The God Culture: The First Book of Enoch Review, Part 2: The Philippines' Role in 1 Enoch

Having analyzed the introduction to Timothy Jay Schwab's annotated edition of the First Book of Enoch it is now time to take a look at the text itself along with all the apparatus given to help interpret it. This book is full of charts and maps and colorful pictures of all kinds as well as notes and commentary.

Because there is so much material in this book I have decided to forgo pouring over the notes and the  doctrines Timothy Jay Schwab teaches. It is all the same old heresy which I have rebutted multiple times. It is no fun constantly going over the same old things. Therefore I have decided to focus this review on the role the Philippines plays in Enoch.

First of all it is important to understand that both Enoch and Jubilees map out the exact location of the Garden of Eden. It is in the Philippines.

Enoch 32: 1. To the north-east I beheld seven mountains full of choice nard and mastic and cinnamon and pepper.

2. And thence I went over the summits of all these mountains, far towards the east of the earth, and passed above the Erythraean sea and went far from it, and passed over the angel Zotîêl.

3. And I came to the Garden of Righteousness, and from afar off trees more numerous than these trees and great--fruit trees there, very great, beautiful, and glorious, and magnificent, and the tree of knowledge, whose holy fruit they eat and know great wisdom.

4. That tree is in height like the fir, and its leaves are like (those of) the Carob tree: and its fruit is like the clusters of the vine, very beautiful: and the fragrance of the tree penetrates afar.

5. Then I said: 'How beautiful is the tree, and how attractive is its look!' 

6. Then Raphael the holy angel, who was with me, answered me and said: 'This is the tree of wisdom, of which thy father old (in years) and thy aged mother, who were before thee, have eaten, and they learnt wisdom and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they were driven out of the garden.'

Believe it or not this is a description of the Philippines. The several notes on the chapter are as follows:

Verse 1: NE of Indian Ocean is the 7 Mountains of Visayas: Panay, Masbate, Samar, Leyte, Negros, Cebu and Bohol. All spices native to the Philippines.

Verse 4: ie. Lanzones Tree (right). Fruit like clusters of grapes, leaven and bark look like a Carob Tree, height of a fir, beautiful and penetrating smell. It also has at least 3 legends described as beign [sic] poison yet purified. Lason in Tagalog is poison. 

Is the Philippines really North East of the Indian Ocean? It is on Tim's flat earth map.

p. 123

But not only are the Philippines Seven mountains seen by Enoch they are also nine mountains mentioned by the Archangel Michael.

Words of the book which Michael addressed to the angels... He said: I found there divisions of fire...[and I saw there] nine mountains: two to the eas[t, and two to the west, and two to the north and two to the so]uth. I saw there the angel Gabriel...

p. 124

How is it that Michael describes the Philippines as nine mountains but Enoch as seven? Tim's annotations clear that up a bit. 

The 7 major island of Visayas, were 7 large mountains prior to the flood. They are located above the Garden of Eden.

Enoch only saw the Visayas. He did not see Mindanao or Luzon. I suppose if one is flying high above the earth Mindanao and Luzon could be easily missed.

But how can the seven or nine major islands of the Philippines be mountains? They are islands surrounded by the ocean, right? Well, no not at the time they are being described by Enoch. See, according to Tim, before the flood there was no ocean. That means all the islands were mountains.

Note to Enoch 31:1 Again, mountains in this perspective before the Flood were what we call islands now.

None of that makes any sense. Why is Enoch referring to the Erythraean Sea by name? That is totally anachronistic if Enoch the seventh from Adam wrote this book.

The Greeks themselves derived the name from an eponymous King Erythras, knowing that the waters so described were deep blue. Modern scholars sometimes attribute the name to the seasonal blooms of the red-hued Trichodesmium erythraeum in the Red Sea. Agatharchides had written of the origin of the name Erythraean Sea on the book (De Mari Erythraeo, § 5) in a story about the king Erythras:"There was a man famous for his valor and wealth, by name Erythras, a Persian by birth, son of Myozaeus..... the glory of the Island ascribed to him by the popular voice because of these his deeds, that even down to our own time they have called that sea, infinite in extent, Erythraean Sea".

