MLM Scam Products: Juice and Coffee

Do you like coffee but wish it was more healthy for you? Do you want to be white without the hassle of toxic creams laden with mercury? Have I got the products for you!

Experience health and beauty altogether in just a drink pack with hug quality fruits and vegetables extracts mixed together in a delicious fruity twist. Helps whiten skin with a slimming effect for guilt free indulgence.

Yes now you too can be white just with a simple sip of Lipoglow! Lipoglow will slim your figure and turn your skin white just like your favourite movie stars. It's got all the whitening ingredients like glutathione and collagen!  Mmmm yum!  Who does not like drinking collagen? Spike your coffee with a little collagen and you got yourself a Special Beauty Blend Beverage.

Collagen is not the only special ingredient in this coffee mix.

Tongkat Ali, Gotu Kola, Stevia, Agaricus Mushroom, Saw Palmetto, plus 12 fruits and vegetable extracts!  Now that's a proper coffee. Better than a hot black cup of joe at 6 am to kickstart the day. But if you are looking for an espresso drink there is also Mangosteen Cappuccino Coffee.

https://www.pmscoffee.com/products/mangosteen

With mangosteen, spirulina, brown sugar, ganoderma, gravitol, and gotu kota you will be losing weight and improving your health in no time!

If none of these drink mixes catches your fancy there are plenty more at the PMS website.

https://www.pmscoffee.com

Who needs boring real coffee with all that caffeine when you can drink these miracle mixes which will improve your health? Be sure to check the kiosks in the mall. They might be well stocked with Green Coffee and slimming green teas and all the other miracle drinks like King's Herbal.

Politiko Publishes Fake News

Branding itself "the Bible of Philippine politics" Politiko is one of the most popular news websites in the Philippines. Politiko's Twitter bio describes themselves thusly:

https://politics.com.ph/

Blocked by PLDT-SMART. Banned by Rappler. News they don’t want you to read.

https://twitter.com/Politiko_Ph

A glance at their website reveals news no different from what everyone else is reporting.  There might be a soft spin article or two such as "Bono a Victim of Fake News, Mocha Uson Says" which is basically a glorified retweet but there are certainly no hard hitting investigative journalistic pieces. No one at Politiko is investigating prior knowledge of the Marawi siege. No one at Politiko is investigating the lies and follies of the AFP in the 50 year war on terror and insurgency. There is no "News they don't want you to read" on their webpage. It's rather ho-hum normie fluff in that respect. And no wonder! Their website's description reveals that Politko is nothing more than Rappler with a different agenda.

Politiko: We are a social news blog where politikos, their kin, friends, and allies are the center of the universe. We write about their words and deeds, likes and dislikes, dreams and fears. We are here to entertain and provoke and hopefully inform you along the way. 

https://politics.com.ph/about-us/ 

Welcome to Rappler, a social news network where stories inspire community engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. Rappler comes from the root words "rap" (to discuss) + "ripple" (to make waves). It's a new world of limitless collaboration enabled by new technology and connected by social media.

https://www.rappler.com/about-rappler/about-us/385-about-rappler

Politiko maybe be entertaining their readers but they are not always informing them, which according to their description is quite literally the last thing they want to do, because in the past they have published fake news and despite having been proven to be false this news remains on their website without any retractions.

https://politics.com.ph/lara-croft-in-a-suit-incoming-us-envoy-to-ph-mina-chang-is-a-lethal-weapon-with-beauty-brains/

The United States has reportedly found the perfect replacement for outgoing United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim amid the Duterte administration’s continued pivot to China. 

US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Mina Chang could be the new American envoy to the Philippines, according to insider information from the executive department. 

Chang’s academic credentials are impressive. She graduated from Harvard Business School, and attended a national security seminar at the United States Army War College. 

Meantime, the US Embassy in Manila clarified that Chang is being eyed as the next Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development for the Bureau of Asia. 

“We’ve seen this claim. It is not true,” the embassy said in a statement about reports Chang might be the next top US envoy in Manila.

Look at the way this article progresses.  The headline declares that Mina Chang is the incoming US envoy to the Philippines. The first and second sentences cast doubt on that assertion by using the words "reportedly" and "could be." By the end of the article we get a complete repudiation from the US embassy. Politiko contradicts themselves in the headline and the body of the article and they published it anyway! Why? One also wonders who the insider informant is and from which executive department he works, the PHL or the USA? 

This article was published on July 10th, 2019 but a day before that Thinking Pinoy published the following:

Thinking Pinoy Facebook

Did Politiko get their news story from Thinking Pinoy or did he get the scoop from them and beat them to the punch? Whatever the case both Politiko and TP were duped into believing and publishing this fake news. Just a few months later in November 2019 Mina Chang resigned from the US State Dept. because she lied about her credentials which Politiko calls impressive.

So call me a skeptic when I am slow to believe Politiko's newest and most salacious scoop.

https://politics.com.ph/visa-cancelled-bato-banned-in-us/

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa can no longer visit the United States after Washington intensified its crackdown on supposed violators of human rights. 

Politiko found that Dela Rosa’s US visa has reportedly been cancelled since May in accordance with the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA). 

However, the ARIA also imposes sanctions on individuals or entities which violate human rights. 

Politiko’s source said Dela Rosa’s visa was reportedly cancelled over his alleged involvement in the supposed extrajudicial killungs of drug suspects when he was chief of the Philippine National Police. 

