Monday, May 11, 2020

The God Culture: Youtube Mix and Other Ignorance

The God Culture is incredibly stupid. Whoever is running that show is just plain dumb as a bag of rocks.  We know that from their false history about the Philippines and their fake deep research which amounts to quoting Wikipedia and various blogs. But their ignorance shines through in other places as well like in the comment section of their Youtube channel.




See over in the right hand column there is a section titled "Mix - The God Culture?"



The God Culture is so stupid that they think the mix is another channel that has stolen their videos! They have even put a notice in their comments to beware of it.


AND BEWARE... BEWARE... "MIX - THE GOD CULTURE " CHANNEL BEWARE.. BEWARE... THIS NOT OUR CHANNEL!!
Beware....BEWARE!!!  You have to laugh at that quadruple beware as if the mix is so scary you should avoid it like the plague. 

So what is this mix? Is it another channel?  No! It's an auto-generated playlist of The God Culture's own videos created by Youtube based on the videos you have watched. 

A YouTube Mix is a nonstop playlist tailored to you.
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9011078?hl=en 

https://thenextweb.com/google/2013/04/22/youtube-experimenting-on-new-video-discovery-feature-called-youtube-mix/
YouTube is experimenting with a new feature designed to help users better discover videos and channels on its site. Called “YouTube Mix”, it’s an auto-generated playlist that will display suggested videos based on what you’re reading. 
While the video service already has suggested videos displayed in the right-hand sidebar of each page, YouTube Mix offers users the ability to watch 50 videos continuously that it thinks they’ll be interested in. No additional work needed to click through each video one by one to watch it.
That article is from 2013 so the Youtube Mix is no longer an experiment. It is a part of the Youtube algorithm. Mix - The God Culture IS their channel! It's hilarious how oblivious The God Culture is to this feature so much so that they issue a quadruple warning to beware of their own channel.

It's just another reason to laugh at this ridiculous group. Listen to their videos and you will hear such paranoia thinking that Youtube is censoring them because some subscribers do not receive notifications about new uploads. 
Let's remember the paradigm in which we live as this platform supports and props up agitation and it suppresses the truth. Don't believe me? Then why do our over 80,000 subscribers, when we release a video, many of them never receive a notification? We know this because we are subscribers in at least five email boxes and they're not being notified. Simple as that. Especially during this time of lockdown? Why? Because they have tightened the rules and they just plain stop it before it goes out. But no matter we're not going to stop and they will not stop us.
They are certainly not alone with this problem and it probably has more to do with The God Culture's settings than Google attempting to censor them. Frankly Tim is neither brave enough nor smart enough to produce videos that those in power would want to suppress. Timothy Jay Schwab is no Alex Linder, Kevin MacDonald, Andrew Anglinor Alex Jones and The God Culture is not 8chan. Each of those men, as well as 8chan, have been censored across the internet in some form or other. The God Culture literally teaches nothing but lies and this only furthers the agenda of the NWO who want to keep everyone dumbed down and in the dark. People who spout lies are fine with them. Nobody is out to get them because they don't pose a threat to those in power. It just goes to show how much of a martyr complex Timothy Jay Schwab and The God Culture have.

This martyr complex is fundamental to the nature of schismatic groups like The God Culture, the Mormons, JWs, the Protestant Reformed Church, and the like. These small groups always pit themselves against the world. In a time of ignorance their group has been given the light of revelation and now stands all alone on the side of truth while the rest of the world has been hoodwinked by Satan. They are the remnant. They are the true Church.
The world will hate you and I if you are serving Him. He said so. If the world does not hate you may want to do some soul searching. Are you really serving Him?
https://youtu.be/EscrM4o-h4M?t=1446
The martyr complex is important to The God Culture and explains why so many Filipinos eat up their fake history. Filipinos have been colonized by two nations. Their early history has practically vanished. Their resources have been exploited. A foreign culture has been imposed upon them. They have no identity except the one foisted upon them. Some of the more savvy types, like Pedro Paterno, have balked at this declaring that Filipinos were once a proud maritime nation which even provided gold for Solomon's temple. A false yet uplifting and intricate spiritual history is concocted. These martyrs just have to wait and bide their time because one day they will Rise Up as God vindicates them. That is literally the message Timothy Jay Schwab and The God Culture are bringing to the Philippines.

Meanwhile the Philippines remains one of the most corrupt nations on the entire planet and anyone with any sense wants to be an OFW and escape these islands.

Here's another thing that The God Culture is completely ignorant about: accessing information about who owns a website.
No Tim's personal email is not available publicly until you published it you libelous fraud but you have done far worse than that and you will pay for that soon.
http://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-god-culture-book-of-jubilees.html?showComment=1588850866236#c3760581697376837706
All information pertaining to who owns a website including name, phone number, email, and address, are very public.

Website information for thegodculture.com

It's not secret at all.  This information did not come from the deep web and it does not require payment to access. It is plain for all to see and it is all free. Here is info for another website.

Website information for godculture.com

That The God Culture does not know how to access this information goes to show how inept they really are at researching anything. Tim defends this ineptness in his videos.

