PHILIPSBURG:---Terence Jandroep, Certified Risk Analyst (C.R.A.) and leading forensic consultant, is formally calling for a strategic overhaul of Sint Maarten’s postnatal healthcare coverage. The proposal outlines a critical requirement for Social & Health Insurances (SZV) to include DNA Paternity Testing as a standard, covered expense in postnatal laboratory packages.

As a specialist in risk assessment, Mr. Jandroep identifies the current lack of mandatory or accessible biological verification as a significant social and financial risk to the male population of Sint Maarten.

A Risk-Based Approach to Family Law
From a Risk Analysis perspective, "Presumed Paternity" without biological confirmation constitutes a "Blind Liability." Mr. Jandroep’s article highlights that:

• Financial Exposure: Men are often entered into life-long financial contracts (child support) based on unverified claims. Forensic litigation is the only "audit" available to rectify these liabilities.
• Mitigation of Legal Fraud: By including DNA testing in the SZV postnatal costs, the government can proactively mitigate the risk of "Tort of Deceit" and subsequent lawsuits that clog the Court of First Instance.
• Asset Protection: For many men, an erroneous paternity claim represents a 25% to 50% risk to their lifetime net earnings. Forensic verification at birth serves as a "due diligence" measure for their estate and legacy.

Forensic Strategy: The "Audit of Truth"
Mr. Jandroep advocates for the use of Forensic Matrices to evaluate these cases. This includes comparing biological data (DNA) against financial expenditures and digital timelines to identify "Red Flags" of deception early in the postnatal process.

"In my capacity as a Certified Risk Analyst, I view the current system as a failure of due diligence," says Mr. Jandroep. "We insure our cars, our homes, and our health based on verified data. It is time we apply that same forensic rigor to paternity to protect the financial and legal integrity of men in our community."

Proposal Objectives for SZV & VSA:

1. Standardized Coverage: Full coverage for "Chain of Custody" DNA testing for all SZV-insured newborns.
2. Risk Disclosure: Ensuring men are informed of their right to biological verification within the first year to meet the Civil Registry’s legal deadlines.
3. Restitution Framework: Utilizing forensic audits to recover loss of earnings in confirmed cases of paternity fraud.

Forensic Audit: Why SZV Must Include DNA Testing

As a Certified Risk Analyst, Terence Jandroep argues that the current "Maternity Package" is incomplete because it ignores Biological Due Diligence.

1. The Insurance Logic: SZV covers a "Wound Treatment Plan" for a mother to prevent the risk of infection. Logically, it should cover a "DNA Verification Plan" for a father to prevent the risk of Financial Fraud.
2. Labor & Loss of Earnings: SZV covers "loss of wages" for ill employees. However, a man who is a victim of paternity deception suffers a permanent "loss of earnings" through decades of erroneous child support. Forensic DNA testing is the only preventive measure against this loss.
3. The Gender Gap in Prevention: Women are given diagnostic tools (Thyroid, Blood Sugar) to prevent future illness. Men are denied the diagnostic tool (DNA) to prevent future legal and financial ruin.

Proposal: The "Full-Spectrum" Postnatal Package

Mr. Jandroep proposes that the VSA Ministry update the Sickness Insurance Ordinance to include a "Verification Clause." This would allow any man listed on a birth certificate to request a DNA test as part of the standard SZV lab referral within the first 30 days of birth.

"A risk analyst's job is to close the gap between assumption and reality," says Jandroep. "If SZV pays for the blood tests to check a mother's iron, it must pay for the blood tests to check a father's DNA. Both are essential for the stability of the Sint Maarten family unit."

PHILIPSBURG:---  The Permanent Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations (CKAIR) of Parliament will meet on January 13, 2026.
The Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 10.00hrs. in the Legislative Hall at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda points are:
1. Incoming documents
2. Discussion on responses of the Government of the countries of the Kingdom to the unsolicited advice of the Council of State: "70 years of the Charter for the Kingdom: cooperation based on mutual understanding" (IS/244/2025-2026 dated October 29, 2025, IS/280/2025-2026 dated November 4, 2025)
3. Voorstel van rijkswet tot wijziging van de Belastingregeling Nederland Sint Maarten in verband met de implementatie van de uitkomsten van het Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project van de Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling alsmede enige overige wijzigingen (IS/256/2025-2026 dated October 30, 2025).
4. Preparations Tripartite and IPKO February 2026

Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations.

All persons visiting the House of Parliament must adhere to the house rules.
The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg.

The parliamentary sessions will be carried live on TV 15, Soualiga Headlines, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the internet www.youtube.com/c/SintMaartenParliament and www.pearlfmradio.sx

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):---  Cervical cancer is a preventable cancer. Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the cells of the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina.

