Lent 2019: The Road to Healing

Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral, Caloocan 

Today marks the beginning of our soulful journey as we celebrate Ash Wednesday— the beginning of the lent. This has been observed as a religious tradition that symbolizes our impurity as a sinner, thus we come to Christ for repentance and prayer.

In this modern world, we are bound to be tempted of dwelling on the dark side; falling into sin, and taking the road against the light. In the eyes of God and men, we are all sinners in some ways and at some point in our lives. It is through the admission of sins after suffering from guilt that our healing journey commences and our impurity be washed out bringing back the holiness from within.

I have learned from the wisdom of my teacher back in college when she said that 'man is good in nature but has been tempted to commit sin through the influence of the environment and that principle will remain in my heart to look at the good side of everyone no matter how bad that person is. There's A Certain Holiness in You no matter how evil you have become and it is God who will rightfully judge us at the end of our life as we join him in our life after death.

Our 40 days of celebrating Lent is not to become holy, but for us to reflect on our misdeeds and overcoming challenges as we strive to live a holy life. This greatest challenge means to defeat evil in our daily life; through our thoughts, words and actions. This is never an easy challenge, but through personal reflection and devotion, we can unleash the purity of our hearts to do good and avoid evil.

Lent 2013: Embracing Christ in Our Lives is a reminder of reliving our holiness before Christ. We have sinned and may commit sins in our lifetime, but putting Christ at the center of our lives serves as guidance on how to live a better life free from pain and suffering.

As we grow spiritually, we are also called to give inspiration and hope to those who are sick in spirit, to get rid of negativity, and shower Divine love and light for an everlasting journey on the road to healing and recovery.

A Blissful Lenten Journey!

© 2019 Del Cusay

Farm Life: Young Farmer's Dream

The Philippines is now taking the challenge on how it could revive the glorious days when it was once an Asian leader in Agriculture back in the 60s, which was our parents' or grandparents' generation.

It's hard to believe that the rice industry, which is one of the Agricultural subsectors, is dying in the Philippines when it was reported recently that the sector has very little statistical contribution to our country's economy in the 2018 report. This revelation seems an admission of failure not only to improve our Agricultural sector but also a failure to uplift the lives of our farmers. This could be why our younger generations do not see the future in farming and do not accept the challenge of inheriting this noble profession from their parents. 

Reviving interest in Agriculture

The reality is that farming takes a lot of effort, time, and patience, and these could be the reasons why our youth would choose to take non-agricultural studies to be their profession. Another reason could be the misconception that there are no better opportunities in agriculture and it is not highly profitable compared to working as a corporate employee in a big company.

I may belong to the Healthcare sector as my primary profession, but I am interested in agriculture and looking forward to embracing a farm life. Back in 2008, just after I graduated from college, I was able to help my parents in their business of buying rice grains (unmilled) from our local rice farmers. I was a cashier back then, and it gave me a sense of joy to see them receiving their hard-earned money from their produce. I reminisce about the time when I was just a young kid playing in a rice field during the harvest season, and as I grew up, I have learned to appreciate and express my gratitude to our farmers. In my heart, our local rice farmers had a significant contribution to my college education, and also the money they received out of their products is to finance the education of their own children. 

The future of Agriculture 

Nowadays, we see agricultural farms converted into shopping malls and subdivisions or townhouses, which were acquired from our farmers. If this is our present reality, we must be alarmed as we will soon be losing the farmland that gives us food to eat and finance our children's education. We can never control the future and its fast development, but we can do something if we learn to cultivate love in the soil that will reap greater rewards. 

Agripreneurship or Agribiz is now the trend in the hope of reviving our love for Agriculture. We have heard some stories of former OFWs who started farming in their province and became wealthy. We have heard about a former corporate employee who became farming and earned a better income. We also have people in the city who are now into urban farming despite the limited lot area, and it is their source of organic food on the table. 

Farm tourism is the Next Big thing.

As we grow our love and passion for Agriculture, we also get to share it with people through farm tourism, which is a tremendous societal contribution. If there is a strawberry farm in La Trinidad, a grape farm in La Union, and Garin Farm in Iloilo, then the newest farm destination could be owned by you, and you can help promote your town and the province by attracting tourists to visit and patronize the farm produce and various farm activities. 

Support our young farmers

Let us continue to support our Agricultural sector so that our younger generation will appreciate what their parents have started. Let us help revive our school of Agriculture to allow students to acquire quality education and become the next Agriculturist and Agripreneur who will bring quality and healthy food to our table. Let us continue to hear The Voices of The Filipino Farmers so that they will be more empowered.

The farming lifestyle may be challenging, but it is gaining attention from the young ones, and many people in rural and urban areas are still attracted to it. It's easy to believe that the future is in Agriculture, and there is a future in Agriculture, and that future starts today.