https://youtu.be/EscrM4o-h4M
16:55 -  This has not changed friends.  We deal with it the same today. We locate the ancient land of gold for instance. Ophir, Sheba, Tarshish, The Garden of Eden for that matter, ancient Havilah where Adam and Eve lived and most react as the crowd reacted because they are authentic and  genuine. They recognize the meaning.  
However a Pharisee looks at that and scoffs. "Heh! Well you could have used a better source. Why is your font so small on that screen? That one quote doesn't say that!" Though it always does say exactly what we represent by the way because it always vets, every single challenge has. "That map that shows those islands southeast of China's not really showing southeast of China. That's, well, India." Huh? No it's southeast of China. That's what the maps shows, duh. "And that map, and that map, and those directions, and those directions, and aww that font should be larger and yaw you should have quoted that differently, and..." 
I mean that's the kind of stuff that you get for going out, stepping out on a limb, and doing the research and telling people what is truth. And we prove it.  Those same people don't even bother to actually review the whole case. No. No, no. They'll watch one brief video or a few brief videos and then go and just ramble on and on and on.  And they are absolutely ignorant.  They don't even know what we prove, what we don't prove but all along they'll say "Ah see you didn't prove that." Well how will you know what we prove? You didn't even review the case. But it doesn't matter because it's not their point. They throw it all out in ignorance, haven't even reviewed the case yet they know because they know what we're going to prove because they have what basis? Absolutely none.  
"You used a font too small! Throw it out!"  Really? "You quoted a secondary source citing the original" oh which happens to be true and in representation actually match the original? Duh! I mean could you be more ridiculous? Yet we get all of this.
Bless Tim's heart.  He comes to my blog and leaves all kinds of nasty, ridiculous comments saying he is done with me and I don't deserve a response. Then he responds to me for three minutes in his video.

The gist of much of my criticism against the God Culture is that, contrary to what they claim, they have not done deep research. They literally quote from Wikipedia and other blogs using them as primary sources. The fact that they do this and don't bother to seek out primary sources proves that they are not researchers. They are quote miners. In some cases they have not even read the sources they cite such as the three they listed allegedly proving that Philippine gold jewelry was found in 1st century Egypt. If The God Culture was doing any real research they would have ordered those sources and quoted from them as I did.

They aren't doing any field work either. They are literally doing all their "research" on the internet.  They haven't gone exploring in Greece, Israel, or the Philippines to prove that the Greeks sailed here for gold. They claim that the Philippines is Ophir but offer no physical proof only circumstantial evidence based on their faulty reading of ancient maps. They claim The Garden of Eden is in the Philippines but no pictures of either it or its lone inhabitant Enoch have surfaced. They claim to have traced the journey of the lost tribes but they only do this virtually and not by actually trekking across Israel through Kurdistan and down to the Philippines showing us all the archeological proofs along the way. In short their claim to doing "deep research including history, geography, archeology, science, language, etc." is a total sham. They altered their website removing the word "deep" and replacing it with the word "discerning" but that doesn't change a thing. A discerning researcher would know that the Greeks never came to the Philippines and that the Aurea Chersonese is the Malay Peninsula and represents the limit of the Greek's geographical knowledge of the Far East.

"You quoted a secondary source citing the original." I am guessing Tim is mocking me in this instance for criticizing his use of a middle school teacher's class outline as his source for Dionysius Perigetes.


https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED460920.pdf

He made an hour long video talking as if he were familiar with Dionysius when he had not read him at all. What a total fraud. If Tim was doing deep research as he claims he would have sought out the original source. I found an English translation of Dionysius with a few clicks of the mouse. Why couldn't he?  The fact that he did not belies any claim to doing deep research. A closer look at this source shows he most certainly took it from J.G. Cheock's research which again just shows Tim is copy/pasting from others and not engaging in anything original.

The issue about font size is very important. Tim tells his listeners to check and see if what he is saying is true. How is anyone supposed to do that when the sources are listed in an unreadable font? That is not nit picking. If he really wanted people to check up on him he would be more forthright about his sources. That he thinks the issue of font size is ridiculous shows his utter disdain for his audience. He does not really want people to check up on him. As far as I know I am the only person who has actually taken up his challenge to test him and when I find fraud after fraud and report this he has nothing to counter with except name calling and deception as he altered three videos and even his own website!

Now Tim has even sunk to issuing veiled threats of violence against me because he did not like when I, quoting the words of Jesus Christ, called his marriage to his second wife (Tim is her third husband) adultery. He makes the false claim that I suggested he divorce her and says:
How dare he. He better hope I am able to follow the commandments if I ever meet him, that's for sure.
https://youtu.be/giLKvIPU118?t=2197
I never made such a suggestion at all nor was it to be implied. I only pointed out the hypocrisy of an active adulterer going around telling people they need to keep the law to be engrafted into Christ. True, we are all sinners but we are not all currently in an active state of adultery. How he gets out of that situation is up to him. I offered no advice nor do I offer any now.

That Tim takes the time to mock and threaten me publicly in his videos is flattering. He feels the sting of my criticism which is why he altered his videos and website. He knows I am right. It's also troubling because it shows that Tim does not take what he is doing very seriously. A serious researcher would not make the choices he does. They would not use Wikipedia as a source and they would most certainly be doing field work and not just Googling all day. The book that Tim is writing, will it be based entirely on Googling or will actual field work be included?

Tim has said previously that his Youtube videos are not scientific journals so I ought not to expect the same standards.
For instance this video deals with tons of history asnd was one of our first in our publishing on YouTube of our journey of research. The sources are not cited like a scientific journal and at that point, we didn't even know many would even watch. We did so in representing history accurately. This fraud only misrepresents.
http://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-god-culture-review-of-solomons-gold.html?showComment=1585353928872#c2685914059189261084 
Of course a YouTube channel is not a scientific journal but he applies such standard and yet, still fails.
http://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/03/god-culture-does-timothy-schwab-have.html?showComment=1584433157621#c7860336094334233399
Indeed the shoddy research in these videos would never be allowed in any reputable scientific journal. But I never once said anything about scientific journals. I only asked for clarity and honesty in using sources. Citing a source you have never read, like Farrisol or Dinoysius Perigetes, is dishonest.  It's amazing how Tim denigrates his own videos in order to excuse his sloppy, shallow, so-called "research."

I admit that he is right that I have not watched all of his videos. I did not do that at the first and I still have not done it though I have watched many of them at this point. But all? No. There really is no need. The older you get and the more steeped in scripture you are the quicker it becomes to sniff out heresy. From the beginning I knew Tim and The God Culture weren't right. Their motto, "Challenge Tradition," says it all! Their video titles scream heresy. Take the Name of God series which is obviously Sacred Namer nonsense.