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

If one is going to read this book intelligibly then when one comes across the Erythraean Sea one must picture to himself a very large and expansive body of water that looks like this:

This map has come up several times in my articles about the teaching of Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture that the Philippines is Chryse. Another map that Tim uses to prove the Philippines is Chryse is the 1492 world map of Martin Behaim. This map makes an appearance in this annotated version of Enoch.

p. 126-127

In the First World Globe commissioned by the Portuguese government and released in 1492, the mindset of the age of exploration was firm that Ophir and Tarshish, the land of Solomon’s famed gold, were located in Southeast Asia just Northeast of Borneo and Southeast of China as an archipelago we now call the Philippines. This map identifies Luzon Island, Philippines as Chryse, the Greek word for the Hebrew Ophir and Mindanao as Argyre, the Greek word for the Hebrew Tarshish. The British were behind then and remain behind as they make claims only by ignoring this firm history and the Bible as well as Pomponius Mela(43 AD), The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea(70 AD), Dionysius the Tourist(124 AD), ete. which have mapped Chryse(Ophir) South of the Tropic of Cancer in the Philippines all along. Magellan knew this and recorded it.

Columbus believed and noted in journals that this was his destination of Ophir and Tarshish, not America, this same year really using the same data of the most current Portuguese exploration which this mapping identifies. His research also concluded that these same islands housed the Garden of Eden and Arsareth, the land of the Lost Tribes of Northern Israel from 2 Esdras 13. Italian Jewish Scholar, Ferrisol, of the same era, records the very same in specifically identifying the Philippines as the location of the Lost Tribes who migrated according to 2 Esdras. This was soon buried by the British who began paying propagandists in at least 1625 such as Samuel Purchas. Their supposed cases all ignore the existence of the Philippines which is the only land that could even qualify as Ophir, Tarshish, the Garden of Eden and Arsareth. Enoch agrees. See The Search for King Solomon’s Treasure for details. www.Ophirlnstitute.com

This is all the same fraudulent history I have rebutted elsewhere. See this article for a refutation of Chryse being the Greek word for Ophir, this article for a discussion of what Arsareth means and a refutation of Tim's assertions about Abraham Farrisol, and this article for a thorough refutation of Tim's interpretation of the Behaim map and other maps. The only thing new here is the bolded section. This map was not commissioned by the Portuguese government. It was a project conceived by Martin Behaim and financed by the City of Nuremberg.

In 1490, Behaim visited the city of his fathers to settle a will case, and he stayed in Nuremberg for 3 years. He managed to convince leading members of the city council to finance the manufacturing of the famous globe of the Earth under his direction. The decisive reasons still are unknown, but many inscriptions on the globe indicate an economic motivation. Whereas the final financial account of 1494 Indicates clearly which craftsmen were involved in its making, the Behaim globe must be regarded as a joint achievement of the Nuremberg humanist circle, It is an early masterpiece of many kinds of scientific and technological achievements, establishing the intellectual and economic leadership of Nuremberg in late medieval Germany.

Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers,  p. 108

It's a small mistake but it just goes to show that Tim took no care to research this subject which he has been covering for the past two years. There are many of these little mistakes in his videos and books and they all add up to the conclusion that Tim is a poor researcher. He simply cannot get his facts right. 

Enoch only lived on the earth for 365 years. That is a rather interesting number which has one year  of his life representing one day of the year, there being 365 days in the year. Strangely enough the Book of Enoch posits a 364-day year. Tim goes off wildly making calculations to figure out the proper calendar which is based on the movement of the sun alone.

The sun is propelled by the wind. pg 184

The 6 portals set the track of the sun from East to West. This is why some portions of the Earth have opposite summers and winters and this is the only logical explanation. Making the earth tilt and rotate does not.  pg. 184

The sun and moon are equal in size. pg. 187. 

That the sun and moon are the same size is actually what Enoch 72:37 says.

On a cloudy day, one can observe the sun's peering through the clouds. If we were to follow the angle of those rays, they would reveal the position of the sun which must be far, far closer than 93 million miles (150 million km) away which Scientism claims yet never proves. We must require them to prove thier positions rather than espouse their religious occult doctrines of sun worship. Also, notice the hotspots which occur even when it is not cloudy. This seems impossible under the supposed academic position which appears poorly thought through.  pg. 186

That note is so full of stupidity it is painful. How can anyone be this dumb. The distance of the sun has been proven again and again. Even the Greeks knew the sun was very far away from the earth. Tim's map of the movement of the sun over the course of the year looks like this:

The sun, propelled by the wind, moves in and out of those portals in expanding and shrinking concentric circles as the year progresses.