A source told Politiko that the ARIA states that none of the amount set aside for the PNP’s counternarcotics assistance can be released “unless the Secretary of State determines and reports to the appropriate commttees of Congress that the Government of the Philippines has adopted and is implementing a counternarcotics strategy that is consistent with international human rights standards, including investigating and prosecuting individuals who are credibly alleged to have ordered, coommitted or covered up extrajudicial killngs and other gross violations of human rights in the conduct of counternarcotics operations.”

Again an unnamed source is giving a juicy scoop that no one else has! The dream of every news outlet, right? True or not there is a salacious scoop here and it is not the cancellation of Bato's visa. It is the ARIA. This article should either be much larger or there should be an accompanying article exploring the ARIA in depth which is what I intend to do with the rest of this article. Not in depth of course but just enough to make you see that Politiko is worthless as a news organisation.

You can find a PDF of the ARIA here. In a word the Asia Reassurance Initiatve Act is intended to distribute billions of dollars over 5 years to various countries in order to advance US interests in East Asia.

TITLE I—PROMOTING UNITED STATES SECURITY INTERESTS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION 

SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated for the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, and, as appropriate, the Department of Defense $1,500,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2019 through 2023, which shall be used— 

(1) to advance United States foreign policy interests and objectives in the Indo-Pacific region in recognition of the value of diplomatic initiatives and programs in the furtherance of United States strategy; 

(2) to bolster the United States military presence and readiness in the Indo-Pacific region for the purpose of deterring and defending against provocative actions, including by improving the defense infrastructure and critical munitions stockpiles of the United States Armed Forces; 

(3) to improve the defense capacity of partner nations to resist coercion and to deter and defend against security threats, including through foreign military financing and international military edu- cation and training programs;

The whole act goes on and on in this vein. The ARIA is a tool to advance US hegemony in East Asia. For our purposes we shall only look at instances where the Philippines is mentioned.

1. (d) PHILIPPINES.—Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) may not be made available for counter-narcotics assistance (other than maritime programs) for the Philippine National Police unless the Secretary of State certifies and reports to the appropriate committees of Congress that the Government of the Philippines has adopted and is implementing a counternarcotics strategy that complies with international norms of due process.

Subsection (a) is listed above and includes the $1.5 billion appropriation for this program. The first thing to notice here is that money is available to Philippine counter-narcotics maritime programs without any investigation as to their compliance with "international norms of due process." The second thing to notice is that money is available to the PNP to fight the war on drugs IF the Secretary of State has certified that the PNP is complying with "international norms of due process." The third thing to notice is that any money would come from the US DoD and USAID!! Why would the PNP want to receive money from the US DoD and the CIA front USAID? And how much has been accepted by Philippine maritime programs? Does the recent turnover of a patrol boat facility to the PNP fall under ARIA?

https://ph.usembassy.gov/us-and-philippine-partners-inaugurate-philippine-national-police-patrol-boat-facility/

Representatives from the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF West), the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s counternarcotics task force in the Indo-Pacific region, and officials from the Philippine National Police – Maritime Group (PNP-MG) presided over a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new PNP-MG patrol boat facility today in Lantawan, Basilan. 

The nearly $2 million, PHP 100,000,000, facility includes a boat ramp, pier, armory, offices, barracks, and a lab.  In recent years, JIATF West has partnered with the PNP-MG to open several such facilities throughout the southern Philippines. 

According to Mr. Earl Hampton, JIATF West Deputy Director, the facility will improve the PNP-MG’s ability to conduct counternarcotics patrols and thwart the activity of transnational criminal organizations in the southwest Mindanao archipelago and Sulu Sea.

Mr. Hampton also noted that U.S. forces have been providing support and assistance to the Philippines for many years, at the request of successive Philippine administrations.

It could very well be that the turnover of this facility and the plan to open more such facilities falls under the auspices of ARIA. That's something a crack investigative reporter with all the resources I do not have should look into. Don't expect Politiko to do it.

2. SEC. 102. TREATY ALLIANCES IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION. 

 (d) UNITED STATES-PHILIPPINES ALLIANCE.—The United States Government is committed to the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America, done at Washington August 30, 1951, and subsequent bilateral security agree- ments, including the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, done at Manila April 28, 2014.

Nothing new here. We all know about the Mutual Defense Treaty and the EDCA. Never forget Duterte signed the EDCA treaty. Not very anti-American is he?

3. SEC. 105. UNITED STATES-ASEAN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP. 

(7) urge ASEAN member states to develop a common approach to reaffirm the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling with respect to the case between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China.

It's no secret that the USA seeks to hedge in China and limit their influence in the Indo-Pacific region. This is probably the only area in which Duterte is of a different mind than the USA. There will be a lot of damage for the USA to reverse once he leaves office. That's part of ARIA is all about.

4. SEC. 113. COMBATING TERRORISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. 

(a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and other appropriate officials, shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that contains an assessment of the current and future capabilities and activities of ISIS-linked, al-Qaeda-linked, and other violent extremist groups in Southeast Asia that pose a significant threat to the United States, its allies, and its citizens interests abroad. 

(4) a detailed assessment of the capabilities of ISIS-linked, al-Qaeda-linked, and other violent extremist group-affiliated fighters to operate effectively in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia;

This would seem to be an assessment different from that of the quarterly reports offered by Indo-Pacific Command through Operation Pacific Eagle.