The Name of God - Part 1: How To Pronounce YHWH May Surprise You



A little digging reveals that Tim was involved in the Sacred Name movement.
A perfect example is the Sacred Name Movement which we actually learned the accurate name of God but the movement just didn't stay the course as it really should lead to restoring the entire Bible and they did create a Bible but it's still based on Modern Translations just inserting names which is cool but doesn't really do much in restoring the translation which is so badly needed.
The Name of God Series 6: ORIGIN OF THE WORD JEW. NOT THE BIBLE
As I wrote before one need not scientifically investigate a turd to know it's a turd. Likewise one need not listen to all a group has to say to know whether or not they are heretics. Actually watching their videos and diving into their doctrine has confirmed my initial suspicions. At heart Tim is nothing more than an anti-trinitarian heretic. He finally belched out his blasphemy for all to smell in one of his new Sabbath Series videos.
Then espousing some doctrine of men like Trinity which is a word that never even appears in scripture once. That's why you don't see any videos from us on that. We could care less about the doctrines of men. 
https://youtu.be/EscrM4o-h4M?t=3644
While Tim does teach that the Father and the Son are both God his teaching about their relationship and equity is not exactly clear. Sometimes he sounds like a modalist and sometimes he does not. His teaching about the Holy Spirit is also lacking. From all accounts it seems as if he denies the personality of the Spirit and considers Him to be an impersonal active force of the Father. Or perhaps a force shared by the Father and the Son.

Tim does not teach what the scriptures teach and he rejects the ekklesia, the visible Body of Christ, which Jesus said He would build and the gates of hell would never overcome. Tim actually says the opposite of Christ and teaches that Satan wiped out and took over the church.
The synagogue of satan was installed and their doctrines as what we call the early church today but the true early church was wiped out. 
New Sabbath Series Trailer
He promulgates novel doctrines, such as Enoch living for the past 4000 years in the Philippines which he claims is the Garden of Eden, based on the apocryphal Book of Jubilees. His history of the Philippines and the ancient world is untruthful and ill-informed. But to hear him talk about Church history is a whole other level of ignorance.
So get this, the Pharisee church, the false church, replaced His church in the days of Constantine especially was the complete takeover. And this is what we are told is the early church and that is false. Church history does not start in 300 AD. That is stupid. No one can say such a thing yet they do. They certainly do.
https://youtu.be/zCwDTRzkYqo?t=1344
What is Tim talking about? Why does he hate the Nicene Council so much? Next thing you know he will tell his listeners that Arius was unjustly condemned for speaking the truth and that Athanasius was the real heretic.

Who says Church history starts at 300 AD?  Nobody says that, Tim! Here are 10 volumes of church doctrine and history from before the Nicene Council. That is from about 70 AD - 315 AD.


If Tim bothered to read actual church history and doctrine he would find that the church NEVER placed importance in celebrating the sabbath like Jews. They celebrated the Lord's Day.


That is from the letter of Ignatius to the Magnesians which is in volume 1 of the series above. Ignatius was a disciple of John the Apostle! A much earlier reference is from the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles also known as the Didache. This can be found in volume 7 of the same series.


In his new sabbath series videos Tim makes the outlandish claim again and again that the church has neglected the 4th commandment. That is a lie! True the church does not celebrate the sabbath like Jews. Instead they celebrate the Lord's day, the first day of the week, the same day Christ rose from the dead. But Tim does not know any of that because he has not read church history or any of the fathers. He can't even be bothered to look and see what the modern day Catholic Catechism has to say about the matter of the sabbath.

In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. 
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a3.htm
A complete misrepresentation by Tim. Not only does he not know what the church teaches but he also does not know who are the church's teachers.
Take someone like Origen whom they call an early church father. But look into what he writes, what he says. He was a gnostic in thinking if you look at over all what he espouses. And he is even pictured, in fact, with a demon at his feet which is really odd. Don't know what that is all about. But it sure does seem like he was not a disciple.  
https://youtu.be/zCwDTRzkYqo?t=1395
Nobody calls Origen an early church father except for ignorant people like Timothy Jay Schwab. If Tim knew what the church councils teach he would know that the fifth ecumenical council condemned Origen and anathematized his teachings.  Here is the condemnation in the 11th canon:

Note that canon ten anathematizes Timothy because he denies that Jesus Christ is one of the Holy Trinity

And here are the 15 anathemas against Origen's teachings.

https://silouanthompson.net/2019/09/anathemas-against-origen/

One has to wonder, "Does God hate the Philippines?" The nation remains poor and backwards, powerful typhoons strike the nation every year killing many, crime is rampant, the government is corrupt, there has been a 50 year war against the communists, and now Timothy Jay Schwab has been sent to deceive the people with a strong delusion that the Philippines is the Garden of Eden, Ophir, Sheba, Seba, Tarshish, and Filipinos are members of the lost tribes of Israel. Not only that but Tim teaches that law is grace, the new covenant is the law and not the blood of Christ, and that to be grafted into Christ one must keep the law. He rejects the Godhead and the Gospel entirely and now spends his time in the Philippines spreading his anti-christian lies and nonsense deceiving and poisoning thousands of unsuspecting souls with videos and conferences.

What have Filipinos done to deserve a man like Timothy Jay Schwab and The God Culture?

Friday, May 8, 2020

Retards in the Government 153

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


https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/306704/former-policeman-caught-with-shabu-in-lapu-lapu
A former policeman was caught in possession of illegal drugs and paraphernalia at past 3:00 p.m. today April 30, 2020 at the vicinity of a hotel in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City. 
The suspect was identified as former PO1 Nick Arthur Rebecca, 34, a native of Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte but presently residing at Barangay Bali-Bali, Compostela town in northern Cebu. 
The suspect was found out to be a dismissed Police Non- Commisioned Officer (PNCO), said Police Lieutenant Colonel Mark Gifter Sucalit, Chief of City Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office. 
Sucalit said that Rebecca was assigned at the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) when he went absent without official leave (AWOL) and was dismissed from service last year.
PNP Officer gone AWOL turns up later as being involved with drugs!

