Health is under threat! By: Atty. Bernardo BERNI M. Luceres No doubt, Health is Wealth.

It is another accepted precept that the rich and the p oor are on equal level on this aspect. From the time of birth, the persons first wealth is health. As a person gets older, health becomes an issue. He starts to think how could he prevent and control his diseases to have a long life. To preserve his health, c onsidering the multivitamins and medicines are high and their prices are rising, he inescapably gets sick. Regarding this ridiculous situation, Oliver Wendell H olmes, Sr. opined The less you think about your health the better, if you mean to keep as well as possible. With unreasonable high prices of food, food supplements and medicines, people ar e amazed that some elderly could maintain themselves fit. In fact the media feat ure them since their story is phenomenal. It is because the general observation, is that poor people have poor health. With this problem, the people should only pray for a sane mind and sound body. The government must do its constitutional mandate now to make sure that the peop le continue to afford decent health care in the country. For the first time in Philippine Constitution, the importance of health is clear ly enshrined in the 1986 Constitution under the Social Justice and Human Rights, to quote: Sec. 11. The State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to healt h development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and other soc ial services available to all the people at affordable cost. There shall be prio rity to the needs of the underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women and chi ldren. The State shall endeavor to provide form free medical care to paupers. Sec. 12. The State shall establish and maintain an effective food and drug regul atory system and undertake appropriate health manpower development and research, responsive to the countrys health needs and problems. Sec. 13. The State shall establish a special agency for disabled persons for the ir rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance, and their integration to the mainstream of society. To further give importance to health, the present Constitution under State Polic ies provides: Sec. 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people a nd instill health consciousness among them. The Constitutional Convention provided for the same due to the well-founded fear of the framers that unless the rights to health are mandated as state policies by the constitution itself, and unless we highlight their continuing importance upon the state as a solemn obligation to preserve and maintain good health among its citizenry, the day would not be too far when more lives would be lost due t o poor health administration. 1 Points of Law Atty. Berni M. Luceres Manila Times / Barangay News Date February 21, 2007 (Wednesday)