DNA on soiled panties and condoms

In the news these past days were the items related to the alleged rape case that involved Filipino complainant-victim “Nicole” and the four accused US Marines. Forensic analyst Dr. Francisco Supe Jr. of the PNP Crime Laboratory told the court that DNA was indeed present in the two pieces of evidence that he had examined.

The panty yielded male and female DNA samples, with the female DNA sample matching Nicole’s. Strangely, the condom did not yield a male DNA profile. The male DNA found on the panty has yet to be matched with those of the accused, particularly DNA from Lance Corporal Daniel Smith who had used it in what the defense called “consensual sex.”

In this case, a lot will depend on the material evidence. I hope this will yield lessons on how evidence should be preserved and handled with utmost care by the victims and investigators. The accused and their conspirators have all the reasons to cover their tracks.

Well, in their hurry to get back to their ship the accused in this rape case weren’t able to get rid of the condom and Nicole’s panty as well.

Still, there might have been some mishandling of the vital pieces of evidence when these were turned over and this might have allowed environmental factors to damage other vital traces.

A “rape kit” would have come in handy for Nicole and the persons trying to help her immediately after the traumatic incident.



If you’re a fan of the blockbuster TV show ``CSI’’ (crime scene investigation) you know that the phrase ``shred of evidence’’ could mean a whole cache, thanks to modern science and technology. But David Caruso and his team can’t do much with their high tech lab machines and reagents if they have no crime scene samples to work on.

A rape kit could deliver those shreds of evidence, microscopic they may be. The kit could give an idea of the crime scene and the profiles of the guilty. A rape kit is light, handy, cheap and easy to use. It’s all in one big envelope.

Rape kits should be available to as many individuals and agencies in the helping profession as possible. Rape kits could spell the difference between justice and no justice and could lead to the speedy crime resolution for the victims, the guilty and the innocent as well.

The DNA Analysis Laboratory of Natural Sciences Institute of the University of the Philippines is working to make these kits available. Multi-awarded molecular microbiologist Dr. Ma. Corazon A. De Ungria and her UP team had worked on the project ``Incorporating DNA Evidence in the Resolution of Sexual Assault Cases in the Philippines’’ and won a funding grant for this two years ago.

UP’s DNA lab can now implement what it had proposed: validate a prototype investigation kit, establish an integrated system for rape investigations and storage of evidence, and train the lawyers/judiciary on the proper interpretation of forensic DNA evidence in the courtroom.

Yes, science moves faster than jurisprudence and there’s a lot that judges and criminal lawyers could learn from the nerdy lab techies.

With the advent of forensic DNA technology as a powerful investigative tool in the prompt resolution of criminal cases, there is a need to develop an efficient and secure system for the collection, analysis and storage of biological evidence. Rape kits form part of this technology.

A rape kit consists of several collection tubes with caps in different colors, cotton swabs for collecting samples from different parts of the victim’s body (vagina, external genitalia, anus, mouth and throat), small envelopes for the collection tubes, instructions on how to gather samples, preserve, pack, seal, preserve (at what temperature, etc.) and transport.

Also included are a sexual assault case history sheet to be filled up and signed by the interviewer and medical examiner, and a check list of the samples collected to be signed by the health practitioner who collected the samples. Pieces of clothing (like underwear) that might contain samples should be included too.

If you don’t have a rape kit, clip this column and note the items that you must have and make one.

The ``chain of custody’’ is very important. The samples collected should land in the right hands and agencies. UP’s DNA lab has a working partnership with the Child Protection Unit of the UP-Philippine General Hospital which assists women and children victims of sexual abuse. The UP-PGH-CPU and selected CPU units have been testing the prototype kits.

Samples should be gathered immediately and preferably before the victim washes her or his genital or anal area so that the semen of the rapist/s could be collected.

Some of the institutions in the country with DNA testing labs are the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police, St. Luke’s Medical Center, and UP.
UP-NSRI does forensic research and accepts civil, criminal and disaster cases as part of its extension work. It personnel readily testify in court.

