The God Culture: Prince Mastema

Despite all the things I have written against Timothy Jay Schwab of the The God Culture I do try to give him the benefit of the doubt. I am always disappointed. It really is a mystery why anyone could fall for anything that man says but fall they do. In this article I want to cover Tim's 51st and penultimate video in his Answers in Jubilees series. The topic is Prince Mastema.

Is Prince Mastema Satan? Who Was The Angel of Death In Egypt? Answers In Jubilees 51

It is the second question that concerns us here. Who was the angel of death in Egypt? Specifically what happened to Moses at the inn when someone sought to kill him and who was causing Pharaoh to be so "pigheaded and stubborn." Let's listen to Tim.

26:42 Then we see Mastema in the story of Moses and his role there is a big one overlooked by most. Many ask the question why Pharaoh would be so pigheaded and stubborn. How, how could he be so dumb to go through all those plagues and have to go through all of that and even in the end after even having his own firstborn and the firstborn of much of Egypt die still he then goes after, Egypt again sending his troops to their doom in the sea which collapses on them? How can he be so dumb? Ah! This explains it. Genesis doesn't because it doesn't need to. Moses wrote these together. They are to be read together for full understanding and we get that when we read Jubilees.

Let's go to chapter 48  starting in verse 2.  "And thou thyself knowest what he spake unto thee on Mount Sinai." This is Yahuah talking to Moses. "And what Prince Mastema," there we go again, Satan, "desired to do with thee when thou wast returning into Egypt on the way when thou dost meet him at the lodging place." This is, this is pay attention. This story, okay. This isn't in Genesis. It's not there um and uh we're going to talk about the book of Jasher for a second on this. Verse three, "did he not with all his power seek to slay thee?" Mastema, Satan, wanted to kill Moses. Got that? Satan wanted to kill Moses. Satan. Got that? "And deliver the Egyptians out of thy hand when he saw that thou was sent to execute judgment and  vengeance on the Egyptians," who were serving Satan, right? I mean they practiced the occult that is a well-known, um, you know he was their god you could say, one of their gods but it's his infrastructure  that account for all of his gods really. 

So, now, here we go again. The occult fabrication in the modern book of Jasher which we prove is a fraud and we covered this point there but I'm going to bring it back up. This is another occult lie where it gets it backwards. Rather than Satan opposing Moses notice the difference here, uh, on his way back to Egypt, no, modern Jasher claims that an angel of Yahuah sent at Yahuah's command comes to kill Moses! What! Didn't Yahuah just send him out on a mission so he could kill him? That's stupid, right? 

Okay so but, but, why? Because he failed to circumcise his first son. Where do we see that doctrine circumcision is salvation? No, never not in scripture ever. Where is circumcision salvation? Ah! Paul talks about it.  Paul says that the Pharisees, or I guess maybe it's Luke in Acts but anyway, the Pharisees were going around telling people that. Okay, so now that you're saved you have to get circumcised because you're not really saved unless you get circumcised. That's Pharisee doctrine. That Pharisee doctrine is right there in the modern book of Jasher essentially. This is ridiculous. Talk about backwards trash. That book is toast  already but just wanted to mention that one since we're on the account in Jubilees. There you go.

What Tim is saying here is the one verse in Jubilees which mentions Prince Mastema, Satan, meeting Moses at a lodge to kill him is true while the full account given in Jasher is not. In that account an angel of God is said to have met Moses to kill him because he had not circumcised his son. Tim calls that stupid. He comments on this story at length in his video The Jasher Hoax. 76-100 Reasons Modern Jasher Is NOT Scripture! Answers In Jubilees 49D.

The Jasher Hoax. 76-100 Reasons Modern Jasher Is NOT Scripture! Answers In Jubilees 49D

54:04 Chapter 79, lie number 97. Oh, almost. On his way to Egypt after the burning bush calling an angel then oddly comes down to kill Moses!. Yeah, you heard that right. That's what Jasher says. Well, because why? Well, because he did not circumcise his first son. Is that how Yahuah operates? Does he kill everyone who doesn't circumcise their firstborn? This is stupid! This is, this just so stupid and unbiblical. Eventually the angel was from Yahuah but missed the memo that Moses had a calling of course. Moses was going there because well Yahuah told him to go but I guess the angel well maybe operated on his own. This is a lie. But no worries! His wife took a sharp rock and fixed that right away. This is stupid

Then Aaron who is a slave somehow was freed, uh, to leave Egypt meeting Moses in the wilderness. In fact not just in the wilderness but all the way to Saudi Arabia on Mount Sinai, really. Cause slaves are just free to come and go whenever they want. Moses had already left and was on the way to Egypt in fact. So, what? He wasn't even at Sinai. It's inconsistent and stupid.

