TACLOBAN CITY — The Philippine Congress has allocated an additional P2.5 billion to strengthen cancer prevention, early detection, and patient care under the 2026 General Appropriations Act, House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-List Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan announced Sunday, Feb. 8.
Of the total, P1.5 billion will go to the Cancer Assistance Fund (CAF), while P1 billion is earmarked for the Cancer Control Program (CCP). The funding aims to enhance access to timely treatment, long-term care, and supportive services, particularly for indigent cancer patients.
“Both the CAF and the CCP are lifelines for cancer patients fighting for survival,” Libanan said, emphasizing that the additional funds will help ensure affordable and comprehensive care.
The CAF provides financial support for cancer screening, diagnostics, treatment, and laboratory services through Department of Health (DOH)-run hospitals and public cancer centers nationwide. Meanwhile, the CCP focuses on preventive measures, procurement of medicines, supportive therapy, and palliative care.
The funding increase coincides with National Cancer Awareness Month this February. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the Philippines, with an average of 96 fatalities per day, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY AT MAHAGNAO. Some of the country’s amateur and professional photographers joined the inaugural bird photography held at the Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park (MVNP) in Burauen, Leyte which aims to promote wetland protection and wildlife conservation through ethical nature photography. (PHOTO COURTESY)
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY AT MAHAGNAO. Some of the country’s amateur and professional photographers joined the inaugural bird photography held at the Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park (MVNP) in Burauen, Leyte which aims to promote wetland protection and wildlife conservation through ethical nature photography. (PHOTO COURTESY)
TACLOBAN CITY — Bird photographers and conservation advocates from across the country converged at the Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park (MVNP) in Leyte for the park’s first-ever Bird Photography Race held on February 2–3, in celebration of World Wetlands Day 2026.
Organized by the MVNP Protected Area Management Office (PAMO), the two-day event brought together amateur and professional photographers and birding enthusiasts to promote wetland protection and wildlife conservation through ethical nature photography.
The activity was conducted in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Office, the local government units of Burauen and La Paz, the Philippine Eagle Foundation, the barangay local government unit of Mahagnao, the Energy Development Corporation, the Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park Ecoregion Association, and other stakeholders.
With the theme “Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage,” the photography race aimed to highlight the ecological and cultural value of wetlands while encouraging responsible bird photography practices. Participants were reminded to document bird species without disturbing wildlife or damaging their natural habitats.
During the opening program, DENR Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services Angelito Villanueva urged participants to observe ethical standards in wildlife photography, emphasizing the principle, “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.”
Municipal Executive Assistant Marc Lee Cinco of La Paz encouraged photographers to tell meaningful stories of nature through their images, while Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines president and conservation photographer Alain Pascua noted that compelling bird photographs can help inspire public support for protecting species and their habitats.
At the close of the event, winners were announced in four categories. Don Geoff Tabaranza of Quezon City emerged as overall champion, winning awards for Most Number of Bird Species Photographed, Best Wetland Bird Photograph, and Best Bird Action Photograph, and received a total of P15,000. Vicente Cornelio Pascua of Zambales won Best Endemic Bird Photograph and received P5,000.
MVNP Protected Area Superintendent Wincel Nuñez thanked partner agencies and participants, saying the activity helped raise awareness and strengthen conservation efforts for wetlands and wildlife within the park.
Aside from the photography competition, participants attended lectures on wetlands conservation, solid waste management, and the ecological profile of MVNP, and joined a tree-planting activity with local residents and government personnel.
Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park, an 860-meter dormant stratovolcano, was declared a national park in 1937 and proclaimed a protected ecotourism site through legislation in 2018.
Located about 18 kilometers from the town proper of Burauen, the park serves as a protected habitat for more than 28 bird species, including Philippine wild ducks, Barred Rail, Cinnamon Bittern, Brahminy Kite, and White-throated Kingfisher.