The American Academy of Forensic Science defines forensic science as ``the application of scientific principles and technological practices to the purposes of justice in the study and resolution of criminal cases and regulatory issues.’’

A person’s DNA profile serves as a DNA print that may be used to identify a person and trace his or her activities. New technologies are capable of analyzing even minute amounts of crime scene evidence, hence the immense impact of DNA technology in forensic investigations.

How much for a drink of urine?

How much would it be for Wildredo Quijano who was made to drink urine (“I don't know whose urine it was,” he said) and who spent his 17th birthday and nine birthdays after that in prison?

How much should Paula Romero, a former seamstress, receive for her missing son Henry, a newspaperman at the time of his disappearance?

How much for the 34-year-old woman in Mindanao who woke up one night to find her house being set on fire by some 15 armed men who then stabbed her husband who died in front of her? How much for her own 10 stab wounds? This woman bled till morning and was still clasping her six-month-old baby when help came. Her five-year-old child ran for his life and called for help. When the village people came it was already morning but the woman was still alive. I interviewed her many years ago.

How do you put a price tag on the pain of Purificacion Viernes, a health worker from Mindanao whose husband and two children were killed? In 1984, armed men came in the dead of night and strafed the home of the Vierneses who were suspected of being rebel sympathizers. The next thing Purificacion saw were brain tissues and blood splattered all over. Her two children died instantly and she heard her husband breathe his last.



Purificacion played dead when the armed men came up to inspect the place. The men took a look at her and decided to pump one more bullet into her to make sure she was dead. As if that was not enough, a soldier clicked his cigarette lighter and ran its flame on the soles of Purificacion's feet. To see if she would move. She did not and they left her.

Purificacion survived to tell her story. One of her legs was suspended in mid-air when I interviewed her in a hospital. Another one was heavily bandaged. The soles of her feet were swollen.

So how much is Purificacion's share of the Marcos billions? How do you put a price tag on her wounds, her dead husband and sons, the burns on her feet?

I had to scour my “Forever Files” to search for stories like these. I wrote the above in this space 12 years ago in 1994. That was after a US court ruled that $1.2 billion in damages was to be awarded to the almost 10,000 victims of martial rule who filed a class suit against the Marcos estate.

I also wrote then that the Ramos government stood in the way. Its stand then was that the Marcoses' immense wealth should go back to the government because it was stolen from the government. And so it should not be used to indemnify victims of Marcos rule.

Nine years ago in 1997 I again wrote about the victims’ hopes nearing realization when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed with finality a 1995 district court ruling in Honolulu. The claimants' lead counsel Robert Swift said the Marcoses had no further right of appeal under U.S. law. In 1995 the U.S. Supreme Court already upheld a lower court's ruling on $1.2 billion in exemplary damages. Both class action and direct action plaintiffs had clearly won. There was also the $772 in compensatory damages. These figures and suits could be confusing but just think of a total of $2 billion.

The things you could do with $2 billion, I wrote then. Of course, you do not divide that equally into 10,000. Victims are classified into three general types. But it goes without saying that you cannot quantify suffering and loss. It was not the prospect of money that pushed the 10,000 claimants to file a class suit for compensation. It was justice for 10,001 crimes.

But will the government let go? Silvestre Bello III, solicitor general at that time said the government was “inclined to lay off claim to the Marcos Swiss fund.” Good, I wrote, the government should then step aside and allow the 10,000 victims to get the $2 billion. A big portion of the amount was to come from the frozen assets in Switzerland. Imagine all that money pouring in. That would be much more than what was being sent by Filipino overseas contract workers slaving away in foreign lands.

But it seemed the victims were never going to see the color of that money because the government kept standing in the way. If the government succeeds in snatching that money from the victims, I said then, a curse will be upon this land. Why? The $2 billion might only line a few big pockets. Maybe it will find its way to the national budget and then to the pork barrel, to government projects and offices and the sticky hands of the corrupt. While if the amount were spread around to victims it would go a along way—for education, housing, health, seed capital, etc.