It is almost exclusively caused by long-lasting infection with high-risk types of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), an extremely common virus transmitted through sexual contact.

While the body’s immune system typically clears HPV infections on its own, persistent infections can cause cervical cells to undergo abnormal changes over many years, eventually leading to the formation of a tumor.

This disease primarily impacts women and individuals with a cervix, most frequently those between the ages of 30 and 50, though the risk remains present throughout a person's life if they have not been vaccinated or screened regularly.
As part of its Annual Health Observances Calendar (HOC), the Collective Prevention Service (CPS) is profiling cervical health for the month of January.

The most effective preventive measures against cervical cancer are the HPV vaccine and regular clinical screenings. The HPV vaccine is highly effective at preventing the specific viral strains that cause the majority of cervical cancers and is most beneficial when administered during adolescence, before any exposure to the virus occurs.

For adults, regular screenings such as the Pap test (which looks for precancerous cell changes) and the HPV test (which looks for the virus itself) are essential for early detection.

When precancerous changes are found early, they can be treated before they ever develop into cancer.

Additionally, practicing safe sex and avoiding smoking—which can weaken the immune system's ability to fight HPV—further reduce the risk of developing the disease.

CPS advises women who need additional information to contact their physician.

by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert

They leave the Caribbean for a reason. Not because of a lack of love for home, but to pursue growth. They want to learn more, see more, become more. They earn degrees, skills, networks, and experience that the world respects. They prove themselves in foreign systems that don’t realize their real worth. Because ultimately there is one place where everything they’ve learned matters more than anywhere else, back home.

Here, their talent can be amplified and thrive, sparking change and introducing new ideas. The Caribbean needs them to return now, so they can build what isn’t possible elsewhere, apply their experience, and create opportunities for themselves, their families, and their island. They can be the person they left to become. They can develop the things they once wished existed. The world prepared them; the Caribbean awaits their impact not someday, but today.

The Caribbean produces world-class talent, but exports it for free. The region is not short of talent. It is short of the systems that let talent shine. The problem is not the students. It may be the curriculum. It could not just change their life. It can change the future of the Caribbean. The region is at a moment where a new kind of higher‑learning institution could become a magnet for local talent, diaspora returnees, and international students who want something they can’t get anywhere else.

The region needs systems that match its children's brilliance and potential. The Caribbean doesn’t lack genius talent. It lacks the environment to unleash and foster it. The region needs something categorically different, that fills the gaps that other institutions don’t touch. With rapid global change, stronger, more innovative institutions are essential—perhaps a Pan‑Caribbean Applied Sciences & Innovation Institute to fill these critical spaces.

Nations that invest in research grow three times faster than those that do not. The Caribbean should create Research and Development (R&D) institutes and laboratories. The Caribbean, is strategically important but is the most under-researched and under-innovated region. It should establish R&D institutes to drive transformation and prosperity. It is not a luxury; it’s a regional survival strategy and of global relevance. It is not just about science; it is the armament that changes the region’s destiny.

Brain drain is a major issue for the region, causing a loss of talent and leadership. Instead of sending its brightest minds abroad, the region should focus on building research industries. The next billion-dollar Caribbean Industry Isn’t tourism. It’s research. With proper labs, the local talent of the region could make a global impact.

R&D institutes help local industries innovate, shifting regions from importing solutions to creating their own. Establishing these centers encourages diaspora engagement and reduces reliance on tourism by diversifying the economy. It may be the single most transformative step to be taken.

Research and Development serves as a profit center, driving Caribbean technology development, attracting international partners, and creating skilled jobs. It can reduce vulnerability; each hurricane season costs billions, but research could cut losses by half. Relying on imports often delays local innovation and fails to address unique island needs.

Many students who go abroad do not return, not just for better jobs or higher pay, but because their home region often lacks industries, job openings, or research environments in their fields. They stay where their qualifications are valued, with stronger industries, more funding, advanced technology, and supportive networks. Foreign universities offer better technology, networks, and research culture. This region lacks the labs or R&D centers found overseas.

Also, mind the social integration abroad. During several years of study, they build friendships and form relationships. Returning may become emotionally and socially difficult.

Students who pursue degrees abroad are encouraged to return home not solely out of obligation, but to assume leadership roles. Their decision to come back should be driven by readiness and ambition. By ensuring that returning is appealing, and by providing graduates with meaningful and irresistible opportunities that motivate them to contribute upon their return.

The message to them is: “You leave the Caribbean to study; you don’t leave because you stopped loving home. You leave because you want to grow. Your island needs what the world teaches you and prepares you for. It needs you to return because you can build what only you can build and it may be something here that you could never build anywhere else. When you have grown. You’ve earned skills, networks, and experience that most people only dream of, there is one place where those skills matter more than anywhere else on Earth. Home.”