‘No approved therapeutic claims’

Netnet Camomot .

COMMISSIONS for government projects are supposed to be offered even if not requested. That’s probably why it’s called SOP or standard operating procedure if we’re talking about business manuals. Once the politician embraces the SOP offer with all his heart, he can’t look back anymore. He will now continue to receive these commissions as his lifestyle begins to adjust accordingly.

As the lifestyle becomes classier, he will level up to requesting for commissions instead of merely waiting for this extra income to be offered to him. He will then brainwash himself to treat these commissions as political perks, as part of his new territory where he’s left with no power to stop them from knocking on his door since saying no will make him a kontrabida.

I don’t know if an honest politician is now an oxymoron. There must be some who are honest and genuine in their love for service. A politician with the political will to change our world for the better should also have the political will to expose the graft and corruption in that world.

President Rody Duterte’s methods in his war on drugs may not be popular especially to human rights activists, with the Pinoy deeply disturbed by the shock and awe that the extrajudicial killings (EJK) seem to aim for. Anything that jolts us out of our seats has the potential to be remembered for a long time. So, imagine what an EJK of a suspected drug user, drug dealer or drug lord can do to one who continues to be in the drug industry. Will he be afraid? Or confident he won’t be caught? Or smug with the knowledge his connections will protect him if he’s caught? That’s when he will learn if all the money and power in the world can free him from the war on drugs. Hint: The answer is no. He will end up in jail—and that’s the good news. He’s still the lucky one. Because the bad news is this: It could have been worse.

The latest Election Day was simply one of the elections that the Pinoy, especially the senior one, has been through. Has his barangay progressed in, say, the last ten years? Hmmm. Define progressed.

Before that Election Day, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency released the list of alleged barangay narco-politicians, hoping the Pinoy won’t vote for them. Still, some of them won, proving that name recall is the key to victory in politics. Will these alleged drug-connected winners be allowed to rule the world, er, the barangay? After all, they’re innocent until proven guilty.

But EJK victims have no more chances to prove their innocence. “Dead men tell no tales,” as the saying goes, and that could be the reason they were forever silenced.

Still, “Actions speak louder than words,” as another saying goes. If a suspected drug lord ends up lost and not found, most probably he’s hiding. Does hiding prove he’s guilty? Well, he could be shy and not fond of publicity, thus, the vanishing act.

That’s for illegal drugs. The legal kind, however, is prescribed by medical doctors for patients whose healing requires them. Legal drugs can also be addictive and have side effects—that’s why senior citizens are always grateful if they’ve reached that age without any maintenance drug.

Some supplements are also legal but always have a warning: “No approved therapeutic claims.” They may have a placebo effect which can make even your doctor happy for you.

Stress is supposed to be the worst enemy and you’ll eventually need drugs—the legal kind—to combat its consequences. Staying awake till 3 am can also be stressful, that’s why the senior citizen is advised to avoid caffeine the whole day and to slow down after dinner—no gadgets, please—so that he’s yawning by 9 pm.

Rice is another enemy—it’s sugar and all that sugary jazz. How to savor bulad without rice? Kare-kare without rice. Humba without rice. Sinugbang tiyan sa baboy and kinilaw without rice. If you’ve been working hard the whole day, you’ll consider a noice meal as punishment even if you’re earning millions of pesos in commissions.

If name recall is the key to victory in politics, balance is the key to success in health. Everything in moderation. A little pizza won’t hurt—hey, no rice!