Well, so much has already been recovered and where did these go? Not a cent for the victims. Wala, kahit isang singkong duling.

It is now 2006. Last month, the US District Court of Hawaii sent a notice to 9,539 claimants. The letter gave a background saying: “Following trials in 1992, 1994 and 1995, the Court entered Final Judgment on Feb. 3, 1995 in favor of the Class in the amount of US$1,964,000,000. Your claim is one of the 9,539 (emphasis theirs). The Judgment was affirmed by the US Appeals Court, and is now final.” It also tackled collection proceedings, distribution of the fund, eligibility of class members, attorney’s fees and expenses.

Last week the District Court of Hawaii authorized compensation of $2,000 each to about 7,500 victims (why fewer now?) of human rights abuses. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals awarded the victims $35 million in a New York brokerage account that once belonged to the Marcoses.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is again standing in the way. We call on the spirit of the late PCGG chair Haydee Yorac, defender of human rights, to be the mediatrix.

Bishops treated as hacks?

If it is true that someone had been distributing money envelopes, supposedly from Malacanang, to members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) during their retreat and plenary assembly I hold the bishops partly to blame. How could this have happened?

According to an Inquirer news report yesterday by Christian V. Esguerra, a bishop (described as “soft-spoken” and “low-key”) admitted having been handed an envelope by a “casual-looking” man who had introduced himself as a messenger “from Malacanang.”

How could the bishops or their personnel allow in an outsider during their retreat and deliberations on a much-awaited statement? Why was this Mr. Moneybags allowed to walk around and distribute envelopes containing between P20,000 and P30,000? If this indeed happened or was allowed to happen, then one could only conclude that the bishops were caught unawares or “tatanga-tanga”. Sorry, but that is the translation in Filipino and its root word does not sound nice.

If they were in conclave electing a pope, word would have gotten out before white smoke could come out of the chimney.

And why didn’t anyone raise a howl right there and then? The bishops were after all in their territory. They were not guests in a place where decorum would have dictated that they did not embarrass their host with an uproar. If I were on the receiving end, I would have roared, “Who the devil sent you?!” or “Begone, Satan!” then called security and staff to help investigate who the uninvited guest was.



This was an incident that would have merited wrath not so unlike the wrath Jesus displayed in the temple when he saw it being defiled by those trying to earn a few bucks in a sacred place. There was a proper place for such activities, Jesus said, in the same way that there is a proper manner to send donations to bishops.

Whoever was the devil who sent the money envelopes during that occasion, one thing is evident—that person/those persons had no respect for the bishops. The bishops were looked upon and treated as mere hacks that could be paid, bought, bribed and made to look like spineless fools lacking in virility—which they are not. Try saying that in Filipino.

One could say, well, that goes with forays into political territory where money talks. This is not to say that those in the church hierarchy have no business speaking on secular and political issues. But how have some individual bishops been comporting themselves in relation to the unending political fracas? Hmmm, one too many trying-hard wanna-bes, if you ask me. But this is my own biased perception.

“It was revolting, I felt insulted.” the bishop who comes from a poor diocese said. “Medyo garapal.” (Quite brazen.) I wish the bishop had allowed our reporter to name him.

The envelopes were reportedly inserted into bishops’ pockets and when they returned to their rooms they were surprised to find money inside the envelopes. Some said they were going to return the money.

To whom?

Yes, beware of strangers inserting anything into your clothing, books, bags and other personal belongings. In airports, stations, malls and even hallowed places where bishops pray and meet.

The news report said that as early as Monday, last week, the eve of the CBCP retreat that was to be followed by a plenary session, some Malacanang representatives (okay, plural now) were already seen loitering at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center. This was according to a bishop who had rejected an envelope offered to him. The “messengers” approached bishops during break time and offered “livelihood” money.

Livelihood? What could P20,000 to P30,000 do for livelihood? The bishop-informant was right—the amount was not for livelihood projects but for the individual bishops’ personal use.