5. TITLE III—PROMOTING UNITED STATES VALUES IN THE INDO- PACIFIC REGION 

SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds that— 

(1) the promotion of human rights and respect for democratic values in the Indo-Pacific region is in the United States national security interests; 

(2) there are serious concerns with the rule of law and civil liberties in Cambodia, China, North Korea, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, which have all been identified by Freedom House as ‘‘Not Free’’; 

(3) there have been recent disturbing human rights developments in— 

(A) Burma (Myanmar), which has been identified by Freedom House as ‘‘Not Free’’; and 

(B) the Philippines, which has been identified by Freedom House as ‘‘Partly Free’’; and  

(4) according to the National Security Strategy, the United States— 

(A) will ‘‘support, with our words and actions, those who live under oppressive regimes and who seek freedom, individual dignity, and the rule of law’’; 

(B) ‘‘may use diplomacy, sanctions, and other tools to isolate states and leaders who threaten our interests and whose actions run contrary to our values’’; and 

(C) ‘‘will support efforts to advance women’s equality, protect the rights of women and girls, and promote women and youth empowerment programs.’’.

Here is the freedom score card for the Philippines from Freedom House.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/philippines

Section 4 (B)'s "other tools" could explain why the US Senate passed a resolution urging the freeing of Sen. DeLima. But does the Philippines really threaten the interests of the USA? Philippine and US relations remain rather tight despite Duterte's anti-American rhetoric which has proved mostly empty as the US continues to give billions in all kinds of aid each year, especially military.

Now to the most pertinent section as it applies to Bato's alleged visa cancellation.

SEC. 304. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS AND SUSPENSION OF UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE. 

(a) SANCTIONS.—The President is authorized to impose sanctions, in accordance with applicable law, including financial penalties and visa bans, on any individual or entity that— 

(1) violates human rights or religious freedoms; or 

(2) engages in censorship activities. 

(b) SUSPENSION OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized, in accordance with applicable law, to terminate, suspend, or otherwise alter United States economic assistance to any country that has engaged in serious violations of human rights or religious freedoms.

The President is authorised to cancel visas and foreign assistance to any person or entity who violates human rights. That means, according to Politiko, President Trump cancelled Bato's visa for violating human rights via EJKs but has not suspended foreign assistance to the Philippines despite all the many alleged human rights violations by the Duterte government.  Does that make sense? That Trump would single out one man and leave the rest of the country be?  Trump is not an opponent of Duterte's drug war. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/02/26/1791554/trump-says-filipinos-dont-have-drug-problem-because-they-kill-dealers-report

Whether or not Bato's visa has been cancelled, and we will all know the truth of that soon enough, the much larger issue here is the ARIA and how it reveals the USA's long term plans for East Asia. That is the real scoop. A full analysis of the ARIA and the compliance of the Philippine government with those plans is real news they, meaning the Duterte administration and the US DoD, do not want you to read. But Politiko is too normie and blue-pilled to give their readers that kind of information.

The Philippines' Culture of Fraud and Deceit

This week in stupid legislation: Senator Ralph Recto wants to pass a law giving lifetime validity to birth certificates.  The problem? They already have a lifetime validity!

https://www.rappler.com/nation/235851-recto-files-bill-birth-certificates-without-expiration

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto has filed a bill seeking to give "lifetime validity" to birth certificates, his office said on Saturday, July 20. 

In filing the bill, Recto said he wanted to end the practice of government and private offices requiring applicants for documents, permits, services, or jobs, to provide recently issued birth certificates. 

Under the proposed bill, a "birth certificate certified and issued by the PSA [Philippine Statistics Authority] shall not expire and shall be considered valid at any time.”

He said to the credit of the PSA, “it has never been remiss in explaining that birth certificates it has issued have no expiry dates, but this assurance remains unheeded in many offices which continue to require that the submitted birth certificate was issued within the past 6 months." 

Recto said Filipinos shound not incur unnecessary expenses and go through the trouble of applying for a new birth certificate.  

(The birth certificate is not food or sardines that go bad. It's sad that so many offices require newly acquired birth certificates, which is another burden on applicants.) 

Only a law, said Recto, would stop “an unnecessary, expensive, and oppressive” requirement.

The senator also urged the government to persuade foreign embassies in the country to stop asking visa applicants for birth, marriage and other PSA-issued certificates issued only in the past 6 months.

Let's cut right to the heart of the matter. If procuring new birth certificates and marriage licenses and other documents every time one applies for a job or a passport or a visa or anything else where those documents are required is expensive and oppressive the only ones to blame are Filipinos themselves. In the Philippines there is a culture of fraud which permeates the entire nation. Ground Zero is Recto University in Manila.

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/152690/recto-university-you-name-it-they-have-it/

From an ID card to a driver’s license, thesis paper, receipt, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) red ribbon, diploma or any other document, you can get it here. One can order these items for anywhere between P200 and P1,500 and collect it after two hours at most. But of course, it’s fake. 

Claro M. Recto Avenue, known as “Recto University,” is a one-stop shop not only for students in Metro Manila but also for those from the provinces who need documents for a job. 

A year-round bestseller is the Land Transportation Office (LTO) driver’s license, which costs P500. Joey explained that they already have blank IDs ready to be filled up, whether it be a university or government ID. 

Another popular item for sale in Joey’s stall is the fake diploma. A high-school diploma is worth P250, while a college diploma is worth P500 (larger diplomas from certain colleges cost more). 

When asked whether he has a copy of diplomas of every university in Metro Manila, he says confidently,  “Oo naman.” 

Moreover, Joey bragged, “Recto U” is not limited to the universities in Metro Manila. There also are copies of diplomas from schools as far as  Mindanao and Visayas, some of them not known to Manileños. 

While it seems like most items are overpriced, Joey confessed that the money is barely enough to support his family on a weekly basis. He simply acts as a runner, while the forgeries happen behind closed doors. He  gets his cut of the payment weekly (daily, if business is good). 

Moreover, the cops reportedly take a weekly cut from these payments, as well. 