And he really thinks this better explains the seasons than the rotation and tilt of the earth!?

Back to Enoch. At the end of his 365 years we are told in Genesis that Enoch was taken:

Genesis 5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Now, the common interpretation is that Enoch was taken to Heaven. After all the text does say all his days were 365 years. That would mean that he has no more days or years left to live out on the earth. But  according to Tim Enoch was taken to the Garden of Eden and remains there to this day. 

p. 128

Enoch resides in the Garden of Eden inside the Earth under the Philippines

It is not made clear in this annotated version of Enoch exactly what it means that the Garden of Eden is under the Philippines. But elsewhere Tim has made it clear that the Garden of Eden is underneath the Sulu Sea.

34:36 So, there you go. The Garden of Eden is just below the Philippines under the Sulu Sea.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-god-culture-daniel-was-never-in.html 

According to Tim the Garden of Eden ended up buried beneath the floor of the Sulu Sea during the flood. The great fountains of the deep exploded forming the oceans and burying Atlantis, Lemuria, and the Garden of Eden in mud. But the Garden of Eden was enclosed and protected and it remains to this day with Enoch and Elijah as its lone inhabitants. 

This is a very important doctrine for Tim. You see, the Garden of Eden is inside the earth and it houses not only Enoch and Elijah but the Holy of Holies, God's physical presence on the earth. Also inside the earth are the chambers for the dead.

Enoch 22 tells all about the chambers for the dead. There are four of them. One for the righteous, one for the unrighteous, one for martyrs, and one for a group of sinners from which they shall never escape. The common notion amongst Christians is that when one dies one goes to be in the presence of the Lord which is in Heaven. Tim says that is wrong. We actually go to one of the chambers and the presence of the Lord is his Holy of Holies which is in the Garden of Eden which is underneath the Philippines. Thus the chamber for the righteous is next to the Philippines.

p. 107

The Garden Of Eden is Yahuah’s Holy of Holies on Earth (Jub 8:19) thus, these chambers are in His presence just as Paul says they are (2Cor 5). The spirits of the dead are with Him but not in Heaven nor Hell. That modern church doctrine originates in the Egyptian Book of the Dead NOT the Bible. Watch “Where Do We Go When We Die?” (YouTube, Rumble, Utreon, Odyssey: The God Culture).

It is quite interesting that Tim has nothing to say about that fourth chamber. 

When you die expect for your soul to fall asleep in one of those chambers. If you are a Christian you will fall asleep in a large chamber which is somewhere near the Philippines. Thus you will be in the presence of God on the earth except you will not know it because you will be asleep and unconscious. Kind of like how I am in the presence of Timothy Jay Schwab and his wife Anna because we both live in the Philippines even though we are hundreds of miles apart. I have dismantled this stupid doctrine in an article which can be read here.

The very idea that the Philippines plays any role in the ancient Jewish book of Enoch is patently ridiculous. But that is the message of Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture. He is the apostle to the Philippines.

As I noted at the beginning this book is chock full of stuff. I want to end by posting what is probably my favorite of Timothy Jay Schwab's notes on 1 Enoch. That would be his note to Chapter 34.

Enoch 34 1. And from thence I went towards the north to the ends of the earth, and there I saw a great and glorious device at the ends of the whole earth. 

2. And here I saw three portals of heaven open in the heaven: through each of them proceed north winds: when they blow there is cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain. 

3. And out of one portal they blow for good: but when they blow through the other two portals, it is with violence and affliction on the earth, and they blow with violence.

The note to this chapter reads as follows:

This is Antarctica and though Gen 2:5 identifies a mist that comes up form the Earth to water the surface, this is the edge which has likely been kept in similar fashion all along including snow, ice and rain. Rain in Britain is not coming from these portals. We have been unable to acquire a plane ticket to Antarctica to verify this but modern science has failed in producing reliable data.

This section is accompanied by the following flat earth map.

p. 132-133

That is ridiculous. That is not what the earth looks like at all in anyway shape or form. Antarctica is a real continent and not an icewall. Likewise Tim's comment that he has been unable to acquire a plane to ticket to Antarctica to verify this is pure comedy gold. Has he really been trying to charter a plane to find the portals over Antarctica? No, he has not. Chartering a plane to Antarctica is incredibly expensive. If he actually did fly to Antarctica he would have to completely reject all the flat earth nonsense in this book because such a flight would prove this cosmology wrong beyond all doubt.