Malacanang merely laughed off the report about the messengers who offered envelopes. Were they impostors then? If Malacanang didn’t send them, who did?

Now presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor is saying that henceforth donations would be directly given to bishops or the diocesan social action centers (SACs). This was supposed to be the suggestion of governors, mayors and NGOs. This was supposed to prevent jealousy among local officials and NGOs.

At least one bishop, Paranaque’s Bishop Jesse Mercado, has said that he has rejected offers of medicine, rice, noodles and other stuff offered by the Arroyo administration. Indeed, why give these to the bishops when there are government agencies that could handle these? Sure, in a disaster situation, the diocesan SACs could act as conduits, but nowadays when the color of money is the color of politics, the church should be more circumspect and safely suspicious.

On the other side of the globe, Pope Benedict XVI did not mince words when he spoke at the huge two-day family rally in Valencia, Spain. He repeatedly condemned threats to the so-called traditional family, among them, same-sex marriage and fast-track divorce. Alas, nothing was heard about the clear and present danger that is the physical fragmentation of families as a result of parents leaving home to work in foreign lands. Global economics have taken a toll on poor families. Disparities in the wealth of nations have forced millions of parents to leave the children they have brought into this world in order to give them a better life.

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Inquirer’s topnotch sports columnist Recah Trinidad will launch “Pacific Storm”, his book on the life and rise of boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, at 6 p.m. at National Book Store in Shangri-la Mall on EDSA.

Of saints and martyrs

A few days ago, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo said that a canonized saint—Saint Teresa of Avila no less!—and two future possible ones belong to the Arroyo-Tuason-Pidal family tree. Mr. Arroyo made the claim while aboard the flight that took the First Couple to the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. He revealed this even as the Arroyo administration is being accused of committing a variety of unsaintly acts.

This makes one review and reflect on what really makes a saint, particularly a martyr, canonized or not, in this day and age.

The Philippines now claims two canonized saints, both males—San Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod (whose name I couldn’t immediately recall) who were canonized in 1987 and 2000 respectively. These two men from a long-ago century left the saintly and daring Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, founder of a major Filipino religious congregation for women, whose cause has been well documented, out in the cold.

In the 1970s the Philippines needed a canonized saint, and so the proponents searched for one. That was how it was in the case of Lorenzo Ruiz who was killed, along with Dominican missionaries, in Japan several centuries ago. I had read the book on the search by Antonio Delgado, ambassador to the Vatican during the Marcos era, and was shocked to learn that there was no candidate at that time. In the beginning there was no name, no face, no place, no event to speak of. But the Philippines had to have a canonized saint and so the search was on. Lorenzo Ruiz surfaced.



As I asked in 1987, why couldn't it have been the garotted Fathers Burgos, Gomez and Zamora? Or for future canonization, the two Kabankalan lay Church leaders German Moleta and Alex Garsales who were murdered in the bitter sugar cane fields of Negros in 1980? Wasn't their death a proclamation not only of their Christian beliefs but also, and more importantly, of their faith in Christ's teachings about the Kingdom of Truth and Justice which these latter-day martyrs helped bring to fullness?

Well known theologian Karl Rahner questions the traditional concept of martyrdom which is simply that of a “free, tolerant acceptance of death for the sake of the faith” which excludes death in an active struggle. Rahner pleads that this concept be broadened. “The death Jesus `passively endured’ was the consequence of the struggle he waged against those in his day who wielded religious and political power. He died because he fought: his death must not be seen in isolation from his life.”

Rahner questions why Bishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador who was slain while fighting for justice, a struggle he waged out because of his conviction as a Christian, is not officially called martyr. "Certainly, (Romero) was prepared for his death,” Rahner insists. He also finds it strange that Maximilian Kolbe who offered to die in the place of a family man in Hitler's concentration camp was canonized as a confessor and not as a martyr which he should be.

