Marcos admin brings YAKAP at Kalinga health caravan to schools nationwide

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MAKATI CITY, 18 March 2026 — Spearheaded by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Department of Education (DepEd) recently conducted the Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) at Kalinga Caravan at Marcelo B. Fernan-Polambato Elementary School in Bogo City to bring essential medical services directly to learners, teachers and the school community.

The initiative, a joint project of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and DepEd, aims to link schools with the local healthcare system for better accessibility to preventive care and diagnostic services. 

During the latest YAKAP at Kalinga mission, some 200 beneficiaries received free medical consultations and laboratory tests.

The President, together with First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, also witnessed the distribution of reading glasses and essential medicines.

Along with medical services, President Marcos also inspected the new disaster-resilient Learning Continuity Spaces (LCS) at Marcelo B. Fernan-Polambato Elementary School as part of the larger effort to ensure uninterrupted education following the 6.9-magnitude Cebu earthquake last September.

The program is set to expand its reach to Bataan, with a dedicated caravan scheduled to bring these vital health interventions to the students and faculty of Mariveles National High School-Cabcaben Annex Alasasin.

Secretary Angara said the YAKAP at Kalinga Caravan is a cornerstone of the agency’s reform agenda to prioritize learner wellness.

"This project reflects the marching orders of President Marcos to ensure that no Filipino learner is left behind, even in the face of the most challenging health and environmental calamities," Angara said.

The YAKAP at Kalinga Caravan for schools aims to make preventive care accessible within the campus to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for learners and teachers.

President Marcos and Secretary Angara have led several of these missions in several school locations across the country, recently in Minuyan Elementary School in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and in San Francisco High School in Quezon City, to ensure primary healthcare reaches the most remote teaching communities.

DepEd remains committed to expanding these caravans nationwide to institutionalize comprehensive school-based health services.

EcoWaste Coalition Flags 1,041 Online Product Listings for Skin Lighteners Banned for Mercury Adulteration and/or Lack of Authorization

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18 March 2026, Quezon City.  While women’s contributions to society are celebrated during the National Women's Month, the EcoWaste Coalition is demanding real action from government regulators and administrators of online shopping and social media platforms:  protect women from hazardous products, specifically mercury-laced skin lightening products, which threaten women’s health and the safety of their families.

“We appeal to e-commerce regulators to use their powers under the Internet Transactions Act and related laws to enforce the prohibitions against skin lightening products with mercury content to protect our women and their families, knowing exposure risks can extend beyond the primary users of contaminated cosmetics,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Administrators of online shopping and social media platforms must take down without delay all product listings and related materials promoting the consumption of products flagged by health authorities or civil society groups due to mercury adulteration and/or for lacking the required authorization,” she said, emphasizing “they need not wait for takedown orders to protect their customers.”  

The EcoWaste Coalition’s latest call for action came on the heels of the monitoring conducted by student interns from the University of Rizal System (URS), confirming the presence of hundreds of online product listings for mercury-containing and other unauthorized skin lightening products. The monitoring was conducted between March 10 and 16, 2026.

The interns identified 1,041 product listings on Shopee, Lazada, Carousell, Alibaba, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for skin-lightening products flagged by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for containing mercury and/or lacking market authorization. A similar monitoring conducted in July 2025 identified 1,146 online listings for mercury and mercury-added products, including 1,057 for non-compliant skin lighteners.

Among the FDA-flagged products with the most number of product listings and related promotional materials were Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene, Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream, Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream and the newly-introduced Goree 4-in-1 Beauty Kit and Goree Gold 24K 3-in-1 Beauty Kit, as well as other Pakistan-made products such as Faiza Beauty Cream, Golden Pearl Beauty Cream, Parley Goldie Advanced Beauty Cream, and Sandal Beauty Cream.

Product listings for China-made skincare products such as Aichun, Ailke, BIB, Feique Jiaoli, and S’Zitang were also found, as were listings for Thailand-made 4K Plus, 88 Total White, Dr. Yahnee, and Meyyong products, Indonesia-made Collagen Plus Vit E, and Malaysia-made Erna.  Some of these products may be counterfeits.

