PEOPLE I know have been dying around me for the past three months.
Veteran sportscaster and national boxing executive Ed Picson, 69, died of liver cancer. Senior citizens Channel 9 Merchandising’s Jonjo Trinidad died of a heart attack and Jim Alfajora of pneumonia. Marivic Enaje, wife of former TV and radio host Brother Wayne, died of aneurysm; one of my students at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila died of respiratory complications; a male cousin of one of my students, 40, died of a heart attack, and Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF) Pastor Apollo Tan, 65, also died of a heart attack All had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and most had received boosters.
Jonjo experienced weakness for a few days and then suddenly collapsed. Jim had no symptoms of pneumonia but suddenly collapsed at home which, according to doctors at a Quezon City hospital, was due to pneumonia.
Leila Ramos of PLM, 21, was initially diagnosed with anemia, then with respiratory complications due to “gastro malignancy” or enlarging tumor that blocked food in her intestines. She had been in and out of a public hospital for two months.
Pastor Apollo, 70, had his medical check-up which showed negative results a few months earlier before he suddenly died
The Legal Lightworkers for Life and Liberty composed of medical professionals, priests, pastors and church workers has come out with a magazine containing a modest compilation of the many accounts publicly posted by bereaved families and friends on social media, which it said is only the tip of the iceberg of voluminous sudden deaths.
From their Overview: “In the latest available report of the Phil. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) dated January 31, 2023, there are 112,103 reported suspected adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines with 2,796 suspected deaths, including those of children. These suspected adverse reactions are magnified to millions in other parts of the world that adopted the same pandemic measures formulated by the World Health Organization (WHO), as demonstrated in the global adverse event reporting systems such as the WHO’s own VigiAccess, the US VAERS, the UK Yellowcard, and the European Union’s EuroVigilance.”
“Coincidentally, over the past two years, a global phenomenon known as Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) has surfaced. Young, healthy people with no history of disease or illness are dying suddenly in alarming and increasing numbers. Incidences of other fatal conditions have also risen: strokes, blood clots, aneurysms, and sudden and rapidly progressive cancers are being seen in numbers never experienced before the last three years.
“Daily news feeds on mainstream and social media are full of reports of new illnesses and/or premature deaths of celebrities, athletes, public figures, and regular citizens. Mainstream media are also reporting many medical episodes, many sudden and unexpected deaths as well, the causes typically baffling, unknown. Millions of Filipinos are shocked and traumatized by the increasing incidence of unexpected illnesses and deaths from among their families and friends.”
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The new PNP leadership should reorganize the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS) or abolish it altogether if it means business in monitoring the movements of police scalawags. The IAS continues to waste the taxpayers’ money by ignoring its otherwise lawful mandate — investigating and pursuing numerous cases of rogue cops, especially those involved in more than 15,000 EJKs.
It should take the cue from President Bongbong Marcos himself who recently stated that there were abuses committed by law enforcers in former President Duterte’s drug war. The President has realized that only if the climate of impunity is neutralized in the PNP can it function as a genuinely dependable and effective agency against drugs, crimes and corruption.