Controversial Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff adds: "Jesus did not go unsuspectingly to his death…He remained radically faithful to his message, to the Father and to the course he had chosen. He did not avoid his adversaries, nor flee from the crisis in Galilee, but `resolutely took the road for Jerusalem' (Luke 9:51) for the final confrontation."

There are several kinds of martyrs, Boff says. There are martyrs because of their public profession of a faith that de-absolutizes and de-divinizes the powers of this world. History is full of such martyrs, he says, from the time the Roman emperors were declared divine to those who speak out against modern fascist tyrannies.

There are likewise martyrs, he adds, on account of their Christian practice derived from following Christ. Formerly, Boff says, Christians undertook actions, in recto religious, which had political consequences; today, more and more Christians, particularly in the Third World, are carrying out actions, in recto political, which originate in faith and the Gospel.
Christian martyrs or simply heroes? Only God knows where to draw the line. Enda McDonagh, author of “The Making of Disciples” tries to put the issue to rest: “It would be foolish to resist extending the range of Christian martyrdom to those who give their lives for their neighbor in political contexts. It would be equally foolish to interpret all deaths for political causes as unambiguous instances of Christian martyrdom.”

Isn’t the assassinated Protestant Rev. Martin Luther King,Jr., Black champion of civil rights in America a saint whom Catholics should emulate? What about the Hindu proponent of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi? Or, the four Catholic women missionaries who were massacred in El Salvador, and recently, Sr. Dorothy Stang who died defending the Amazon forest and its inhabitants?

Filipinos do not have to search in musty archives. We have our own modern day Christian saints who remain alive in the hearts of those they lived and died for.

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“Seven in the Eye of History” has been compacted into a new cheaper version, “Mga Bagong Bayani: Modern Filipino Heroes” (edited by Asuncion David Maramba) and is now sold in bookstores. These seven heroes, including Ninoy Aquino, lived and died before the turn of the century. I wrote the one on Macli-ing Dulag.

Claretian Publications has a reprint of “All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets and Witnesses for our Time” by Robert Ellsberg. It’s a great mix of Therese of Lisieux, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Benedict, Paul VI, Hildegard of Bingen, Hammarskjold, George Fox of the Quakers, Dorothy Day, Takashi Nagai, etc. for 365 days.

A college for indigenous peoples

I wrote in the future tense then, I write in the present tense now. I had some doubts then, I don’t have those doubts now.

Late last year I wrote about Pamulaan, a special tertiary school or college for indigenous peoples (IP) that was being built in Mindanao. The target date for its opening was the opening of classes this June.

The dream has come true. Pamulaan recently opened with 47 IP students (from 19 tribes from all over the Philippines) enrolled in the college program.

Pamulaan means seedbed. The college aims to strengthen the potentials of indigenous youth for community leadership. It is a college education program for the IPs in the Philippines and a response to the IPs' dream of an educational program that is rooted in their life, culture and aspirations as a people.

Pamulaan is under the president of the University of South Eastern Philippines. The site is in USEP's Mintal campus in Davao City. IPs from North America recently came to visit and were surprised to find something so special and so focused.



Pamulaan is the first of its kind in the country, says founder and co-director Benjamin Abadiano who also dreamed and founded the successful Tugdaan Training Center for Mangyans in Occidental Mindoro. The center is now ably run by the Mangyans themselves with the help of the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (SSpS).

Unlike Tugdaan (which also means seed bed), which is for high school and livelihood training, Pamulaan offers degree programs such as BA in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development, BS in Indigenous Peoples Education, BA in Peace Building and Multi-Cultural Studies, BS in Indigenous Agriculture. Pamulaan also offers ladderized and modular courses leading to an associate degree as well as short-term courses for community leaders and development workers.

Abadiano, 43, is one of the main driving forces behind the endeavor. A 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Emergent Leadership, he was recently elected president of Assisi Development Foundation, of which he used to be executive coordinator. He took the place of Ambassador Howard Dee (his mentor and model) who is now Assisi’s chair. Assisi recently turned 30.