“Minsan ang kinikita diyan nabibigay din sa mga police. Bawal maglagay diyan hangga’t hindi sila nabibigyan ng kotong,” he says. “Minsan zero pa isang araw, eh, walang nagpapagawa.” 

Their cut ranges from P40-P300 a week, depending on the weekly profit of the stall. 

Through the years, “Recto University” has existed and numerous raids have been conducted by the Manila Police District. Business is bad for about a week. Then people start “graduating” again from “Recto U.”

I have already written about Recto University and the culture of fraud it perpetuates so there is no need to do it again. No need to rehash what everyone knows. A quick Google search for "fake birth certificate Philippines" will quickly inform you of this matter if you are unaware of it.

Surely Senator Recto knows the problem is fraud and not that these documents expire. Surely he knows that government agencies and private businesses are only safeguarding themselves. Surely he knows that his bill will make fraud much more easy. So what is the point of his bill?  It's just a whitewash to make it appear red tape has been cut and the government is now working in the best interests of Filipinos. But preventing fraud is certainly in the best interest of Filipinos which is why recently issued documents are usually required.

Recto University is not the only place fraudulent documents can be obtained but it is the most famous. So when will new Manila Mayor Isko Moreno shut the place down? That will not be as easy as driving away vendors from the main streets because the cops get a big cut of the profits. Recto University is still in operation as just a few days ago 22 forgers were arrested.

https://journal.com.ph/news/metro/22-forgers-nabbed-recto-university-raid

AGENTS of the National Capital Region Police Office yesterday raided several known fake diploma mills known as “Recto University” in Sta. Cruz, Manila, and arrested 22 persons for  manufacturing  counterfeit public documents. 

NCRPO director Major General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar said the suspects were found either owning or maintaining stalls and other establishments along the stretch of Quezon Boulevard in Sta. Cruz which are known for producing fake diplomas, transcript of records, Voter’s ID, driver’s license, passport, birth certificates and Social Security System IDs. 

Eleazar said he ordered the raid following of persistent complaints about the presence of document counterfeiters that openly ply their trade between Claro M. Recto and Rizal Avenue in Sta. Cruz, Manila. 

He said anyone can acquire fake diplomas for P500 or more depending on the type of university. The suspects can also manufacture counterfeit passports provided they have the original. 

The presence of these ‘fake diploma mills’ have also prompted calls for new Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to order an honest-to-goodness campaign in the area.

Leave it to Senator Recto to whitewash the problem, exemplified by Recto University, as one of inconvenience rather than as one of fraud.

Here's a case of fraud and deceit that has to do with drugs.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1145584/nbi-agents-seize-p2m-meds-sold-in-sari-sari-store-in-iligan-city

Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), raided a sari-sari store in Purok 9, Barangay Palao here around 5 p.m. Monday, July 22, and seized various medicines worth around P 2 million. 

The store was owned by a certain Florencia Hinampas, who has been selling medicine samples and prescription drugs for about four years already, according to lawyer Abdul Jamal Dimaporo, NBI-Iligan head. 

Dimaporo said the operation stemmed from a request by courier company Air 21 to have its delivery personnel investigated for several instances of lost medicine shipment. 

The local franchisee of Air 21 has been facing numerous complaints from pharmaceutical distributors about missing shipments. This has alarmed Air 21 as its clients have refused to pay for the courier cost of the missing shipments. 

Ilian Macala, the franchise owner of Air 21 in Iligan, said he lost almost P500,000 from their clients who refuse to pay because the shipments were not delivered to them. 

One company, Boehringer Ingelhem (Philippines) Inc., complained about undelivered medicines for diabetes. 

Dimaporo said that the NBI was able to trace the missing shipments to Hinampas’ sari-sari store, sold to it by Air 21’s delivery personnel, 42-year old Jalil Bangcola. 

The said store has been selling prescription drugs and drug samples at prices lower than in pharmacies, Dimaporo added. 

After the raid, Bangcola admitted to two instances when he sold the medicines shipped through Air 21 to Hinampas, the first being sometime in March this year. 

He said the need to provide for his family pushed him to do the act. 

Hinampas admitted to being in the business of selling prescription drugs and medicine samples through her sari-sari store for four years now but said she did not know she is violating the law. 

During Monday’s raid, the store was manned by Hinampas’ nephew, Dindo Ebarle, who has attended to the store for some two years now. 

Ebarle revealed that the store’s supply of medicine samples come from medical representatives who offered him their horde of sample medicines, which he can sell at a competitively low price. 

He also confirmed to have transacted with Bangcola.

(These medicines for high blood, for diabetes, these antibiotics. These should be used based on the proper prescription so that these are not harmful to people. Many buy here without the required prescription from a doctor.)

For four years a sari-sari store has been illegally operating as a pharmacy selling sample medicines sold to them by medical representatives and also buying medicines twice from an Air 21 courier who stole them from customers rather than deliver them. The courier says he did this because he needed to provide for his family. Now he will not be able to provide for his family at all since he will be in jail and likely never able to obtain a job again.

How was this place able to operate for four years with impunity? Is it likely that no one in authority, the police or barangay officials, was aware that this sari-sari store was operating illegally as a pharmacy? With many buying there it is not likely. Possible but not likely. And what about the medical representatives? They are supposed to give those medicines to doctors and hospitals. By selling them cheaply to a sari-sari store they are guilty of fencing. How many other sari-sari stores are  illegally operating as pharmacies after buying fenced goods from medical representatives?

Allow me to end this article the same way I ended my previous article about Recto University.

