Top 10 Lies About the Philippines

I admit this is not an original post and was inspired by this video which is pretty stupid. It's got to be one of the most insulting top 10 videos about the Philippines I have seen. Take numbers 9 and 8 respectively, The Philippines is one land mass and They don't speak English. Does anyone really believe Filipinos do not speak English or that the Philippines is not an island nation? My goodness! There are in fact many lies and misconceptions about the Philippines and Filipinos and that video does not even begin to scratch the surface. Let me offer an alternative list of the top 10 lies about the Philippines.

Lie #10 The Philippines Smells Good

One might think that living on a tropical island is paradise and that there will always be a lovely sea breeze but unless you are in Boracay that is not the case. Elsewhere the air constantly stinks. The scent is a mixture of rotting trash, burning trash, and vehicle pollution. Mostly the air is breathable. Mostly.

I had to close my window while typing this because someone started using a smoky open pit to cook their breakfast. 

Lie #9 Filipinos Love Peace and Quiet

Wow. This one is just a huge NO-NO!  Filipinos love to party. They will in fact party until 5am and even longer using HUGE speakers to pump out that BOOM-BOOM-BOOM to the surrounding countryside. If you are unlucky enough to live near a Church then count out sleeping in on Sundays or any day for that matter as the bells will start clanging around 5am. Time to wake up and pray to the Virgin that they shut off all that noise, noise, noise!

Lie #8 Filipinos are Helpful

This might be a matter of perspective but when I am shopping I sure do not want a store clerk following me around like I am a thief. If I need your help I will ask for it. Leave me alone and let me shop!

Lie #7 Filipinos are Stupid

Now this is a nasty stereotype we have all heard before. It probably stems from the fact that the average Filipino IQ is 81.64. 

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-iq-by-country

It also probably comes from the fact that Filipinos continue to elect leaders who don't care about them at all and brazenly deny their family's destructive role between 1965 and 1986.

Lie #6 Filipinos Eat Cats

This is simply not true. Many Filipinos actually hate cats. In fact, I found my favorite cat tied up in a bag and tossed onto the side of the road. As I was running past on my morning route I heard her cries and saved her. I named her Baggie and she is only one of many kittens I have rescued from the garbage. 

Lie #5 The Philippines is the Most Beautiful Place in the World

This is not even close. Harpers Bazaar recently disclosed the top 50 most beautiful places in the world and the Philippines did not make the cut. 

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/travel-dining/g7171/most-beautiful-places-in-the-world/

Lie #4 Filipinos Live in Shanties or Huts

Nope. Not true. Not this time. It's false. While the poorest of the poor do live like animals in dangerous warrens of shanties and some used to live in the garbage heaps known as Smokey Mountain the fact is many Filipinos live in large houses made out of concrete and bricks. Just check out the barbed wire topped fence surrounding this house. In the rest of the world a man's house is his castle but in the Philippines a man's house is his own prison. 

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-typical-filipino-house.html

Lie #3 The Weather is always Nice in the Philippines

Are you kidding? Massive typhoons wreck this nation every year. The monsoon season always brings floods. It's a good thing Filipinos are smart enough to build cities and homes that mitigate these annual disasters or there would be a lot of destruction.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1641841/cebu-city-hit-by-worst-flood-since-typhoon-odette

Lie #2 The Philippines is Safe

Define safe. Simply because you can go to the mall or Jollibee with no hassle does not mean this nation is safe. Filipinos are regularly gunned down or stabbed or hacked to death because the perpetrator was drunk or getting revenge or just wanted to rob him. The PNP are known to actually extort their fellow countrymen, beat to death their own comrades, and kidnap and murder foreigners. The Philippines is not safe at all especially if you are politician. Every single politician in this nation has a target on his back and he knows it.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1641155/21-policemen-face-criminal-administrative-charges-over-death-of-fellow-cop-in-masbate

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/457347/scholar-16-robbed-killed-in-cebu-city-on-his-fathers-birthday