Idiot Barely Passes Teaching Licensure Exam After 14 Attempts

 The Philippines rewards failure. Don't believe me? Check out the following story.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1569895/32-year-old-mom-finally-passes-teacher-licensure-exam-after-14-attempts

After 14 tries, a 32-year-old woman finally passed the Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET).

Richelle Ann Gonzales scored 76.80 percent, a little over the passing rate of 75 percent.

Gonzales, a mother to six children, was elated that after years of waiting and even frustrations, she can now call herself a licensed teacher.

“I was doing some laundry work when a cousin of mine broke the news that I finally passed the exams. At first, I did not believe her but later on, was able to verify it as a sister-in-law of mine posted it on her social media account,” she said.

Gonzales, who hails from a remote village of Sangay, Palapag town in Northern Samar, took her first exam in 2010, the year she graduated from the University in Eastern Philippines in Catarman, Northern Samar.

Gonzales, whose parents were coconut farmers, was the second eldest from a brood of eight.

Despite their poverty, she wanted to finish her studies and become a teacher.

“I even had to sell used clothings and peddle bets on lotto just to earn money for my studies,” she said.

When she was a child, Gonzales dreamt of becoming a teacher and even played as a teacher to her younger siblings and children in their village.

“It’s nice to impart knowledge to others and that they are happy to learn something new from me,” she said.

Despite several setbacks, Gonzales never surrendered and continued to take the teachers’ examination until she passed.

“My parents and my siblings and my own family motivated me to take the examination again and again until I could pass it. They never gave up on me. Of course, there were times that I’d like to give up. In fact, there were times that I isolated myself from my classmates who are now teachers,” she said.

“But God is so good that finally, after 11 years and 14 times of trying, and fervent prayer and novena, I was able to pass the exams. I cried so much. I could not believe it at first,” she said.

“Be confident in your own abilities and don’t give up. Don’t be ashamed if you have failures. Always trust papa God,” she said, when asked what she could advise to others who have also suffered similar setbacks in life.

Since 2010 Richelle Ann Gonzales has been taking the teaching licensure exam and this year she finally passed. BARELY!!! Her score was 76.80% which is 1.8% above the passing score of 75%. She does not even attribute this embarrassing grade to her studies but to her prayers to "papa God" and attending the novena. With that awful score I am sure God denies all blame.

To pay for her "studies" she resorted to selling used clothes and lotto tickets. That means for the past 12 years she has not held down a real job but has floated around hoping she would finally pass this test. What exactly was she studying that she could not pass the exam for so long? After the fifth try she should have known the test inside and out and been able to ace it. But here we are at try 14 and she barley passed. It would be interesting to see all her scores to view her progression.

Admittedly the test is filled with weird questions. Here are three questions from a sample exam.

1. A teacher’s quarrel with a parent makes her develop a feeling of prejudice against the parent’s child. The teacher’s unfavorable treatment of the child is an influence of what Filipino trait?
a. Lack of self-reflection
b. Extreme personalism
c. Extreme family-centeredness
d. “Sakop-mentality”

Ans: B

14. Theft of school equipment like TV, computer, etc. by people on the community itself is becoming a common phenomenon. What does this signify?
a. Prevalence of poverty in the community
b. Inability of school to hire security guards
c. Deprivation of Filipino schools
d. Community’s lack of sense of co-ownership

Ans: B

17. Complete this analogy:
Spanish period: moral and religious person.
American period: _______
a. Productive citizen
b. Self-reliant citizen 
c. Patriotic citizen 
d. Caring citizen 

Ans: A

https://philnews.ph/2019/09/25/let-board-exam-random-questions-answer-prof-ed-gen-ed/

As a child Richelle would pretend to be a teacher to her siblings and other children. Now this moron will actually be teaching children. She will be educating children and will be directly responsible for the future of this nation. Of course she might as well still be pretending with 14 tries and such a paltry score. 

This lady is a living monkey! You know the theory. A monkey banging the keys on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare.

It was the best of times it was the...blurst of times? You stupid monkey!!

In this case Richelle took the test over and over and over again until she passed with practically the bare minimum score. How many more times would she have taken this test if she continued to fail? Until the day she died? 

This story is embarrassing. Isn't there a limit as to how many times one can take the teaching licensure exam? There should be. If it took 14 tries to pass the licensing exam and you still barely squeaked through then that profession is not for you. Surprisingly the majority of those who passed this most recent exam were repeaters.

