Great place to retire, worst place to die

THE death of American chemist and Nobel laureate Richard Heck almost a month ago just goes to show that in the Philippines, not even a Nobel Prize can guarantee proper healthcare or a decent death.

News reports say Heck was initially brought to a private clinic due to severe vomiting but was turned away due to unpaid bills. He later ended up in a public hospital where his vital signs deteriorated within hours until he died. Five years ago, Heck won the prestigious Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2010 for creating the technique of binding together carbon atoms, which is now widely used in medicine, agriculture and electronics.