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/736363/barangay-captain-hits-woman-after-scuffle-over-social-amelioration-list/story/
A woman was injured after a barangay captain hit her with a gun after her live-in partner confronted the official over the listing of beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in Northern Samar. 
The footage of the brawl between barangay captain Lito Orio and Michael Macallan was taken at Barangay Binay in Palapag, according to Ian Cruz's report on "24 Oras". 
Their scuffle, which allegedly started over the list of beneficiaries of the social amelioration, was stopped by barangay residents. 
However, their fight resumed when Orio went to Macallan's house carrying a gun, while the captain's companion brought an axe.
A barangay captain and a man fight over the SAP list and money. The fight is stopped and then the barangay captain and his pal storm over to the man's house brandishing a gun and an axe where the man's live-in-partner is hit in the mouth with the barangay captain's gun.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/05/01/2010968/cop-relieved-hitting-boy-13
Meanwhile, a police officer has been relieved from his post for allegedly hitting a 13-year-old boy with a stick for violating quarantine rules in Quezon City. 
Cpl. Albert Aquino of the police community precinct 1 was put on floating status at the Batasan police station. 
Aquino was caught on video arguing with the boy’s mother while holding an arnis stick.
Seems pretty cut and dry. A cop hits a 13 year old boy with a stick and is relieved from his post. PNP says they are investigating.





https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/30/son-of-mnlf-cotabato-chair-slain-6-others-hurt-in-ambush/
Gunmen shot dead the son of the chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and wounded six others in a daring attack at Purok Tagumpay-Dos, Barangay Kilada in Matalam, North Cotabato , a police official said on Thursday. 
Police Captain Junrel Amutan, chief of the Matalam municipal police station, identified the slain victim as Norodin Sulayman Ali Ambil, who was also a councilor of Barangay Kilada, Matalam. 
Others wounded in the attack were identified as Romeo Datu Ali Ambil, 54, kagawad of Barangay Kilada; Robert Datu Ali Ambil, 25; Alipin Onotin Ambil, 25; Datu Mauro Ambil Matalam, 15; and Hamarodin Datu Ali Indao, 17, all residents of Barangay Kilada. 
Reports from the police intelligence unit said Ambil was also the deputy chair of the MNLF Sebangan Kutawato State Revolutionary Committee (SKSRC). His father, Datu Dima Ambil, is chair of the MNLF-SKSRC based in Barangay Kilada, Matalam. 
The chief of police said Ambil was driving his Isuzu D’Max pickup truck on their way to his village when the suspects, armed with high-powered guns, pumped bullets into his head. He died instantly. One of the bullets allegedly hit De Leon who was seated next to the kagawad. 
Amutan said they have yet to find out if Ambil’s attack could be part of a ‘rido’ or clan war with another Moro family due to a long standing land feud. 
A year ago, reports said the rido between the Ambil clan and another Moro family led by a certain Naig Naga and Michael Imbong — both members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was already settled by leaders in the community. 
The latest attack against the Ambil clan caused the displacement of at least 174 families from three puroks of Barangay Kilada.
Two MNLF men who happen to also work for the barangay as a councilor and kagawad were gunned down in what could be a rido or clan feud.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1264197/dswd-probes-social-amelioration-aid-anomaly-in-isabela-town
Some villagers here complained that they received half of their P5,500 allocations because barangay officials decided to divide the money so it could be shared with other residents who were not in DSWD’s list of beneficiaries. 
“The omnibus guidelines are clear. The assistance should be for identified and qualified beneficiaries. The P5,500 should be given in full to the qualified beneficiary, not shared with others. If there is deviation [to the rules] like the money was given to unqualified beneficiaries, the local government may face criminal, civil, or administrative charges,” said Chester Trinidad, regional information officer of the DSWD Cagayan Valley office.
In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV, DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño said around 2,000 complaints were submitted to them. 
Diño said he also received a complaint that some beneficiaries were allegedly charged P2,000 for processing fee for the cash aid. “Meron naman, processing fee, P2,000.” 
Aside from this, some complaints were of residents who just recently moved residences and were not included in the list of beneficiaries, which was based on the census in 2015. 
According to him, the department is already resolving these issues to ensure that qualified beneficiaries will receive the subsidy.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268870/bulacan-village-councilor-nabbed-for-anomalous-sap-distribution
Police arrested a barangay (village) councilor in Hagonoy town for graft allegations after he has been reportedly collecting more than half of the P6,500 cash aid under the government’s special amelioration program (SAP). 
Col. Roginald Francisco, Hagonoy police chief, said they arrested Danilo Flores, 66, of Barangay San Agustin on Saturday night on the order of President Rodrigo Duterte. 
Flores was caught on video while telling SAP cash aid recipients that they would only get P3,000 of the cash aid and that the remaining P3,500 would be given to the town mayor for distribution to non-SAP beneficiaries.
Lots of trouble in doling out the SAP money. Some officials are even using it to enrich themselves it seems. Who didn't see that coming?

In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, San Juan City Police chief Col. Jaime Santos said Estrada was invited to the police station to explain. 
“(Former) senator Jinggoy Estrada was invited to our station and we let him explain the manner he distributed the bangus (milkfish) to the people in San Juan,” Santos said. 
“We noticed the violations on social distancing and there is no necessary permit from the mayor. Wala siyang mayor’s permit to do it,” he added.  (He did not have a mayor’s permit to do it). 
Santos said Estrada was later let off with a warning and was told that if he wants to continue with his food distribution activities, he should first get a permit from the city government and ensure that social distancing measures are strictly observed. 
Santos said the former senator was also “given this stern warning not to do it again because we will again be forced to effect his arrest.” 
In a separate interview, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said Estrada has been conducting unauthorized food distribution operations in different barangays of the city.
Distributing food without a permit from the mayor.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/736450/gov-t-leans-on-domestic-travel-for-tourism-sector-recovery/story/
In a televised briefing on Friday, Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said short distance travels, especially with family members, may take place once the lockdown measures are lifted by the government. 
"We believe that, for the rest of the year, what will really trigger the activities would be itong domestic tourism movement.”
The Philippines is so dependent on tourism. What is this "domestic tourism movement?" The lockdowns have left people unemployed with diminishing cash reserves. How is anyone going vacation? Not to mention these new GCQ measures will not be lifted anytime soon which will severely restrict movement of people and goods.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101776
Several officials of Barangay Dulag here have been arrested after the police caught them in the middle of drinking liquor while inside the barangay hall amid the extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the province. 
A police report issued on Monday said the Lingayen policemen received a tip from a concerned citizen on Sunday about an alleged drinking session of the barangay chairperson and his officials as gunshots were heard in the area, prompting the authorities to respond.

