When doctors put profit ahead of patients’ welfare and the law provides no protection

pregnancyThe rumor has been going around for decades that doctors tell would-be mothers that they need to deliver via C-section even when normal delivery is possible. The rumor is supported by statistics. Despite increased risks to mother and child, and despite absence of serious complications of labor and factors impeding vaginal delivery, more and more obstetricians had been recommending C-section over the last two decades.

Many have surmised that it’s a money thing. A C-section costs a lot more than a normal vaginal delivery. An obstetrician more than quadruples his professional fee, his preferred anaesthesiologist is called in who gets paid a separate professional fee and, of course, the hospital earns more because more facilities are used — plus, mother and child have to stay in the hospital longer than they normally would had the baby been delivered normally. It’s business. Continue Reading

Sleeping with a minor can land you in prison despite what clueless lawmakers say

prisonIn the US, it’s called statutory rape. In the Philippines, it’s called seduction. Both refer to the same thing — having sexual relations with a minor, with or without the minor’s consent. All the discussion, online and off, about the topic has, of course, been triggered by the romance of singer Freddie Aguilar, 60, with a 16-year-old girl.

From a legal standpoint, lawyer Mel Sta. Maria got it right — Aguilar’s actions may have legal consequences based on the Article 338 of the Revised Penal Code and under Section 10 (b) of Republic Act No. 7610, otherwise known as the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act”.

First, the Revised Penal Code:

Art. 338. Simple seduction. — The seduction of a woman who is single or a widow of good reputation, over twelve but under eighteen years of age, committed by means of deceit, shall be punished by arresto mayor.

“Deceit” has a very wide definition. Fraud is only one kind of deceit. Taking advantage of a young person through pambobola, enticing a poor person with promises of wealth or a life of comfort, making misrepresentations about one’s true intentions are examples of deceit.

Is there deception in the relationship of Freddie Aguilar with his 16-year-old girlfriend? We don’t know. Even the girl probably doesn’t know. And that’s just the first problem. Continue Reading

Let’s get lost on the road to Quiapo Church

National Museum

I was born and raised in Metro Manila, not in the city of Manila. My Manila geography has mostly been limited to very specific areas which are reached via very specific routes. There’s Divisoria, the huge market area adjacent to Chinatown, which is one jeepney ride from the house where I grew up in. There’s “downtown” Manila which I took to mean all the shopping areas and restaurants (and movie houses) along Avenida Rizal and C.M. Recto Avenue all the way to Escolta. I had an aunt who worked in a shipping firm that had its offices in a building along C.M. Recto Avenue and she used to bring me with her on Saturdays. After she got off at noon, we’d have lunch and see a movie. Then, there’s the Malate area which I knew like the back of my hand because it is where Harrison Plaza, the first mall in the country, was built and because my father lived in the area.

By the time I was old enough to drive, I could navigate those areas pretty well. I became very well acquainted with the streets, side streets and alleys of Intramuros and Chinatown, all the way to that reclaimed area along Manila Bay where the Cultural Center of the Philippines stands.

But ask me to commute around Manila, especially if the commute requires changing vehicles, and I will get lost. I remember one time when I got off a jeepney and found myself in the Quiapo underpass. I went around in circles trying to find the right jeepney terminal to get home. For those who have never been to the heart of Manila, understand that it is a maze. You can’t even rely on street maps to navigate the area because streets have this nasty habit of disappearing — literally — when people build shanties on them.

Speedy, who grew up in Quezon City, has even less knowledge of the ins and outs of the streets of Manila. The only area he was familiar with as a child was Sampaloc area because his grandparents lived there (Vicente Cruz Street was named after his grandfather). He was already a working adult when he became aware of other areas of Manila but I still knew Manila better than him. Lamang ako ng dalawang paligo which really isn’t a lot more.

So, the other day, when Sam said we had to go to Quiapo because she needed to shoot for a class assignment, we were a little problematic. Speedy knows how to reach Quiapo via Quezon City but not from Taft Avenue where our girls go to school. Sam said drive to that bridge that goes to Chinatown but, instead of turning left to Chinatown, we should turn right. I knew she was referring to Jones Bridge but turning right would lead to Escolta and not Quiapo. Still, I knew that from Escolta, we only had to reach C.M. Recto Avenue and we’d find Quiapo so we did as she said. We drove to Jones Bridge, passing the National Museum Building and City Hall, and turned right. Continue Reading

Writing prompts and The Daily Post

Writing prompts and The Daily Post

After more than 10 years of blogging, I’ve often been asked how I still manage to find something to write about. With a food blog, that’s easy. For as long as I eat, I’ll have something to write about. But part of me will never be content to just write about one topic. That’s why even in the early days of my blogging, back in 2003, I have always provided myself (and readers, indirectly) with variety. There was Sassy Lawyer and there was a photo blog. I’ve always found that it was a healthy way to go about writing — focus on too narrow a subject and, after a while, you tire of it and the quality of the output suffers.

And it is for that reason that I have kept some non-food sections of my website. Once in a while (and the once in a while is becoming more often these days) when I need to shake off images of food and the words to go with them, I write about other things. Often, it’s really an effort, but I have to make the effort because my mind needs the variety.

And just how do I find things to write about? The easiest technique is to get reactionary. Read something then write a reaction. Not hard at all. The experience of reading the news these days can elicit so much rage, and that rage can create some pretty terrific writing. But who wants the emotional exhaustion, right?

So, to find ideas, there was a time when I pored over the The Daily Post. There are all kinds of writing challenges and prompts in there. But, after only a few weeks, I stopped visiting the site. The challenges and prompts were too structured. Not at all my idea of exploratory and creative writing. I wondered where I would pull out the creative juices from without taking the cue from someone or something else. And I realized that I only needed to tap from deep inside me. There are three prompts that have never failed to result in writing:

1. Ideas
2. Memory
3. Images

Ideas are things that have yet to become, memory is something we have already experienced and images… well, that’s just a matter of describing. Continue Reading

Laguna de Bay: you don’t pronounce Bay as in Manila Bay

Laguna de Bay

I used to think that it was correct to refer to Laguna de Bay sa Laguna Lake. Not. “Laguna” is the Spanish word for lagoon, pond and lake. So, “Laguna Lake” is, literally, Lake Lake which doesn’t make any sense at all. But the misnomer is not borne out of some superficial mistake. It is borne out of mispronunciation resulting from colonization.

The body of water designated in maps and atlases as Laguna de Bay is pronounced Laguna de bai. Not ba-i but bai, where the vowel “a” has a short sound. It is pronounced the same way as the “a” in lad, lass, mad, ass… Bay is a town in Laguna province. In the olden days, the town of Bay included what today are Calauan and Los Baños. Bay was the first capital of Laguna. When the Spaniards arrived, they named the lake after the town. Hence, it became Laguna de Bay. Continue Reading