The Filipino is A Great Race: An Experimental Poem by Sofronio Dulay

Sofronio Dulay has written an experimental poem about the greatness of the Filipino race. Dulay is currently the patriarch of the Royal House of Tondo and the Patriarchate of the Royal Houses of the Philippines. As I wrote before about him he is basically a king. A king wrote an experimental poem about the greatness of the Filipino race. Let's take a look at his verse.

The full poem can be found on his website.

https://sites.google.com/site/totidulay/greatrace

I am not going to post the whole text here. Instead I will dissect it line by line.

"We are the only old Christian nation in Asia.
English speaker."

Indeed the Philippines is the only Christian and English speaking nation in Asia. There are of course other Asian countries that speak English and have been Christianized. But how does having a foreign language and religion thrust upon them make the Filipino race great? Haven't you heard that the Catholic Church is evil and so are the Americans?  I hear that very often. So how does practicing an evil religion and speaking an evil tongue make the Filipino race great?

"Good looking. A mixture of Hispanic and Chinese race…mga tisoy tayo.We take a bath daily, even twice a day, so we smell nice. In cold countries, they take a bath once a week, so, you can imagine how they smell….they envy us….and they like to marry Filipinos…."

The Filipino race looks good because they are a mixture of the Hispanic and Chinese race. Does that mean without that added blood Filipinos would not be so good looking? How does the addition of foreign blood to the Filipino race make the Filipino race great? Isn't that proof of being conquered and thus an inferior race?

Filipinos bathe twice a day while in cold countries they bathe once a week. That's certainly a lie but even if it were true how does that make the Filipino race great? Even a cat bathes himself. Many times  day in fact.

It is true that foreigners do like to marry Filipinos. But how does that make the race great? Miscegenation is a pollution of the gene pool!

"We are the only race on earth that won all the five major beauty contests: Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International, Miss Earth and Miss Supranational.."

This is not true because there are only four major international beauty pageants. Miss Supranational is not one of those pageants. If we look at the statistics we see that four countries have won each of those contests with Venezuela winning the most times with 23 wins.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_international_beauty_pageants

If we look at the winners of Miss Supranational, which has only been around since 2009, there is only one Filipino winner. Mutya Datul won in 2013. This pushes the Philippines to 16 wins in all five contests. That is still seven less wins than Venezuela. 

How does winning a beauty pageant prove the Filipino race is great? Especially when Dulay has admitted the Filipino race is a mixture of Hispanic and Chinese blood and thus impure? How does winning a beauty pageant prove the greatness of anyone? It's a subjective contest and beauty fades. One day all those ladies will be old crones. It's pure vanity.

"We are clean…its part of who we are….."

The Philippines is actually one of the most polluted nations on earth. From the air to the water to the ground there is pollution everywhere. A great race would take pride in their land and keep it clean don't you think? Maybe he is referring to the two baths a day regimen.

"We are good businessmen. 

Our malls are bigger than most malls in the US. We are conservative bankers…"

There are indeed plenty of good businessmen in the Philippines. They are mostly Chinese. What does having a large mall have to do with the greatness of one's race?

The Mall of Asia in Pasay is the 15th largest mall in the world

On the list of the world's largest malls there are 37 Philippine malls and only 19 United States malls. In the top 10 there are 4 Chinese malls, 3 Thailand malls, and only 2 Philippine malls. The largest mall in the world is in New Jersey.

Filipinos have a wide selection of large malls from which to buy overpriced foreign luxury goods. Great. How does the ability to consume imported goods make the Filipino race great? Of those 19 US malls how many are selling Filipino products? And I don't mean products produced in the Philippines for a US owned company.

"We are family oriented. We never dump our parents to the home for the aged.

We never drive away our children from home when they reached 18."

This is simply wrong. Sometimes mom or dad get very sick and they need to stay in a home for the aged. They need professional healthcare 24 hours a day. For many this is a hard decision and it is wrong to say they are dumped in a home for the aged like a bag of garbage. This is also a misunderstanding of the West and it relates to his next line.

In the West Children are not driven away at 18. Rather children are encouraged to leave the nest and become independent adults living their own lives having their own families and homes. In the Philippines the opposite is true. Momma's little baby boy is her little baby boy until she dies and she never wants him to leave the home. That is detrimental to society and to the well-being of her son who will never grow up to be a man because of his overprotective mother. There are many such cases in the Philippines.

With their sense of personal independence people in the West do not want to live with their children when they get old. They don't want to go to the home for the aged. They will do all they can to remain independent. Filipinos do not have this sense of personal independence. Sometimes generations of families will live under one roof. How does a lack of a sense of independence make a race great? It doesn't. It makes a race of leeches.

