Surviving surgery in the middle of COVID-19

December 13, 2020

BIRD FEED | COVID-19 has overloaded the country’s healthcare system in a major way. But the government has been touting that the country’s active COVID cases are going down and that the healthcare system is unloading. But what was it like having a family member who needed minor life-changing surgery amid this pandemic?

“Build Back Better”: Lessons forgotten

November 10, 2020

FEATURES

2020 saw natural calamities hitting the country, from the Taal volcano eruption to the recent typhoons Quinta and Rolly. But is the Philippines equipped to handle natural disasters? Has it learned from Typhoon Yolanda?

Transport budget for infra but none for affected jeepney drivers

October 15, 2020

FEATURES

The government should prioritize subsidizing small jeepney drivers and operators and at least postpone costly infrastructure projects that are less urgent because of the pandemic.

Never Gonna Give You Up: Duterte’s Top 2021 Infrastructure Flagship Projects and Recovery

October 3, 2020

BY JOSE LORENZO LIM

Are these projects really what will bring economic recovery while the nation grapples with a crisis-stricken public health system and economic decline?

It really hurts: Economic infrastructure over health

September 12, 2020

BY JOSE LORENZO LIM

Are the planned infrastructure projects really what the economy needs right now after everything that’s happened this year? How much of the infrastructure helps fight the COVID-19 pandemic?

On the BBB fix: Why do you build me up?

July 11, 2020

FEATURES

The government is still hell-bent on pursuing a grand infrastructure program amid the pandemic and despite its actually bleak accomplishments so far. The government says it will revise its list of infrastructure projects to adapt to COVID-19. But does it really have the will to shift the focus of its infrastructure program, or even the capacity to fully implement this?

The fate of BBB in the time of COVID-19

May 7, 2020

FEATURES

The Philippines has to improve the current state of infrastructure especially in the context of COVID-19: one that supports a strong public health system and the stable production of the nation’s needs in order to withstand and battle a pandemic.

Giving traditional Chinese medicine a bad name

April 27, 2020

The Department of Health has recently stated that it is looking into traditional Chinese medicine as a means to treat the country’s over 7,700 COVID-19 patients. However, the government’s attitude towards the otherwise renowned traditional Chinese medicine is closely tied up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which some researchers say is bad for the environment.

Where’s our water?

March 21, 2020

By Jose Lorenzo Lim

The WHO stated that the best way to avoid COVID-19 is by simply handwashing frequently with soap and water for around 20 seconds. Soap dissolves the fat membranes of the SARS-CoV-2, which is the pathogen that causes COVID-19 and makes it inactive. Sounds easy right?