According to Tim not only is the story of God wanting to kill Moses because his son was uncircumcised stupid and unbiblical but so is the story that Aaron met Moses at Mount Sinai. Here is the passage from Jasher 79:

8 And Moses rose up to go to Egypt, and he took his wife and sons with him, and he was at an inn in the road, and an angel of God came down, and sought an occasion against him.

9 And he wished to kill him on account of his first born son, because he had not circumcised him, and had transgressed the covenant which the Lord had made with Abraham.

10 For Moses had hearkened to the words of his father-in-law which he had spoken to him, not to circumcise his first born son, therefore he circumcised him not.

11 And Zipporah saw the angel of the Lord seeking an occasion against Moses, and she knew that this thing was owing to his not having circumcised her son Gershom.

12 And Zipporah hastened and took of the sharp rock stones that were there, and she circumcised her son, and delivered her husband and her son from the hand of the angel of the Lord.

13 And Aaron the son of Amram, the brother of Moses, was in Egypt walking at the river side on that day.

14 And the Lord appeared to him in that place, and he said to him, Go now toward Moses in the wilderness, and he went and met him in the mountain of God, and he kissed him.

https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/79.htm

Is Tim unaware that this passage is essentially ripped out of the Bible from Exodus 4? 

24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. 

25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. 

26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. 

27 And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

It is the same exact story with one major difference. God himself and not an angel was the one who sought to kill Moses because his son was uncircumcised. The word translated Lord in verse 24 is Yehova!

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3068/kjv/wlc/0-1/

In the Septuagint, which predates the Masoretic text, the one who seeks to kill Moses is the Angel of the Lord. This is also what is written in the various Targums. What is never said in any telling of this story is that Satan tried to kill Moses because he wanted to save the Egyptians from the vengeance Moses was about to wreck on them.

Did he not desire to kill you with all of his might and save the Egyptians from your hand because he saw that you were sent to execute judgment and vengeance upon the Egyptians?

That scenario is inserted in the text because the author needed a way to solve the problem of why God would want to kill Moses after he had sent him on a mission.

By shortening the story as he does, the author of Jubilees makes only one reference to an evil being, who is also a destroyer, and does not have to deal with the awkward facts that Moses had not circumcised his son and that his foreign wife saved the day (and Moses) by performing the task herself. The angel gives Moses only a brief reminder of the whole embarrassing situation and transforms the event into an attack by Mastema, who wants to stop Moses from carrying out his divine commission.

Segal explains how the rewriting of the passage in Jubilees responds to one exegetical and two theological questions raised by Exod 4:24-26. The exegetical issue is: why would God want to kill Moses after having just commanded (see Exod 4:19) him to return to Egypt? The answer of Jubilees is that it was not God who wanted Moses dead but rather Mastema. The first theological problem is whether God is unjust in the Exodus passage since he wanted to kill someone (and Moses at that) without an explicit motive. The answer in Jubilees is that the theodicy question is irrelevant because God was not the one desiring to kill Moses without a reason. And the second theological problem is: if God wanted to kill Moses how could he not succeed? Is God not omnipotent? The reply is, of course, that God was not the one who failed 

Jubilees: A Commentary, James Vanderkam, pg. 1152

I find it hard to believe that Timothy Jay Schwab would not know the story of God seeking to kill Moses in Exodus 4 with Moses meeting Aaron ant Mount Sinai directly afterwards. Along with the command to sacrifice Isaac it is one of the most famous theological problems in all of scripture. Why would God want to kill Moses after he had just given him a commission? Jubilees renders the question moot by telling us a totally different story with Satan being the antagonist. Tim deceitfully leaves out the fact that what is recorded in Jasher 79 is ripped from Exodus 4. If he really wanted to give us Answers in Jubilees and vet the text as Torah written by Moses he would not have glossed over this very important contradiction. 

In the comments though Tim does take notice of this passage in Exodus 4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V54mWhuiH0w&lc=UgwvjOotDuuoqhsMJSB4AaABAg

mbeatg : Hello, can you address Exodus 4:24. I heard you address Jasher. Based on Jubilees, would you consider this more “ Leaven”

The God Culture : It does not fit indeed. Yah Bless.

Tim's solution is to claim that the text is corrupt. But that does not solve anything. The story is recorded in the Septuagint as well as the Targums. It has precedent and tradition. Jubilees, standing alone, lacks both. 

The next question to consider here is why was Pharaoh so stubborn to go after the Israelites even after the destruction caused by the ten plagues. Tim answers, along with Jubilees, that Prince Mastema was egging him on. Prince Mastema, Satan, also killed all the firstborn of Egypt in the tenth and final plague.