It is further announced that of the 8,737 elementary teacher passers, 2,678 are first timers and 6,059 are repeaters. For the secondary teachers, 4,652 passers are first timers and 7,422 are repeaters.

https://www.prc.gov.ph/article/january-2022-results-licensure-examination-teachers-released-thirty-30-working-days/5508

The details of exactly how many times those repeaters have taken the test have not been made public but if the case of this lady is any indicator then we can bet the majority are way past their second try.

Does the Philippines deserve better than Richelle Ann Gonzales? If the people of this nation want to succeed and not be left in the dust of history then the answer is yes. However seeing as how this lady is not an anomaly perhaps she is exactly what this country deserves.

Retards in the Government 250

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

  

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1566553/ex-afp-officer-former-baywalk-bodies-member-arrested-in-qc-buy-bust-ops

Another former member of the uniformed service — this time from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) — was arrested in an anti-drug operation in Quezon City, the city police said on Thursday.

Reports from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said that aside from Fidel Samson Jr., who is a Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1987 member and a former AFP personnel, Kathrine “Kat” Santos of the disbanded group Baywalk Bodies and three others were arrested on Wednesday night in Barangay Salvacion, La Loma, Quezon City.

QCPD director Brig. Gen. Remus Medina said that operatives from their District Drug Enforcement Unit (DDEU) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) National Capital Region Office conducted the buy-bust operation in front of a house in Iba Street.

However, the suspects sensed that they were transacting with police operatives and tried to drive away aboard their black Toyota Fortuner.

A brief chase followed, with the suspects firing at the operatives, prompting the latter to return fire.  The chase only stopped after the fleeing suspects bumped into another vehicle along Tecson Street in Manila’s Barangay 379.

A former AFP officer has been arrested on drug charges. He also engaged in a shootout before being apprehended. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/824657/3-cops-arrested-for-alleged-extortion-robbery-sexual-assault-in-leyte-pnp-imeg/story/

The Philippine National Police-Integrity Monitoring Enforcement Group (PNP-IMEG) on Friday said three cops in Palo, Leyte were arrested for multiple extortion, robbery, and sexual harassment.

In a statement, the IMEG identified the cops as Police Senior Master Sergeant Alex Garciab Asis, Police Staff Sergeant Raffy Mendoza Retosar, and Police Corporal Jerwin Neopus Dacillo.

The Visayas Field Unit Office arrested the police officers in an entrapment operation.

Citing a report from the IMEG, PNP chief Police General Dionardo Carlos said these cops were allegedly extorting money for almost four months from a suspect they arrested for extortion in October 2021.

The suspect-turned-victim is already out on bail following her arrest in an entrapment operation in a medical mission, the police said.

3 cops have been arrested for extorting and sexually assaulting a woman for the past four months.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169676

The Sandiganbayan anti-graft court sentenced five Caloocan City village officials to up to eight years imprisonment for falsification of public documents arising from bogus appointments.

The anti-graft court’s Fourth Division affirmed the 2018 decision of the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 21, handing down penalties of six months to eight years on Barangay 48, Zone 4 Chair Wilfredo Camus, and councilors Benito Ching, Claro Ponce, Zacarias Ferrer, and Ramon Acuña.

The 10-page decision dated March 11 and recently published online also ordered the five to pay a fine of PHP2,000 each.

The Sandigan rejected the accused’s sole basis of appeal that they have been deprived of due process because of the lackluster performance of their lawyer.

Five Caloocan City officials have been sentenced to eight years in prison for falsifying documents.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169666

A mayoral candidate of Calamba, Misamis Occidental survived an assassination attempt by a motorcycle-riding gunman on Sunday.

Lt. Col. Michelle Olaivar, Police Regional Office-10 spokesperson, said George Matunog Jr., 55, is in stable condition at Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Sr. Medical Center in Ozamiz City.

The bullet pierced his nape and exited through the right portion of his cheek.

A Quick Response Team vehicle of the Calamba police station first took the victim to Calamba District Hospital.

The security camera footage showed Matunog was walking along a main road in Purok 1 of Barangay Southwestern Poblacion when shot at close range by a back-rider of a motorcycle that sped by.

