethical decision but should not force their beliefs on the patient. Should client still pursue abortion, referral is needed to ensure that the procedure will at least, be safe and free from complications. 

Sources:

• Unsafe abortion: global and regional estimates of the incidence of unsafe abortion and associate mortality in 2000. 4^th edition, Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2004
• Grimes DA, Benson J, Singh S, Romero M, Ganatra B, Okonofua FE, Shah Iqbal Unsafe abortion: the preventable pandemic. The Lancet Sexual and Reproductive Health Series, 2006
• Juarez F, Cabigon J, Singh S, and Hussain R The Incidence of Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Current Level and Recent Trends. International Family Planning Perspectives Volume 31, Number 3, September 2005 
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReAVkEFrhEBSQZVesAmZXBiiJ8h0twStwBjVV38dCxbES__oEsGsbjSmsPLARC8jeMbU-z99nVaCnB38GL7Z9L1BD08r_tyDzUqzZXziwTlLdWz3bDeuUz_sNFROCZjVEG3RWSsh3z4Yz/s1600/tb36injectables.jpg