Is Prince Mastema Satan? Who Was The Angel of Death In Egypt? Answers In Jubilees 51

32:00 Verse 12, "and notwithstanding all these signs and wonders the prince of the Mastema," their Satan, again, "was not to put to shame." So, he was still emboldened even though all of these plagues happened all these signs and wonders and he was the power behind Pharaoh and his stiff-necked rebellion. He's the one that was really pushing this. Imagine a lot of people out there say, "oh, you know Satan's been whispering in my ear." No, no, no, he's not. He's only one. He's only one dude, right? He's one. He's not everywhere. He's not whispering everybody's ear every second. Now a demon can be but Satan himself is not. It's just so, you know, anyway, uh, they give him far too much power. They make him omnipotent as if he is Yahuah. He is not. Now, you'll see this next though. 

"Because he took courage and cried to the Egyptians to pursue after them with all the powers of the Egyptians." The same thing that did that, that's why the turning of the tide with Pharaoh. Pharaoh had given in and, oh no he changed his mind. Well, Satan is behind that. But why did Pharaoh at first not pursue Israel? Why would he let them go only then to pursue them? I mean that would be a waste of time and resources and doesn't make sense, does it? Well, it seems to make no sense until we restore Jubilees which explains why and how this happened once again clarifying Torah. 

Verse 15, "And on the 14th day," get this and on the 15th day and on the 16th and the on the 17th  and on the 18th." What do we have here one, two, three, four, five days. So for five days the Prince of Mastema was bound. Ah! That's the key. "And imprisoned behind the children of Israel that he might not accuse them." Well, that's what Satan does, okay? Now, see Israel was given a reprieve in which Pharaoh could finally give in and let them go and the Egyptians would even give them gold and possessions for their journey in I guess you could say reparations of sort. Uh, Satan was bound and could not operate and they acted like people again that made sense. 

For about five days, it essentially is when you add all that up, so, but then verse 16,  "and on the 19th we let them loose that they might help the Egyptians and pursue the  children of Israel." Yahuah is setting them up though. "And he hardened their hearts." Satan did and made them stubborn now. That including Pharaoh, of course, being the leader and number one of king of stubborn. Really Satan was behind this. Physically there the entire time. He is not in your life as such. He's not that powerful. He's not omnipotent like Yahuah. Remember that always. Never give him that kind of power. He doesn't have it. "And the device was devised by Yahuah our Elohim that he might smite the Egyptians." So, he was setting them up the whole time. "And cast them into  the sea." He was going to wipe them out now so this was Yahuah's plan all along and Satan fell into  his trap. There you go. However that was not his only role and this, wow, this is very interesting.

Jubilees 49 verse 2 "For on this night the beginning of the festival in the beginning of the joy ye were eating the passover in Egypt." We know that story. "When all the powers of Mastema had been let loose to slay all the first born in the land of Egypt." Now, remember the powers of Mastema are who? Demons. Okay, uh, there's only one angel in that hierarchy and that is Satan himself. So the angel of death is Satan. Okay? But this will clarify. "From the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the captive maidservant in the mill and to the cattle." Realize Satan is a powerful angel. He cannot hurt you or I directly because he is restrained by the restrainer. According to scripture that's the archangel Michael. No, it's not the Holy Spirit that's not his role. Michael does that. However all  of Satan's powers were let loose only to slay those firstborns they were still limited. Those who did not have blood on their doorposts. Some of Egypt of course was spared. He was still restrained but he slayed all the firstborn in one night as the angel of death.  No, that was not Yahuah which we cover in this series as well. It was satan the angel of death.

These claims can be refuted with many verses in Exodus. I will use only two.

Exodus 14:8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

The word translated LORD is the same as noted above, Yehova! (It is NEVER Yahuah) It is God who smote the firstborn and it is God who hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Why? God tells us why:

13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 

14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.  

15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.

16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

He did it to show his power and that his name may be declared throughout all the earth. Paul quotes this passage in Romans 9:17 when he is discoursing on the absolute sovereignty of God when it comes to salvation. Why do some not believe? Because they have been hardened by God to not believe just as God hardened Pharaoh's heart so he could destroy him and show his power. Romans 9 is a chapter many try to explain away because it is so terrible to learn that God is in control and not us. We do not choose Him, He chooses us. This is one reason among many that Tim's soteriology is all wrong. Salvation is not a relationship as evidenced by keeping the law. Salvation is being united to Christ and made one with Him. That is only accomplished through His power and not by anything we do.

It is this fact of God's absolute sovereignty that is being assailed both by Timothy Jay Schwab and the author of Jubilees. They cannot imagine God would kill people or harden men's hearts or cause planes to slam into buildings or bring about a war or cause the world to panic over a virus that has a 99% survival rate. It's too awful. Yes, it is awful in the sense that we should be full of awe at the works of God because 

Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

It is God who has the power of death, not Satan.