Barangay Chair Benjie Mararac, and incumbent barangay councilors (kagawad) Jerwin Canilang, Arthur Rosario, and Edzel Mararac, along with barangay security enforcers Jaime Ferrer and Ruben Mangiralas, together with a private citizen Harold Calingasin, were caught in the act having a drinking session.

It was also found out that Mararac was responsible for the indiscriminate firing using a .40-caliber pistol he owns, the report added.

Despite the gun having a license and permit to carry, it was confiscated by the police together with the six bottles of gin; five of which were already empty.
A Barangay Chairman and his councilors were caught having a private drinking party inside the barangay hall. They emptied five bottles of gin and one of them fired of his .40-caliber pistol just for kicks.

“Lumobo nung distribution natin ng social amelioration program, ang dami ngayon (The number of complaints ballooned during the  SAP cash assistance distribution),” he added. 
(The problem with distribution is social distancing. Social distancing will repel COVID-19.)
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1267185/dilg-issues-show-cause-orders-vs-5-mayors-100-barangay-captains-for-ecq-violations
“Sa mayors, may 5 mayors, tapos sa barangay captains umaabot na mga 100. Mostly, ay dito sa Metro Manila,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in an interview on dzBB on Thursday when asked about updates on SCOs filed against local officials.
Looks like even LGU officials are having trouble keeping their distance. It's a new crime to clog the jails and courts.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1270674/46-village-execs-in-manila-asked-to-respond-to-irregularities-in-covid-19-relief-efforts
The Manila City government said that it had received complaints that some barangay officials allegedly required residents to sign acknowledgment receipts for P1,000 cash aid under the Manila City Amelioration Crisis Assistance Fund but did not release any cash aid to the beneficiaries. 
The government added that some senior citizens also complained that they did not also receive the milk food supplement assistance from the city government. 
Some barangay officials were also accused of unfair distribution of relief goods, abuse in the issuance of quarantine passes, and pilferage of the contents of food packs.
Making people sign for money but then not giving it, not properly distributing food packs, and some cases stealing from them. All in a day's work for a Philippine LGU official.


https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/05/06/2012103/duterte-apologizes-ayalas-mvp
Saying he had been humbled by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, President Duterte apologized to business tycoons – brothers Jaime and Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Manuel Pangilinan – for badmouthing them in public over what he called their onerous water business deals with the government. 
The President aired his apology in a televised recorded address late Monday. 
“The hurtful words to the Ayalas and to Pangilinan, I apologize for the hurting words. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me – because if you do not, then I will ask – if you do not want to forgive me, I will undercut you. I’ll go direct to God. ‘God, they do not want to forgive me.’ I will ramble again,” Duterte said. 
“Naubos na ho iyong pagkasuplado ko kasi dahil sa (I ran out of grumpiness because of) COVID. The COVID humbled me. That with the kind of response that you gave, showed to the public, it’s a humbling experience also for me that, you know, you might need them one day.  So maybe there will be a lot of legal issues, but we can talk... I am ready to talk and I’d be reasonable,” Duterte said. 
He had claimed that the water deals were “onerous” because they barred the government from stopping water rate hikes and allowed concessionaires to collect damages for losses that stem from regulatory actions. 
The President had also threatened to file economic sabotage, plunder and graft charges against the owners of water firms and to send them to jail. 
“The big business. Let me tell you something. We had problems then, which was really part of governance and which I hope you would understand that it was really part of my sworn duty as... an employee of the government who heads the executive department. Words were, well, mainly mine,” the President said.
What kind of apology is this?  Duterte asks for forgiveness but says if they don't give it to him he threatens that he will complain to God? That's not an apology. And what does this say about his past remarks? That they were all lies?  That he was just being grumpy and the fault was really all on the government's side? He threatened these people with arrest and accused them of basically plundering the nation. That's not just being grumpy.


https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/737077/universal-health-care-funding-projections-to-be-reviewed-due-to-missed-sin-tax-targets/story/
The Cabinet official cited low demand for products such as alcohol and cigarettes amid the quarantine measures being implemented to contain COVID-19 spread. 
Revenue to be generated from additional excise taxes on alcohol, cigarettes as well as its electronic variety are meant to be used for the UHC program and Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health.
Low demand!??  The demand is as high as ever.  The problem is their is a liquor and tobacco ban and the DOF approves of it! The solution is to repeal this senseless ban.