© 2019 Del Cusay

Social Commentary: Universal Healthcare for All Filipinos

It was in August 2018 that I fell in line to pay for the annual Philhealth contribution of my sister and her family. I was glad to see hundreds of people who were there to invest in health insurance in exchange for good Healthcare benefits offered by the agency.  As a healthcare worker, I have pledged not only to the healing of sick people but also to become an advocate for health promotion and prevention. That time as I was seated on a chair to wait for my priority number to flash on the screen, I had a realization that people, no matter their economic status, are now becoming more aware of the advantages of having a healthy family that is free of illnesses and diseases and becoming a productive contributor in the society. 

But how about those individuals or families without access to primary healthcare due to economic hardship? They may feel ineligible and intimidated by their Healthcare rights, and they remain vulnerable to health crises and threats. 

I'm glad that on February 20, 2019, the Universal Healthcare Act was finally enacted into law, granting all Filipinos access to affordable and better healthcare. This is a positive and perhaps the most significant measure towards healthier citizens leading to productivity and wellness. 

Talking about the agency that has the mandate for its implementation, the Philippine Health Insurance Company or Philhealth will have to ensure the automatic eligibility and membership of all Filipinos regardless of social and economic standing, more excellent service for our less privileged families and individuals. 

The Fight for Universal Healthcare

This new law is not just an achievement of the legislative and executive body but an outstanding achievement of all Filipinos who have long been hoping for this initiative.

Just imagine how Western countries could give Universal Healthcare to their citizens that started several years or decades back, and why couldn't our government do the same? This has been a puzzle to other Filipinos who had a glimpse of the Healthcare status in a foreign country and me. 

Now our time has come, but the implementing rules and regulations of the new law are yet to be laid, and we have to be aware of the Healthcare coverage, how we can truly benefit from it, and when shall we start to benefit from it. 

Benefits of the Universal Healthcare Law

Philhealth can guarantee essential Healthcare services to exist, premium contributors, indirect contributors, or indigents like our Senior Citizens and Persons with disabilities and non-indigent or non-premium contributors. That would mean free consultation, laboratory tests, and diagnostic tests are among the essential services covered by everyone. Almost all scope of health includes preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative care, giving everyone holistic health and wellness. 

Sustainable Healthcare development 

Although we welcome the extraordinary Healthcare measures, we are yet to experience how they will be delivered. The funding source has been determined, and the implementation of this new law will be gradual, considering that the funding will come from a pool of different agency funds. 

The new law is very promising. However, we would also like to see its more tremendous success and development from now and in years to come and not be exploited and mismanaged by our people in the Healthcare authority. 

Issues in the Philippine Health Insurance

Our National Health Insurance Company, Philhealth, and private Health Management Organizations (HMO) have been delivering their healthcare services in partnership with our Healthcare institutions, hospitals, clinics, and health centers nationwide. They have always been to the rescue whenever we seek medical help. However, their insurance coverage needs to be more comprehensive as they do not cover all health conditions and other health services. This has been a challenge for those who couldn't afford or have financial difficulty seeking medical attention. 

While working at The Medical City in Iloilo, I learned about issues like non-payment or delay of payment of Philhealth for hospital claims to several member hospitals in the country. This would also cause a delay in the hospitals paying their medical providers. This has led to another issue: some medical providers would charge their clients an additional cash payment for a professional fee already covered by Philhealth. This issue happened to my sister, and she asserted her rights against the double charging of her provider.  This scenario will lose the confidence of other Philhealth members if such a case happens to them, which is against the primary goal of Philhealth its mandate to lessen the financial burden of Filipinos upon seeking medical treatment. 

Continuous Healthcare reform 

The Universal Healthcare law is a good start in providing Healthcare access to All Filipinos, a measure that no one will be excluded and left behind in Healthcare services due to poor economic status. 

However, challenges in Government and corporate social service are still something Filipinos must fight to achieve better healthcare. 

For Philhealth, may the agency uphold good governance and update its policies and coverage to package benefits that are not selective to a particular medical condition. This is a burden to the Filipino people because we do not choose the kind of disease once it strikes just to be covered by our insurance provider. We need to decide when to get sick and when to get treated. We don't select the end of our physical suffering and the end of our life. 

We don't have control over our health crisis, but we can do something for its promotion and prevention so we will not suffer and pay for its consequence. We must take good care of our health to avoid illnesses and diseases. Though inevitable, we can help ourselves, our families, and our communities by choosing a healthy lifestyle away from too much stress and vices to achieve health and longevity, leading to the productive citizen we can be.

As we continue to contribute towards nation-building, we have to be respectfully assertive of our healthcare bill of rights and, at the same time, be supportive of our Government's mandate to provide better healthcare to All Filipinos so we can achieve wellness can live our most extraordinary life.

© 2019 Del Cusay