Deut 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

There is not much else to say. Jubilees does not add clarity to these events in Exodus. Rather, the author of Jubilees, who is not Moses by any stretch of the imagination, attributes the acts of God to Satan. He detracts from God's glory. God says he destroyed Pharaoh to get glory and the author of Jubilees says no that's too awful it must have been Satan who did these things. And what sense does it make for Mastema, or his demons, to kill the firstborn of Egypt when we are told that he tried to kill Moses to save the Egyptians from that very vengeance? It does not make any sense. But Tim isn't about to admit that glaring contradiction is real and invalidates the Book of Jubilees as Torah written by Moses.

Retards in the Government 242

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

https://rngluzon.com/2022/01/14/abra-barangay-treasurer-shot-dead/

The barangay treasurer of Lan-ag, Lacub, Abra was shot dead by unidentified suspect or suspects inside the motorized tricycle he was on board Thursday afternoon at Nagsayangan, Talodtod in Lagagangilang town while traveling home to his residence in Zone 1 in the capital town of Bangued.

Fidel Lalugan was aboard a tricycle driven by Geraldick Mallare, 26, when suspect or suspects, police said, fired at them and sustained gunshot wounds all over their body.

The suspect or suspects, said the police report which was forwarded at the Police Regional Office – Cordillera office here, “fled on foot towards unknown direction.”

A local treasurer was assassinated by unknown men for unknown reasons.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165510

State security forces foiled a bomb attack against an aspirant for town mayor as they prevented an improvised explosive device from blowing up Saturday in Lamitan City, Basilan province.

Maj. Nurhaib Bungkac, Lamitan City police chief, said they coordinated with the Provincial K9 Unit after a suspicious item was found around 8:30 a.m. in front of the house of Hadja Arsima Gappar in Barangay Matibay.

Gappar is the incumbent barangay chairperson of Semut in Akbar town and is a mayoralty aspirant.

Bungkac said the K9 and explosive ordnance demolition personnel of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) confirmed after a thorough assessment that the suspicious item was a cellular phone-triggered IED.

“The EOD team immediately conducted render safety procedure through disruption operation using disruptor,” Bungkac said in a phone interview.

He said the EOD recovered the following IED component: a cellular phone with subscriber identification module (SIM) card; a blasting cap; 143 two-inch concrete nails as shrapnel; one and three-fourth kilogram C4 explosive; steel pipe covered with a galvanized sheet; wire; and, plastic bag.

Cops foiled a bombing attack against Barangay captain running for re-election.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165762

Four personnel of the Agusan del Sur Police Provincial Office (ADSPPO) are now under restrictive custody after their involvement in a robbery last January 14.

In a statement Tuesday, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 13 (Caraga) said its director, Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. also ordered the dismissal of the police officers identified as Senior Master Sgt. Ronald Laro, Staff Sgt. Dariel John Mozo, Staff Sgt. Richard Ayala and Pat. Ivan Klein B. Osorio, all members of the ADSPPO's Provincial Intelligence Unit.

Investigation showed that on the afternoon of January 14, businessman Jasper Salude Pabilic, 35, of Purok 6B, Poblacion, Banaybanay, Davao Oriental was at the Church of Living Hope Faith Tabernacle in Purok 5, Cogonon, Barangay Salvacion, Trento, Agusan del Sur for a business transaction with Pastor Nilo Dian involving the sale of agarwood items.

Agarwood is an expensive tree species known for its fragrant bark used in incense, perfume, and small carvings.

In the middle of the transaction, four armed men sporting bullet vests with "Pulis" markings suddenly appeared and ordered them to stand still.

The armed men then forcibly carted away their mobile phones, cash amounting to PHP2.7 million, and the agarwood items.

“Brig. Gen. Caramat, based on police records, ordered a hot pursuit operation at around 6:00 a.m. of Jan. 15 following an intelligence report that armed persons clothed in police uniform were involved in an alleged robbery-in-band early afternoon of Jan. 14,” the PRO-13 said.

Four policeman have been arrested for robbing a businessman and a pastor while they were making a transaction.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/19/2154963/pnp-over-5000-cops-dismissed-service-under-internal-cleansing

Over 5,000 errant cops have been sacked after motu proprio investigations on alleged abuses and illicit activities as part of the Philippine National Police's regular audit of line units, it said in its latest update on its internal cleansing program.

In a statement sent to reporters Tuesday, Police Gen. Dionardo Carlos, PNP chief disclosed that of 37,124 administrative cases being handled by the Internal Affairs Service, 35,297 have been tagged as closed from July 2016 to Jan. 12, 2022.

“It is with deep sadness to know that the PNP is stained with erring cops. These undesirable members of the organization must face the consequences of their actions,” Carlos said.

Over 5,000 cops have been dismissed from the PNP since July 2016.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/01/17/2154395/cop-faces-rape-child-abuse-raps

A police officer is facing criminal charges for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in Quezon City, authorities said yesterday.

