Tag: July 31, 2010

WHILE President Aquino wants to solve the government’s burgeoning budget deficit, his administration’s proposal to tax even those in the informal or “underground economy” –– like sari-sari store owners –– is just too much to bear, especially for the ordinary Juan de la Cruz.

To Aquino’s credit, his aggressive steps to improve tax collection has led to the prosecution of a pawnshop owner who allegedly got away with almost P20 million in taxes for his luxury vehicles. The remaining days of tax evaders are said to be numbered.

GOOD Manners and Right Conduct was one of the subjects I ignored back in grade school even if I knew it was important. Nevertheless, the values it has taught me seem to me like a broken record, monotonously playing in the background as years go by.

Somehow, you would think that six years of the same things repeated and reiterated to you at least half an hour every week would stick with you for the rest of your life.

I think it did rub off on me, or at least a few of those ideals lingered in my head long enough for me to think and know that others, myself included, may have forgotten that the simplest of values make the most complex of things work.

DURING the height of monarchy in Europe, the Church already had power over the affairs of the kings and his officials. In July 1533, Pope Clement VII issued a bull of excommunication to Henry VIII for invalidating his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in order for him to marry Anne Boleyn and the abolition of papal jurisdiction.

But even before the Church was built by St. Peter, excommunications already happened before and a little after the time of Jesus Christ, some of which were the exclusion of condemned Jews from the synagogue and St. Peter’s regular excommunication of the incestuous Corinthians.

WHILE glancing at the posters of this year’s batch of Cinemalaya films posted at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, I thought I was in a movie house to watch mainstream flicks.

I became a fan of local independent films, or “indies,” because of their approach to stories and the unconventional formula of putting the scripts into moving images.

Aside from these, their deviation from predictable storylines and bothersome lineup of celebrities give me a sense of relief––the Philippines still has brilliant filmmakers who can produce works worthy for artistic cinema.

FROM time to time, I would wring my heart in front of the straight-faced guards of the Beato Angelico Building. I could go as far as to beg just to let me and my beloved pair of formerly black skinny jeans inside. To my great relief, no one around me has ever found this worth remembering.

Scenes like these have already become a part of the culture of the College of Fine Arts and Design; along with the K-pop-inspired hairstyles and the graffiti-coated tables. History can tell that we have lived in constant pressure to “think outside the box,” and for that reason, we have been conditioned to do our utmost to break the norms or maybe jump over a few fences.

NAMES make no difference in medicines, we are told, but prices do.

Choosing between a generic or branded medicine has always been a tough decision for consumers, who want value for their money but do not want to sacrifice quality for affordability.

The two-year-old Republic Act 9502—also known as the “Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008”—seeks to drastically lower the prices of medicines in the country. With this groundbreaking piece of legislation, it is hoped that the prevailing attitude that generic drugs are inferior to branded medicine would vanish.

Branding the generic

INTENDED to help Filipinos purchase medicines at a lower cost, the Cheaper Medicines Act has imposed price ceilings and opened easier access of expensive medicine to consumers.

Ratified in 2008, the provision limiting the prices of drugs posed a serious threat to pharmaceutical companies. With the cost of production increasing nowadays, drug companies are struggling to come out with cheaper branded medicine to cater to the demands of the people.

CAN YOU imagine a gas experiment using a CD case instead of a petri dish?

Expect this unusual scenario among laboratories in the Philippines after the so-called “microscale approach” was introduced to Filipino scientists.

Cheaper and accessible equipment, less or zero pollution, and shorter time period for gathering experiment results —these are just some of the benefits that come in with the microscale approach.

The seminar titled “Workshop on Microscale Chemistry” last May 26 and 27, gathered UST faculty members and other representatives from Dominican Network (DomNet) schools.

THEY SAY that the recipe for success comes in different packages.

For Rommel Juan, it started with a dash of brotherly chat, a pinch of childhood memories, some free time, and a craving for fun.

With his youth and his brain overflowing with possibilities, Rommel talked his brother, Raffy, into putting up their own business—breaking away from the family’s fairly successful one.

Binalot Fiesta Food Inc., the restaurant born out of the brothers’ casual discussion, is now one of the up-and-coming Filipino food franchises, with 40 branches across the metro. And for Rommel, its chief executive officer (CEO), Binalot’s journey to being “the number one Filipino fast food” is still ongoing.

GONE ARE the days when the young would make a face when someone asks, “Tea, anyone?”

With some stops at the UST Carpark and Dapitan Street, Thomasians have welcomed tea drinks served in new ways—cold, blended, and brewed- which served as cheaper and healthier alternatives to other brewed treats.

Brewing happiness

The introduction of tea drinks to the Philippine market began with a vision of giving healthy drinks a different face, like that of James Young’s. The franchiser of Happy Fanshu, brought a new taste in the Philippines, which originated from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. “Fanshu” refers to kamote or sweet potato.