We all have our own beliefs, and we are all entitled to our own beliefs.

As for me, I believe that all public hospitals should be fully free, wherein patients do not have to pay a single centavo if they are confined there, or if they go there for outpatient treatment.

And what is the basis of my belief?

It is really very simple, and there should be no argument about it. Since all public hospitals are owned by the government, there should be no problem appropriating funds for it, so that it could cover all its costs, as it provides medical services to everyone who goes to them.

Common sense will tell us that private hospitals could never provide their services for free, because they are a business, and they must make money. But that is not the case with public hospitals, because they are not businesses and they do not have to make money.

Of course, they need money to be able to sustain their operations, but the government could appropriate for those funds too. It is a poor argument that the government could not appropriate the funds, because it does not have the money.

That is so, because the government will always have money. The government must appropriate for other needs also, but aside from defense and education, what could be a higher priority?

May I know your feedback?

RECOGNIZING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

What are the requirements for a certain population to be recognized as indigenous peoples (IPs)? Do they need to have ancestral lands?

Is a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) needed to be classified as an IP community? Are these two legal frameworks interrelated?

To cite an example, let us discuss the case of the Butuanon people. They are said to be descended from the ancient Lapaknon people of the old Butuan kingdom.

The Lapaknon are known to be the “people of the marsh”, closely related to the Tausug people who are known to be the “people of the current”. By now, the old ancestral lands of the Lapaknon have all become private lands, and there is no more land left that could be issued a CADT.

However, their old language survived, now known as Binutuanon. Because of new laws allowing indigenous languages to be used as the medium of instruction in IP communities, Binutuanon could be used as a medium of instruction, except for the fact that the Butuanons are not classified as an indigenous people, and they have no CADT.

What can be done to solve this problem? Is a new law needed? Or an Executive Order (EO) perhaps? Or a Department Order (DO) from the Department of Education?

Or maybe a City Ordinance (CO) would suffice? Share with me your ideas.Ike Señeres