M/Sgt. Galahad Altarejos, 48, a member of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Crime Laboratory, was arrested on charges of rape and child abuse.

Altarejos allegedly threatened the victim and sexually abused her.

In a report, police said the suspect visited the victim and her aunt at their house on Saturday night.

Probers said the victim’s aunt went outside, leaving the girl and the suspect.

The victim reportedly asked the policeman to leave, saying she needed to sleep. The suspect refused and allegedly raped the girl in her room.

A PNP officer has been charged with reaping a 17-year old.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/20/2155215/9-cops-indicted-killing-calbayog-mayor-3-others-march-2021

State prosecutors have found probable cause to charge nine cops for the killing of Calbayog Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and three others, and frustrated murder of his aide in March 2021.

The Department of Justice on Thursday said the panel of prosecutors issued a joint resolution on Dec. 15, 2021, released only on January 19, stating that the cops “ambushed” Aquino and his aides in Labuyao Bridge, Calbayog City.

“In the said ambush, [Aquino] and his aides, PSSg. Rodeo Sario (security escrot) and Dennis Abayon (driver) were killed, while another aide Mansfield Labonite (personal security aide) survived due to his timely rescue and medical attention,” the DOJ said.

To recall, the Calbayog mayor, who was serving his final term, was ambushed while they were on the way to attend the birthday party of his son.

In the aftermath of the killing, police insisted that the shootout started after Aquino's security detail fired first, killing Police Capt. Joselito Tabada and Police SSgt. Romeo Laoyon. 

In the hearing at the Senate, National Bureau of Investigation — complainants against the cops — said witnesses stated that men aboard Tabada's vehicle, a Toyota Innova, alighted their vehicle and started firing first after they collided with the Hi-ace of Aquino. 

The DOJ said that in its resolution, the prosecution panel “determined that the defenses of denial, alibi and self-defense, interposed by respondents-PNP personnel, cannot be given weight in light of the positive assertions of the witnesses and the pieces of evidence submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation.”

9 cops charged with the murder of a mayor and 3 other people.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165903

Officials of the education department in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Wednesday condemned the killing of schools district supervisor Javier Kumandi Sr. in Tacurong City on January 17.

In a statement Wednesday, Minister Mohagher Iqbal of the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE)–BARMM said they wanted justice to be served for the death of Kumandi.

“The shooting incident was heart-rending and tragic,” Iqbal said.

Kumandi, district supervisor of Pandag, Maguindanao under the MBHTE-BARMM, was killed in an ambush while driving his vehicle in Barangay San Pablo, Tacurong City around 7:30 p.m. that ill-fated day.

He died on the spot while his wife was injured and is now recuperating in an undisclosed hospital.

A school district supervisor in the BARMM was assassinated by unknown people for unknown reasons.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165952

Anti-narcotics operatives arrested a barangay captain during a buy-bust in Surigao City, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency - Caraga (PDEA-13) said on Wednesday.

In an interview with the Philippine News Agency, PDEA-13 Information Officer Dindo Abellanosa identified the suspect as Barangay Captain Luther Elumba of Togbonon.

He said Elumba was arrested during a buy-bust by the PDEA-13 with the support of the Surigao del Norte Police Provincial Office and Surigao City Police Station on Tuesday.

“Elumba was arrested at his residence in Purok 3 of the same barangay,” Abellanosa said.

He added that Elumba was classified as a high-value target of the agency.

Confiscated from the suspect were two plastic sachets that contained shabu weighing around 2 grams with a market value of PHP15, 000.

A village chief who was a high value target was busted for drugs.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Vax Card on Shirt, Individual Right Should Subserve Public Good, and More!

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

Lockdowns are still ongoing in 2022 and with the increase in cases comes an increase in lockdowns.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165701

Some 540 areas across the country have been placed under granular lockdown as the country continues to grapple with a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said Monday night.

“(In fact, there are 97 LGUs under Alert Level 3. In the implementation of our granular lockdown nationwide, we can see that 31 cities and municipalities are affected, with 268 barangays and 540 areas currently under granular lockdown -- 60 are in the National Capital Region while a total of 717 households or 1,482 individuals are affected),” Año said in his report to President Rodrigo R. Duterte during his Talk to the People briefing.

As cases continue to rise, especially in the NCR, the number of granular lockdowns will no doubt grow.

The DOTr is now implementing a strict "no vaccine, no ride" program in the NCR and many are not happy about this.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1539753/dotr-enforcing-no-vax-no-ride-in-ncr-amid-jeers

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday ordered a “no vaccination, no ride” policy for all modes of public transportation in Metro Manila, citing its already high vaccination rate as justification to further restrict the movement of those who have yet to be inoculated.

The order, which takes effect starting Jan. 17 (Monday), will apply to all domestic travels to, from and within the National Capital Region (NCR) via land, rail, sea and air public transport, Transportation Undersecretary Artemio Tuazon Jr. told reporters at a virtual press briefing hours after the order was released.