A mayoral candidate running as an independent but under the coalition of Duterte and Marcos has survived an assassination attempt by unknown men.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1567792/piston-leader-survives-slay-try

A leader of a transport group survived an assassination attempt right at his home in General Santos City on Sunday morning.

Larry Villegas, chair of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) in the Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City) region, was cleaning his tricycle at the front yard of his house in Buayan village at around 6 a.m. when two men on a motorcycle stopped and opened fire at him.

Villegas, 64, was able to duck but was hit in the leg, said Sonia Eugenio, regional coordinator of Makabayan. He was immediately rushed to a hospital.

By Sunday afternoon he was conscious and was due to undergo an operation for his gunshot wounds.

She said Villegas, who is also the coordinator of party-list group Bayan Muna in General Santos City, was already being targeted because of his involvement in issues concerning drivers and transport groups.

The coordinator of party-list group Bayan Muna survived an assassination attempt.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/429994/far-from-over-ahong-files-another-criminal-case-vs-7-lapu-village-chiefs

Another criminal case was filed by Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan against seven barangay captains who earlier filed a complaint against him before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.

This time, Chan filed a case of Grave Oral Defamation in relation to Cyber Crime Prevention Act against Association of Barangay Council (ABC) president and Bankal Barangay Captain Eduardo Cuizon, Gun-ob Barangay Captain Eleonor Fontanoza, Looc Barangay Captain Regina Ybañez, Tungasan Barangay Captain Triponia Abayan, Subabasbas Barangay Captain Joselito Tibon, Canjulao Barangay Captain Reynaldo Tampus, and Maribago Barangay Captain Rosalino Abing.

The case was filed before the City Prosecutor’s Office.

Chan said that he filed the case against the barangay captains for fabricating stories and allegations against him.

The mayor of Lapu Lapu has filed more cases against the branchy captains who filed charges against him for malversation of funds.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1569521/barangay-chair-companion-nabbed-in-leyte-buy-bust

Law enforcers arrested a barangay chairman and his companion in a Leyte buy-bust and seized from them P680,000 worth of crystal meth, locally known as “shabu.”

The suspects were identified as Rogelio Daño, the 57-year-old chairman of Barangay Santa Fe in Matalong, and Cesario Lambujon, 35, according to a report to Gen. Dionardo Carlos, the chief of the Philippine National Police.

Daño is also the president of the Association of Barangay Chairpersons in Matalom.

The two suspects were arrested in a buy-bust at around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16, in the Baywalk area, Barangay Kalanggaman in Bato, Leyte.

A Barangay chairman and his friend were busted for drugs.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Alert 0, Trained Dogs, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government. 

The government is preparing for the fourth vaccination drive. This time they will focus on far flung, hard-to-reach areas.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/03/09/2166021/4th-massive-covid-19-vaccination-push-reach-remote-areas-doh

The fourth round of the government’s vaccination push will focus on making COVID-19 vaccination more accessible in far-flung areas in the country, the Department of Health said.

The DOH said it will reach Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) and areas where indigenous peoples reside during the fourth National Vaccination Days set on March 10 to 12.

Authorities are aiming to vaccinate 1.8 million people during the upcoming immunization push. According to the DOH, the targets are “more contextualized in consideration of areas with low vaccination rates and coverage.”

The vaccination drive will also prioritize the vaccination of individuals due for second doses and senior citizens who remain unprotected.

Pharmacies, primary care clinics, occupational health clinics, transportation terminals, and churches are being utilized as vaccination sites, the DOH said. The government is also conducting house-to-house vaccination to reach the elderly.

They did not meet their goal last time but now the target number is so low they might just do it this time. But alas, that was not the case.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/03/13/2166854/vax-drive-nets-less-50-target

Less than half of the 1.8 million target for the three-day National Vaccination Days (NVD) Part 4 was achieved after the first two days of inoculation, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.

At a public briefing, DOH Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center head Myrna Cabotaje said only 836,162 individuals received their COVID-19 jabs during the NVD on March 10 and 11.

“We were able to vaccinate 836,162 or 44.49 percent of our target … Majority of the vaccinees are for second doses and booster shots,” Cabotaje said.

She noted that the uptake of vaccines among senior citizens remained low, with only 23,868 availing.

Data showed 359,546 individuals availed of the NVD for their second dose and 202,915 for the first dose. There were 273,701 recipients for boosters.

“The complacency is still there because they think they no longer need boosters since they already had the second dose. They also think cases are decreasing so there is no threat anymore,” Cabotaje said, adding that senior citizens also have the fatalistic attitude that they no longer need the vaccines because of old age.