"Our culture is European. Roman Catholic influenced. Surnames are western…our Kundimans are just like Italian songs." 

Am I reading a poem about the greatness of the Filipino race?? How does having a European culture make the Filipino race great? If the Philippines has a European culture that would make the European race who built that culture the greater race. Only an inferior race adopts a foreign culture.

The Philippines does not have a European culture. European influenced, yes. The government, the economy, even popular culture are all Western influenced. But Filipinos do not even understand those institutions. Human rights, free speech, the function of the government and politicians as servants of the people, none of that is comprehended by Filipinos the way it is in the West. Even with TV the programs are so bottom of the barrel and lowest common denominator it is a joke. You won't find innovative TV in the Philippines.

And what about those Western surnames? How does having a foreign surname make Filipinos a great race? It is a constant reminder that they were conquered by a greater and more powerful race of men. Having a Western surname is not much different from being branded.

The next bit is hilarious. 

"We have easy life. In America “no work, no eat”, not in the Philippines please."

So Filipinos are leeches? In America you can eat without working. Here is what that looks like:

That's called a homeless shelter. Why would being able to eat without working make the Filipino race great especially when the very first item listed in this poem is that the Philippines is a Christian nation? Does Sofronio Dulay not know what the Bible says?

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

Maybe he means the bayanihan spirit? No idea. But no one is going hungry in America unless they want to. Food banks and food kitchens abound. Not to mention food stamps and other types of welfare. America supports her leeches too.

"We are hardworkers…we have double jobs…. and we save money for our family.
The Philippines is a middle income country…If countries are people, we are middle class. As a middle class, we enjoy the indulgence of the rich and we can also feel the adventures of the poor…so, why pin us down on the lower middle class side alone…. pag middle class ka..kumakain ka ng litson at tuyo and you don’t mind…"

Working two jobs does not make one a hard worker. In the Philippines wages are depressed and so is the currency. One might need to work two jobs just to make ends meet. The same happens in the West too. 

Saving money for one's family is nice but that is all tied to the lack of personal independence. Parents should not rely on their children for financial support as so many do. They should be an example of economic thrift and perseverance. Parents should teach their children how to earn, save, and spend their money responsibly. Children should not be expected to give all their money to their family. How are they supposed to build their own family and life if they give all their money away? It's a toxic and neverending cycle.

The Philippines is a lower middle income country according to the World Bank.

https://data.worldbank.org/?locations=PH-XN

What does he mean by "the adventures of the poor?"  Is living in a bamboo shack next to a pile of garbage and polluted water source an adventure? How does that make the Filipino race great?

"We are the only country who fought three world powers and got what we want.

We fought Spain, the Filipino - Spanish War, the world power then…and we won and declared our independence.

We fought the Americans, the Filipino - American War,  the world power then and now, and we won because we got our independence. If Russia defeated Germany thru its long and harsh winter, we defeated the Americans into giving us independence thru eloquence and diplomacy.

We fought Japan, the Filipino - Japanese War, ….and we defeated them by using American support to drive the Japanese in our country out…

We had a lot of rehearsals on this war stuff, and with great powers at that...we can take on any pretender at this point...pag di natin makuha ng patayo, kinukuha natin ng pahiga..di uubra kalokohan nila satin..

now tell me, if this is not greatness as a race, call it football."

Is he serious? The Philippines did not fight the Spanish alone. It was the Americans who won that war. Though the Philippines did declare independence nobody recognized it and the nation was made a colony of the United States. By the way the first constitution and the entire independence movement was Masonic in nature and based on Western ideals of governance and liberty.

"We defeated the Americans into giving us independence thru eloquence and diplomacy." That is complete lie.  As I have documented the USA always intended to give the Philippines independence once they had proven themselves to be capable of self government. Independence came in 1946, eleven years after a plebiscite in which the entire nation voted for it.  

The Philippines defeated the Japanese using American support. How does that make the Filipino race great? They couldn't defeat the Japs on their own so they used the Yanks. Meanwhile the Americans conquered and developed a whole continent defeating all hostile elements with no one's help.

"We can take on any pretender at this point?" What a joke! The insurgency has been going on for 50 years with no end in sight! The Philippines can't even defeat mountain and jungle dwelling communists and Muslims. The Philippines is also using American support to fight that war. Imagine if a real "pretender" stepped up to take over the Philippines. You know like China. 

"We dont like corruption, we jailed two corrupt Presidents so far.."