Commuters can present their inoculation status through physical or digital copies of their vaccine cards issued by their respective local government units or certification from the national government.

Tugade’s order exempts from the policy individuals with medical conditions that prevent them from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, but must present a certification from and the contact details of the physician.

Also exempted are persons who will buy essential goods and services, such as food and medicine “as evidenced by a duly issued barangay health pass or other appropriate proof to support and justify such travel.”

“There will be points of checking, not necessarily checkpoints, but areas where there would be checking to see if the people inside the public vehicle have vaccination cards,” he explained.

He rejected criticism that the order was a form of discrimination toward unvaccinated individuals and a violation of human rights, pointing out that they could still board private vehicles to go around the metropolis.

“In our Bill of Rights, what is protected is the right to travel. We are not limiting the travel of the commuters, what we are limiting is the use of public transport. They can still go out through the use of their own [vehicles], but not public vehicles,” said Tuazon, who is also a lawyer.

Passengers themselves would not be penalized if they are unvaccinated since only PUV operators and drivers would be sanctioned, depending on the regulations of LTO and LTFRB, Tuazon clarified.

"We are not limiting the travel of the commuters, what we are limiting is the use of public transport.?" What a lie!  Travel is being limited BECAUSE they are limiting the use of public transport which is how so many people travel in the NCR. Travel for those with public vehicles is also limited because there are now checkpoints around the NCR where one must show their vaccine card. If they do not have one they will be forced to turn around.

Koko Pimentel has called the campaign against the unvaccinated as unconstitutional. Senate President Vic Sotto has called the "No vax, no ride" program discriminating and has suggested there be PUVs especially for the unvaccinated. Other groups  have also blasted the "no vax, no ride" policy.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/13/2153665/shotgun-approach-ngos-hit-no-vax-no-ride-policy-public-transportation

Banning the unvaccinated from using public transportation is a "shotgun approach" that will only inconvenience commuters instead of addressing the coronavirus surge in Metro Manila, transport advocacy groups said Thursday. 

In a statement sent to media, the Move as One Coalition said that the move "unduly burdens commuters and transport workers and fails to address more basic issues" —  such as the lack of ayuda, testing, and ventilation in public transport and public spaces — that also cause the spread of the pathogen. 

The transport advocacy group urged the national government's coronavirus task force to instead allow more public transport units to ply their routes while ensuring these units have proper ventilation to prevent COVID-19 transmission — which a government adviser has said is largely airborne.

 "The policy will further burden weary commuters who already struggle to ride limited public transport and have no other way to travel...Excluding them from public transport would prevent them from going to work, earning a living, and feeding their families," the coalition's statement reads. 

According to Move as One co-convenor and transport economist Robert Siy, the policy "sets up drivers and operators for more harassment by enforcers, especially where the supply is far short of demand" while authorities "cannot expect drivers to be checking vaccination cards of all passengers especially during rush hour."

In a separate interview aired over GMA's Unang Balita, Ric Rivera of Pilipino Society and Development Advocates Commuter-Consumer said that the policy may only force commuters to resort to colorum vehicles.

"Better we really entice our PUVs. Do not limit them. Because they already have special permits and franchises. It would help us more," he is quoted as saying in Filipino in a report by GMA News Online. 

But months before the policy was even conceptualized, jeepney drivers said that checkpoints set up for enforcers to check on the observance of minimum public health standards only intimidated drivers with aggressive enforcement, forcing some to stay at home instead out of fear of operating at a loss. This only meant less transport options for the commuting public, they said. 

"If unvaccinated workers are not allowed on public transport to get to work then it is tantamount to being a requirement for work," Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Transportasyon convenor Dante Lagman told Philstar.com earlier.

"Malls [are] not essential but commuting [is] extremely essential...there’s really a violation of the right to mobility. We are exempted as consumers, but we are not exempted as workers. That just means you can buy, you can go out if you want to spend, but not if you want to work and earn," The Passenger Forum convenor Primo Morillo also told Philstar.com.

And here we see the absolute lie that the "no tax, no ride" policy is aimed at protecting anyone from getting infected with COVID-19.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1540756/23-passengers-test-positive-in-railways-covid-19-antigen-testing-dotr

Twenty-three passengers have tested positive in the free, random, and voluntary COVID-19 antigen testing being conducted in Metro Manila’s railways, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3), Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT-2), and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) have so far conducted a total of 228 tests as of January 13.

Eight out of 96 tested passengers at the MRT-3;12 out of 85 from the LRT-2, and three out of 47 from PNR stations were positive in the antigen test, the transportation department said.

