More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
The Pentagon on Friday stood by its decision to conduct a clandestine disinformation campaign in the Philippines in 2020 that aimed to sow doubt about China's COVID-19 vaccine during the height of the global pandemic -- a campaign that was first revealed in a bombshell report by Reuters.
The U.S. military launched the disinformation campaign following a decision by then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper to loosen restrictions on such operations, and used phony online accounts posing as Filipinos in an effort "to discredit China's Sinovac inoculation -- payback for Beijing's efforts to blame Washington for the pandemic," Reuters reported. At the time, the Philippines was struggling to vaccinate its population and had one of the worst death rates in the region.
The Philippines disinformation campaign marks an unusual use of military power in a country that has often been a U.S. ally in a strategically crucial region and at a time of great public health risks. Lisa Lawrence, a Defense Department spokeswoman, did not deny Reuters' reporting on the operation, which was done under the administration of former President Donald Trump and continued for some time under the Biden administration.
The Pentagon "conducts a wide range of operations, including operations in the information environment (OIE), to counter adversary malign influence" and "this process is deliberate, methodical, and comprehensive," Lawrence said in a statement. "The DoD uses a variety of platforms, including social media, to counter those malign influence attacks."
Lawrence also echoed Reuters' reporting, saying, "China [in 2020] initiated a disinformation campaign to falsely blame the United States for the spread of COVID-19."
It is not clear how targeting Filipinos counted as payback for China blaming the US for the pandemic.
Filipino health workers have spoken up against this operation saying more lives could have been saved.
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| https://www.arabnews.com/node/2534121/world |
Frontline health workers who served at the Philippine General Hospital, the country’s main hospital for COVID-19, said it came at the cost of Filipino lives.
“If the misinformation propaganda was real … the views of the general public about the importance of vaccines may have been affected by these troll farms. We know that Filipinos, especially the elderly, can easily believe what they read online,” Andro Carl Coronejo, a staff nurse at PGH’s pediatric intensive care unit, told Arab News, referring to organizations employing people to deliberately manipulate public opinion.
“I think if it didn’t happen, more people would have been compliant earlier with vaccines. Hence, more lives would have been saved.”
The pandemic death toll reached over 66,000 in the Philippines, making it the second highest in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.
Bryan Elvambuena, who was an internal medicine resident at PGH in 2020, said many people could have survived had it not been for disinformation. He believes it influenced his patients, many of whom had severe COVID-19.
“I was dismayed and I found it counterproductive and pathetic, because we tried our best to inform people to get vaccinated with the readily available vaccines,” Elvambuena said.
Filipino health workers recalled how the pandemic brought the country’s healthcare system to the brink of collapse, as doctors and nurses struggled to care for COVID-19 patients amid surging cases.
During one of her shifts as a staff nurse at PGH in 2020, Dianne de Castro said she was the only other person on duty to care for 24 patients, at least four of whom were hooked up to mechanical ventilators and life support machines.
“It makes me wonder how we could have prevented or at least lessened the mortalities, the lives lost during the dark time in our generation. I’ve worked in healthcare for around four years before COVID-19 hit, but I’ve never been this scared of seeing so many moms, dads, siblings, relatives, and friends die day in and day out,” De Castro told Arab News.
“This ploy to spread misinformation to the public angers me. I still view Sinovac (as) a capable vaccine for COVID-19 and spreading this rumor is as close (as) cutting off the oxygen supply of a person gasping for air and fighting for his life.”
For her, the US propaganda campaign may be a “crime against humanity” that robbed people of the chance to survive the pandemic and stole them away from their families.
“My patients deserved so much better,” she said. “If this misinformation ploy was only driven for politics and greed, the ones in power now have blood on their hands.”
This does not take into consideration that no vaccine, not even Sinovac, actually prevents infection. Nor does it take into account the fact that COVID alone, unless coupled with co-morbidities, killed virtually no one. As of April 13th, 2024 the COVID death rate stands at only 66,864 dead out of 4,140,383 cases.
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| https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/philippines/ |
That is only a 1.6% death rate and this does not take into account any of the circumstances of those deaths such as co-morbidities. While the Pentagon running a psy-op against the Philippines is outrageous there is simply no proof that people died as a result.
Dabawenyos are being urged to wear masks once again as COVID-19 cases rise.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1227120 |
With 111 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) reported here this month, authorities advised Dabawenyos to again adhere to minimum health guidelines.
In a press briefing Tuesday, the City Health Office (CHO) reported an increase in Covid-19 cases at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) – from 19 in April to 74 in May and 111 in June.
Dr. Tomas Miguel Ababon, CHO officer in charge, noted that the number of active cases recorded at the SPMC has reached 135. Of the cases, 50 are asymptomatic, 69 are mild, 15 are moderate, and one is considered critical.
Ababon explained that active cases and cases recorded monthly differ because some active cases may have been accumulated from the preceding month.
“Most of the swabbing is done for those who were admitted. Most of them are unvaccinated, and those who have co-morbidities, such as high blood, diabetes, those who have respiratory illnesses, the old and the very young. They are the vulnerable group,” he said.
However, Ababon clarified that they had not received any report confirming that the recorded cases were of the Covid-19 FLiRT variant.
