Landbank nets P10.8B

State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) surpassed by PHP2 billion its first quarter 2023 net income target after it hit PHP10.8 billion.

In a statement on Thursday, the bank said that while the net income in the first three months this year is 18 percent lower than the unprecedented PHP13.2 billion during the same period last year, this already accounts for 30.8 percent of the bank’s PHP35 billion full year target.

come jumped by 54 percent year-on-year to PHP20.9 billion amidst the rising cost of funds and interest rates.

Assets expanded by 11.7 percent to PHP3.1 billion due to increase in deposits to PHP2.8 trillion, bulk of which at 71 percent is accounted for by the government sector.

Capital rose by 3.2 percent to PHP225.3 billion.

uity is at 12.46 percent and net interest margin at 3 percent, both at healthy levels.

Landbank president and chief executive officer (CEO) Cecilia Borromeo said the bank’s “robust financial position allows us to advance the national government’s development agenda.”

This, as the financial institution maximizes yields from earning assets while being prudent with its expenses, she said.

It attributed the net income in January to March period to higher interest income and lower operating costs.

“This expansion was driven by the bank’s net income, notwithstanding the dividend remittance to the national government in June 2022 worth PHP8.45 billion and the decline in other comprehensive income,” it said.

“We are fully capable to continue extending intensified support to the agriculture sector and other key economic industries, while driving sustainable growth in local communities,” Borromeo added. (PNA) FDA, P10

The bank said interest in-

Landbank said return on eq-

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Consultant

As a teenager, Jonathan was one of the most active members of his family. But at age 34, he observed there was something with him as he always got easily tired and sleepy. From time to time, his blood pressure went up.

At one time, Jonathan visited his physician brother in a hospital. He told him about his problem, so the younger brother checked him. After some thorough check-up, the doctor came up with a diagnosis: his brother had a kidney problem.

“I did not know how I got this problem,” Jonathan admits. The doctor tried to trace up what may be the reason why his brother would have such a disease. He surmised that it may be due to an infection that resulted from a wound he got when he was a kid.

For three years, Jonathan was under dialysis. But his family knew that he had to undergo a kidney transplant. Fortunately, family members and some relatives were willing to donate his or her kidney to him. They were all tested but only his sister, Marianne, was considered a match. “I loved my younger brother and wanted to save his life,” she reasoned out.

When Jonathan knew about

it, he was hesitant. “I told him that if the time comes that he wanted it already, I might be too old and unhealthy to undergo an operation,” recalled Marianne, who was then 38-years-old.

So that week, the siblings were operated on. The operation took six hours and was successful. Today, Jonathan said he felt the same before he had his kidney transplantation. “This is my second life,” he says. “The experience I had to go through has deepened my thoughts about life and to accept things given to us by God.”

Marianne’s generosity saved the life of her brother. It is inspiring but, sadly, not typical. Records from the Department of Health show at least one Filipino dies each hour from kidney failure, which is considered the ninth leading cause of death in the country. Some 10,000 Filipinos need kidney transplants from donors every year.

And the situation is likely to get worse. As people live longer, organ diseases and health problems like diabetes – one of the main causes of kidney failure – are expected to rise, creating even greater demand for organ donations.

This must be the reason why Dr. Ma. Theresa Bad-ang is pushing for public awareness on organ donation to help patients that need those organs to have a second chance at life. People who need to know this are the health professionals themselves.

“Organ donation should be known first thoroughly by doctors and nurses in the hospital before the public so that it will succeed,” Dr. Bad-ang, nephrologist and head of the Southern Philippines Medical Center-Human Advocate and Retrieval Effort, was quoted as saying by Philippine News Agency (PNA).

She said organ donation will only happen if a family member of a “brain-dead” patient will give consent. Otherwise, no such donation will take place.

“We cannot do organ donation if the patient is not dead,” Dr. Bad-ang pointed out. “The public should know that when you are brain-dead, you are legally dead, and you can donate your organs as long as your family will agree to it.”

The passage of Republic Act No. 7170, otherwise known as the Organ Donation Act of 1991, as amended by Republic Act No. 7885, organ and tissue from do-

Aside from the military hospital across the Philippine Constabulary barracks (now Camp Domingo Leonor), Davao did not have its own sickbay until 1908 when Davao Mission Hos-pital (now Brokenshire) was opened under the directorship of Dr. Charles T. Sibley.

The hospital, managed by a Protestant sect, was “a small, private, twenty-bed, bungalow hospital in Davao, maintained by the contributions of a group of philanthropic gentlemen of New York, which has been of signal benefit to the people of that district.”

It was not until December 20, 1917 that the Davao Public Hospital, a state sanatorium, was put on track, initially addressing minor ailments. The next year, due to the influx of mi-grants, it further raised its medical services while the concrete 50-bed hospi- tal was still under construction.

Utilized as a temporary public hospital was the Bureau of Public Works laborers’ sick ward whose operation was already turned over to the Philippine Health Services (PHS). To comply with its obligation, it was given the needed equipment and facilities, and a laborato-ry.

The public hospital was initially led by Dr. Simeon B. Macasaet, as a resident physician; Juan L. Factora, as superintendent, property clerk and cashier; Andrea Vicente, as a chief nurse; Remedios Ferrer and Ignacio Diego, as nurses; and ward attendants, helpers, and cooks. (Dr. Macasaet was officially appointed resident physician on August 22, 1920.)