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1177521

Lie #1 The Philippines Exists

This is definitely the biggest lie of them all. Does the Philippines exist? Well, yes it is a political designation on the map and it has a seat in the UN. But the fact is the Philippines is the figment of the world's collective imagination. It is 7,000 unique islands and hundreds of distinct people groups forcibly united by first the Spanish and second the Americans. To this day the Muslims in Mindanao do not want to be Filipinos. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/996061/house-oks-bbl-bill-but-senate-introduces-contentious-changes

Drilon successfully moved for the inclusion of a provision reiterating “that the Bangsamoro people are citizens of the Republic of the Philippines.” Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, the bill sponsor, said this was opposed by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.

The fact is the Philippines is a collection of various people groups who, against their will, have been forged into one political entity but otherwise maintain their distinct cultures be it Visayan, Cebuano, Illocano, Tagalog, or Igorot. The Philippines only exists as a political fiction. 

Still More Coronavirus Signs and Situations

The pandemic is not going away. It's here to stay for good. That's what the government has told us. Along with the pandemic comes ridiculous and questionable safety measures set in place by moral busybodies.

For some reason everyone is under the impression that alcohol will kill the virus. Every time I enter a store a security guard spritzes my hands with an annoying mist which I invariably wipe off on my shorts. Apparently some people have been dousing an ATM with alcohol before they use it.

A REMINDER TO OUR VALUED CLIENTS

Pouring of alcohol or any liquid directly on the ATM is strictly prohibited.

We assure you that this ATM is already disinfected.

Thank you for your kind consideration.

They must have seen customers doing this through the camera on the machine. The government is fully to blame as they have set forth all these protocols about keeping safe and washing with alcohol is high on the list.

Here is something that is most definitely NOT safe.

What's going on here is that these security guards are blocking the only entrance and exit to the building in order to take people's temperatures. The other door is STILL pad-locked! This whole exercise is pointless because in order to enter the stores upstairs and downstairs you STILL have to be scanned and sprayed with alcohol. They have created a major fire hazard and an annoying headache as now there is an unnecessary logjam.

Eventering stores has become a little tricky these days. Most of the have log book and a lot of rules to follow.  One store says you must scan a QR code to enter.

In order to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, you are required to scan the QR code below before entering this premises. 

Two things. One is, what about those who don't have the internet? I don't and was not able to log in when I scanned it.

Second of all it's just not true. You do not have to scan that code to enter the store because to enter the premises in the first place you already have to be scanned in since this is a store inside a store. An employee even told me to just go in and that I did not have to scan it. So what's the point? Believe me when I tell you that the narrow aisles in this store make social distancing impossible.

Another barricade to entering stores is the number of people allowed at any time. It varies from store to store.

What is the scientific basis for these restrictions? All 4 of these boutiques are the same size. It's just arbitrary nonsense.

Here is a sign I came across which is pretty weird.  This is for a bank, mind you.

Reminder on 

wearing of Personal 

Protective Equipment (PPE)  

already EXPOSED to HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS 

OR HEALTH RISKS

PLEASE REMOVE HAZMAT SUITS

and BOUFANT CAPS

BEFORE ENTERING THE BRANCH

Are they serious? Are there hospital workers walking around wearing PPE outside of their jobs? How ridiculous a notion! By the way who is to say that my face shield and face mask have not been exposed to the virus?

Some of these COVID-19 precautions are real head scratchers. I think this situation at the supermarket is the most puzzling I have seen yet.

This is the meat counter at a local supermarket. A barrier has been set up which means now you have to lean over and shout what you want and then hold out your basket so they can give it to you. Above the fish and pork is this sign:

CUSTOMER SAFETY FIRST

Due to  the increased alert of the COVID-19 virus, we would like to request for our customers to refrain from touching or sniffing our fresh and poultry products to prohibit the spread of the virus.

Thank you for your understanding.