Is he talking about Estrada and Macapagal? Estrada was convicted and sentenced to life in prison but Macapagal pardoned him! He never paid for his crimes. Later she was arrested but acquitted of all charges by the Supreme Court because the DOJ failed to prepare a sufficient case against her. Meanwhile the Philippines remains one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/1/23/Philippines-corruption-worsens.html

"We are superior people, so, come on, let us work harder. And indulge. And enjoy life…because superior people like us work very hard and we deserve indulgence."

Filipinos are superior and work hard so they deserve to indulge? That's not the motto of a great race. That's the motto of a lazy and self-indulgent people. Do you think the British conquered the world and then sat back thinking they deserved a little indulgence? How about the Mongols, the Greeks, or the Romans? Let's quote the Bible again.

Proverbs 6:10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

That's the end of Sofronio Dulay's poem. He shared it with some people on the internet which caused lot of heated discussion for and against. He came to the following conclusion.

Conclusion: if you like this article, you are subconsciously a patriotic Filipino. If you feel bad about this article, in one way or another, you may not know it consciously, but you have a deep - rooted hatred or uneasiness of your being a Filipino or of your Filipino connection. You are a Filipino who can not be expected to defend our country in times of war. Huli ka, bata!!!

His conclusion, like the rest of his poem, is false. Nothing in this poem exemplifies greatness. According to Sofronio Dulay the Filipino race is great because they practice a foreign religion, speak a foreign tongue, have foreign blood mixed with their own, have won foreign beauty contests because of their foreign blood, have large malls where they can buy foreign goods, have no sense of  personal independence, and won a war with the help of foreigners.

That is not greatness. If the Filipino race is a great race then it must be judged by a higher standard than the size of their malls and the dilution of their blood. How about the marks on The Cultural Iceberg?

How does the Filipino race and culture add up compared to the rest of the world in all these categories? Everything Dulay has listed is vain and silly and the opposite of what makes a great race. In fact all the things he listed have to do with the Filipino race adopting other the cultures of other races! Funny that he could not think of anything genuinely Filipino as evidence for the greatness of the Filipino race.

Picture of the Week: PNP Squad Out For a Morning Run

I wake up and go for a run at 4am and have done so more or less every day for 8 years now.  The other day for the first time ever I saw the following sight:

An interesting sight to behold.  I think there were about 21 PNP officers doing morning PT. If I ever see them again I will be surprised.  They were all chanting a cadence and said,"Good morning, sir," but I am not sure if that was directed towards me.  Could have been though.

Retards in the Government 157

It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/740984/lanao-del-sur-town-mayor-hurt-in-ambush-police/story/

The mayor of Lumbaca Unayan in Lanao del Sur and two others were hurt after his vehicle was ambushed in Cagayan De Oro City on Wednesday morning, Police Regional Office X said. 

Police said Mayor Somerado Guro was onboard a Toyota Hilux pick-up with his wife and some bodyguards, traversing along Zone 2, Iponan, when armed men riding a motorcycle fired shots at the car. 

Also hurt in the incident were his wife Rohaifa and driver Ibrahim Gani while Abdul Rafi Guro, one of the mayor's staff, was luckily not hit, police said.

Another mayor shot at by motorcycle gunmen. He made it but his wife did not.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1285443/pnp-charges-301-village-execs-for-corruption-in-sap-cash-aid-payouts-dilg

“The 301 barangay officials facing criminal cases as of June 2 is just the latest figure reported to the DILG, hence, people should expect the filing of more criminal cases in the coming days,” Interior Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.

"Just the latest figure reported to the DILG."  They say expect more to come.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1285323/crisis-seen-in-absence-of-jeepneys

Anger mounted in Metro Manila on Tuesday over lack of public transportation for workers allowed to return to their jobs after three months of quarantine, with senators calling the situation an emerging crisis and slamming transportation officials for their insensitivity and lack of foresight. 

Jeepneys, UV Express vans, and most public utility buses remain prohibited, even though more businesses were allowed to resume operations. 

Transport officials refused to allow jeepneys and UV Express vans to go back to their routes because these vehicles accept fare only in cash, which is the only way the majority of commuters—the low-income earners who don’t own smartphones—pay for their rides. 

The ban on jeepneys and city buses backfired on the government’s economic reopening plan, with thousands of workers again failing to get to their jobs or begging for rides on Tuesday and transport officials not backing down. 

“Three months under [quarantine] and still they have no clear plan in place. What happened to foresight? It’s good they have air-conditioned vehicles. Why don’t the DOTr officials try to commute from their homes to their offices?” Binay said. 

