My 84-year-old father has been to the hospital almost three times due to loss of appetite and the inability of some doctors to provide proper treatment and healing. So, we turned to a traditional healer, but to no avail that’s why we go back again to the hospital.
At first, they attributed his condition to age-related illnesses, Alzheimer’s, or dementia, which caused him to forget to eat. For almost a month, he hardly ate anything, and when he did, it was only a spoonful of milk or liquid, sometimes leading to vomiting.
During our third hospital visit, he was admitted to the ICU due to oxygen depletion, and they were forced to insert a nasogastric tube (NGT) to aid in feeding. Thankfully, there was a considerable improvement, and he was released last week from a private hospital, now in a somewhat conscious state.
Experience truly is the best teacher, as it helps us understand the hardships of caring for and observing a patient’s condition. One of our practices is to pray and appeal to the Almighty to extend the lifeline of our loved ones, regardless of their age. We pray for him and for the medical personnel to have the strength to find ways to prolong hi life.
Thankfully, after 17 days, my father, who was almost unable to speak, is now engaging in conversations. We are grateful to the doctors, nurses, and family members who tirelessly cared for him even amidst sleepless nights. Having many siblings praying, helping, and supporting one another is indeed an advantage during difficult times.
One significant lesson we learned is the need to prepare a hospitalization budget because without money, there is no hope of survival, regardless of how good the hospital or doctor is. It all boils down to your wallet, and they won’t let you out of the hospital if you can’t pay in full.
Unlike in other countries where the government provides assistance automatically without having to ask, in the Philippines, if you lack the courage to seek help or don’t have connections with certain officials, you might go unnoticed. It’s a sure path to the funeral parlor.
For my father’s hospitalization, we spent around 3,000-5,000 pesos on medicines and other supplies daily, most of which we had to buy outside the hospital since they were unavailable inside. And there were additional expenses for personal items, like diapers and many others.
If you spend a month in the hospital, you’ll undoubtedly leave drained financially, even if the patient recovers. You’ll be buried in debt, and when you finally go home, the patient might be the one bringing you back to the hospital, or vice versa.
Getting sick in the Philippines, especially in remote areas like Catanduanes, is super expensive, and without support or the ability to borrow money, the patient’s life is at risk. We may say that it’s just the life given by the Lord, but it’s disheartening nonetheless.
Lesson learned: getting sick is not allowed. However, we are not perfect, and sometimes all we can do is trust a kwak doctor who rely on donations, baka sakaling gumaling.
The good thing is that we have government agencies like PCSO and DSWD that can be approached for assistance, whether the patient is in a government or private hospital, especially if they are senior citizens or indigent. The DSWD and PCSO systems, along with the congressional office and other offices providing assistance for hospitalization, do ease the burden on patients and their families.
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The Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, will bridge trillions in investible funds and thousands of development projects in the country, according to a Bicolano lawmaker.
Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said close to PHP19 trillion in the Philippine banking system needs to “go somewhere productive to contribute to the economy.”
“The Maharlika Investment Fund is a vehicle to do that – for both the Land Bank (of the Philippines) and the DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines), as well as for other banks,” Salceda said in a statement.
He said the MIF could be a crucial link between funding and development projects.
“It’s grand-scale matchmaking for development,” Salceda said.
Another Bicolano, Ang Probinsyano Party-list Rep. Alfred Delos Santos, said the MIF will be an additional vehicle to optimize the government’s surplus.
“This will significantly expand the country’s fiscal space and alleviate pressures in financing public infrastructure projects, as we typically rely on Public-Private Partnerships or on Official Development Assistance mechanisms,” delos Santos said in a message to reporters.
Delos Santos said he embraces the enactment of the MIF as a significant step towards progress and in strengthening the key sectors in the country.
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This is the song of allies and beneficiaries during the current administration. They all sing “alleluia” because they were part of those who signed. The negative impact of this gambling is not acknowledged by them. It’s better to listen to the critics as well, so we can balance the pros and cons of this move.
The important question is whether what they are saying aligns with the actual results or if they are merely using flowery words because they are part of the majority supporting this move. What will they sing if the Marcos investment fund fails?
Some believe that the promises made during the campaign by the allies of BBM (presumably Bongbong Marcos) will finally be fulfilled, with the Marcoses supposedly giving away their gold and hidden wealth if BBM wins. Others noticed that the president and his cohorts are using their own resources for such projects and not the funds mentioned in the propaganda during the election by the propagandists.
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Anyway, let us pray that this move will not lead us to failure, considering the country’s mounting debts and problems. Adding gamble investment to the equation may only lead us to ruin.
However, how will we know if this step is a good one if we don’t try it? As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. If the government sees a glimmer of hope in this move, then they may go ahead. But if it’s just trial and error, the government should exercise caution, as the future of the nation is at stake with this significant investment.
Our public debt has already reached 13 trillion, and if this investment fails, our country will surely become a walking dead.
Anyway, until the law is implemented, people won’t understand it, given the failed investments in other countries. But who knows, if it fails in some countries, it might bring about significant change to our struggling economy.
We hope that the concerns of some critics are unfounded, and we hope that opportunists won’t exploit this gamble. Let’s also hope that this won’t become another tale of the old Marcos Sr. regime, where relatives, friends, and cronies abused the system, depleting the government’s coffers and sacrificing the welfare of the people. God Save the Philippines. (FB EYE/Ferdie Brizo)
