The nationwide lockdown and quarantine has brought out the best and the worst in people. Some folks have donated their time and money to distribute goods to the poor. Some have wandered the streets breaking curfews by drinking and gambling. Some have put their lives on the line as they tend to the sick. Some have taken lives by gunning down men guarding checkpoints.
Reading about the situation in the Philippines is apt to be depressing. So let's look at some more off-beat stories coming out of the lockdown.
A stray dog in Barangay 496, Sampaloc, Manila brought smiles to the residents in the community as it accompanied local officials in distributing relief goods amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.
In a Facebook post by Dave Manzano Fuentes on April 5, it showed the dog, named “Ligaw” wearing its own quarantine pass as his caretaker, barangay chairman Edmond Dela Paz, was tending to the locals in the area.
Fuentes told INQUIRER.net in an online exchange on Friday that Ligaw became a frontliner after the dog ended up in their area. Soon after, Dela Paz adopted Ligaw.
(Everytime that the dog is with the captain, he’s not tied to a leash. He’s harmless too.)
And Ligaw also ended up melting netizens’ hearts as well, as Fuentes’ post racked up 5,200 likes and reactions as of writing.
A stray dog wanders into a barangay and the barangay chairman adopts it. He then gives it a quarantine pass and allows him to accompany him unleashed on trips distributing relief goods. Sounds like a heartwarming story but who is this dog? Has he had his shots? Rabies is a huge problem in the Philippines. Who knows what diseases lie hidden in this dog's body. Apparently it's ok to violate
RA 9482 and allow your dog to roam unleashed as long as you are a barangay chairman. At least no one has eaten him...yet!
Honeylet Sauva showed off her Duterte tattoo in a now-viral Facebook post that appeared on Tuesday, where she wrote, “I am not [a] fan of any politician but this one caught my attention! Sad to say if it weren’t for COVID-19 and his bashers I will not see or learn how he is really like as a president of our country.”
Sauva attached photos of her showing off the tat, which was heavily drawn in black, red, and green ink. Most netizens found the tattoo hilarious, judging by the 14,000 laughing emojis which Sauva’s post attracted.
“Salute to our President Rodrigo Duterte! Thank you for your love of country and of my fellow Filipinos who remain obstinate,” she said in her post, which has been shared almost 7,000 times since it appeared.
“It was [on] April 9 when I saw the design on [my] husband’s FB wall and I was so amazed at the blending and color. At the same time, I really admire PRRD (Duterte) so much so I decided to have it tattooed. It was on April 14 when I finally had the guts to do it. I wanted to use numbing cream but there was nothing available so I just pushed with it,” she said in English and Filipino.
Sauva said she is OK with people laughing at her Facebook post, but she didn’t appreciate being called names by complete strangers.
“It’s offensive that they would share [my post] and write in their caption that I’m ‘dumb’ [or] ‘crass,'” she said.
On April 14th, in the midst of the nationwide quarantine and lockdown, this lady, who just happens to share the same name as Duterte's concubine, got a tattoo of Duterte's face on her arm. At least that is what is supposed to be. Who knew tattoo parlors are essential businesses! Or maybe they aren't and this was done on the down-low in someone's private home? Having a man leaning over you while he tattoos your arm is not social distancing. If she did not want to be called dumb or crass then she should not have done something dumb and crass and then shared it with the world!
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Saturday urged local government units (LGUs) to include sugar in their relief packs to help sugar farmers weather the coronavirus crisis.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who serves as the task force’s spokesperson, said the Department of Agriculture (DA) made the recommendation in an effort to offset the slump in the demand for sugar following business closures due to lockdowns in Luzon and other parts of the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(The DA has approved a recommendation to encourage LGUs to include sugar in their relief goods to help the sugar industry.)
How much sugar? A kilo? You can't eat sugar by itself. It's an additive like salt. The relief packs would have to be packed with foods that require the addition of sugar for this recommendation to make any sense. If they are going to include sugar to help bolster the declining revenue of the sugar industry then why not add a few beers or a bottle of Tanduay rum to help stave off bankruptcy for the liquor companies?
In a letter dated April 16 and addressed to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, the Center for Alcohol Research and Development (CARD) said the total ban "drives out the industry from the market" and "unduly forfeits the capital" they have invested in products.
"If this ban continues, the industry can no longer survive, a situation that can affect a large sector of the community," CARD said.
Some of CARD's members are Absolut Distillers, Emperador Distillers, Ginebra San Miguel, Far East Alcohol, and Asian Alcohol.
Some countries have also banned alcohol consumption, but others said liquor shops are essential.
"While the alcoholic beverages in the Philippines are banned, elsewhere in the world, it is not, putting our industry in much unnecessary peril," CARD said.
Save the liquor companies!
One of the most positive things about the lockdown is that the traffic problem has been solved all over the nation. No more congestion. The crime rate has also been cut in half!
According to data released by the PNP on Saturday, 1,562 crimes were reported from March 17 to April 10, a 55-percent drop from the 3,509 incidents across the country from February 21 to March 16.
Over the past 25 days, crimes in Luzon decreased by 63 percent – from 1,915 to 1,197. Crimes in the Visayas were halved, from 893 to 448, while Mindanao reported 396 incidents, down by 44 percent.
Despite the dramatic drop in crime rate, hundreds of theft, physical injury, and murder cases have still been recorded nationwide.
The most common was theft, with 452 cases reported, down by 62 percent from 1,200 before the lockdown.
This was followed by physical injury (345 cases), murder (242), robbery (228), rape (167), homicide (73), and carnapping (55).