TACLOBAN CITY — The Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) is aiming to offer kidney transplant services before the end of 2026, marking a major expansion of specialized healthcare in the region as cases of chronic and end-stage renal disease continue to rise.
EVMC Medical Center Chief Dr. Joseph Michael Jaro said the hospital is in the process of upgrading key facilities needed for kidney transplantation, including operating rooms, intensive care and recovery units, and emergency room infrastructure, to meet national and clinical requirements.
Jaro noted that EVMC, Eastern Visayas biggest government-run hospital, already has the needed pool of specialists to perform kidney transplant procedures, including surgeons, nephrologists, anesthesiologists, nurses, and transplant coordinators.
“The hospital is ready in terms of manpower. We have multidisciplinary experts who can support renal procedures and kidney-related services,” Jaro said. “But transplantation is the end-all management for chronic kidney disease.”
Hospital officials expressed optimism that the service can be rolled out before the end of next year, citing the growing number of patients with chronic kidney disease seeking hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis at EVMC, the lone tertiary referral hospital in Eastern Visayas.
In January, the Department of Health (DOH) Technical Working Group for Renal Care and Transplant, together with the DOH Eastern Visayas Health Facility Development team, conducted mentoring and monitoring activities at EVMC’s renal care units.
The assessment aimed to further improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of kidney-related services, including dialysis and pre- and post-transplant care. The mentoring also provided technical guidance on infrastructure upgrades, service delivery, and compliance with national clinical and operational standards.
DOH officials said the initiative is part of broader efforts to strengthen renal healthcare systems and ensure safe, effective, and patient-centered care for patients with kidney-related conditions in Eastern Visayas.
AID TO RICE FARMERS. The provincial government of Eastern Samar distributed P7,000 each to 515 rice farmers sourced from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund–Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RCEF-RFFA) to support their livelihoods and boost agricultural productivity.
(EASTERN SAMAR PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE)
AID TO RICE FARMERS. The provincial government of Eastern Samar distributed P7,000 each to 515 rice farmers sourced from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund–Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RCEF-RFFA) to support their livelihoods and boost agricultural productivity. (EASTERN SAMAR PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE)
TACLOBAN CITY — A total of 515 rice farmers in Eastern Samar received P7,000 each in financial assistance from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund–Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RCEF-RFFA) during a payout held at the Balangkayan Civic Center.
The distribution, facilitated by the Office of the Provincial Agricultural Services under Provincial Agriculturist Virgilio Capon in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Program Coordinating Office, aimed to support farmers’ livelihoods and boost agricultural productivity.
Beneficiaries came from 12 municipalities, including Balangiga (148), Balangkayan (63), General MacArthur (11), Giporlos (24), Guiuan (7), Hernani (28), Lawaan (24), Llorente (89), Maydolong (40), Quinapondan (43), Salcedo (8), and Borongan City, 30.
Governor Ralph Vincent Evardone assured farmers of the provincial government’s continued support, emphasizing their key role in strengthening the province’s economy.
Also present at the activity were Balangkayan Mayor Allan Contado, Margarito Guasis representing Eastern Samar Lone District Representative Christopher Sheen Gonzales, and Mary Grace Palconit, agricultural coordinating officer of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 8.
One of the beneficiaries, 67-year-old Erlinda Logronio from Barangay Cag-olango, Balangiga, said the aid would be used to purchase seeds, fertilizer, and vegetable planting materials. She noted that government support is particularly vital as farmers contend with recurring challenges such as typhoons, floods, and pests.
The RCEF program is designed to strengthen farmers’ livelihoods by providing financial assistance, farm machinery, quality seeds, and credit support to help sustain agricultural production despite natural calamities and other challenges.
Congress and the Senate are again engrossed in too much politics, opting to engage in confrontation instead of governance. The renewed move to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte is a manifestation of misplaced priority, which undermines democratic institutions instead of strengthening them.
