I have seen a campaign to revise the Philippine Institute of Traditional Alternative Healthcare which was created from the Republic Act 8423 which was signed and approved on the 9th of December 1997. On this act it is declared that:

“It is the policy of the State to improve the quality and delivery of health care services to the Filipino people through the development of traditional and alternative health care and its integration into the national health care delivery system.

It shall also be the policy of the State to seek a legally workable basis by which indigenous societies would own their knowledge of traditional medicine. When such knowledge is used by outsiders, the indigenous societies can require the permitted users to acknowledge its source and can demand a share of any financial return that may come from its authorized commercial use.”

And with this law being implemented, the Philippine Institute of Traditional Alternative Health Care was established. But what do this Institution do?

On the said law, the Institute has mandated to do the following:

(a) To encourage scientific research on and develop traditional and alternative health care systems that have direct impact on public health care;

(b) To promote and advocate the use of traditional, alternative, preventive and curative health care modalities that have been proven safe, effective, cost effective and consistent with government standards on medical practice;

(c) To develop and coordinate skills training courses for various forms of traditional and alternative health care modalities;

(d) To formulate standards, guidelines and codes of ethical practice appropriate for the practice of traditional and alternative health care as well as in the manufacture, quality control and marketing of different traditional and alternative health care materials, natural and organic products, for approval and adoption by the appropriate government agencies;

(e) To formulate policies for the protection of indigenous and natural health resources and technology from unwarranted exploitation, for approval and adoption by the appropriate government agencies;

(f) To formulate policies to strengthen the role of traditional and alternative health care delivery system; and

(g) To promote traditional and alternative health care in international and national conventions, seminars and meetings in coordination with the Department of Tourism, Duty Free Philippines, Incorporated, Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation and other tourism-related agencies as well as non-government organizations and local government units.

But what kind of Traditional, Alternative, Preventive and Curative Health Care modalities they are promoting? Let us see on their website that can be found at http://pitahc.gov.ph

Indeed it is Traditional but not Indigenous to our land. On the new proposed law by the Abono Partylist Representative Hon. Conrado M. Estrella III, he introduced to the Philippine House of Representative 17th Congress the House Bill 7950 which is An Act Empowering The Philippine Institute of Traditional and Complementary Health Care by vesting upon it regulatory powers, providing it with augmented Human resources and upgraded equipment, establishing testing laboratories and field offices, amending certain sections of Republic Act 8423 and appropriating funds thereof.

On this bill it is said that PITAHC will known as PITCHC or Philippine Institute of Traditional and Complementary Health Care instead of Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care; and the Power of Philippine Food and Drug Administration will be vested on the said Institute on top of all of the powers given to it by the law. By giving such power it will also augment its human resources, upgrade equipment, and establishment of testing laboratories and field offices of its own. As it was said on the title of this bill, there is a huge amount of money that will be given to the institute.

But with regards to this, who are covered on this Bill as an amendment to Republic Act 8423? And how do this bill define Traditional Medicine?

Traditional Medicine here is clearly identified by this bill which is:

CHINESE, INDIAN AND OTHER FOREIGN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE.

Whereas the Complementary Medicine on this bill is clearly identified:

But where is Hilot here? On the said bill we found Hilot categorized as Traditional Health Care Modalities.

It seems that the creator of this bill is still unsure of what Hilot is as it caption in small letter “h” as the practice of “hilot”.

So what is bothersome with this bill?

Well aside from the new venue of corruption within the Institution, they are empowered to:

This will be a new Power to be invested to the institute. But unfortunately on the old law which is the RA 8423 they only have to formulate a code of ethics and standards for the practice of traditional and alternative health care modalities for approval and adoption by the appropriate professional and government agencies and other functions. And from 1997 up to the present, they have only formulated standards for foreign modalities such as the practice of Acupuncture, Chiropractic, and Naturopathy in the Philippines though i have to commend Tesda which is an attached agency of Philippine Department of Labor and Employment for creating a Training Standards and Regulation on Hilot Wellness which i also advocated to be revised. But with this new bill, all of these practices will be regulated by PITCHC.

With regards to the practice of Traditional Medicine there is an exemption:

Here your worth must be proven. You must be a tenured Hilot Practitioner and receiving no complain from your patient. But the question is, how the tenured Manghihilot will be recognized when they are uneducated since their knowledge has been handed down without the influence of formal education and training?

Well there are more about this law that we need to be vigilant and on guard. This law will affect us and the preservation of our Philippine Traditional Indigenous Healing Arts and Sciences. Whereas, our teaching here will be branded as Quackery as they have seen us to be on the sidestream as our own Government don’t give recognition to the healing modality that took care of the Health of our Ancestors.

I apologize to all my friends who ask me to join or subscribe to their company who sells self care or home care products such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, feminine wash, oils, lotions, ointments, etc.

I appreciate your concern but i apologize for refusing your offer.

I am HILOT.

People now-a-days are always on the go and spend most of their time in earning  money. It seems that they are always running out of time because of the deadlines they are rushing to meet or with other reasons. And with that behavior people suffer from stress.

Stress is a self imposed illness of the Mind.

People are stressed out because of exerting too much energy in order to obtain their desires in a short time. Even if they had enough time to reach their goal/ desire, they lack resources in order to manifest it. Many people right now are accepting challenges and work load beyond their capacity just to show off that they can; and with that behavior, they might get their success but one aspect of their being still suffer from stress. Stress is a self imposed illness of the Mind that can grow and get complicated.

According to webmd.com  the following are the symptom of stress:

Emotional symptoms of stress include:

• Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and moody
• Feeling overwhelmed, like you are losing control or need to take control
• Having difficulty relaxing and quieting your mind
• Feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem), lonely, worthless, and depressed
• Avoiding others

Physical symptoms of stress include:

• Low energy
• Headaches
• Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea
• Aches, pains, and tense muscles
• Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
• Insomnia
• Frequent colds and infections
• Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
• Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear, cold or sweaty hands and feet
• Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing
• Clenched jaw and grinding teeth

Cognitive symptoms of stress include:

• Constant worrying
• Racing thoughts
• Forgetfulness and disorganization
• Inability to focus
• Poor judgment
• Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side

Behavioral symptoms of stress include:

• Changes in appetite — either not eating or eating too much
• Procrastinating and avoiding responsibilities
• Increased use of alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes
• Exhibiting more nervous behaviors, such as nail biting, fidgeting, and pacing.

All of these are self created within your mind.  Your own mind houses your behavior, and your behavior can be formed. It is early formed by your Parents, Family members, relatives and later on the community contributes the formation of your behavior. But in fact that our behavior resides within our mind, and our mind is our own; as we get matured we should be in control in forming our own behavior. Having control with our behavior is also having control with our life; and with our life we can also control our own health.

It is said that: Health is Wealth. And our wealth is a creature of our own mind. Our mind governs and process the activities of our body part; and our body parts must be attuned and work in harmony with our mind as it is said in the Filipino Flag pledge of allegiance that says: “Sa isip. Sa Salita. At sa Gawa.” or “In Mind. In Words. and in Deed!”