Aside from the bad grammar I have to ask, "Who is sniffing the meat!?" I have never done this and I have never seen anyone else do it. What is the science behind this anyway? It's just more annoyance as you literally have to stand behind a barrier and shout your order as loud music blasts over the speakers. That fact that everyone's mouth is covered with a face mask which obscures your speech only increases the frustration.

Oddly enough the fruit and vegetable section is not roped off and that is the one section where everyone is touching and sniffing the product to find the best ones. I am pretty sure this is the only store with this restriction. Here is SM's meat section.

Is this lady at risk for spreading COVID-19 because she's selecting her own chicken? It's preposterous. The whole idea of roping off the meat section to prevent the spread of COVID-19 boils down to busywork. Someone was forced to come up with an idea to make them seem useful.

Do you know the symptoms of COVID-19?  Well here they are:

Sore throat, Headache, Shortness of Breath, Fever, Cough, Diarrhea, Sneezing, Fatigue/Weakness

Wait a minute. Diarrhea, a gastrointestinal disruption, is a sign of having the respiratory illness COVID-19? It turns out...maybe. As with all things COVID-19 (masks, face shields, etc) the science is far from settled. The scary fact is that most who contract this virus, which has an over 90% survival rate unless you have existing co-morbibdites such as diabetes and obesity and heart trouble, will show no symptoms.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53320155

Diarrhea does happen to be a symptom but a very uncommon one according to the WHO. Strangely enough it is the first sign to show in some patients. The most common symptoms according to the WHO are:

Fever, Dry Cough, and Fatigue.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19#:~:text=symptoms

Headache, Chill, and Sore Throat are, like diarrhea, on the list of least common symptoms. Shortness of breath is on the list of symptoms of severe COVID-19. Sneezing is nowhere on the WHO's list of COVID-19 symptoms. 

What are we to really make of this list except that is more propaganda and scare tactics from the DOH especially in light of the fact that most carriers of the virus have no symptoms?

Well that's it for now. I am sure as the days go on more silly signs and situations will emerge and I hope to report on them.

SM's Jungle Safari in the Mall is Actually Bizarre COVID-19 Propaganda

What will they think of next to get people used to the idea of wearing face masks and face shields while out and about in public? SM recently erected a display of jungle safari animals that doubles as COVID-19 propaganda.

Take a look at Mr. Baboon here.

The sign is a bit obscured by the light but it reads: 

Mr. Baboon washes his hands regularly for 20 seconds to keep the virus away.

Where does he get the anti-viral soap? Does he wash his hands every time he scratches his big red baboon butt?

 If Mr. Baboon doesn't want to catch the virus then why doesn't he stay home like Mrs. Monitor Lizard?

Mommy lizard is staying at home to watch her kids. Mom cooks delicious meals to make sure we don't go out.

I like the seamless shift from third person to first person. Monitor lizards eat bugs among other things and wouldn't you know it but the same people pushing the COVID-19 face masks scare are the same people who want everyone to eat bugs and much less red meat all in the name of going green and saving the environment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/t-magazine/eating-bugs-food-restaurant.html

You know who does not eat and never will eat bugs? A lioness.

I make sure I wear a mask when I need to get food.

Have you seen anything more stupid in your life? This is bad propaganda. Why would a lioness, who needs her large teeth to catch her food, wear a mask when she needs to get food? She wouldn't!! She and her cubs would starve.

Let's not forget social distancing propaganda. That task is left to the meerkat, one of the most social animals on the whole savanna. Talk about irony!

We make sure we keep a 1 meter distance between each other.

A 1 meter distance? How will the meerkats do that in the crowded burrows in which they live? They won't. 

There are no other signs for the remaining animals. For instance we do not get to see the innermost thoughts of this elephant who has a face mask on his trunk.

Seeing as how elephants use their trunks to drink water maybe he is thinking:

Please help! With this face mask on my trunk I can't drink. I am going to die!

This zebra might be thinking the same thing.