Cayetano faced brickbats from his colleagues for his inaction that led to ABS-CBN’s shutdown. One of them, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza, was forced to apologize publicly for the “failure of Congress to do its job.” 
This is our fault. This is the fault of Congress. More important, I’d like to say squarely — this is Speaker Cayetano’s fault,” he said in an interview aired on ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), which continued to operate under a separate franchise. 
The House legislative franchises committee chaired by Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez had sat on bills renewing ABS-CBN franchise since 2016, spanning the 17th and 18th Congresses. The bill was also sidelined during the later part of the Aquino administration.
Right now everyone is blaming everyone else for the shutdown of ABS-CBN but the real fault lies with Congress.  A bill to renew the ABS-CBN franchise has been sitting idle since 2014. But Congress failed to act on it. When Duterte came to power he vowed to shut down ABS-CBN and veto any bill granting them a franchise. Understandably the Duterte friendly Congress failed to act on the bill. Now Duterte claims he is neutral and would not veto such a bill while PCCO spokesman Anadar is upset with the international media for blaming Duterte for the shutdown.


https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/05/07/2012421/andanar-decries-unfair-international-media-reporting-dutertes-ties-over-abs-cbn-closure
“We decry any claims and assertions associating [Duterte] with the National Telecommunications Commission’s independent and impartial decision to impose a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN Corporation,” Andanar said in a statement Thursday. 
“Such claims are bereft of truth and just a rehash of an old malicious imputation to bedevil the President and his administration,” he added.
What a ridiculous twisting of the facts. It is a combination of Congress' laziness and Duterte's ire which has brought this situation about. With the coronavirus crisis it likely won't be anytime soon before ABS-CBN is broadcasting again. 


“(The) 357, it was already submitted to the President. We are waiting for (response), (of course), the President is very busy right now,” Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa, told reporters in a press conference after the turnover ceremony of the We Heal As One Center in Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Why does the president have to deal with these cops? Can't the PNP decide what to do with them? "The President is very busy right now." That's an understatement! But wait, there's more narco cops!

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101889
The national adjudication board of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will begin its probe on the second batch of police officers allegedly involved in illegal drugs, a ranking official said Tuesday. 
Lt. Gen. Camilo Cascolan, PNP deputy chief for administration and board chairperson, said the second batch consists of 352 cops, 83 of whom are under their National Watchlist on Illegal Drugs (NWID), while 269 are under their Counter Intel Watchlist (CIW). 
He added that the probe results on the first batch, composed of 357 police officers accused of having links to the illegal drugs trade, have already been submitted to the office of PNP chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa.
That is 709 narco cops! Are there more? Of course there are.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Picture of the Week: Caught in the Act

Like a deer caught in the headlights this dog gave me quite the look of surprise when I took his picture.



He and his buddy are just enjoying a light snack of chicken McDo. No big deal right? I let them alone and kept walking. 

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Coronavirus Lockdown: Hatched Balut, Living in a Tricycle, and A Coffin Full of Gin

As the lockdown continues in full and in part across the nation crazy things continue to happen.

With street vendors forbidden from hawking their wares and people forbidden to drink and hang out outside their homes the balut industry is taking a hit.

In Pateros City, around 300 balut or fertilized duck eggs have hatched into ducklings in what could be a reminder of how long the enhanced community quarantine has been in effect. 
Known for its balut and salted eggs, the city is feeling the impact of the lockdown that started on March 17, which has halted almost all economic activities as a way of containing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 
Deo Reyes, who is in the balut business had to give away the ducklings and his stocks of around 15,000 eggs because of slow sales,  according to Bam Alegre's Tuesday report on 24 Oras. 
"Hundred percent. Wala talagang pinakinabangan the last two months. Lumaking sisiw, eh. Papunta na siya doon and then imbis na masayang, pinamigay namin sa mga taga-Pateros," Reyes said. 
He said some of the eggs were given to health workers and other frontliners. 
With a population of 70,000, the municipality of Pateros did not receive a large budget which can be used to give aid to balut makers as most had gone to relief goods for residents.
With no one to eat the duck embryos they have hatched into full ducklings. But what will healthcare workers do with the ducks? Where will they raise them?

Many small businesses like balut sellers might never come back due to new strict DOH protocols.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/736034/small-micro-businesses-may-opt-to-close-for-good-due-to-covid-19-protocol-demands-ecop/story/
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Wednesday said small and micro businesses may just close their operations altogether than comply with the strict health protocols against the COVID-19. 
Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, ECOP chair Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said these businesses, which makes the 90% of enterprises in the country, do not have enough resources to continue their operations unlike large businesses. 
“Yung mga medium saka large company, walang problema ‘yan, pero 'yung small at micro natin, malaking problema 'yan. Sa dami ng ihahanda mo, baka ayaw na lang magbukas ng mga yan,” he said. 
According to ECOP, 90% of businesses in the country are micro and small enterprises, 8% are medium, and the remaining 2% are large.
Could the Philippines really see 90% of the economy vanish? Is the Philippines on the verge of an economic apocalypse?

Duterte has set aside more reward money. This time it's P20 million for any Pinoy who can develop a respirator.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/29/2010529/p20-million-any-pinoy-who-develops-respirator
President Duterte is offering a P20-million reward to any Filipino who develops respirators for patients infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Malacañang announced yesterday. 
The respirators should “outlast the lives of the patients,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. 
Duterte made the offer amid the global shortage of respirators and ventilators due to the high demand in treating patients severely infected with COVID-19, according to Roque.
Perhaps he means a ventilator? It should be an easy reward to claim since respirators were invented long ago. Ventilators too!

Deaths continue to mount from COVID-19. What to do with the bodies until they can be cremated?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/735972/qc-creates-mobile-morgue-as-covid-19-deaths-mount/story/
The Quezon City (QC) government has created a “mobile morgue” to temporarily house bodies that are awaiting cremation. 
According to a 24 Oras report by Saleema Refran on Tuesday, the Baesa Crematorium has cremated 140 bodies since March 24, including 13 which were confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. 
Since COVID-19 hit QC, the local government noted that at least 10 families go to their one-stop-shop to process death certificates every day. 
As deaths continue to mount due to the pandemic, QC has converted a 40-foot-tall refrigerated container van into a mobile morgue that can house 40 to 45 bodies.
It seems only one mobile morgue has been deployed which is in stark contrast to New York which has deployed 45.

