Rotary Club of Taguig Fort Bonifacio Talk

I got invited to join a meeting of the Rotary Club of Taguig Fort Bonifacio just a while ago in Tapeo restaurant in The Fort Strip. The speaker was cosmetic surgeon Dr. Jed Inciong who talked about looking as you feel, cosmetic surgery, and non-surgical aesthetics. I was very much interested in stem cell use and government policy regarding it as it has been trending lately (see Rappler's report on it).

Rotary Club Taguig Fort Bonifacio

Their chapter was very accommodating and welcoming. I learned a lot more about the Rotary club. Rotary is actually somewhat a part of my life being that my dad was a hardcore Rotarian, a past president here in a chapter in Muntinlupa, and even ended up naming me Paul Harris (yes, that's my full name) after the founder of the said club.

Dr. Jed talking about options to improve health and beauty

I learned a lot about this club and its agendas. It's really all about being a good citizen, contributing to society, and engaging in private charity initiatives. The private sector tends to be more efficient in providing charity. In fact, their chapter is raising funds in order to build two schools in far away provinces. 

Nonoy Oplas and Dr. Jed discussing government policy on stem cell use

Stem cells have a lot of potential for sure, but a lot of research and study is still pretty much needed. I'm no physician or scientist but for me, it's always dangerous to just trust appointed bureaucrats and accept their accreditation with faith, not just with healthcare, but any industry that government tries to intervene in. No matter how noble the intentions seem to be, policy almost always reflects support for special interests.

Also got invited to another forum tomorrow on energy sponsored by Platts and people from the Department of Energy. I'll be tweeting about that so be sure to follow me on Twitter (@harryinitiative) for live updates and my blog post about it.