Poor Judgement by the Smoking Senator

by Dr. Prospero E. de Vera

Here are ten important facts about cigarette smoking from the WHO: (http://www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/fact_sheets/fs_20020528.htm)

1. Smoking related-diseases kill one in 10 adults globally, or cause four million deaths. By 2030, if current trends continue, smoking will kill one in six people.

2. Every eight seconds, someone in the world dies from tobacco use.

3. Smoking is on the rise in the developing world but falling in developed nations. Among Americans, smoking rates shrunk by nearly half in three decades (from the mid-1960s to mid-1990s), falling to 23% of adults by 1997. In the developing world, tobacco consumption is rising by 3.4% per year.

5. Half of long-term smokers will die from tobacco. Every cigarette smoked cuts at least five minutes of life on average - about the time taken to smoke it.

6. Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death. It is a prime factor in heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease. It can cause cancer of the lungs, larynx, oesophagus, mouth, and bladder, and contributes to cancer of the cervix, pancreas, and kidneys.

7. More than 4,000 toxic or carcinogenic chemicals have been found in tobacco smoke.

8. About 200,000 Filipino men will develop smoking-related diseases in their productive years of age. It was estimated in 1999, that to provide health care for these sick men, and the loss in productivity, cost Filipino taxpayers some P43 billion.

9. Every year, there are about 20,000 smoking-related deaths in the country.

10. Tobacco use will drain nearly 20% of the household income of smokers' families.

So what is Senator Noynoy Aquino thinking when he had this picture taken with the two young women?

Poor lapse of judgement? Ignorant of the perils of smoking and second hand smoke? or maybe he simply doesn't understand the meaning of "leadership by example"?

By the way, he is the only presidential candidate who smokes!!

Noynoy Aquino admits his cigarette addiction and has adopted a "Barack Obama style" response - I will quit smoking when I become President.

But Noynoy Aquino is no Barack Obama.

Barack Obama has shown very good judgement by being extremely discreet with his smoking during the presidential campaign. And he has never been photographed with a smoke with young people around him.

Many legislators in the House of Representatives are joining the fight against cigarette smoking, with several lawmakers leading a bipartisan effort to pass legislation designed to scare smokers into quitting.

The group, which includes LP senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros, is pushing a bill that would require tobacco companies to place “picture warnings” on their products to illustrate the dangers of smoking.

This move by the legislators is in line with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a May 2003 treaty that includes strategies against the problem of tobacco smoking. The treaty has been ratified by 154 countries, including the Philippines (http://www.tobaccocontrol.ph/node/53).

In accordance with the treaty provisions, the Philippines has to implement the “picture warning” policy by September 2008, according to Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the FCTC Alliance Philippines.

Maybe Noynoy Aquino can clarify whether he supports this initiative? Maybe Riza Hontiveros can convince her presidential choice to lead this campaign in the Senate?

Or better still, can Noynoy Aquino please clarify his health agenda - does it include an anti-smoking component? Will he support increasing taxes on cigarettes to generate money for lung, larynx, oesophagus, and mouth cancer research and medication?

Studies show that close to 30 percent of Filipino adults smoke even if almost every one in the population is aware of the ill-effects of puffing a cigarette. (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2823512/all_about_smoking_in_the_philippines.html?singlepage=true&cat=5)

You can count the cigarette addicted Senator in this 30% statistic. But he should be more circumspect in his public actions, or be told clearly that he does not have the license to kill the rest of the Filipino population like you and me.

The Presidential Race: the View from Abroad

Dr. Prospero E. de Vera III


New Jersey, USA. The celebration of Philippine Independence Day in all the major Filipino communities in North America provided ample opportunity for Philippine presidential and vice presidential candidates to “press the flesh” and introduce themselves to Filipino migrants and overseas workers through the annual parades, gala dinners, and regional/ethnic get-togethers.

As my wife Charito and I drove from Mississauga, Ontario to Bergenfield, New Jersey through the interstate highway system in our annual summer trek, I grabbed as many Filipino newspapers and talked with Filipino-Canadians and Filipino-Americans to check their political pulse and ask who in their mind is leading the presidential race for 2010.

Amazingly, everyone I met had very strong opinion, and many have in fact passed judgment about the current presidential and vice presidential aspirants.