Because of the low turnout, she said the government is studying if there is a need to extend the NVD activities.

People are in fact turning down being vaccinated due to the low number of cases.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/03/13/2166987/filipinos-turning-down-vaccines-covid-19-cases-decline-doh

The National Vaccination Operations Center is considering donating COVID-19 vaccines close to their expiry dates to other countries as Filipinos have been turning down jabs, it said Sunday morning. 

Speaking in an interview aired over DZBB Super Radyo, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, who is chairperson of NVOC, said that this was due to complacency and vaccine hesitancy from Filipinos. 

"Our health workers are really struggling to convince people to get vaccinated...They go from house to house but even though some are at home, they still don't want to get vaccinated," she said in mixed Filipino and English, adding that it could be better to donate to make sure the jabs don't go to waste. 

With the pandemic almost over it probably would be wisest to hold out and not get injected with the experimental mRNA injection.

DOH Secretary Duque says excess vaccines will be sent to other countries.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/824530/duque-gov-t-to-donate-excess-vaccine-doses-to-other-countries/story/

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday the Philippine government is looking at donating several COVID-19 vaccine doses to Myanmar, Cambodia, and some African countries, as the country’s current supply is “stable.”

During a Laging Handa briefing, Duque said the country’s vaccine stockpile has continuously increased since October 2021, and with some doses nearing expiration, the government decided to give away supplies to countries with low vaccination coverage.

[Donating near-expiry vaccine doses we won't be able to use  is a good goal as we can help other countries where COVID-19 is still thriving, but vaccine is in short supply.]

(We are looking at Myanmar, Cambodia, and several countries in Africa. The NVOC is still determining how many vaccines will be donated.)

Duque added that AstraZeneca has extended to three months the shelf life of its near-expiry vaccine doses, but are subject to the approval of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

[It’s good news that the shelf life of vaccines that are about to expire has been extended. AstraZeneca agreed to this but we are just waiting for the FDA to approve the extension by three months.]

However, he pointed out that AstraZeneca vaccine doses that are about to expire will remain in the Philippines and will no longer be donated should the FDA approve the extension of their shelf life.

Not only are there excess vaccines but there are also billions in excess funds not used during the pandemic.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1566070/billions-in-bayanihan-2-loan-funds-still-unused

A total of P4.99 billion — or more than half of the funds allocated for loan distribution to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, or Bayanihan 2 — was unused as of mid-2021 and could have been used for pandemic response, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

In a March 2 report, state auditors said the Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.), a state-run company under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) Program, had been allocated P9.08 billion to be distributed as collateral-free, zero-interest loans to MSMEs.

But the COA said SB Corp. released only P4.09 billion, or 45.04 percent of the P9.08 billion, as of June 30, 2021, the end of its audit period.

“Considering the need for immediate action and limited resources in government in general, these unutilized funds could have been used to fund other emergency measures to address the effects of the pandemic,” the COA said.

The COA cited two major reasons why nearly 55 percent of the allocated amount was unused. One was the “insufficiency” in SB Corp.’s human resources and the other was the “hesitancy of potential clients” to avail of the financial assistance.

Of the 995,745 potential clients of the state corporation, the COA said only 48,010, or 4.82 percent, applied.

“The bulk of the budget is allocated for the tourism industry. Many tourism-based companies are hesitant to restart their business due to the multiple imposition of enhanced community quarantine in the country,” the COA said.

The agency also found that out of the 48,010 loan applicants, 4,378, or 9.12 percent, canceled their applications.

The COA said some of the borrowers canceled their loan applications due to the “long processing time” and lack of updates on their applications.

The reason the funds were not distributed is because there was not enough manpower and potential clients were hesitant to apply and restart their business due to the quarantines. This information shows just how damaging the quarantines were to the economy. There was also a long processing time which means lots of red tape.

The government is now considering dropping to alert level 0 but for that to happen certain conditions must be met.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1567055/covid-19-must-be-declared-endemic-to-shift-to-alert-0

COVID-19 must be declared as endemic, or treated like an ordinary illness, for alert level zero to be imposed in the country, according to Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.

The government’s pandemic managers are studying the metrics for a possible alert level zero amid a continuing decline in coronavirus infections in the country.