"The foundations of this nation are rotten to the core. At surface level everything looks white and beautiful. But inside are dead men's bones and every sort of filth. A nation cannot be built on fraud. There must be trust. What kind of nation is it when you can't trust anyone and everything is a lie?"

Panaad Festival Held In A Construction Zone

The second week in April was the premier festival of all Negros Island, Panaad.  This festival allows each city on the island to showcase their local delicacies as well as fashions and other cultural folkways like dancing.  On previous visits to this festival I was on the search for real honey. So I made my way to the organic section of the festival which was located in a different place from past years.

Because it was early in the morning not many people were out. Walking around nothing really caught my eye.  It seemed to be the same old products I have seen being sold at mall kiosks and other organic fairs. That this display of undisputedly fake honey was allowed into the Panaad Organic Village turned me off to the idea of actually finding any real honey.

That is a display of Wise Man's Food Pure Honey which I wrote about in 2017 and which incidentally if you search that name this blog is the first of only two results! Wise Man's Food is fake. Green honey is not to be found anywhere in nature. Who audits these vendors?

Ennui set in real quick as I realised I did not wish to spend much money anyway.  Certainly not P200 on a bottle of dubious honey. Walking across the area was a bit of a chore because there were large rocks and my slippers were thin. Rain had fallen the previous night and muddied up the place making the situation worse. Finally I found a vendor selling coffee for P15.  I bought a cup and sat down to drink it in peace.

Looking around it occurred to me that something was not right. Then all of a sudden it hit me. This is a construction zone! The organisers of Panaad had moved the organic market to a construction zone.  Look at these pictures:

Those steel girders are obviously the skeleton of a roof that has not even been completed. And how about all the rocks?  Those are not tiny pebbles.

In this photo you can see two tiny concrete pillars amongst the large rocks.

This is a trench filled with broken rubble surrounding one vendors stand. How is this even safe?

More rocks that must be traversed to access a vendor.  But this next one takes the cake.

These vendors have constructed a bridge to make access to their table much easier and safer. Otherwise there is huge trench that must be crossed. These people at least had the insight to know that having your customers navigate a deep trench is not a safe idea. So why didn't the organisers of the festival have this realisation? Who the heck thought holding any kind of activity in this construction zone was a good and safe idea? But remember in the Philippines safety comes last.

After finishing my coffee I looked around for a trash bin in which to toss it. I didn't see one at first but I did see these signs:

Where's the trash can so I can clean as I go?  It's right here of course:

What a joke. I really do not like Panaad and knowing that they moved the one aspect of the festival I have any interest in to a construction zone and that they allow vendors selling fake products makes me to never want to return.

Magic Powder

Lots of knockoffs in the Philippines. Fake Nikes, fake Louis Vuitton handbags, fake you name it!  Then there is appropriation of other companies logos or characters. Having a large cast of characters to choose from makes Disney especially vulnerable in this regard. All one has to do is slap a picture of a popular Disney Princess on their product and it is sure to sell. Like this Magic powder.

What does Magic Powder have to do with Elsa and Frozen? Is the powder supposed to be like shaved ice? Like snow? That would be weird because Olaf is hanging onto the hem of Elsa's garment as they ride off. Is she taking that singing and dancing snowman to the factory to be ground up into Magic Powder? Do you want to eat a snowman?

The ingredients are all sugar. There is no magic at all! What a gyp. Or maybe the magic is that if you share this candy with your sister you will be friends again? But Elsa is giving her too trusting sister Anna a rather devious and unfriendly look. Did Elsa poison her? Is this Magic Powder poison!?

Despite being only 5 pesos, a mere pittance, I did not buy this laughable product. Who knows what is really in this Magic Powder. Happy Star Food Manufacturing Marketing Corp. is listed as the distributor and they are also likely the maker. If you look them up you find the following:

Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have arrested three illicit trade violators in three separate areas in Northern Mindanao. 

Suspects Ricardo Rabago Jr. and Melodina Sabala  of Gusa were separately held while in the act of selling 6,000 and 4,000 packs, respectively, of fake Mighty and Marvels cigarette brands in two different locations of Barangay Poblacion, San Fernando, Bukidnon. 

Aside from the packs, NBI agents also seized a sales invoice of the fake cigarettes issued by a certain Happy Star Food Manufacturing and Marketing Corp. to Rabago. 

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/01/04/three-illicit-trade-violators-fall/

A food manufacturer that also manufactures fake cigarettes? In the same plant? Does it really matter if they manufacture them or are just the middle man? Why is this company allowed to be remain in business? The FDA and DTI should take their business permit and Let it Go.

The Lies of Edinell Calvario and Healing Galing

Last year I wrote an article about vagina steaming which was being offered at Healing Galing clinics. The very thought of a woman steaming her private bits for some health benefit was ridiculous to me so I riffed on that and their taint bath service. To round out the article I examined the qualifications of Dr. Edinell Calvario who is the owner of Healing Galing. Recently I received an email informing me that Edinell Calvario was not happy with my article, wanted to find out my identity, and requesting that I please delete the article in question. I replied that Edinell Calvario should email me detailing her concerns about the article in question. I have yet to hear from her.

DR. EDINELL CALVARIO IS NOT A LICENSED MEDICAL DOCTOR!

Researching further into Miss Calvario and Healing Galing I have stumbled across the most unsurprising revelation: Dr. Edinell Calvario is a liar and Healing Galing sells products with outrageous and dangerously fraudulent claims.  Shocking, right?  Not really when you know that she received a Phd in Alternative Medicine from what is essentially a diploma mill in Sri Lanka. She might balk at that accusation but I ask her: what was your dissertation thesis, where can I access and read your dissertation, who was your doctoral advisor, how many years of schooling did you attend in Sri Lanka? Even if she did legitimately earn her Phd it is still a Phd and not an MD. Edinell Calvario is not a licensed medical doctor.