Except for the completion of the permanent building, the hospital, by 1919, was operating at near capacity. The PHS summary report for that year indicated that nors who have been declared brain-dead has been allowed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says “the procurement of organs for transplantation involves the removal of organs from the bodies of deceased persons.” Among the human transplantable organs are kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, intestines, and pancreas. This is in addition to human tissues such as eye tissues, bones, skin, and blood vessels.

Unfortunately, organ donation from brain-dead patients remains dismally low in the country, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Confusion about brain-dead patients among the families of potential donors, doctors and hospital administrators is one hindrance of donation of organs. To grieving loved ones, the person looks alive. “People think there might be a miracle, so they hold on,” one doctor contends.

Be a hero even after your death by donating your organs, advocates urge. “Organ donation saves lives and it is very important that every person has the power to save a life by becoming an organ, tissue or eye donor,” says Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, former undersecretary of health. “It is a noble gift because you can give someone a second chance at life.”

Age doesn’t matter when it comes to organ donation. “Anyone can donate, living or deceased,” pointed out Dr. Romina Danguilan, deputy director for Medical Education and Research of NKTI. “All religions allow it.”

Even if you are still alive, you can still be an organ donor – by giving one of your kidneys to save another life. Just like what happened to Jonathan. “Kidney transplantation is by far the most frequently carried out transplantation globally,” the United Nations health agency says.

“Patients who receive a kidney transplant become fully rehabilitated and have optimal quality of life and the highest survival rate,” says Dr. Rose Marie Rosete-Liquete, NKTI Executive Director.

“Every day, people die waiting for a suitable organ donor,” deplores Dr. Enrique Ona, former health secretary and the president of Transplantation Society of the Philippines. “The selfless act of organ donation can save lives. Let us all work together to raise awareness and encourage more Filipinos to give of themselves by

486 patients were admitted and 2,977 outpatients were served, or an average of 8.1 patients daily. It also per-formed several clinics, namely: medical, 144; surgical, 25; eye, ear, nose, and throat, 2; and obstetrical, 15.

Topping the 486 admittance were patients sick of malaria (241), followed by Asiatic cholera (62), influenza (35), dysentery (25), beri-beri (20), gonococcus infection and diseases of the stomach (14 each), traumatism by cutting or piercing and tuberculosis of the lungs (9 each), unspecified causes of death (5), other diseases of the liver (4), leprosy, anemia, acute nephri-tis, and diseases of the skin (3 each), typhoid, smallpox, purulent infection and blood poison-ing, chronic bronchitis, asthma, and hookworm infection (2 each), and the remainder were one each.

In terms of nationalities taken care of, the report showed that 459 Filipinos (Christians and non-Christians) were treated; American, 1; Japanese, 24; European, 1; and others, 1. Americans usually sought the services of the military hospital. By European, it likely referred to a Spanish.

Among the patients ministered to, 376 were male and 111 females. As to classes of ser-vice, these were categorized into charity (213), government free (199), and private pay (74). Similarly, operations were also classified the same way. Of the prescriptions issued, 996 were deemed charity; 759 were government free; and 312 were for outside calls made by the hospi-tal staff.

In the last quarter of 1919, the hospital’s formal opening, the ledger of expenses shows the following: P2,385.22, the subsistence of patients; P805.00, the subsistence of personnel; P1,905.69, expenditures for the subsistence of patients and personnel; and P1,806.16, collec-tions.

Instead of 1920 as the projected date of completion of the Davao Public Hospital building, it was not until 1921 that the transfer of the operation was moved to the new structure. But this did not solve the growing number of patients seeking cures, which amounted to the shortage of space. The 1922 report of the Bureau of Health provides the explanation:

“In the Davao Public Hospital, the administrative office and hospital dispensary were temporarily quartered in the nurses’ dormitory due to lack of space. It is indeed amazing that despite the limitation of patients undertaken by most of the hospitals of the Division, the number of admissions during 1922 far exceeded that of the previous years.”

Editor’s Note: This featured study is prepared by Green Juris Organization of the Ateneo de Davao College of Law. We are publishing the entire study in a series showing this independent study on the Davao City Waste-To-Energy incineration project.

The Green Juris Organization

The Green Juris is an Environmental Conservation Organization established in 2021 to inform, educate, and advocate for a cleaner and healthier environment, composed of Environmental Law Students enrolled in Ateneo de Davao University - College of Law.

The members of Green Juris come from all walks of life, who are united in the goal of striving for a sustainable and environmentally-friendly approach to community development that we believe is both possible and attainable.

In accordance with its vision, mission, and values, Green Juris aims to promote awareness of environmental concerns within the legal community regarding the protection and upholding of a balanced and healthy ecology.

In line with this, we hereby submit our position in relation to the Waste-to-Energy Incineration project in Davao City.

OUR POSITION

The Green Juris urges the Local Government Unit of Davao City to halt the efforts in the creation of a Waste-To-Energy (WTE) Incineration project and to remove WTE incineration from the 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan by reason of it being violative to Republic Act No. 8749 or The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999” and the Solid Waste Management Act. WTE and the Current Situation in Davao City

Davao City is known as one of the Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) in the Philippines. In the 2020 Census of Population and Housing conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Davao City is home to at least 1,776,969 people, comprising of 1,770,988 households. In an article published in the Philippine News Agency (2022), from the said number of households, the City of Envi-