“[The] DOTr knew that Metro Manila and the rest of the regions will soon be transitioning to the new normal. They knew that 30 percent of those in [Metro Manila] will start going to work by June 1— and then they will deploy trucks for free rides [that] compromise and breach all health protocols, particularly physical distancing,” she said. 

Binay also criticized the ban on jeepneys, describing it as “unrealistic, anticommuter at antiworker.”

The government reopens the economy but bans jeepnies because they do not accept cashless payments. This leaves millions of people stranded and unable to get to their jobs unless they take the free truck ride provided by the DOTr.  This truck ride breaches the social distancing protocols. It's caused a real mess and the MMDA blames it all on the commuters!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1285288/mmda-commuters-to-blame-for-chaos

MMDA General Manager Jose Arturo Garcia said the people “seemed to have lost focus” that the new coronavirus that causes the severe respiratory disease COVID-19 was still around and could spread wider with the easing of restrictions on public transportation. 

“They were focused on traveling even though they [knew], just as the Department of Transportation said, our first priority is health and safety,” Garcia said in a radio interview. 

He cited the crowding of hordes of commuters along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Monday, with no one giving others a wide berth as they waited for rides that never came. 

Garcia also mentioned the crowding on a truck that police deployed to ferry stranded commuters. 

“When they saw the free rides, many commented on social media that commuters fought over these, they were on the road, there were no lines. They were each to his own and forgot that the priority is to stay safe from [the coronavirus],” Garcia said. 

Ariel Inton, head of Lawyers for Commuters’ Safety and Protection, slammed Garcia’s remarks as insensitive, “assuming that people are stupid or stubborn.” 

“The only reason they are outside is because we reopened so many businesses, and they would not have gone [out to go to work] if they [had not been] asked,” Inton said. 

But they banned jeepneys, UV Express vans, and city buses that serve most of the routes through business districts in the metropolis because it would be difficult to implement the cashless fare system on these vehicles, making them risky for virus transmission. 

But without these vehicles, low-income workers, the bulk of Metro Manila’s workforce, cannot go to work. Transport officials encourage the use of bicycles, but don’t say how people can ride bicycles under heavy rain during the rainy season, which is almost here.

What did they expect? And now the government is shuffling blame to the people!

https://www.panaynews.net/hoodlums-in-uniform-2-cops-charged-in-britanico-muller-slays/

After four months of probe, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) charged two policemen and two other unidentified suspects with murder and theft for the Jan. 19, 2020 shooting here of a son of former assemblyman Salvador “Buddy” Britanico and a call center agent. 

The successive killings – just minutes apart – of 36-year-old businessman Delfin Britanico of La Paz district and 42-year-old call center agent and drug surrenderer Alain Muller of Jaro district were initially thought as separate incidents. The NBI, however, discovered they were related by circumstance. 

Charged before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on May 29 were Police Corporal Jerry Villanueva assigned at the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) and Police Corporal Joseph Andrew Joven of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO). 

Joven had been AWOL (absent without official leave) since March 12 while Villanueva was immediately placed under restrictive custody at the PRO-6’s Regional Headquarters Support Unit right after the charges were filed by the NBI’s Death Investigation Division.

Two cops charged with the murder of the son of a former Assemblyman and a person involved with drugs who had surrendered.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1104868

A Pasig City policeman was arrested using a motorcycle that was seized October last year from an anti-drug operation. 

In a press statement on Thursday, Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee, chief of the Integrity Monitoring Enforcement Group (IMEG), identified the suspect as Cpl. Esteven Mark Pandi, currently assigned at the Station Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) of Pasig City Police Station. 

Pandi was caught using the motorcycle without a plate number and was arrested in a police operation along Evangelista St. in Barangay Santolan on Wednesday afternoon. 

Lee said the motorcycle, a blue Yamaha NMAX, was confiscated from a drug personality during a buy-bust operation in the city on Oct. 4, 2019 — as clearly shown in the inventory of confiscated pieces of evidence. 

Recovered from the suspect are one Colt .45-caliber pistol with one magazine and six live ammunitions with no pertinent documents, and one Beretta 9mm with two magazines and 20 live ammunitions. 

The suspect is now under the custody of the PNP-IMEG for proper disposition and filing of appropriate charges.

This is not the first time a cop has stolen a motorcycle recovered in a drug bust operation.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1286236/pasay-city-govt-orders-probe-of-cop-who-drew-gun-while-evicting-tenants

The Pasay City government on Thursday directed the city police to investigate a police officer who is the subject of a viral video on Facebook for unholstering his handgun while evicting tenants inside a house. 