Calling someone a liar, as I have called Edinell Calvario is a charge which requires proof and I will lay it all out for you now. I will do this by looking at two of her products which seem to be the most popular: the EC27 Guava Soap and the Healing Oil.

Let's start by looking at her products page. Specifically let us look at the product details for the EC27 Guava Plus Soap. This is what we see.

http://healinggaling.ph/blog/product/ec27-guava-plus/

No therapeutic claims. Every single one of her products has this disclaimer. No therapeutic claims. Now this is a lie because Edinell Calvario makes 27 therapeutic claims for this soap she invented. That is why 27 is in the name of the product. In fact you can see that claim on the box in the picture. The picture of the product contradicts the statement "No Therapeutic Claims" because the box itself makes therapeutic claims for the product! Here is the same product listing from 2016.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160302222756/http://healinggaling.ph/blog/product/ec27-guava-plus

Look at all those therapeutic claims!

Benefits 

For 27 skin conditions. Best for hair loss, dandruff, pimple/acne, psoriasis, skin asthma, body odor/excessive sweating, dermatitis, allergy, bed sore, dry skin, insect bite, warts and skin tag prevention, masculine and feminine hygiene, skin rash, itching, wounds, scaly rough skin, jock itch space (had-had), boils (pigsa), blister (mamaso), papule (butlig), pityriasis versicolor (an-an), prickly heat (bungang-araw), ringworm (buni), scabies (galis-aso), athletes foot (alipunga).

How about the product EC Healing Oil? Surely it must have curative properties. It's in the name.

http://healinggaling.ph/blog/product/ec-healing-oil/

No therapeutic claims. Though it's writ large on the bottle in the picture, "Effectively Controls Ailments and Diseases." Again the picture of the product contradicts the statement "No Therapeutic Claims" because the bottle itself makes therapeutic claims for the product! Now let's take a look at this same page as it appeared in 2015.  

https://web.archive.org/web/20150712073037/http://healinggaling.ph/product/ec-healing-oil/

What a difference. There are quite a few therapeutic claims being made for this oil. 46 of them in fact.

Benefits 

Best for aches and pains, cough, colds, swelling/inflammation, eye condition, sinusitis, sore throat, tonsillitis, asthma, tuberculosis, stomach condition, vomiting, ear condition, constipation, painful menstruation, paralysis, poor blood circulation, heart condition, lung ailment, kidney disorder, liver problem, stiff neck, atrophy, frozen shoulder, hematoma, mayoma, high blood pressure, dizziness, diarrhea, lump, diabetes, itching, boils (pigsa), anemia, falling hair, dead fingers/toe nails, wound, massage, arthritis, gout, rheumatism, insomnia, burns, insect bites, cramps, numbness, palpitation. For topical use only.

Why would Edinell Calvario list all these benefits for both the soap and the oil and then suddenly retract them? Most likely because the FDA came breathing down her neck. Does this mean those products never produced the benefits listed? If so that means she was lying to her customers. But wait. She still lists all those benefits as applying to both the soap and the oil as well as all her other products. In fact the EC27 Guava Soap and the Healing Oil both come packaged with a little sheet listing all the benefits.

Sadly the soap I bought was missing the sheet listing what it's best used for but I did receive a large packet of information which contained all the uses and benefits of the soap.

This means Edinell Calvario is deceiving the FDA by continuing to make unfounded therapeutic claims about her products. Just not on the Healing Galing website. In official Healing Galing literature she still informs her customers that all Healing Galing products have therapeutic benefits.

Let's step back a bit and look more at the EC27 Guava Soap which Edinell Calvario lists as her invention on her bio page.  If we go to the Philippine patent office website and do a search we find the following:

http://onlineservices.ipophil.gov.ph/wopublish-search/public/detail/patents?id=PH22003000229

We see she has a patent for "a novel guava soap" composition.  Under the abstract we read:

A novel composition for guava soap comprising the following: The said composition is made from natural guava extract from fresh young guava leaves, calamansi and dayap. The bar soap is specifically used as antibacterial and germicidal soap.

Notice that in this patent the only ingredients are guava leaves, calamansi, and dyap which is key lime.  On her webpage she lists the ingredients as guava extract and special oils.  What are these oils?  They are not listed in the patent. Maybe there is more information in the papers she filed which is not displayed on this page. What we do know is that her soap is listed as being "specifically used as an antibacterial and germicidal soap."

How does she get from these two benefits, antibacterial and germicidal, to 27 benefits? One of the 27 benefits is that it controls your ringworm. That would mean the soap would also have to be an anti-fungal soap containing ketoconazole or some other medication to kill the fungus. Also for the soap to be an antibacterial and germicidal soap it would have to contain the ingredient triclosan. Then again it could simply be made with tea tree oil which has been traditionally used as an anti-fungal and antibacterial but why would she omit that from the list of ingredients? There is nothing special or secretive about tea tree oil. It is a very common oil used in many products. Of course the soap does not smell at all like it has tea tree oil in it so there might not be any.

Did Edinell Calvario carry out any tests with her soap to find out what skin ailments it would help control? That word control is very important.  Note on the box it does not say the soap will cure anything. It merely "effectively controls 27 skin ailments." It's a way to wiggle out of any  legal responsibility should someone sue her because the soap did not cure their skin aliment.