A dreamer and doer, Abadiano pulled all the stops to make the IPs' dream come true. He was not disappointed. Help came quietly like spring water flowing to seeds waiting to burst into life. Pamulaan was among the grantees of the recent World Bank-sponsored Panibagong Paraan funding campaign.

Pamulaan is the fruit of the partnership of various government and non-government agencies such as the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples, Assisi Development Foundation, Cartwheel Foundation, the Office of Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., and Ilawan Center for Volunteer and Leadership, which Abadiano also founded.

Pamulaan aims “to create culturally appropriate and relevant pathways of professional training and formation for indigenous youth and leaders.”

Assisi Foundation and other foundations have pledged scholarship funds. This means full tuition, miscellaneous fees, dorm stay and full board and lodging and travel expenses to project and practicum sites.

Important features of Pamulaan are the heritage house and library that showcase the richness of indigenous culture. The dorm within the campus gives IP students the chance to live together, exchange experiences and go through value formation programs.

Pamulaan is not just for the IPs of Mindanao. It is open to IPs from Luzon and Visayas and to non-IPs working for IPs.

Pamulaan is indeed a great dream whose time has come.

But why is Pamulaan attached to USEP, a government institution? Abadiano says making government one of the stakeholders would give Pamulaan a better chance of sustainability. Pamulaan “is not a fund-driven” project, Abadiano says. There was no funding in the beginning, but the moment the project was made known, funds just poured in. Of course, part of Abadiano's RM Award prize money (more than a million pesos) was earmarked for this project.

Abadiano is one of a kind, a rare find indeed. Deeply spiritual, this Jesuit-educated development worker is ever on the go. The IPs are the love of his life. It is among them that he experienced epiphany and enlightenment.

There are around 12 million IPs in the Philippines. They could be classified into 120 ethnic groups. Most of them have little or no access to “a culturally sensitive, appropriate and relevant education.” It is their right, both God-given and by law, to receive basic services, including higher education.

The IPs' rights are enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. In 1997 Congress passed the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) which strengthened their right to be duly recognized and protected.

But some things are easier said than done. Many IPs continue to find difficulty in relating personally, culturally and academically with mainstream realities. It is hoped that education, such as is offered by Pamulaan, would put the IPs in step with the mainstream while being affirmed as proudly IP or PIP.

Pamulaan hopes to see the IPs proudly “owning” the education program that drew from the life-giving wilderness and communities whence they arose.

So while our national leaders continue to engage in verbal and political acrobatics, and while many of us are suffering from political diarrhea and dementia, there are special Filipinos who continue to dream dreams and do their own part as if there indeed is hope for this benighted nation.

Fake drugs could kill

The Inquirer is one of the institutions behind the current campaign against fake drugs. It is not every day that this paper joins a campaign. We’re quite choosy, you see.

Counterfeit drugs could kill. This was the title of the first part of the three-part series I wrote some years ago. At that time the Philippines landed on the list of proliferators of fake drugs released by the Drug Information Association that was meeting in Canada. Another concern at that time was adverse drug reaction (ADR). For while even genuine drugs could cause ADR, how much more the fake ones whose components only the fakers know about?

Listed as an ADR is ``failure of efficacy’’ or Type F. This is what sends patients asking, ``Why is the drug not working?’’ Therapeutic failure could be due to a drug that has little or nothing in it. In other words, some illegal manufacturers could have tampered with a brand’s contents and unless the doctor and patient get the drug tested, they have no way of knowing the cause of the problem.

A change of prescription could be the next option and if the new drug is not fake, it could work. That is, if it is not too late and the patient has not crossed the bridge of no return.

There has been a debate on whether or not brand names of drugs that have been counterfeited should be published so that the public may know. (I did provide a list.) Legit drug companies whose brands have been counterfeited could raise a howl and say they are getting a double whammy because sales of even the genuine items could suffer because consumers will stay away. That is the short-term adverse effect.



