“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”—Walter Hagen
MARIA Rowena Amelia “Bing” Guanzon, 69, the feisty former Comelec commissioner, has been going around the country ostensibly to woo potential voters in the 2028 election.
Her recent visit in Iloilo City where she met Mayor Raisa Maria Lourdes Sarabia Treñas-Chu, 40, was more than meets the eye especially after emphasizing that the Guanzons are originally from Molo.
She stressed her family’s deeper genealogical origins in this bustling Iloilo City district, widely known as “The Athens of the Philippines” due to its rich history of producing prominent patriots, lawyers, judges, and political leaders even before the World War II.
Guanzon, a lawyer, is actually from Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, though her paternal roots trace back to the Panay-Negros region.
The mercurial former mayor of Cadiz City was born and raised in Negros Occidental, where her family has a long history of public service with her mother, Elvira, serving as a long-time vice mayor.
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During the 19th-century sugar boom, many prominent Negros families originally migrated from the district of Molo.
Guanzon highlighted her family’s deep-seated heritage in the historic, elite Ilonggo class by asserting that she has roots in the district that has produced the following illustrious leaders:
Franklin Drilon, long-serving Philippine senator and former senate president; Rodolfo Ganzon, former senator, congressperson, and mayor of Iloilo City; Francisco Villanueva, prominent early senator and patriot; Esteban de la Rama, senator and revolutionary general.
Esperidion Guanco, former senator; Jose Ma. Arroyo, former senator whose family roots connect to the Arroyo political lineage; Francisco Zulueta and Jose C. Zulueta, former national legislators and local leaders; and Potenciano Treñas, former senator and representative.
Guanzon is reportedly eyeing a senate seat and has been openly lashing at the Marcos Jr. administration and supporting Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
If the Duterte camp will accommodate her in the opposite slate, she has a big chance to win in the senate race.
If not, she will end up empty-handed like other candidates in the past who did not have a big political party to support their candidacies.
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Is this a portent of things to come? Bad weather condition has been disrupting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio since last month.
The Senate canceled the entire trial session due to heavy rains and flooding across Metro Manila brought by the southwest monsoon or habagat on August 10, 2026.
Inclement weather also forced the court to cut proceedings short, leading to an early adjournment by 2 ‘o’clock in the afternoon on August 17, 2026.
The impeachment trial scheduled for Tuesday was canceled due to continuing heavy rainfall warnings on August 18, 2026; and on August 19, 2026, the trial scheduled for Wednesday was called off for a third suspended day as severe weather persisted.
As a result of the series of cancellations and postponements, some of the people who have been following the trial in the past 20 sessions have lost interest.
This could be the reason why many Filipinos are still unable to decide whether to reject the vice president as a presidential wanna-be in 2028 despite mounting evidence that she allegedly misused her confidential intelligence fund worth P612.5 million in the active corruption and impeachment cases.
Whether the senator-judges will vote to convict her is another story.
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“Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby!”–Higgins, Act I
Another interesting book on sale (only at $5) at the Barnes and Noble in New York is Pygmalion, a king of Cyprus who could find nothing good in women.
As a result, he resolved to live out his life unmarried.
He fell in love with his own creation when he carved a statue out of ivory that was so beautiful and so perfect that no living being could possibly be its equal.
At a festival, he consequently prayed to the goddess of love, Aphrodite, that he might have the statue come to life.
To his amazement, he found that his wish had been fulfilled when he reached home, and he proceeded to marry the statue he named Galatea.
Author George Bernard Shaw used several aspects of the legend and most prominently one of the names in the title, viewers, writers, critics, and audiences have consistently insisted upon there being some truth attached to every analogy in the myth.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)
Posted by Alex P. Vidal at 1:07 AM 1 comment: 
Labels: #RowenaGuanzon #IloiloCity #RaisaTrenas #MayorRaisaTrenas #CadizCity #MoloIloiloCity
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Substance abuse among adults a ‘fast-growing health problem’
“There are far too many silent sufferers. Not because they don’t yearn to reach out, but because they’ve tried and found no one who cares.”