In reporting lower crime rates in March, Metro Manila Police chief PMGen Debold Sinas attributed the decline to less people on the streets.
Meanwhile, more than 75,000 individuals have been apprehended for violating curfew hours, according to Duterte's April 6 report to Congress.
Despite the steep decline incidents of theft and murder and other crimes continue to occur. Meanwhile a new category of crime, quarantine violation, has been created and the number of incidents is 75,000 which is much higher than the normal crime rate before the lockdown. So crime has actually increased by about 25x!
Watch out you don't get caught violating quarantine or you might be forced to plant vegetables.
At least 35 first-time offenders of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in this Pampanga capital were punished by making them plant vegetables in the city nursery on Saturday.
“We made them plant kalabasa and okra for two to three hours,” said Col. Paul Gamido, city police director.
Gamido used to punish violators by requiring them to do body exercises for several hours. “I think making them plant vegetables is more productive nowadays,” Gamido explained.
The offenders, all males, were arrested for violating curfew hours, not wearing face masks or inability to present a quarantine pass. They were also taught gardening methods.
Hopefully this is this in lieu of paying a fine.
While crimes like theft and murder have shown a decreases cyber crimes are up 100%.
In an online press conference of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), Nograles warned the public to be cautious about giving their bank details online.
“While this has helped many of us cope with the limitations brought about by the ECQ, the National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas report a 100% increase in phishing cases… and warn everyone to be cautious when it comes to your bank details,” said Nograles, who is also the spokesperson of the IATF-EID.
(So the modus operandi of phishing is an individual will claim to be an employee of the bank. He will then ask for your bank details such as your account number or password.)
“Wag nyo pong ibigay; hindi po hihingin ng banko niyo yan – kahit kelan man, kahit sa ano mang pagkakataon (Do not reveal it. Banks will not ask you to reveal those. Not now, not ever),” he said.
The NBI previously cautioned the public against scams that use the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis as a front to steal their personal information or their money.
Nograles also warned the public about giving donations online.
“Wina-warn din po tayo na mag-ingat po sa mga humihingi ng donasyon online; may mga kriminal na nagpapanggap na kasapi sa mga respetadong institusyon (We are warning everyone about giving donations online; there are criminals who deceive and claim they are part of a reputable institution),” he said. “We encourage everyone to double-check and verify these requests for donations.”
Aside from phishing people for bank details and scamming people out of donations another scam promises free Netflix access.
The Philippine government on Saturday warned the public against an illegal text scheme claiming to give free subscription to Netflix during the lockdown against the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
The government, through the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), made the warning about the fake subscription to the American media services provider in an advisory sent out to phone subscribers past 4 p.m.
You know what they say, never let a crisis go to waste. Crises are certainly a good time to take advantage of unsuspecting folks.
How to get through a stressful time such as the lockdown? Why not dance?
They were filmed at the checkpoint at the Biliran Bridge in the east of the Philippines, where residents are being prevented from travelling between provinces in order to stop the spread of the pandemic.
Their boss said: ''It's important to have good vibes while we're carrying out this important work.''
Mercy Perez Dalida, 50, one of the street sweeper in Mandaluyong City said that they want to cheer up each other now that the streets have become empty because of the coronavirus lockdown.
She said: "We still work the night shifts together and you have no one to talk to because we are assigned to our areas to clean. In the daytime, when we see each other in the morning we do a little activity to socialise."
Street sweepers are deemed essential workers in the Philippines so they continue with their work despite the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown.
If it keeps their spirits up and sends good vibes, why not? Anything to stay sane during these times.
We finally got a clarification on what Duterte wants from citizens during the lockdown. He wants them to hide!
“President Duterte repeated his call to the Filipino nation to strictly follow all the guidelines of the enhanced community quarantine or lockdown. His message is simple and clear – let us all hide, let’s hide. What the President meant is that let us all hide inside our house, do not leave our house if not necessary,” Galvez said.
He expressed disappointment that some Filipinos have violated their community lockdowns while the quarantine is still in force.
“There are some who are holding cockfighting on rooftops. People are seen in videos attending parties while others are going to the beach. I think they are not afraid and they don’t have patience and understanding,” Galvez said.
Did you hear that? No more cockfighting on the rooftops or beach parties. It is time to hide. Whether under the table, in the closet, under the bed, or under the covers it is time to hide from the virus. Be sure to lock your doors so it can't get in and turn off the lights so it won't think you are home.
David, Regarding the Netflix scam. I got the following text message last month:
ReplyDelete"The W.H.O has enlisted your name for Humanitarian Outreach Program in your area. Kindly email for monetary empowerment and directives mamaryannbwage@gmail.com"
Then here is a video you will find interesting:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TAlucqbpxE&feature=youtu.be
That video is hilarious! "He invented the medicine for novel corona virus 30 years ago."
DeleteThe comments are sad. How could anyone fall for this? It plays like a joke. In the Philippines??? WOW!!
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DeleteDavid, A few things also stand out in the video and in the comments. In the video the claim is made that this same Wuhan vaccine has been curing HIV/AIDS for 30 years also. Now last I heard HIV/AIDS has no cure and if this Filipino has been curing HIV/AIDS with this vaccine for 30 years, that is Nobel Prize right there.
DeleteThe other thing is the comments. Did you notice the comments are 100% positive, pinoy pride? Any comments or questions that call into question or ask for valid proof are quickly deleted by Bong the poster. My comment was " if this was true then it would be front page international news." You guessed it, deleted.