But there is a positive long-term effect. Exposing the counterfeit could put the evildoers’ work on hold. The informed public would pay more attention to what they are buying. In the end, the genuine drug makers would profit from this kind of vigilance.

Fake drugs are not like fake signature jeans or watches that could serve their purpose in much the same way as the original, and they’re even cheaper. Fake drugs sell like the genuine ones but they have reduced or no efficacy. Worse, they endanger lives.

According to R.A. 8203 or The Special Law on Counterfeit Drugs, counterfeit medicines refer to

1) the drug itself, or the container or labeling thereof or any part of such drug, container, or labeling bearing, without authorization, the trademark, trade name or other identification mark, or imprint or any likeness to that which is owned or registered in the Bureau of Patent;

2) a drug product refilled in containers by unauthorized persons if the legitimate labels are used;

3) an unregistered imported drug product, except drugs bought in the country for personal use as confirmed and justified by accompanying medical records;

4) drugs that contain no amount of, or a different active ingredient, or less than 80 percent of the active ingredient it purports to possess, as distinguished from an adulterated drug including reduction or less of efficacy due to expiration.

The first two would seem like stealing of intellectual property, much like faking signature jeans. Not that this crime should be condoned but if it were merely brand stealing but the essence of the product is as good as the genuine one (much like a fake Rolex would tell the same time as the genuine one) the poor would probably go for the fakes.

A pedicab driver/handyman told me the other day that he buys the medicine of his wife (whom I know and who’s recuperating from a stroke) tingi, that is, two pieces at most. After a long day’s work, he passes by a drugstore to buy ``dalawang piraso lang.’’ What if he learns about cheaper ones sold somewhere?

Number 4 (less than 80 percent active ingredient) is the one that could be life-threatening.

The Bureau of Food and Drugs has initiated once again a nationwide campaign against counterfeit drugs. There have been buy-bust operations and closure orders of drugstore selling fakes. How long will this zeal last?

I’ve been seeing TV info-ads on counterfeit drugs and how citizens could help curb the illegal activities the past weeks. Alas, the words and numbers on screen go so fast one wonders whether the viewers could catch them at all. So here is the toll-free hotline that you can call to report a counterfeit or a counterfeiter: 1-800-10-FAKEMED.

The Coalition Against Counterfeit Medicines is among those behind the awareness campaign. It encourages people to be more vigilant so that drug stores would sell only the real thing. It calls on the government to enforce the laws, and on lawmakers to even tighten the laws against counterfeiters.

The 12 members of the coalition are the Departments of Health, Justice, and Trade and Industry, Philippine Medical Association, Drugstores Association of the Philippines, Mercury Drug Corporation, Watson’s, Zuellig Pharma, Pfizer, Philippine Pharmaceutical Association, GMA-7 and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

How to tell a fake? A suspected counterfeit has these tell-take signs: the appearance of the packaging or the medicine itself is different from the registered product. The printing on the packaging is somewhat blurred or of poor quality. There is no expiration date, lot or batch numbers. In some cases lot or batch numbers are excessively repeated. The brand name is larger than the generic name. The authenticity indicators such as holograms and tamper-evident seals are not always reliable as the counterfeiters can replicate these.

I just hope the campaign to separate the genuine branded drugs from the fakes does not kill the generic drugs and their manufacturers. I hope it does not put fear and doubt in the hearts of generic drug users who cannot afford the brand names.

Letter from East Timor

It wasn’t so long ago (2002) when I wept while I watched on television East Timor’s declaration of independence after being under the Portuguese for 400 years and Indonesia for almost 30 years and Xanana Gusmao taking his oath as the first president.

I was in East Timor so very briefly in 1995 for the Ahi Naklakan Solidarity Tour (Ahi Naklakan is Tetum for light) with human rights activists. After several days we were found out and promptly rounded up by the Indonesian military and brought to the airport.