“One important thing that has to happen is COVID-19 must be declared to be endemic. When we say it is endemic, this means this is an ordinary illness that we would deal with in our everyday lives and it will not affect the entire country,” Malaya said at the Laging Handa briefing.

Under alert level zero, the limitations on the entry of unvaccinated people in certain areas would be done away with, he said.

The country must first reach a 90-percent vaccination coverage before the government moves ahead with declaring a possible “alert level zero,” infectious specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante said on Friday.

While the country “may be ready” for an “alert level zero” due to the steady decline of COVID-19 cases and low healthcare utilization rate, he said that the government should “be cautious in interpreting data and should not rush into declaring alert level zero.”

Funny how they were quick to impose lockdowns over a rise in cases but are hesitant to ease up when by all measures the threat is diminishing. 

It appears that even if alert level zero were declared face masks would still be required. At least that is what some doctors are recommending.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/03/14/22/masks-a-must-regardless-of-alert-level-status-doctors

The public should keep wearing face masks regardless of the COVID-19 quarantine alert level classification in the Philippines, a group of doctors said Monday.

Philippine College of Physicians president Dr. Maricar Limpin made the statement when asked about her thoughts about the further easing of quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila.

“Actually the Alert Level 1, if we look at it the same, it's almost Alert Level 0, because all the people are already outside. And if we look at it, even in establishments, in malls, there are a lot of people, ”Limpin noted.

“As well as the restaurants, they have already reached, they are not the usual expected 70 percent, more than 70 percent, maybe 80 percent, 90 percent. So, maybe, let's slow down first, then I hope ‘no, alert level 0 doesn't mean the mask will be removed.”

“Because we still need to wear a mask. That is the most important thing for all of us, the persistence of wearing a mask, ”she added.

The doctor stressed that mask-wearing remains imperative as a number of Filipinos remain in the intensive care unit due to COVID-19.

“Definitely we still need to wear a face mask because the virus is still here. We still have people who are having COVID-19. And we also have compatriots who are in the ICU because of COVID-19. ”

"So at that point, it really shows us that we still need to stay and wear a face mask," she stressed.

The virus will always be here. It's not going extinct any time soon. I suppose there will be other benefits from wearing a mask because the air pollution levels especially in Manila are through the roof!

The government has deployed emotional support dogs to pediatric vaccination sites.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169558

Service dogs are helping calm anxious children at vaccination sites in Quezon City.

Upon seeing Chichi and Coffee, the children’s faces lit up and giggles were heard all around the North Fairview Elementary School where the rescued local dogs of the Quezon City Veterinary Department were deployed on Thursday.

Parents and guardians were assured both have been examined, groomed, vaccinated, and trained for two months to become emotional support dogs.

The city has also trained 14 others as community service dogs or bomb and drug-sniffers of the Quezon City Police District.

“(After months of training, dogs that were previously roaming the streets and rescued by the Quezon City Veterinary Department are now helping the Quezon City government in the children’s vaccination),” the QC government said in a statement on Friday.

Other rescued dogs are being trained to accompany residents in institutions for the aged, rehabilitation centers, and temporary shelters.

It's good that stray dogs are being repurposed.

The pandemic has affected everyone not because it was "deadly" but because everything was shut down. One group who was disproportionately affected is pregnant women.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1567779/pandemics-untold-toll-on-pregnant-women-hardest-yet

In an online briefing recently, Zenaida Recidoro, an official of the Department of Health (DOH), said that pregnant women faced many challenges due to the pandemic, with quarantine restrictions affecting the delivery and utilization of maternal care services in 2020 and 2021.

“You couldn’t go out and there was no public transport, so that made a great impact on the utilization of services,” said Recidoro of the DOH’s adolescent and maternal health division.

“There were many questions [to the DOH] about how they would get to a health facility for prenatal care. And these were coming from women even from the provinces,” she added.

She also reported a decrease in facility-based birthing or those who give birth in hospitals and primary care centers such as birthing homes, rural health units, and lying-in clinics.

Pregnancy complications and maternal deaths are usually due to birthing outside health centers. The World Health Organization defines maternal death as “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy… from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.”

“Of course, mothers shouldn’t be dying. That is why our objective is to increase antenatal care coverage, increase facility-based delivery, and we have to increase postnatal coverage. We’re also hoping that we’ll be able to reduce unmet needs for family planning,” Recidoro said.

Gee, maybe the government should not have shut down society for as long as they did. I mean who could have foreseen the consequences?