Gideon Lasco Profile picture
Medical anthropologist, physician, public health & drug policy scholar, and mountaineer from the Philippines.
Mar 25, 2022 9 tweets 2 min read
Narito ang pito sa mga dahilan kung bakit sa palagay ko’y dapat nating suportahan at iboto si Leni Robredo bilang presidente sa darating na halalan: Una, walang siyang bahid ng korupsyon o anumang anomalya. Sa kanyang panunungkulan bilang kongresista at bise presidente, walang maibibintang sa kanya, maliban sa kung ano-anong fake news.

Sa katunayan, maski ang mabusising COA, pinakamataas na marka ang ibinibigay są kanya.
Mar 25, 2022 9 tweets 2 min read
Here are seven reasons why I am voting for Leni Robredo; seven reasons that I share with people whenever I try to convince others to vote for her as well: Leni Robredo has an unblemished track record that is very rare for a politician who has held national office. There has not been a single serious allegation of crime or misconduct that can be linked to her.

In Duterte’s words: “Not a whiff of corruption".
Dec 29, 2021 8 tweets 3 min read
Those who insist that mining is good for the Philippines should learn from environmental anthropology and read all the scholarship on how so-called "responsible mining" has affected communities and ecosystems all over the country. Here's a reading list to start with: This article demonstates how large-scale mining adds to the country's typhoon vulnerability, in many ways anticipating Odette and other recent storms:
Sep 16, 2020 5 tweets 1 min read
Some of my graduate students are embarking on their master’s thesis this semester, and I would like to share the advice I have given them in these "four questions you should ask yourself when choosing a thesis topic"

(A thread) 1. Are you interested in the topic? This is most important - more than pursuing a "hot issue". Maybe at first you think you can work on any topic, but when the going gets tough, and when the writing becomes tedious, it's your interest that will keep you going.
Sep 11, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
Some years back, I was walking in the banks of the River Danube in Budapest when I saw these bronze shoes.

Getting curious, I approached them and saw a plaque that reads: "To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross Miltiamen In 1944-1945." (1/5) It turns out that on that very spot, Jews were ordered to take their shoes off, and then they were shot "so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away”.

The shoes serve as a haunting memorial to this day of the horrors of an otherwise-forgotten time. (2/5)
Aug 19, 2020 9 tweets 2 min read
What is wrong with the government’s response to COVID-19? Why is the pandemic still out of control? Beyond specific policies, I think the entire paradigm is problematic.

Here's a thread that breaks down this faulty paradigm: 1. The gov’t’s paradigm continues to place the burden and blame on the people. They are quick to impose requirements on individuals (e.g. face shields, quarantine passes, curfews), but slow to pursue steps that require gov’t itself to act (e.g. contact tracing, mass testing)
Aug 2, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read
This new lockdown is NOT what the healthcare workers were asking for. In fact, it was the exact opposite of what they demanded and recommended.

(A thread) HCWs prefaced their demands by saying that “we are waging a losing battle against COVID-19 and we need to draw up a consolidated, definitive plan of action”.

Duterte repeated his promise of a vaccine but offered no clear plan to rescue the struggling healthcare system.