“Regardless of the variant, our surveillance continues. The CHO no longer practices isolation, contract tracing, and vaccination for a year now,” he said.
Ababon said the CHO would establish temporary treatment and monitoring facilities for Covid-19 patients if the number of cases continues to increase.
“The public is advised to wear face masks once again, observe social distancing, and practice handwashing and hand sanitizing,” he added.
Dr. Tomas Miguel Ababon says most of those admitted have co-morbidites. That is the thing everyone is missing. Vaccination does not matter because the vaccines do not prevent infection.
Online child ex abuse continues to rise post-pandemic as people attempt to find a way to earn a living.
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| https://www.miragenews.com/philippines-cyber-cops-combat-surge-in-online-1261296/ |
Law enforcement officers in the Philippines are being informally supported by the United Nations as they deal with the emotional stress of chasing online child abusers.
The Southeast Asian country has been identified as one of many trouble spots for online child abuse on the internet, a phenomenon which has grown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cheng Veniles works with law enforcement, prosecution and court officers as part of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) initiatives on online child protection.
She started a small informal network of dedicated men and women who lean on each other for support as they track down the abusers.
"Videos and images of children of a sexually exploitative nature or child sexual abuse material are being sold online for $15 to $20.
The incidence of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children boomed in the Philippines during the pandemic partly because many people lost their jobs and their livelihoods. And partly because of the misguided cultural notion of 'No Touch, No Harm'.
Perpetrators, oftentimes, the children's family members and relatives, would say that no harm is being done, that no abuse is taking place because no one is physically touching their children.
A recent trend in the Philippines is for a partner or boyfriend of the child's parent who has the technical expertise to post the content on the dark web and then receive payment in crypto currency.
When asked to explain why they would allow children under their care to be abused online they would reply - Do you want us to starve?
It's heartbreaking how some children don't think of themselves as abused until after they have been rescued. They believe they are just helping the family, unaware that these photos and videos online could ruin their future when they grow up.
This is not just a Filipino problem born out of poverty. The consumers are overseas, so it is a global issue and UNODC is working with international police liaison officers and supporting engagement with the countries that consume the material to encourage cooperation among law enforcement agencies to act to shut down the abuse.
If there were no consumers, then the industry would not exist.
Would this crime be on the rise if Duterte had not shut down the economy during the pandemic?
Moody's says the Asia Pacific Region is underperforming economically compared to pre-pandemic levels and the Philippines, along with Thailand, is the worst performer in the region.
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| https://www.philstar.com/business/2024/06/24/2365025/moodys-philippines-among-worst-growth-underachievers-asean |
While the Asia Pacific region is growing better than most economies globally, gross domestic product (GDP) is still running far below potential – with the Philippines faring as the worst underachiever in ASEAN, Moody’s Analytics said.
In a note written by Stefan Angrick and Jeemin Bang, economists at Moody’s Analytics, the research firm said the Asia Pacific region should grow by 3.9 percent in 2024 and 2025, outpacing the global economy.
However, growth in the region is significantly below its pre-pandemic levels. Weak domestic demand is slowing down China’s economy while Southeast Asia has yet to recover from the output losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Output in the ASEAN group of economies is more than six percent behind the pre-pandemic trend, with the Philippines and Thailand faring the worst. GDP in both countries is more than 10 percent below pre-pandemic levels,” Angrick and Bang said.
Moody’s Analytics maintained its GDP projections for the Philippines at 5.9 percent this year and six percent for 2025. Both growth forecasts are higher than the 5.6 percent expansion seen in 2023.
However, both projections fall short of the government’s target of six to seven percent this year and 6.5 to 7.5 percent for 2025.
According to Moody’s, the APAC economy is outperforming but it is also underachieving.
“With growth in many countries running below potential, it would be premature to say that the region is out of the woods,” Angrick and Bang said.
And yet the government would have us think everything is back to normal.
A recent forum about the post-pandemic economy of the Western Visayas was held at the University of the Philippines-Visayas
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/24/post-pandemic-economy-of-western-visayas-tackled-in-forum |
The post-pandemic economy of Western Visayas was discussed in an economic forum hosted by the University of the Philippines-Visayas here recently.
The event – The Pagtalupangod: The Economic Forum and Roundtable Discussion – held in cooperation with the Institute of Contemporary Economics (ICE) was held to “provide an overview of the performance of the local economy and its prospects moving forward.”
The forum sought “to promote and create an environment where the economic growth experienced by Iloilo and Western Visayas is sustained.”
UP Visayas Chancellor Clement C. Camposano and ICE Chairman Artemio P. Pama Jr. emphasized that one of the key priorities of the forum is an open discussion on the impact of climate change on economy and development.
Other topics discussed were power and water supply.
Among the resource persons were ICE Executive Director Joseph Ladrido, Niel Parcon, vice president of MORE Electricity and Power Corp. (MORE Power); Angelo David Berba, chief operating officer of the Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW); Assistant Prof. Jessica Dator-Bercilla, co-principal investigator of the Coastal Cities at Risk in the Philippines project, and retired Philippine Navy Admiral Alexander Pama, senior advisor of the National Resilience Council.
They discussed how to sustain the economic growth of Iloilo and the Western Visasys. No word on what solutions were promoted.
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