The most visible and energetic candidate was definitely Senator Kiko Pangilinan who zigzagged through Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Toronto, Houston, and Boston meeting fraternity brods and migrant Pinoys while accompanying Sharon Cuneta in her series of concerts in these key American and Canadian cities. His Team Kiko led by Jojo Digao in fact also covered the New Jersey and New York states. . A visibly sleep deprived Jojo told me over a cup of coffee at a Starbucks in Toronto that Pangilinan was even able to fly back to the Philippines to attend the last days of the session during this whole travel episode. Surprisingly, he missed the Independence Day Celebration Ball in Toronto organized by the two biggest Filipino-Canadian groups – Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre of Mississauga and the Philippine Independence Day Council of Toronto.

While Pangilinan was the most traveled, it was Senator Manny Villar who got the best press coverage in the New York-New Jersey Filipino newspapers. The Filipino Times & Asian Review in New Jersey had “Destined to Lead: Manny Villar” as its banner story in its June 6-13, 2009 issue and extensively projected his participation in the June 7 Independence Day Parade attended by many Filipinos in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area in its June 13-20 edition. The Asian Journal also featured Villar in its cover in an article titled “Sen. Villar Ready for 2010 Campaign, Elections” and described him as a “self-made real estate mogul who rose from the slums of Tondo” to become “The Brown Taipan”. Both newspapers also gave broad coverage for Villar’s gracing the Manaog Feast Day event in New York and his interaction with the Filipino community leaders in the area.

Vice-President Noli de Castro got press coverage for marching with Villar, Ambassador Davide, and various Filipino groups at the Independence Day Parade in New York. However his “No Way” response to the media when asked if he would slide to the vice presidency during a cocktail reception organized by the Philippine Consulate and his statement that “I am not campaigning. I am not a candidate yet” (therefore no position on issues) may have limited his media exposure as he was not prominently featured in any of the opinion columns in the tri-state area.

News stories on four other presidential hopefuls appeared in the local papers. Senator Ping Lacson’s decision to quit the 2010 race and the arrival of Mancao in the country (Newstar Philippines), Bayani Fernando’s decision to seek the presidency (Newstar Philippines), Gilbert Teodoro’s decision to join LAKAS-KAMPI-CMD (Filipino Times), and GMA’s political hacks calling Mar Roxas “Boy Bawang” (Newstar Philippines). Strangely, there was no newspaper pick up on Senator Chiz Escudero.

My conversations with many Fil-Canadians and Fil-Americans in the East Coast (framed perhaps not just by local papers but by The Filipino Channel, GMA Pinoy TV and community tsismis) gave me a long list of peculiar perceptions and views about the presidential hopefuls.

There seems to be a widespread belief that while qualified and eloquent, Chiz Escudero is too young to become president and should wait his time.

While everyone I talked to believed that he was very qualified, many were not titillated, some even said it was awfully corny for the fifty-something Mar Roxas to be filming and broadcasting every step of his engagement plans in contrast to young movie stars Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo who tried their best to keep their
marriage ceremony a very private affair.

Bayani Fernando had many fans for his decisive guts to clear the streets of vendors but his fans find him too stiff and ineffective when explaining himself in the media.

The most critical comments were directed at Noli de Castro not for his lack of competence and performance but for his decision to go in the ring when Manny Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton at the hugely televised mega fight Everyone I spoke to at the cook-out cum-political press conference hosted by an enthusiastic group of Kapampangans in New Jersey believed that de Castro’s actions demeaned the office of the Vice-President, and worse, disgraced Filipino leaders before the world stage.

Consistent with the newspaper projection, many of the Filipino migrants I met had kind words for Manny Villar – understandably so -- Pinoys can relate with his story of perseverance, thrift and hard work combine to bring oneself up the social ladder and enjoy the ultimate North American dream.

The election is months away. But if elections were held today and if the presidency would be decided by Filipino migrants Manny Villar would be the winner. But many things can happen between now and the next few months. If Villar’s rising star keeps soaring, he is the man to beat. Some other bets are chalking up points up the ratings, but the question is: Are these enough to catch up with the leader. There are surprises – man-made or otherwise. You should know Philippine-style elections. You will never know.