“I immediately called Pasay Police chief, Col. Ericson Dilag, and directed him to investigate this matter and undertake necessary measures on the involved policeman if the evidence and facts would merit it,” City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said in a statement. 

Rubiano said the recorded video showed an altercation between a family and the police officer, who is allegedly the landlord of a house in Barangay 145. 

According to Pasay Public Information Office, the uploader of the video said the heated argument happened last April 12 but they managed to publish the video on Facebook this Wednesday. 

The 2-minute controversial video showed the police officer, wearing his uniform and a face mask, as he allegedly slapped one of the tenants and shouted: “Ano ni-re-reklamo mo? (What are you complaining about?).” 

The policeman also drew his firearm while taunting the tenants.

Now he is under investigation. What is he complaining about?

The New Normal Jeepnies, Tricycles, and Taxis

The new normal is here and in Manila that means no jeepnies.  But where I live jeepnies are allowed though they have been modified. Let's take a look.

Each jeepney has its seats partitioned so that only 12-8 people, depending on the size of the vehicle, can ride at a time. This is good because it stops crowding. Having twenty people squished together is dangerous. But with less riders the price has increased. A 7 peso ride is now a 10 peso ride. However payment is still made the same way: in cash! And it's handed down from the passengers to the driver. So in that respect nothing has changed. You're just ensconced in plastic!

To pay the driver you stick your hand through that little slot and physically place your coins in his palm. Sure every one is wearing a mask but money is still literally changing hands. I guess that's why this driver wore gloves.

Every jeepney requires all riders to wear a face mask and some even have bottles of alcohol hanging from the ceiling for passenger's use. Here is what an empty new normal jeepney looks like:

Now if you haven't guessed the new normal for public transportation means partitioning the riders from each other and from the driver. Here is how the tricycles manage this partitioning:

I don't ride tricycles but I have a hunch they don't take cashless payments. You still have to hand the driver your money. Not all tricycles have installed a plastic divider in the back but most have.

The same partitioning is also seen in the new normal taxis.

What good is it to have the plastic installed if the entire driver's seat is not blocked off from the passenger seat? Why allow that little bit of space? Same goes for the front.

What's the point if the whole seat is not blocked off? 

So this is new normal as far as public transport goes. It's not too terrible. In the case of the jeepnies this forced limitation on passengers is a good thing. No more overcrowding!

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2017/05/tales-from-jeep.html

Why not allow this jeepney modification in Manila? It might make things a whole lot easier.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Heritage Front-Liners, Suob, and more

More news from the coronavirus ECQ's and GCQ's and MGCQ's around the nation.

More people are out begging for change because the lockdown drained them of all their cash and the Sap funds are simply not enough.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/739722/blind-lola-begs-amid-pandemic-for-orphaned-grandkids/story/

A 70-year-old grandmother spends her days begging for change along Amang Rodriguez Avenue in Pasig City in order to feed her three grandchildren who were orphaned by their mother. 

According to 24 Oras report by Mark Makalalad on Monday, Cindy Carigitan is accompanied by her grandchild Lea as she begs for help from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. 

Carigitan said she received aid from the government’s amelioration program but she had to use up those funds to pay for the burial expenses of her late daughter.

In this sad case it seems the mother left no savings behind so the grandmother had to use the SAP funds not for food but for burial expenses.  Sad.

You know Recto U right?  That's the place in Manila where you can get any document you want.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1281464/quarantine-passes-latest-recto-u-specialty

Seven people were charged on Tuesday with falsification and using falsified documents following their arrest for fabricating and selling fake government identification cards that give quarantine exemptions. 

Graphic designer Johnny Perez and six other men were caught on Monday in an entrapment operation by the Manila Police District’s Sampaloc station at a small shop in a building on Recto Avenue. 

The area has acquired the unenviable reputation through the years for hosting clandestine shops specializing in document forgery. Located on Manila’s University Belt, it has been derisively called “Recto University” for churning out a wide array of fake diplomas, bogus school records and even ready-made term papers. 

The charges against the seven suspects were filed in the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office.
The IDs seized by the police have the logo of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and identical IATF-EID quick response (QR) codes. The QR codes are supposed to be unique to help the authorities match the identity of the bearer to the person authorized to carry the ID. 

Police Lt. Col. John Guiagui, Sampaloc station commander, said the group might have started fabricating the fake IDs after the start of the enhanced community quarantine imposed by the government on Luzon in mid-March to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 

Guiagui said officers seized around 50 IDs with names and addresses of persons from Manila and Quezon City, and as far away as Cavite and Laguna provinces.