The lockdown has not been kind at all tricycle and jeepney drivers. With a total ban on public transportation some of them have lost everything and have ended up living in their tricycles and jeepnies.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/736167/family-lives-inside-tricycle-after-losing-source-of-income-amid-quarantine/story/
A tricycle driver and his family have resorted to living inside a tricycle after he lost his only source of income amid the enhanced community quarantine. 
According to Bernadette Reyes' report for "24 Oras," the family could no longer afford to pay rent and opted to endure living in the cramped space. They eat inside the tricycle and cook on the streets. 
Joel, the driver, collects cardboards wherever he could find them and sells it to junk shops just to feed his family every day.
Some netizens put up a Facebook group called "SuperTsuper" to facilitate donations for PUV drivers 

In the jeep that a driver and his family live in after they couldn't pay rent and lost their home since all passenger car travel was stopped. They rely on passing motorists to cross the food daily. In this jeep they sleep and eat while on the side of the road they cook and do laundry.
That is really just awful. While there is a Facebook group to raise donations for these people who knows if they will get that money when the government is having a hard time distributing the SAP funds.

Could you take in an old homeless man? One family did.  Turns out they were already homeless and living in a cart!

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/736162/homeless-family-takes-in-tired-and-hungry-elderly-man-amid-quarantine/story/
A homeless family took in a tired and hungry elderly man they met amid the enhanced community quarantine
According to Bernadette Reyes' report for "24 Oras," Genesis Cunanan lives in a cart with his wife and child. 
When the lockdown was imposed, they came across Lolo Gerry, who was already weak and starving. 
"The man had his belongings, and then of course we were sorry because we were heavy, we rode," Genesis said. 
"Blessing it, eh, share your blessings is not there so that's what I'm doing," he added.
This man living in a cart with his family is talking about sharing your blessings! Doesn't that make you feel like an unappreciative jerk?

Part of the new normal will be that the elderly and the young, those 20 and under and those 60 and over) will not be able to leave their houses even under a general quarantine. But there is something else that will be part of that new normal.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/30/2010757/seniors-arms-over-quarantine-rules
ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said government’s rule of not allowing senior citizens or those aged 60 and above, as well as the young or 20 years old and below, to leave their homes during GCQ may lead to people losing their jobs. 
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said shopping malls that will reopen in areas under relaxed quarantine are required to set their air-conditioning units at higher thermostat to prevent crowding. “The general rule is unlike in the past when we go to the malls for recreation and leisure, they (mall owners) will keep the temperature rather warm at 26 (degrees Celsius) so that people will not be loitering in the malls,” Roque told ABS-CBN News Channel. ?Restrictions in areas with low to moderate risks will be downgraded from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to GCQ by May 1.
Warmer malls!  The malls will be kept at a warm 26 C of 78 F to keep people from loitering.

Imagine you live way out in the middle of nowhere.  You are going about your business when you hear a whirring sound growing louder and louder.  It's a helicopter! Is it blasting Fortunate Son or Flight of the Valkyries as it drops face masks and leaflets all over the countryside and your remote village?
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268368/1766-rats-eliminated-in-pied-piper-contest-at-baguio-market-during-quarantine
The Philippine Army dropped leaflets on coronavirus disease and facemasks in remote villages of the Agusan and Surigao provinces this week. 
Major Francisco Garello, civil-military operations officer of the 402nd Infantry Brigade said they used a Philippine Air Force Huey helicopter and two MG-520 gunships to drop 10,000 leaflets and 200 facemasks on Wednesday and Thursday. 
“This was part of our COVID-19 information awareness campaign to remote communities unreachable by vehicles,” Garello said. 
He said the airdrop concentrated on the remote villages of the towns of Kitcharao, Jabonga and Tubay in Agusan del Norte, and the towns of Alegria and Gigaquit in Surigao del Norte. 
He said they reached out to residents of these remote villages to urge them to observe the guidelines of the Department of Health on the virus.
How many of those 10,000 leaflets and 200 masks are littering the countryside?

Do you know what to do with your disposable face mask once it is finished being used?

https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/29/public-urged-to-separate-used-face-masks-from-household-garbage/
The Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines (SWAPP) asked the public on Wednesday to separate used masks in a yellow garbage bag to allow waste collectors to know that a medical waste is included in the household waste. 
“I hope that households do not include (used) face masks in the municipal waste picked up by our garbage collectors,” SWAPP president Grace Sapuay said in an interview on DZBB. 
Medical wastes, such as face masks and gloves, are being dumped with the household garbage, while garbage collectors unknowingly pick up the medical waste that further poses the risk of infection. 
“We specifically call on all households who have members identified as persons under investigation or persons under monitoring (of COVID-19) to take extra precaution in handling their special wastes by initially disinfecting it with chlorine based solution prior to collection to prevent any further spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community,” the EMB said. 
Practicing proper waste segregation is in accordance with the Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act 2000. 
“Proper handling of household healthcare wastes, such as used face masks and gloves that are considered as special wastes will help stop the spread of COVID-19,” the EMB said.
How is the public supposed to separate medical waste (face masks) from their normal garbage when they don't segregate garbage now and too many practice open burning? RA 9003 is a joke and is hardly enforced or put into practice.

Some folks have not gotten their SAP money yet. One man will never get it.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/306942/man-waiting-to-claim-his-sap-cash-dies-of-heatstroke
Residents of Dumanjug, a southern town in Cebu, are being reminded to bring with them umbrellas or have someone accompany them when they run errands to avoid heatstroke this summer season. 
This, after a 59-year-old man who was supposed to receive his social amelioration program (SAP) assistance, was unable to claim them after he died of heatstroke while walking home for lunch in Barangay Lawaan, Dumanjug, Cebu on May 1, 2020. 
Police Major Ardioleto Cabagnot, chief of Dumanjug Police, said that the victim, Lolito Ferrer, from the same place, was found dead on a farm field about 300 meters away from Barangay Lawaan Hall at past 1 p.m. today. 
Responding medical personnel Dr. Josefina Malana, declared Ferrer dead due to heatstroke. 
It was found out that Ferrer might have been dead for hours before his body was found. 
Cabagnot said that prior to the incident, Ferrer was lining up to get his SAP, but he decided to go home to eat lunch when his name was not yet called then.
Just how far did he have to walk to get home?