―Richelle E. Goodrich
By Alex P. Vidal
AS the number of older adults suffering from substance abuse climbs in the United States, the situation remains underestimated, under-identified, under-diagnosed and under-treated.
This was emphasized in a fact sheet handed to participants in a two-session In-Person Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training at the PSS Home Care in Whitestone, New York City scheduled August 24 and 31, 2026.
Jeanne Cacciatore, program director of Family and Children’s Association (FCA) Senior MH Awareness Training Program, Elder Abuse EMDT and Safe Observant Senior Program (SOS), exhorted participants, who are healthcare workers, to closely monitor and help identify the problem among adults they take care.
Cacciatore also emphasized the importance of mental health first aid action plan called ALGEE or Assess for risk of suicide or harm, Listen non judgmentally, Give reassurance and information, Encourage appropriate professional help, and Encourage self-help and other support strategies.
She suggested to dial 988, a toll-free help line, if needed, for those with suicidal cases. The three numbers are connections to free, confidential crisis counseling, mental health and substance use support, information and referrals.
It can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone, text and online chat. Behavioral health professionals there can link the caller to the services needed.
ABUSE
Substance abuse particularly in the form of alcohol and prescription drugs among adults 60 and older “is one of the fastest-growing health problems facing the country,” revealed the MHFA fact sheet.
The negative consequences of improper or over-use of alcohol, drugs, prescription medications and over-the-counter medications are reportedly intensified in older bodies.
“While we can see the physical changes of aging on the outside, through skin and hair for example,” explains the MHFA fact sheet, “we do not see significant internal changes that also come with age. These are precisely the changes that make us more vulnerable to substance use problems as we grow older.”
MHFA has identified the following age-related changes that intensify the impact substance use in older bodies: slowing metabolism, changes in absorption and excretion, changes in ratio of muscle and fatty tissue.
Also, it reduced water in cells and tissues of the body, changes in vision, balance and coordination; presence of illness or chronic conditions, and use of medications (prescription, over the counter, herbal remedies and supplements).
“These changes and the consequences they present with the use of alcohol, medications and other substances must be discussed with older adults and their care partners to prevent unintended and unnecessary problems,” suggests the MHFA fact sheet.
“Substance misuse and abuse among older adults is associated with a high rate of falls, delirium, emergency hospitalizations and mortality. The problems are most often unintentional and preventable.”
MENTAL ILLNESS
Meanwhile, data shows that about one in five U.S. adults (nearly 59.3 million people) experience mental illness each year, while about 23 percent of U.S. adults experience mental illness annually.
Young adults aged 18 to 25 reportedly have the highest reported rates of mental illness (36.2 percent) and serious mental illness (11.6 percent). Roughly one in seven youth ages six to 17 reportedly experience a mental health disorder each year.
Over 42 million adults live with anxiety disorders, and 22.5 million experience major depression, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
NIMH said mental illnesses include many different conditions that vary in degree of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. Two broad categories can be used to describe these conditions: Any Mental Illness (AMI) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI).
AMI encompasses all recognized mental illnesses. SMI is a smaller and more severe subset of AMI.
VARY
The severity of a mental illness can vary from person to person. Some individuals can perform daily tasks, including work, with mental illness, and some people may qualify for disability due to their mental illness, according to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS)
Understanding mental health statistics in the United States helps raise awareness and can inform efforts to better support those in need, it added.
“Here, we discuss how many people struggle with mental health challenges and how prevalent they are across different populations,” USAHS explains.
“It’s helpful to note the difference between mental health and mental illness. Mental health is how a person functions in daily activities, and mental illness is the collective term for all diagnosable mental disorders.”
USAHS says Mental illness can affect anyone, including young people. For those struggling with mental illness, about 50 percent of individuals started to have symptoms by the age of 14, and 75 percent experienced symptoms by age 24.16 Signs can include mood changes, problems thinking, apathy and other unusual symptoms.