Obviously the QR codes are not sopping counterfeiters.

In this series about coronavirus news I have focused on local news.  But Fil-Ams have been active too.

https://usa.inquirer.net/55289/fil-am-designer-gets-busy-making-masks-distributing-donations

While most clothing retail businesses have stopped for a while and mass gatherings such as fashion shows have been put on hold, Filipino American fashion designer Kenneth Barlis has remained busy producing masks and distributing donations. 

“It’s like having this adrenaline rush going through my veins to think fast, and act fast to help others in any way I can.’’ 

People have jumped at the chance to wear designer masks that have been seen on celebrities, music videos and covers of magazines such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan. 

“As of today, we have shipped Kenneth Barlis masks to 51 states and also in Canada! Super exciting!,” the designer beams.

Designer masks?  Never let a crisis go to waste!

Another COVID-19 clinic run by Chinese doctors was raided.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1281579/cops-nab-2-chinese-doctors-operating-illegal-covid-19-clinic-in-makati

In a report on Wednesday, Police Major Gideon Ines Jr., chief of Makati Police Station Investigation and Detective Management Section, identified the suspects as David Lai, 49, the head doctor, and Liao Songhua, 41, the assistant doctor of the clinic. 

Ines said the arrest came after the Makati Police in coordination with Felipe Albayda Jr. of Makati Health Department Incident Management Team Task Force COVID-19 inspected the Goldstar Medical Clinic, which is located at the 5th floor of a building along Sampaloc Street in San Antonio Village. The inspection was made after authorities received reports of a Chinese doctor treating Chinese nationals who are suspected to be coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. 

Ines said they also found four Chinese patients in the clinic. They were referred to the Makati Health Department. 

Seized during the inspection were rapid test kits allegedly used to detect the coronavirus, swab sticks, vials, syringes, and multiple boxes of Chinese medicine that are not registered with the Food and Drug Administration, police said.

This illegal clinic was discovered after the PNP received reports about medical waste being collected by housekeeping. A third illegal COVID-19 run by and catering to the Chinese was found in Angeles City.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/262258-mayor-nbi-bust-illegal-chinese-pharmacy-angeles-city-may-28-2020

Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr, with the assistance of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and officers of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), raided an alleged illegal Chinese pharmacy in the tourist area of Barangay Anunas in the city on Thursday, May 28. 

“An illegal underground medical facility in Korean Town, Barangay Anunas was shut down on May 28, 2020, as Angeles City Mayor Carmelo ‘Pogi’ Lazatin Jr., in coordination with National Bureau of Investigation, Food and Drug Administration and Philippine National Police, raided the makeshift medical facility, where two Chinese nationals were arrested,” the city information office said in its Facebook post.  

The drug store, which apparently lacked FDA permit to operate, was allegedly selling Chinese-labeled medicines and medical products.  

Media reports said that COVID-19 testing kits were also confiscated during the raid.

There are certainly more illegal clinics to be found and the NBI is hot on the trail to find them all.

PhilHealth has not been paying premiums which is bad news for hospitals.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/05/29/2017323/over-300-hospitals-verge-closure

More than 300 small private hospitals are in danger of closing down due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic and the failure of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to release insurance claims, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi) revealed. 

Rustico Jimenez, president of the 744-member PHAPi, said some members have already partially stopped operations, with only the emergency rooms still open. 

“Among our members, about 50 percent are about to close,” Jimenez said in an interview with “The Chiefs” aired on One News/TV 5 on Wednesday night. 

“There are many factors,” he explained. “Number one, there are only a few patients going to non-COVID facilities because they are scared. Coupled with that is the much delayed payment from PhilHealth.” 

Jimenez said only 46 percent of their members have so far received the payment that PhilHealth said it had advanced.

372 hospitals are about to close because people are too scared to go to the hospital because of COVID-19 and because PhilHealth is not paying their premiums. Remember PhilHealth is who will be running Universal Health Care. PhilHealth denies all these allegations.

Just like with martial law in Mindanao between 2017-2019 the crime rate has dropped during the ECQ lockdown.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/740274/ano-covid-19-crisis-positive-for-peace-and-order/story/

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año described as "positive" the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on peace and order in the Philippines. 

Crime incidents across the country went down by 60 percent since the community quarantine to contain the spread of the virus was implemented, he said. 

Año reported that crimes committed in the country have decreased from March 17 to May 27, compared to January 5 to March 16 

Before the lockdown, criminal cases in the country reached 11,004, but went down to 4,479 as of Wednesday.

