Less Fanfare, More Substance: UMLAC Celebrates the International Women's Day 2013

[caption id="attachment_2517" align="aligncenter" width="521"] L-R: Atty. Eliza Lapiña , Jing Remolar, Dr. Tessa Mae Bongyan[/caption]

The nascent University of Mindanao Legal Aid Center (UMLAC) was at Barangay 40-D, Bolton Extension on March 9, 2013 to conduct a forum on women's health and related laws on women's welfare in line with the celebration of the International Women's Day.

Held literally under the Bolton Bridge where the noise of passing vehicles is deafening, the forum was nevertheless well-attended. Almost a hundred women from the Barangay came. Most of them are mothers themselves.

At the forum, Dr. Tessa Mae Bonguyan talked of the basic issues on women's health while Atty. Eliza Lapiña talked especially about R.A. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (VAWC).

Succisa virescit

I wondered if those people at Wowowee can have a motto of their own, but barely follow it, why can't I?

Thus I figured that I, too, should have my own motto not just for today, but for the entire year. And my motto is: "Succisa virescit," or since Latin sounds archaic, I'll stick to the English translation "Pruned, it grows again."

One of the upside of having a motto is that it saves you a lot of time when you find yourself in a dilemma. For example, I was mulling over whether I'd throw the photocopies I've accumulated over the years. Later, I decided to dump them away. As my motto says, "Pruned, it grows again."

I know that by making it as my motto, I will be guided properly. After all, this is also the motto of no less than the successor of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI.

So if you can't decide whether to shave your pubic hair, or to cut your hair short, or to pluck that pesky armpit hair, or to leave that friend who always badmouths you, or to give those clothes you haven't used since you bought them, my advice:

Pruned, it grows again.

Retreat

Starting today until Saturday, I'll be leaving the blogosphere to attend the annual Student Assistant Scholars Organization (SASO) retreat at the Benedictine Retreat House, Ulas, Davao City.

The objectives of this retreat are (1) "to strengthen our relationship with God and with one another, and (2) to recharge for us to become more effective in our workplace."

To me, however, there is one more objective: To catch up some sleep and live like a señorito even just for three days.

'Lung fields are clear'

I had my annual X-ray examination yesterday as part of the Scholarship's requirement. It wasn't my first time to have my lungs photocopied, as we jokingly call it. But every time I go through the process, I'm anxious of what would be the result. Yesterday was no exception.

How could you not be anxious when what's at stake is the Scholarship itself. It's not that I will be terminated, but I've seen some of my colleagues whose lung results are suspicious were advised to take a one semester leave. They can only come back if the Doctor says so. But what if, he won't?

That's what I fear the most. Since this morning, I kept on thinking of my x-ray result, until i got it this afternoon.

"Lung fields are clear," the result says. Sigh.

Risks present in going organic

Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer's opinion section, this is a reply to Ma. Ceres P. Doyo's column.

Organic foods have been thought of as beneficial to people and to the planet. Which makes it good news for Ma. Ceres Doyo that the Department of Agriculture has launched a campaign that encourages farmers to use organic fertilizers and produce organic foods. (“Going organic, better late than never,” Inquirer, 11/13/08)

However well-meaning the campaign may be, going organic will prove to be detrimental in the long run. Looking at the marginal cost and benefit of going organic, Bjorn Lomborg, head of the Copenhagen Consensus, a think tank under the auspices of the Copenhagen Business School, has this to say:

“You know how you are told to give your kids organic food because pesticides will give them cancer? Well, it’s technically true that there is a link between the chemicals and illness, but the risk is miniscule in any well-regulated country.

“There is another threat that you haven’t been told much about. One of the best ways to avoid cancer is to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Organic items are 10 or 20 percent more expensive than regular produce, so most of us naturally buy less when we ‘go organic.’

“If you reduce your child’s intake of fruits and vegetables by just 0.03 grams a day (that’s the equivalent of half a grain of rice) when you opt for more expensive organic produce, the total risk of cancer goes up, not down. Omit buying just one apple every 20 years because you have gone organic, and your child is worse off.”

The intention here, in Lomborg’s term, “isn’t to scare people away from organic food,” and if I may add, the government from making policies encouraging farmers to go organic. “But we should hear both sides of any story.”