When independence was nigh in 1999 violence erupted and many were killed, among them religious missionary sisters. Foreign journalists left in haste but thanks to information technology and e-mail, the world knew what was happening there. Even while surrounded by bursts of gunfire, missionaries e-mailed letters some of which I used in this space (``Epistles via e-mail’’, 9/23/99).

East Timor is again in the throes of war. (It is now supposedly the other Christian country in Asia besides the Philippines but what does this mean really?) Here again is a letter from a missionary whom I know and who had worked in the Philippines. She was assigned to East Timor a few years ago. For reasons of security I have removed names from her letter.

``Yesterday 28 May, I decided to temporarily leave East Timor via one of the evacuation flights to Darwin, Australia…



``The situation in Dili (the capital) became more and more chaotic with roaming youth gangs terrorizing the city. They have been burning houses, looting, threatening people, etc. It is a very complex and confusing situation. It is very hard to understand just what is happening.

``Saturday night there were pistol shots in the compound where I live. I was in my house with five Timorese friends who had sought refuge. The complicating factor is that my landlord is related to Prime Minister Alkatiri who is disliked by most of the population. Some of the homes of people related to government officials have been burned. I feared that my place may be burned even though it is at the back end of the Australian Embassy and adjacent to the Australian-East Timorese Defense Cooperation Program compound…

``On Saturday night my friends and I went to the airport and joined other internally displaced persons (IDP) there. We slept under the stars. By yesterday at noontime, the reports said that the situation was becoming more dangerous. The rebels were allegedly on their way to attack Dili.

``Around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday I decided that I would leave the country temporarily…Around 3:00 p.m. I just walked to the airport entrance and told an Australian soldier that I was an American with an Australian visa and would like to evacuate to Darwin…We left Dili around 8:00 p.m. on a C-130 with Timorese and other internationals.

``I am determined to return to Dili once the situation becomes more calm… I am willing to do anything to help East Timor. Let me start by writing what I know has been happening there…

``On the night of 27 May there was heavy shooting near (a Timorese friend’s) home and it continued until Saturday morning. They finally evacuated to a Catholic seminary at Fatumeta about one kilometer from Surik-mas. Yesterday afternoon while I was waiting for my flight to Darwin, I received a text from a friend who is British, that the seminary was being attacked. I immediately informed an Australian soldier at the airport and asked them to send troops to the seminary. Later I received another text message that the attackers were going to burn the vehicles to be used to evacuate the people from the seminary…

``A colleague and his family made it safely to Baucau on Friday afternoon. There was terrible shooting and burning of houses in Becora and Kuluhun since Saturday. (Someone) called me yesterday while I was at the airport and told me that his home and (our NGO’s office) have been burned…

``Other friends of mine have left their homes. There are thousands of IDPs at the airport, church compounds and religious communities. Some have been attacked.

``Around 1,800 Australian troops are on the ground but as far as I know they cannot attack; they can only fire if they are fired upon. One of my friends witnessed a house being burned by gangs in the presence of Australian troops who only fired shots in the air. I was told today there are road blocks put up by the gangs in different parts of the city. I experienced one on my way to the airport yesterday…

``I understand that the Prime Minister is under pressure to resign. President Xanana finally has complete control over the national and international forces. Up until last night Alkatiri was saying that he also was in control of the military forces. The police force collapsed and is totally dysfunctional. This is a very critical period for Timor. I believe that if the Prime Minister steps down now there is a chance that much of the violence will stop. But if he doesn't, I fear there could be all-out war.

``Please pray for us. The people have suffered so much. It is so tragic to see them at makeshift refugee camps. Men, women and children in their tents, on the ground, with kerosene stoves, sacks of rice, plastic bags filled with their belongings, just sitting and waiting, hungry and cold.

``The evening I slept on the ground was quite cool. So far there has been no rain. But if it should rain, I don't know where the people will go. My heart is weeping and I am also so angry with these power hungry men who lead countries for their self-interests and have no concern whatsoever for the people they are supposed to be serving. It is so unjust! Sometimes I just want to scream and ask, `Where is justice?’

``Please keep all of us in your prayers.’’