But who wants to merely control their ringworm? Or scabies? Scabies!? This soap may alleviate the itching associated with scabies but it won't kill the mites or the eggs they have buried in the skin nor does the soap make that claim. Medical treatment is needed to eradicate scabies. The claim that this soap can control scabies is an outright lie. If you don't treat your scabies infestation with more than this soap they will definitely get out of control!

The soap is also best for mamaso, also known as impetigo, which is a highly infectious skin disease. An antibacterial soap might be good to use on the skin but you will need antibiotics to cure the disease.

There is one more benefit to this soap and it is listed on the back of the box.

It also whitens the skin! So now the soap has glutathione?

From being specifically an antibacterial and germicidal soap to being able to control 27 skin ailments to being also a skin whitener! It appears she lied on her patent application by indicating that this soap is to be "specifically used as an antibacterial and germicidal soap."

On what basis are these claims made for this soap? Did Edinell Calvario carry out any tests? Is there any research, controlled trials, to back up her claims that this soap is beneficial for anyone with one or more of the listed skin ailments? Or is she making these claims based solely on the ingredients? Did she figure if the soap is antibacterial and germicidal it would be a cure-all or rather a control-all? But how does she know it is antibacterial and germicidal? Based on the ingredients or based on tests?

Let's take a closer look at the claims of the Healing Oil. Here is a close-up of the sheet that comes packaged with the Healing Oil.

There are 46 benefits listed here and not all of these are benefits one would expect from an oil that is for topical use only. Of course that caveat, while present on her old webpage product listing, is not listed on her current webpage or anywhere on the bottle or the paper which accompanies it. Nor is it in the huge packet of information I received when I bought the product. These 46 uses for the oil are the same as on her old webpage listing which begs the questions: Why are internal ailments which can only be treated by ingesting something on this list of uses if the oil is for topical use only? Is this oil still for topical use only? If not then why not? What changed about the oil? If so then why is there no indication that it is?

Now perhaps I am just unaware about the proper procedure to apply the oil so I ask how and where does one apply the Healing Oil topically in order to alleviate the following internal problems:

2. Cough
3. Cold
7. Sore throat
8. Tonsilitis
9. Asthma
10. Tuberculosis!!!
11. Stomach condition
12. Vomiting
13. Ear condition
14. Constipation
15. Painful menstruation
18. Heart condition
19. Lung ailment
20. Kidney disorder
21. Liver problem
26. Myoma
27. High blood pressure
29. Diarrhoea
31. Diabetes!!!!!
34. Anemia

All of these ailments require a medicine going into the body to alleviate them. Where are you supposed to rub the oil to help with your diarrhoea or constipation or vomiting? What exactly does this oil do for one who has diabetes? Diabetics have to inject insulin. How about myomas?  A myoma is a noncancerous fibroid growth in the uterus or cervix. If the oil is for topical use only how is it supposed to offer any benefit to those suffering from myomas when they are inside the vagina? Is the oil rubbed into the skin whereby it can soak down into the myoma?

The outside of the bottle reads "Effectively controls ailments and diseases." How? She doesn't tell us and just from what's on the list you know it's a lie. Tuberculosis? Diabetes!? Those are serious diseases which require medical attention from a medical doctor. This oil won't help you.

These nondescript and nonspecific claims of controlling diseases are a real danger because people look to Edinell Calvario and Healing Galing for medical advice even though she is not a medical doctor, not licensed to practice medicine in the Philippines, and has no business offering medical advice or selling products with outrageous therapeutic claims. Here is the experience of one person who visited Edinell Calvario's clinic in Quezon City.

I've been ill for quite sometime reason why I've been focus lately on getting better.  A friend of mine told me she's been listening to Healing Galing every weekend and the show mentioned something about my illness so she wanted me to at least give it a try. 

Healing Galing is a show in Aksyon TV 5, aired in FM radio 92.3 every Saturday at 6-8am and every Sunday at 11-12noon hosted by Dr. Edinell Calvario that mainly works on naturopathy or naturopathic medicine, a form of alternative medicine which is based on natural healing power of nature.  I think it is also being aired in cable tv and maybe in TV5 as well, just that we don't have cable and we have a bad network connection of TV5 (maybe they should focus on getting this fix first, i think this is one of the reason why most people were not able to watch their shows).   

As I enter the site, I asked the reception area if I could get a number for check up.  I was given a form with a list of products and it has a number.  I went few minutes before break time that I had to wait until after lunch. 

As soon as my number was called, the lady in the reception asked what is my problem and asked to open my mouth to check my tongue.  I've seen this tongue reading before from Dr. Tan of Binondo so I wasn't surprised at all.  Anyway, she also checked my fingertips/nails saying how pale my nails were saying I'm anemic (which is true).  She discussed further and explained everything I need to know, especially maintaining a healthy diet.  She checked all the things I need for a week, and to be honest, it cost a lot.  I was able to buy her recommendations good for only three days.  

http://www.adventurousfeet.com/2013/06/healing-galing-office-in-novaliches.html

The woman is ill. She goes to Healing Galing under the impression they will offer her medical help. She is given a list with all the products for sale and she is made to wait until after the lunch break before anyone sees her. Then the receptionist recommends a lot of products that the lady cannot afford so she only buys few things which will last for three days. Does that sound like any experience you have ever had at a medical clinic? Have you ever gone to a clinic and then had to wait because it's lunch time? Have you ever been given a list of products to buy when you go to a medical clinic?

This building is still the location of Healing Galing but it now also houses the Stem Cell and Longevity Clinic.