Of course when you force people to stay home or face arrest for two months crime will certainly decline. As soon as the lockdowns lift crime will rise again. Is that really a net positive? Is there realy a gain here?

Corruption is a way of life in the Philippines. But sometimes there is a little light shining through the clouds.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1104348

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) said a total of PHP19,524,300 excess social amelioration program (SAP) fund was returned to the agency. 

“Marami ang nagbalik (Many [local government units] have returned excess funds),” Leo Quintilla, regional director of the DSWD-CAR said in a press conference on Thursday. 

"This is part of good governance that the LGUs followed the guidelines," Quintilla said.
He said the LGUs returned the excess fund because they have already distributed the cash aid to the low-income families in their respective areas.

This is good.  Hopefully LGUs across the nation can keep up this kind of honesty.

Testing for COVID-19 is important.  But what if you want to do it home?

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/05/31/2017677/ex-actress-nabbed-selling-covid-test-kits

A former actress and model was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday for the unauthorized sale of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapid test kits worth P70,000. 

Avigail Siwa was arrested at an entrapment operation in Intramuros, Manila after a businesswoman reported her to authorities for estafa. 

Siwa advertised on social media that she was selling four brands of COVID rapid test kits for a “home service COVID testing.” 

Jessielyn Fernando told the NBI she paid P4.4 million as downpayment for 10,000 sacks of rice that did not arrive.  

Siwa, in a television interview, said Fernando still owed her money for the order. 

She said she ran a medical trading equipment company which is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry. 

NBI international operations division chief Ronald Aguto said Siwa was not authorized by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to sell rapid test kits.

Don't do it.  Just go to the hospital.

Part of the new normal due to the virus will be homeschooling. This idea is not sitting well with some parents.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/740400/parents-wary-of-deped-s-homeschool-system/story/

The shift to online classes and blended learning this coming academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic is making some parents wary, according to a report by Mark Salazar on "24 Oras." 

They feel they might not be up to the challenge of the new system where the home will serve as the school, and the parents as teachers or tutors. 

Another parent, April Lim, wonders how they can get linked to the new method of learning, which will sometimes entail online activities. 

She said the added expense for mobile load to have internet connection is not part of the household budget. 

Meanwhile, Michael Cruz expressed doubts that he and his wife could assist their child in the online class because they are occupied in making a living for the family. 

He also said that instead of using the internet for school works, his kid might use it for mobile games.

Many Filipinos do not have a computer but connect to the internet through phones or tablets. They also pay a little at a time using loads. Doing school through the internet will cost them money they cannot pay. Many parents are also busy working and have no time to act as teachers. 

Can suob cure COVID-19?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/healthandwellness/740242/what-is-suob-or-steam-therapy-and-does-it-help-cure-covid-19/story/

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that a cure or vaccine for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not yet been developed. 

However, some Filipinos have been saying “suob” or steam therapy helps, but what is the truth behind this?  

In a special online series titled “Survivors,” professional basketball player Chris de Chavez and his family shared how they won their battle against COVID-19 with the help of suob. 

Chris’ mother, a chief nurse at a hospital in New Jersey, suddenly fell ill one night. 

Since her mother was a medical frontliner, they knew right away that she was possibly infected with COVID-19. 

The rest of the family eventually felt COVID-19 symptoms as well, such as flu and body aches. 

Despite feeling sick, Chris and his father fought it and forced themselves to exercise. 

According to Chris’ father Jun, suob also helped them recover. 

Suob or steam therapy is done by inhaling salt water on a basin while using a piece of cloth, such as a towel, to cover one’s head and shoulders and enclose the steam. 

Jun learned this cure from his mother in Batangas when he was young. 

The De Chavez family claimed that suob helped them decongest their lungs. 

A week after getting infected, the family felt better. 

However, pediatric pulmonologist and sleep specialist Dr. Rolando dela Eva said there was no strong evidence to prove that steam therapy helps cure COVID-19.

Wow! Inhaling salt water steam cures COVID-19?  Oh wait! Nowhere do these people say they were actually diagnosed with COVID-19! These people say they only thought they had it. Big difference.

Every industry in the Philippines has been hit hard by the lockdown and many want the government to ban them out. This includes the entertainment industry.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1283335/ph-show-biz-cries-sos

The country’s film and entertainment industry on Friday appealed to the government to come to its aid as the COVID-19 pandemic rendered its 865,000 workers jobless and was expected to result in revenue loss of P100 billion for the sector this year. 

