By Manuel L. Morato
The respiratory disease outbreak in Hongkong is quite alarming, considering the proximity of Hongkong to the Philippines. The quarantine personnel in the airports and seaports must be on double red alert for according to informations received, the viral disease is quite vicious and easy to be contaminated by it. According to the DOH, it’s very similar to SARS which we had before.
What is of extreme concern is the fact that there are many potential carriers of the disease from China to the Philippines, now that the bulk of our tourists are from China; including businesses.
The situation calls for utmost care and preventive measures so that we can protect ourselves from being contaminated.
Pneumonia is a number one killer for the aged, those who are Senior Citizen card carriers. But it can be caught at any age called respiratory illnesses. But it’s the same, I believe, as having pneumonia. It is viral and easy to catch most especially those of advanced age. It becomes a number one killer.
What patients must watch out for is that viral pneumonia can also be hospital-acquired. There have been so many instances, when patients who are hospitalized for an illness other than pneumonia have acquired pneumonia when their stay in the hospital is prolonged. It is more dangerous in the period of recovery. It happened to me no less than three times.
To give an example, in Houston, Texas where the best hospital for heart surgery is located, patients after an open heart surgery are released after eight days or so, and are considered “out-patients,” precisely as a preventive measure from catching pneumonia or respiratory diseases during the period of recovery inside the hospital. They are better off in their respective homes. On my part, I was in the hospital for eight months on hospital arrest and caught hospital acquired pneumonia three times. My heart doctor requested for me to be on house-arrest, but the court denied the request.
I can speak from experience for when eleven of us PCSO Directors including Chairman Valencia and the GM Rosario Uriarte were falsely accused during the time of President PNoy of “malversation of the intelligence fund of PCSO” led by Margie Juico appointed PCSO Chairman, appointed by PNoy to replace all of us in 2010 in the PCSO accused President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of malversation.
It was not true, pero idinamay kaming lahat na board members. Inatake tuloy ako sa puso at naoperahan ako ng triple heart bypass. Inatake ako dahil hindi ko akalain na madadamay ako as only a PCSO director. Hindi nadaan ang PCSO intelligence fund sa mga directors ng board. Alam ko ito kasi noong PCSO Chairman ako noong panahon ni Presidente Ramos, hindi ko ginamit ‘yang intelligence fund and with the permission of the President and the COA, I reverted the intelligence fund to pay for the doctors professional fees when the patients are hospitalized; o hindi sila makalabas ng hospital. Bayaran man ng PCSO ang hospitalization, kailangan din bayaran ang professional fees ng mga doctor para sila makalabas, o released from the hospital.
But during the time of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the PCSO intelligence fund was used to save the OFWs in the death row, for lawyers to defend them or pay for the blood money in order to save our OFWs in the death row.
For short, the PCSO Intelligence Fund was also not squandered. It went to a good and noble cause. That’s the reason no OFW died in the death row. They were all saved, thanks to the PCSO Intelligence Fund which were coursed to the Department of Foreign Affairs. They handled the money to pay for lawyers and/or blood money.
As you well know, I was only one of the PCSO directors during the time of PGMA. I was the first to be released from hospital arrest. The decision of the Sandiganbayan was – that I had no participation in the releases of the funds for I really had no authority to do so as only one of the directors. And in all the documents submitted to court, there was not a signature of mine seen on those documents.
It was an outright persecution by the previous regime. I hope they don’t go through what they did to us in the PCSO. I leave that to the Hands of God.
President Gloria was exonerated by the Supreme Court; and that speaks volume that the PCSO intelligence fund was used correctly and nobly. And by the way, only partly of the intelligence fund was used in saving the lives of the OFW. When we stepped down from office in June 2010, there was still a sizable amount left. Where did it go?
For comments and suggestions email at mlmorato@yahoo.com