The pressing issues that need the urgent attention of public servants in public offices, such as the rise in the prices of goods and services, the state of public services, and the implementation of long overdue reforms, are being ignored in favor of engaging in a political confrontation that, to say the least, has questionable timing and motive. The impeachment process, as a serious constitutional procedure, is not a political tactic to be deployed whenever the spirit of rivalry and competition dictates. The obvious haste in the impeachment process only confirms the suspicion that politics, and not the public interest, guides the proceedings.
The argument that the proceedings are transparent does not hold water when the basis for such proceedings appears to be discriminatory. If the real concern is the judicious use of confidential funds, then the same level of scrutiny and investigation must be applied to all officials who handle such funds, regardless of the magnitude and volume of the funds allocated to them. The obvious double standard in the impeachment process undermines the very purpose and credibility of the investigation.
The haste in the impeachment process also ignores the electoral mandate of millions of voters. The removal of a democratically elected official by the members of Congress and the Senate, instead of the verdict of the people in the electoral contest, makes the political fortunes of the official in question subject to the mercy of her political adversaries instead of the people. This, in essence, is the unwillingness to compete in an honest and transparent electoral contest.
There is a much more responsible and democratic approach to the issue. The members of Congress and the Senate must apply the same standards of accountability to all officials, including the officials who handle much larger confidential funds, and get back to the serious business of legislation. If the officials in question are not doing their job, then the electoral process is the legitimate and democratic way to deal with the issue.
The shock usually comes when a photographer hands over a newly minted ID, and the face that gazing back appears alien. I have a zero-tolerance policy for this experience: it is not ego; it is a jolt of reality, and we do well to pay attention to it rather than deny it.
What troubles many in their advancing years is not the reflection of aging; it is the speed at which the change has occurred. Ten years ago is a time that feels within touching distance, yet the body and the calendar do not agree. Researchers have long known that time speeds by as we grow older, at least in part because the world has become more routine and the days slip by unnoticed. While this helps to explain the experience, it does little to ease the shock when the mirror calls the question without mercy.
Mirrors, after all, are not nuanced. They do not coddle, they do not negotiate, they do not recall our youthful selves at thirty-five. They report on the world as they see it, and sometimes their candor is brutal, even as our inner lives remain vigorous, curious, and intent on making new plans. I know why many of us now walk by a reflective window as if it were a cold puddle to be avoided.
There is also a social component to this shock, one that is rarely named. We idolize youth to a level of religious fervor and view aging as a gradual failure to maintain our appearance. When a face becomes suddenly unrecognizable, it is not just wrinkles but a litany of judgments accumulated through decades of advertising and casual ridicule. The shock is partly individual and partly learned.
I also resist the urge to treat this moment as a problem to be solved through forced solutions and quick fixes. While dyeing my hair or adjusting my lighting or finding a more benevolent camera filter can be pleasant pastimes, they do not address the underlying question: How did life suddenly speed up without ever asking permission? The face is not the problem; it is the feeling of being left behind as time quietly rearranges our priorities while we were busy paying bills and raising children.
There is a certain gallows humor to it all, if one is willing to look at it askew. The same impatience that made waiting in line to buy a movie ticket a complete waste of life now makes me feel as if decades are passing while I wait for a dentist appointment. The joke is on us: we were never promised a gradual reveal. I laugh at this to keep it from becoming bitter.
I find solace in focusing on what I have gained rather than what I have lost. Judgment becomes more refined, compassion more expansive, and certain fears lose their grip on my psyche. None of this is reflected in my face or my identification photo, but it is as real as the lines on my eyes and far more useful as I try to figure out how to spend a morning.
The best course of action, I believe, is neither mirror worship nor mirror avoidance. It’s learning how to look and how not to look, how to choose the mirrors of memory, work done, love given, and survival of error. Time will go on at its own odd pace, but we can meet it with open eyes, a little wit, and the determination not to be defined in any unflattering way.