“Passengers who tested [positive], and who will be tested positive in the aforesaid testing shall not be permitted to ride the trains. They are asked to return home, isolate, and report to their Barangay Health Emergency Response Team for proper support and monitoring. They are also advised to undergo confirmatory RT-PCR Testing,” the DOTr said in a statement on Friday night.

Imagine submitting to this test becasue you don't want to be singled out for not cooperating and then you test positive and have to lose your life for 2 weeks being stuck at home. That is nuts. With the "no tax, no ride" policy in place its a guarantee that all these people were vaccinated. What's it going to take for people to understand that the vaccine offers no protection against the virus?

It does not good to protest all these draconian and unconstitutional measures because you will only be arrested.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165263

The Manila Police District (MPD) on Wednesday subjected to inquest proceedings six persons who conducted an anti-vaccine rally without wearing or improperly wearing a face mask, and charged them with violation of city ordinances and for disobedience to a person in authority.    

The suspects were arrested for violation of City Ordinance 8627 requiring the mandatory use of facemask in all public places within the City of Manila, Ordinance 8800 that regulates the movement of unvaccinated individuals, Republic Act 11332 or the mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases and health events, and Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code or the disobedience to person in authority.

 

In an interview with the Philippine News Agency, MPD spokesman Capt. Philipp Ines said the group believed to be leaders and organizers of Gising Maharlika led a crowd of about 150 rallyists and promoted a “No to Vaccine” advocacy campaign at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on Jan. 11.

 

They also claimed to be unvaccinated and encouraged their members and other people to refuse to get vaccinated as they do not believe in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

 

Ines said police officers tried to hold a dialogue with the rallyists and asked them to stop the activity but they refused to listen, insisting it is their right.

  

“(They were also the ones who said that they are unvaccinated and they were not even wearing their face masks so they were arrested),” Ines said. 

“(We appeal to these groups, we understand that it is their right but we have to balance things right now as we are in midst of a pandemic. Our freedom and rights always comes with a responsibility),” Ines said. 

Rights come with responsibilities is the sly way of authorities saying, "Your rights don't matter." 

At least those who disagrees with the vaccine mandates have a friend in the PAO, Public Attorney's Office.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/818410/no-vax-no-ride-policy-in-ncr-unconstitutional-pao-s-acosta/story/

The recent policy requiring commuters to present their vaccination cards before boarding public vehicles is unconstitutional and discriminatory, Public Attorneys Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta said Monday.

"I think the policy of the LGUs is highly unconstitutional and against the law," Acosta told ANC.

Acosta cited Republic Act 11525 which states that vaccine cards “shall not be considered an additional mandatory requirement for educational, employment, and other similar government transaction purposes.”

(And yet they are circumventing. You will indirectly violate the law so you will be forced to get vaccinated. You need to get vaccinated so you will be able to board. You are being forced.)

Exemptions to the policy include persons with medical conditions that prevent their full COVID-19 vaccination as proven by a duly-signed medical certificate with the name and contact details of their doctor.

Another exemption is those who will buy essential goods and services, such as but not limited to food, water, medicine, medical devices, public utilities, energy, work, and medical and dental necessities, as shown by a duly issued barangay health pass or other proof to justify the travel.

Despite these, Acosta maintained that the policy is unconstitutional.

“That’s unconstitutional because the Bill of Rights, Section 1 states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law,” she said.

“You know you are discriminating against the unvaccinated and then you are just favoring the vaccinated. You let them ride and then the unvaccinated anong gagawin, maglalakad?” she added.

She also cited the patient’s rights in the Department of Health portal.

(Patients have the right to refuse vaccinees and medicine because they own their bodies, the government does not own their bodies.)

According to the PAO chief, the public has the right to refuse to become an “experimental pig.”

(The government said it recognizes the experimental nature of the vaccine and will compensate serious adverse effects.)

At least someone is talking sense. These people are doing everything they can to circumvent the law including using the zoo to get children in jetted with the experimental vaccine.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1541240/get-vaccinated-have-look-around-at-manila-zoo

Manila is eyeing to use the newly renovated Manila Zoo as a vaccination site for minors age 5 to 11 when the national government rolls out the pediatric vaccination by the first week of February.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said it would serve a double purpose for kids, including senior citizens, to get vaccinated and have a preview of the facility as well.

“Since many have been requesting to have a sneak peek of the zoo and the area has an open air, we thought it would have a double purpose for our lolo and lola to visit the place with their grandchildren,” he said on Saturday.

“We will have a registration and we will also launch a website for Manila Zoo so that those who want to get vaccinated can register there,” he said.

Parents and grandparents of minors could also avail themselves of booster shots at Manila Zoo, the city mayor said.

What's the difference between this and a pedophile enticing a child with candy? Not much. It's the same method.