Imagine being a wild zebra and going to the local watering hole with mask covering your snout and mouth so you cannot drink and you cannot smell any danger on the wind. You would be dead. All of these animals would be dead if they were wearing face masks. 

Believe it or not there is one animal, besides the monitor lizard, which is not wearing a face mask. The monitor lizard is secluding herself at home so that is understandable. However this giraffe is without excuse!

Does Mr. Giraffe think being so tall precludes him from any chance at getting the virus? Actually none of these animals are at risk because the climate they live in is not favorable to the virus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54418613

That's part of an article about why Africa has not been as hard hit by COVID-19 as everywhere else. If these animals could read I would direct them to https://cv19.fr/eng/english/ to learn more about the ineffectiveness of face masks at stopping the virus.

Now perhaps this jungle display is just harmless fun meant to get the message out all in the name of safety and perhaps not. What is certain is that this pandemic is being used as a means to further the economic and political agendas of those who run things.

https://time.com/collection/great-reset/

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to think about the kind of future we want. TIME partnered with the World Economic Forum to ask leading thinkers to share ideas for how to transform the way we live and work. 

"The future we want?" Who is this "we?" Do you attend annual Bilderberg meetings or prance about in the woods at Bohemian Grove every summer? I know I sure don't. 

Don't think the Philippines is out of the purview of the World Economic Forum. It is not.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/archive/philippines/

If you want to know more about the Great Reset and the Fourth Industrial Revolution and what may be coming in the future then I direct your attention to the following video. 

Coronavirus Signs

You cannot go anywhere without seeing signs telling you to do this and that all in the name of protecting you from COVID-19. They are all pretty much the same but a few stand out. Let's take a look at some coronavirus signs.

These first two signs come from a house which was under quarantine.

What is the story here? I don't know! I heard the guy was a seafarer just back from abroad and was under a mandatory 2 week quarantine. But what about the second sign and fake news? Were people spreading rumors about him?  Perhaps.

Here's another warning sign on the entrance to a gated community.

I asked the guard if someone inside was infected and he said no. I guess it's just an unnecessary scare tactic.

These next signs comes from the post office.

There are signs like this all over the post office. It's overkill. Why so many signs inside and outside the building? You cannot get in the post office without wearing all these accoutrements so there really is no need for all the signs.

The same overkill is happening inside the mall. Let's go shopping at SM and take a look. To get into SM you must wear a face mask and a face shield.

You absolutely cannot be in the mall without wearing a mask and a face shield. Despite this fact practically every store has a sign indicating NO MASK, NO ENTRY. Funny they don't mention face shields too.  Many store also require you to log in.

This is all in the name of contact tracing of course. I do sign in but my hand writing is bad and so is the handwriting of others.

There are more pictures of the mall I could show but let's skip across town to the public market. Outside the entrance of the public market is a hand washing station. Next to the washing station is the following large sign.

This is totally unnecessary epal. It's just another shameless way for this guy to get his name out there. Believe me his name is on all kinds of stuff around town.

Perhaps the one thing that I don't think about during this silly crisis is the age limits of who can and cannot leave their houses.

This sign really drives the point home how stupid and arbitrary this policy is. No one was carding customers as they entered the store.

Speaking of arbitrary, not even gas stations are exempt from posting silly coronavirus signs.

So let me get this straight. If you are not sitting in your car wearing a face mask and a face shield then  they won't fill your tank? Of course not! I was able to get gas no problem without wearing all that. Why have the sign if it's not going to be enforced?

Let's end with a trip to the vet. The guy who was waiting outside and weighs the dogs said I needed a different mask to enter the clinic.  He pointed to the sign on the door.

I did not remove the cartoon character mask I was wearing, Instead I covered it with a blue mask like in the first picture which thankfully I had one in the car. Still just as ineffective at stopping any virus. Inside the clinic was a funny graphic about social distancing.

Keep four cats apart.  That is a rule of cat to keep in mind!