Previous studies by the EcoWaste Coalition of skin lightening products sold online have detected extremely high mercury concentrations in numerous samples at levels way above the one part per million (ppm) trace amount limit for mercury under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.

Other studies have also affirmed the prevalence of mercury-laden cosmetics peddled online. For instance, a study published in 2025 by researchers from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) detected mercury ranging from 1.8 ppm to 144,894 ppm in 58 percent of the 134 samples of skin lightening products bought online from seven Asian countries, including the Philippines, “reflecting significant regulatory gaps.”

“The findings highlight widespread non-compliance with safety standards, especially for online cosmetics, where regulatory oversight is limited,” the report abstract stated. “Immediate action is needed to strengthen enforcement, enhance consumer awareness, and implement routine monitoring to address the health risks posed by mercury-containing cosmetics.”

Aside from urging government regulators and digital platform administrators to act, the EcoWaste Coalition implored consumers, especially women, to shun chemical whiteners, resist color-based bias, discrimination, and prejudice, and embrace the natural color of one's skin at birth, noting that beauty and success come in every shade.

From Crisis to Catalyst: Sunway’s 2025 Mission to Heal a Changing World

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The year 2025 has been a defining chapter for the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health (SCPH), a period where "the era of simply documenting crises" gave way to a "whole-of-nation mission" to secure the future of both people and the planet. As global temperatures climb and urban landscapes expand, the Centre has positioned itself as a "think-and-do tank," moving with intent from the academic margins to the very center of global action.

The Architecture of Change: Three Pillars for a Resilient Future

Recognizing that human health and environmental integrity are inseparable, SCPH has focused its 2025-2027 strategy on three high-leverage policy priorities designed to bridge the gap between global sustainability goals and local realities:

Healthy Cities: With over half the world’s population living in urban centers, cities are the front line of health. SCPH is working to integrate health impact assessments directly into urban planning to protect millions from heat islands and pollution.

Health-Centred Decarbonisation: Re-framing climate policy as a public health intervention, the Centre advocates for the immediate health co-benefits of cleaner energy and fossil-free healthcare.

Education Revolution: The Centre is embedding planetary health into the National Higher Education Blueprint, ensuring the next generation of leaders possesses the values and skills to navigate a volatile geopolitical landscape.

From Policy to Pavement: Landmarks of 2025

The year’s achievements were marked by "courageous steps" and historic firsts, grounding high-level theory in real-world application:

Malaysia’s National Blueprint: SCPH served as a core technical partner in the launch of the National Planetary Health Action Plan (NPHAP). This makes Malaysia the first country on the planet to adopt such a comprehensive roadmap for aligning development with ecological limits.

The Ipoh Doughnut Economics Launch: In a regional first, SCPH partnered with the Ipoh City Council to launch the Ipoh Doughnut: City Portrait in Action. This innovative roadmap seeks to meet the needs of all citizens without overshooting the planet’s boundaries. 

A Historic Global Partnership: At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sunway University secured a landmark RM17 million (CHF3.4 million) grant from Fondation Hoffmann. This represents the first time the foundation has awarded such a grant to an institution in the Global South, solidifying the Centre’s role as a global leader.

Empowering the Next Generation

SCPH’s mission extends beyond policy to the people who will inherit the Earth. Through the Climate Courage Workshops, youth leaders are provided a safe space to process "eco-anxiety" and build the emotional resilience required for long-term climate action. Meanwhile, the Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) programme has empowered youth delegates to take their seat at the table in international forums like the World Health Assembly.

2026: The Year of Mobilising

As the Centre looks toward 2026, the focus shifts to "de-jargonising" planetary health. By making complex science accessible and relevant to everyday communities—from the limestone hills of Ipoh to the heat-stressed neighborhoods of Melaka—SCPH is turning evidence into a collective movement.

As Executive Director Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood notes, planetary health is no longer a mere aspiration; it is the "foundation for collective wellbeing". Through "rigour, relevance, and integrity," the Centre continues to be a beacon of hope, proving that systemic change is not only necessary but entirely possible.