Liza Diño-Seguerra, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair, said the closure of movie theaters, concert halls, bars, hotels and other venues since March 14 had brought the entire entertainment industry to its knees. 

She noted that a study done by the National Economic Development Authority revealed that the arts, entertainment and recreation sector was the “hardest-hit business sector,” eclipsing the devastating economic effects of the pandemic on tourism. 

“We humbly pray that our industry will be given space in the economic stimulus package that our esteemed legislators are working so hard for,” Seguerra said during a seven-hour online Senate hearing. 

Seguerra said the FDCP had distributed a total of P20 million in financial subsidy to freelancers, artists and other members of the audio-visual industry, who each received up to P8,000.She said the Department of Budget and Management did not grant its request for a P50-million budget for the subsidy. 

Since four out of five workers in the entertainment industry were considered self-employed and members of the informal sector, she said they were not able to benefit from the cash aid from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Social Security System. 

Seguerra said workers in the movie industry would need cash subsidies for at least six months.

The entertainment industry is harder hit then than the tourist industry! But TV shows and movies are really part of a synthetic culture. They aren't exactly part of the intangible heritage of a nation.

https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/363504/pandemic-shows-need-for-heritage-front-liners/

Just like health front-liners, there should be heritage front-liners during pandemics and disasters. 

This was the call of cultural heritage planners and advocates in the online conference, “That Thing Called Pamana,” organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Filipinas Heritage Festival Inc. recently to mark May as National Heritage Month. 

Cultural heritage proved “essential” in making people cope with anxieties while on lockdown, said Arvin Manuel Villalon, consultant for cultural mapping of the NCCA and a member of the Technical Pane for Cultural Education of the Commission on Higher Education. 

He explained that during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), people turned to Christianity and rituals because “religion is an intangible cultural heritage.” 

Villalon said cultural heritage could also help in “normalizing” the situation post-new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).“Heritage is one way of restoring normalcy,” he said. “Heritage comes from a sense of identity and rootedness.” 

“Religion brings back old memories and they bring back normalcy,” he declared. 

Villalon cited the cancelation of the Panagbenga flower festival in his hometown of Baguio City. 

He said the locals didn’t mind because Panagbenga was a mere tourist showcase. 

But there was no canceling Holy Week and Easter for Baguio City, Villalon said. He said locals closely followed the Holy Week observances through the Internet. Villalon explained that “synthetic celebrations” like Panagbenga cater only to tourists. 

“The test of celebratory events is if the community values them,” he said. 

A psychologist and art dealer and curator, Robillos emphasized the importance of “intangible cultural heritage” such as religious rituals, literature and communal dances, practices, and observances in providing “healing” or “therapy” to cope with the stress of the lockdown. 

He said that galleries and museums provided “virtual tours” of their collections, classified as “tangible cultural heritage,” during the ECQ. 

Robillos added that even one town in Bulacan province held a virtual parade or religious procession that fostered communal “solidarity” during the pandemic.

When everyone is forced inside and mass gatherings are prohibited it is impossible to participate in the "intangible cultural heritage" of a nation. You can't worship online. Worship is a full body and communal experience. You also cannot transfer the culture of a people to the internet. They don't really say what a cultural frontliner is or would do but only stress the importance of cultural heritage during trying times.

What better way to stop the spread of COVID-19 then to decongest the cites? Duterte is actually paying people to do just that.

https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/duterte-is-paying-filipinos-to-move-from-city-to-countryside

The coronavirus pandemic is giving Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte a reason to reduce overcrowding in Manila, which in recent decades has swelled into one of the most heavily populated areas on Earth. 

Duterte is offering cash and goods to induce city-dwellers to move out of the greater capital region in an ambitious program called “Back to the Province,” one of the most aggressive attempts in decades to lure Filipinos to the countryside. With the pandemic exposing how swift population growth and urban migration have overstretched Manila’s transport, utility and health services, the government is now attempting to alter long-entrenched patterns of labor mobility. 

Families approved for the program can receive as much as 110,000 pesos ($2,173) in money and goods. Almost 60,000 people have applied since the plan began in mid-May, Escalada said, with priority given to the unemployed, homeless and those living in disaster-prone areas. Thousands more are believed to have left Manila in the days leading up to the lockdown, sometimes with help from non-profit groups. 

The big challenge will be finding work in the countryside, with the program at risk of becoming a temporary solution for many until the economy recovers.

Will relocating people to the provinces be a viable solution to the pandemic? At least with forcing people to work online they are still working. Finding a job outside the city might be difficult and a "temporary solution for many until the economy recovers." So much window dressing in attempting to find a solution.