All the COVID-19 news this week and this year so far has been outright maddening as the government continues to strip away the rights of the people. Duterte even declared COVID-19 to be as big a threat as the NPA! He also reminded people that their rights must subserve the good. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165690

“Balik tayo sa basics ng (Let’s go back to the basics of a) democratic country. The rule is always and has been and it does not change: Public good remains high in the hierarchy of things, obligasyon ng gobyerno (as an obligation of government),” he said.

He said “government can always come up with measures that would intrude your rights” if it is for the national interest.

“Ang hinahabol natin diyan (What we are after) is the greatest good for the greatest number. That’s a dictum that must be remembered when Constitutional provisions are being put into issue kagaya ng alamin ng barangay captain kung sino yung walang bakuna (just like directing barangay captains to identify those who are unvaccinated),” he added.

Duterte said it is the duty of the government to ensure the safety and well-being of most Filipinos.

“The duty of government in a democracy is the greatest good for the greatest number…Kaya nga (That is why) just to illustrate what it is, what it means, it means a democracy—the majority prevails,” he added.

Duterte has no idea what he is talking about. In a Democracy the government cannot intrude on your rights for the national interest. That is the language of autocracy. In a Republic, which is what the Philippines is, the rights of the people are paramount and the government is there servant of the people. Even the Philippine constitution says sovereignty lies in the people.  Article II Section 1: The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.

One man has had enough of having to show his vaccination card every time he goes shopping. His solution? Have it printed on his shirt.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/818493/vax-card-on-shirt-becomes-hit-as-filipinos-show-proof-of-vaccination/story/

Several Filipinos came up with ideas to easily present their vaccination card whenever authorities ask for it.

According to Mark Salazar's report on "24 Oras" on Monday, Jhowjow Pasia got tired of having to take out his vaccination card every time he entered an establishment so he decided to print his card on a t-shirt instead.

"Every time we have a door to go in, we always present the vaccination card, always looking, 'when you go to fastfood, you just CR, vax card like that. I thought, I'll just print it on the clothes "I had an idea, took a picture, posted it, I didn't know it would be trending," he said.

His post — a photo of himself wearing a t-shirt with his vaccination card plastered —went viral online.

"I tried here in an establishment here with us, in a mall. The guard saw him, the man guard just laughed," he said.

Aside from printing it on a t-shirt, a traveler who recently visited Boracay printed his QR code on a tarpaulin.

However, a barangay health officer clarified that Filipinos should still use the vaccination card issued by their local government units as this is the official one.

"What you give by the government or our LGU, that's really because that's the standard really. It's also different so what you give is right, that's what we will show," she said.

It's difficult to discern what the government's goal is for the vaccination program. Surely they know that you can die from the virus even if you are fully vaccinated.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165823

Another police officer has succumbed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Wednesday.

In a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), PNP deputy chief for administration, Lt. Gen. Joselito Vera Cruz, said the police force's 126th Covid-19 fatality was a staff sergeant assigned to the Jaen municipal police in Nueva Ecija.

The 38-year-old patient, who was fully vaccinated, died at the Nueva Ecija Medical Center on January 14 due to Covid-19 and acute respiratory failure.

This is the PNP's first death from Covid-19 since November 9 last year.

“(He was) vaccinated but with co-morbidities,” Vera Cruz said.

The patient tested positive for Covid-19 on January 13 and has been under medical care to manage his co-morbidity.

His medical records further showed that he had an acute respiratory failure secondary to community-acquired pneumonia and chronic kidney disease.

What are we supposed to get from this store? That co-morbidites render the vaccine ineffective? But if the vaccine was effective he would never have gotten COVID-19 in the first place. Why bother to get vaccinated when you can still get infected? But if you do get infected while fully vaccinated that is actually a good thing because it can act as a natural immunity booster!

https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/01/19/22/breakthrough-infection-has-natural-boosting-response-vaccine-expert

Getting infected with COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated gives a "natural boosting response," the chairperson of the country's vaccine expert panel said Wednesday. 

The booster depends on the severity of the illness, according to Dr. Nina Gloriani. 

(After breakthrough infection, one can receive a natural boosting response that can stay. If a person recovered from severe disease, they will receive a higher level of immunity.) 

Taking antibody tests to check one's immunity is recommended only to "moderately to severe immunocompromised" individuals, Gloriani said. These individuals must be medically stable before inoculated, she added. 

Those who suspect they have COVID-19 during their vaccination can still get immunity later on, according to the jab expert. 

(All of our vaccines are safe and does not cause COVID. If a person gets infected, it's not through the vaccine. It will also not worsen the infection.) 

(It's not a live virus, the two may actually combine and the person will get immunity later.) 

It is also normal that some individuals do not experience side effects after getting vaccinated, Gloriani added.

Basically she is saying what everyone knows. Getting infected gives one a natural immunity. So, why would anyone who has been infected need to get vaccinated when they have natural immunity? It's a confusing message that makes no sense because nothing about the vaccine program makes sense.