To my utter shock and surprise neither this clinic nor Edinell Calvario is on the List of Accredited Medical Clinics and Registered Physicians. That is because, of course, Edinell Calvario is not a medical doctor and is not licensed to practice medicine in the Philippines. So why is she allowed to continue to present herself as one? Why does she have a TV show which reaches millions? Why is she being assisted by TV5 in disseminating her frauds, lies, and deceits?

Hopefully it is clear to you just from these two products, the EC27 Guava Soap and Healing Oil, that Edinell Calvario is being less than honest with her customers and the FDA.

At this point those who swear by alternative medicine and naturopathy might think I am against both and that government only wants regulated, evidence based western medicine to be practised in the Philippines. You would be wrong. There is actually a 1997 law which establishes The Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC). According to the Guiding Principles of this law:

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the State to improve the quality and delivery of health care services to the Filipino people through the development of traditional and alternative health care and its integration into the national health care delivery system.

It shall also be the policy of the State to seek a legally workable basis by which indigenous societies would own their knowledge of traditional medicine. 

Further in the law under Article IV we read:

Section 12. Traditional and Alternative Health Care Advocacy and Research Program. – The Institute shall promulgate a nationwide campaign to boost support for the realization of the objectives of this Act. It shall encourage the participation of non-government organizations in traditional and alternative health care and health-related projects. The Institute shall also formulate and implement a research program on the indigenous Philippine traditional health care practices performed by “traditional healers” using scientific research methodologies.

According to the COA:

The Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) was created under Republic Act (RA) 8423 otherwise known as the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) of 1997 authored by Senator Juan Flavier and approved on December 9, 1997. It became a turning point in the history of the Philippine Traditional Medicine that the herbal plants became a priority. Henceforth, the ten priority plants namely: Lagundi, Ulasimang Bato, Bayabas, Bawang, Yerba Buena, Sambong, Ampalaya, Niyug-niyogan, Tsaang-gubat and Akapulko are now being promoted. 

The PITAHC is a government owned and controlled corporation attached to the Department of Health (DOH). Its mission is to uphold the right of every Filipino for better health through the provision of safe, effective and affordable traditional and alternative health care products, services and technologies.

https://www.coa.gov.ph/phocadownloadpap/userupload/annual_audit_report/GOCCs/2016/Corporate-Government-Sector/Philippine-Institute-of-Traditional-and-Alternative-Health-Care/PITAHC_ES2016.pdf

Is Edinell Calvario in any way associated with the PITAHC? From the looks of it she is not. Her webpage does not mention them nor does an internet search turn up with both her name and PITAHC except for this programme for a conference on medical pluralism at Cavite State University. The PITAHC is utilising the practises of "traditional healers" in an effort to integrate them into the national health care system. The PITAHC is also, according to the COA, promoting or researching ten traditional healing plants.

Are any of those plants or derivatives of those plants listed on the Healing Galing product page? Is Edinell Calvario promoting the healing techniques of the Philippines' "traditional healers" which have been practiced and handed down for centuries? No. Edinell Calvario is selling people a soap she invented in 2002 and patented in 2006 as well as an oil of unknown provenance. Healing Galing is a marketing gimmick and is not in anyway associated with real bonafide traditional medicine as practiced in the Philippines or anywhere else for that matter.  The same kind of inutile herbal junk being peddled by Healing Galing is also being sold by Dynapharm and USANA. Here is a secret that Edinell Calvario and the rest do not want you to know: none of the products they sell are all natural or herbal. They are manufactured in factories and packaged in plastic bottles or plastic wrapping.

Furthermore the PITAHC is under the auspices of the DOH. Would the DOH partner or associate with Healing Galing and Edinell Calvario when her products are blacklisted by the FDA? Of course not. Therefore it is very likely Edinell Calvario and Healing Galing have nothing whatsoever to do with the PITAHC.

I want to end with some pictures of a packet I received when I visited my local Healing Galing dealer and bought the guava soap and the Healing Oil.

This packet contains health claims, therapeutic claims, for all of her products.

Drinking tawa-tawa tea is best for leukaemia. Best how? As a cure? That is the implication here and if anyone took this advice seriously and drank tawa-tawa tea instead of going in for medical treatment they would end up dead.

Rhizome pills will help reverse kidney failure. What a claim! What an outrageous and fraudulent claim. If this were true imagine how easy it would be to heal your kidneys and stop needing dialysis. But it's not true. It's a lie and Edinell Calvario is a liar for ever making it which is why she removed that claim from her website. But the claim is still being made in the literature her organisation hands out to customers. The USA's National Kidney Foundation says people with kidney failure should not take rhizome because it contains potassium and that is actually bad for people with kidney disease. 

This is the proper position to steam your vagina. Lying down with your legs up against the wall. Actually the lying down position is what you do after your vagina has been steamed and you insert a few drops of the Healing Oil. Is that safe? Putting Healing Oil in your vagina when it's supposed to be for topical use only?

Finally here is the stupidest advice of all. I laughed for a good while when I read it.

Drink warm shaken water because it breaks up the clustering of water molecules and keeps you hydrated longer.  It's hilarious that Edinell Calvario had to add a rationale for this practice because its so obviously dumb. Not just dumb but unscientific and absurd. Your body will absorb all the water you drink in the same way whether shaken, stirred, or still and no amount of shaking is going to uncluster the water molecules.

There is a lot more that could be said about Edinell Calvario and Healing Galing but this should suffice for now. If you are researching Edinell Calvario and Healing Galing products and have stumbled upon this article I hope this has been helpful. Do yourself a favour and do not listen to her health advice. And remember...Edinell Calvario is not and never has been a medical doctor, is not licensed to practice medicine in the Philippines, nor are Healing Galing or the Stem Cell and Longevity Clinic approved and registered medical clinics.