Truly COVID-19 is the great equalizer. All around the world rich and famous celebrities are hunkered down in their mansions just like us! Some of them even got the virus just like us! They also get bored and post quarantine selfies on Instagram just like us! They also have to go shopping for groceries and then disinfect when they return home just like us!

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/373708/aldens-new-role-household-runner-during-quarantine
Alden is the household’s designated “runner”: He’s the one who goes out grocery shopping and takes care of utilities. As such, it’s crucial, he said, to take extra precaution, especially since he’s living with his grandparents. “I can’t risk their health and welfare,” he said. “I can’t let them get sick.” 
“Upon returning home from the grocery, our Ate Virgie (house help) would be waiting for me in the garage, where I change clothes. I disinfect my exposed body parts, especially my arms, before entering the house through the backdoor,” he related. “Then, I go straight to my room and take a bath.” 
One of the realizations Alden has had during this pandemic is that the virus has been an equalizer of sorts. “Regardless of who you are or what you have, when it comes to life and death… It has been an eye-opener for everyone. There’s a lot at stake. We have to be selfless,” he said. “What’s happening right now is something we can’t fully understand, and feels unfair, sometimes. But maybe there’s a reason for everything,” added Alden, who has been using his free time to “reestablish connections” with family and friends.
Wow!  He's just like us!

One stressed out NYC-based OFW has been using her spare time to destress by manufacturing face masks.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/736167/family-lives-inside-tricycle-after-losing-source-of-income-amid-quarantine/story/
A Filipina based in the United States, as a form of stress relief, started making face masks which she then donates to those in need. 
Based in New York, Chona Villacorta started making face masks with prints that she donates to her friends and family, as well as her colleagues. 
"We have so many reasons how we can help during this pandemic and you know... we can also pray for other people," she said in a report on GMA's 24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday. 
Villacorta currently makes 15 masks in an hour and could do as much as 60 during the weekends. She has given these out to her colleagues, including her boss' family.
That's nice but will that fabric really protect anyone from contracting COVID-19 or any other virus?

The nationwide lockdowns have been hard on everyone even the Aetas. Some volunteers have taken it upon them to provide them with what they need.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1268592/aid-volunteers-trek-through-rivers-lahar-land-checkpoints-to-reach-hungry-aetas
Tarlac province, along with the rest of Luzon, has been under strict quarantine since March 17, as the government tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus. 
Locking down the population will starve the virus of hosts, saving thousands if not millions of Filipino lives. But it’s a big-picture approach that can have dire consequences for those living in the margins. 
Thus, community workers like Arby (who asked to be identified only by his nickname for security reasons) are worried that hundreds of quarantined Aeta families in Capas might starve first as their income sources vanish and food becomes scarce. 
Arby said he tries to make deliveries to over 250 families in Santa Juliana and Bueno every other week. But with the supply of goods running dry in Cristo Rey, Arby is urging donors to ship powdered milk directly to his house instead of cash. 
“There are so many families to feed,” he said. “We focus on the children. But sometimes even the elderly approach us asking for food to eat. How can I say no?” 
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the Aetas of Capas made money as tour guides or traveled to towns such as Cristo Rey to sell kamote, ginger and banana heart harvested in their own lands. 
Among the estimated 10 to 20 million indigenous peoples (IPs) scattered across the Philippines, the Aetas cope with poverty, lack of economic opportunities and discrimination. 
Their isolation means they have no easy access to basic social services. In many cases around the country, IPs receive less priority when it comes to local government aid, private donors have told the Inquirer. 
Like most of the poor, they are bearing the brunt of the lockdown. 
Unlike Capas, the Aetas in Zambales are more isolated. Ammay said she worked hard to earn their trust. 
“It was different before we came here in 2015. If someone was very ill, they just wait for the person to die if their herbal medicines are not effective,” she said. “Today, I can coordinate with the local government and they now allow us to treat their sick.” 
“Tourism gets them out of the hunger zone. But the land has to produce something,” Dionisio said in an interview. 
Before the lockdown, money generated from tourism helped pay the Aetas to plant fruit trees such as sampaloc, guyabano and jackfruit. These will later create a sustainable source of income.
How did the Aetas, who are indigenous people, survive for hundreds of years but now cannot do without tourism bucks?

Tired of dancing yet?  These cops aren't!

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/307709/pro-7-dancers-teach-public-on-ecq-guidelines-good-hygiene-through-dance
Patrolman Christian Dabuco, currently assigned to the City Mobile Force Company (CMFC) of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) and a member of the PRO-7 dance troupe says he and his fellow police-dancers have come up with ways to migrate their thoughts from the challenges posed by COVID-19 like dancing with his colleagues during their free time. 
“Amoa nalang gyud isayaw amoang kaguol aning virus (We just dance our sadness caused by this virus),” said Dabuco. 
Then last May 1, Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of PRO-7, asked the dancers to come up with a dance presentation with a twist. 
And the twist is: the dance steps should help remind the public about the rules of ECQ and proper hygiene. 
The performance must then be filmed and uploaded in social media since social gatherings are still prohibited. 
Dabuco said that his fellow dance troupe members were ecstatic about the idea of encouraging the public about following the ECQ rules and practicing proper hygiene through their dance. 
And so on the evening of May 3, after the video was edited, it was immediately uploaded online.
Who knew the PNP had a dance troupe? Like busy bees these cops are dancing out an important message about proper hygiene.  You can watch it on Facebook here.


The liquor ban is still in effect and people are getting mighty thirsty.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101906
“We sensed that something was wrong because of the speed of the hearse and especially when the driver maneuvered when he saw a checkpoint,” he added.

Authorities chased after the hearse until they were able to intercept it at Barangay Biec this town.

“Upon inspection, we saw inside the casket three boxes of liquor (gin). Each box contains 24 bottles of gin,” Palisoc said.
That's not a dead body! Hopefully it's real gin and not some bootleg poison.