The God Culture: The Course of the Moon

Having discussed the course and purpose of the sun Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture next goes on to wax eloquent about the course and purpose of the moon. There are four videos on this subject in his Answers in Enoch series. As ever the videos are packed with information but in this article I will be trimming away the fat and leaving the meat. 

The Error of the Moon for Days, Weeks, Months and Years. Part 1. Answers In First Enoch Part 43

This first video is an hour and twenty minutes long but it should have been much shorter. The gist of it is that Tim proves from Enoch the moon is not the measure for days, weeks, months, and years. That honor belongs to the sun alone. All the while he is doing this he in engaged in a pissing contest with a Youtube channel he refuses to name. Apparently this channel made a critical response to Tim's videos about the sun which rubbed him the wrong way. Tim was so offended he will no longer be recommending that channel to his viewers. 

36:33 Now, again, we're not going to chart the moon's course as we did the sun. Uh, believe me your head would spin and it's just not necessary to go there for now and doesn't make for a good YouTube video. If someone wants to do that do it great wonderful. If the other channel wants to do that well, why don't you start by charting the sun because you haven't done that. You covered Jubilees and Enoch and you didn't chart the Sun and you didn't chart the moon yet you criticized this channel, uh, essentially, for not charting the moon because we're not foolish. Um, you know we're just not going to do that to people and yet then we can't possibly understand the moon's course because we didn't chart it like we did the sun. Well, you didn't chart either so why don't you go charting and stop throwing stones from your glass house. How about that? You know this is what we get so many times in criticism, uh, and it's a shame that that channel led there because we've supported them for many years we've even sent many people to to their Channel. We won't anymore

This video is interwoven all throughout with such petty snark. It's pretty funny. In fact at several points Tim talks like a caveman because apparently the unnamed channel claimed he said the moon was evil.

1:55 Here it is in plain English because we had another Channel who said some things that we want to clear up right now. Moon good. Moon okay. Moon holy, faithful, witness we love Moon. We even love the people who use the moon as the measure in error but the error we don't love neither does Yahusha by the way. Error bad. Moon good. Moon not bad. Error is bad. The error of men is really bad. That is what we address regarding this and we've never called the moon itself error nor does this title actually.

56:09 We love moon. Moon good. 

It's absolutely hilarious that Tim has taken criticism to heart so much so that he has been reduced to talking like a caveman. 

But why won't Tim chart the movement of the moon as he did the sun? Because it's foolish and would make your head spin and would not make for a good Youtube video? Those are not valid reasons and don't explain his refusal to chart the moon's course. Does he know there is a Youtube Channel where a guy drinks a glass of water a day and it has been ongoing since 2011? There is a series of two-to-four-hour-long video critiques of the awful new Disney Star Wars trilogy which has millions of views. And Tim thinks charting the course of the moon would not make for a compelling YouTube video? Tim's audience is so thirsty for content that they literally beg him to make more! In the meantime here is a video of the  lunar analemma.

Slide after slide shows verses from Enoch and Jubilees saying that the Sun alone is the measure of days, weeks, and years. Here is one of many:

56:12 We read in jubilees 2:9 "And Elohim appointed the sun to be a great sign on the earth" for what? A very specific purpose in which one can never attribute to the moon, period. "For days, for sabbaths, and for months, and for feasts and for years, and for sabbaths of years, and for jubilees, and for all seasons of the years. And Genesis agrees with this

Tim claims that this verse in Jubilees agrees with Genesis!  But that is not the case and at no point in this video does Tim actually cite Genesis which reads as follows:

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

One would think Timothy Jay Schwab would cite Genesis at least once in his series about the sun and the moon but he does not. Not one single time. Instead he relies on Enoch and Jubilees which both contradict Genesis when it comes to the purpose of the moon which is, along with the sun and stars, for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. 

The main subject of the second video in this series about the moon is eclipses and how Enoch accounts for them. It is abundantly clear that Tim has no idea what he is talking about as he confuses lunar eclipses with solar eclipses and even says sometimes the sun moves in front of the moon.

The Error of the Moon for Days, Weeks, Months and Years. Part 2. Answers In First Enoch Part 44

31:13 This movement of the moon is very hard to chart, uh, and we're not going to do it but it's not necessary in order to understand. Once again the opportunity for eclipses arises as the moon turns back and recedes behind the sun. This would cause an eclipse uh in a certain area of the world at certain times, uh, of, you know, certain moments. Uh, both lunar and solar eclipses are explained by this dynamic as the moon could be in front at some times and the sun could be in front at some times, uh, from a certain perspective. Remember they are the same size according to Enoch we'll show you those scriptures in a second, well in a few minutes. Another time the sun in front of the moon. So, in both cases you got an eclipse. If the perspective catches them in the same exact position at that moment, which is what would have to happen, it's what we call a full eclipse, right or otherwise it's partial. Pretty easy to understand.

Eclipses do not debunk Enoch. Uh, actually, they debunk modern scientism who actually has a very poor explanation for this dynamic. Enoch accounts for them and very well and very scientifically.

First of all the sun NEVER gets in front of the moon. NEVER. That has never happened and it will never happen because the sun is stationary sitting at the center of the solar system which the earth and moon orbit. Enoch does not say in chapter 74 that the moon recedes BEHIND the sun. It does not even make sense to say "the moon turns back and recedes behind the sun" because for that to happen the moon would have to be moving TOWARDS the sun and thus it would not be receding. This is an addition inserted by Tim. Verse 6 does say the moon "recedes from the sun" which means the moon moves AWAY from the sun, not BEHIND it. A prior slide shows this verse.

25:06

Again, he is making the text say what it does not say. This is a common tactic for Timothy Jay Schwab which I have documented in his usage of the Perpiplus of the Erythean Sea and his usage of Thomas Suarez. When the facts don't fit Tim has a penchant for making them up. It's completely dishonest.

Second of all SOLAR eclipses occur when the moon passes in front of the sun while LUNAR eclipses occur when the earth passes between the sun and the moon. During a lunar eclipse the shadow of the earth is cast on the surface of the moon. Those are facts. What Tim is saying is not fact but unscientific garbage. 

Tim will next go on to "prove" his theory that Enoch charts out the course of eclipses by showing us a chart computing solar eclipses for the next ten years. Admittedly, within Tim's Enochian Sun and Moon schema it sounds plausible that the sun and moon moving through portals with the moon moving backwards until the twain meet could provide the explanation for solar eclipses. But it is quite telling that Tim has NOTHING to say about lunar eclipses.  Here is a chart from the same website as his solar eclipse chart. 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html?starty=2020

How does Enoch explain that there are less lunar eclipses than there are solar eclipses? If Enoch accounts for there being 2-5 solar eclipses per year, a number Tim gives at around 26:31, how does he account for there being years without lunar eclipses? Tim does not say. He does not say a single word about lunar eclipses in this video. Neither Tim nor Enoch offer an explanation for lunar eclipses except to say:

Uh, both lunar and solar eclipses are explained by this dynamic as the moon could be in front at some times and the sun could be in front at some times, uh, from a certain perspective.

That is totally ridiculous as the sun NEVER gets in front of the moon. That has never been observed any where or any time.  Tim doubles down on this nonsense in the comment section.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58rrHPFc7Ek&lc=UgwPOBXO-hP1AtZtjO94AaABAg

This commenter wants to know how lunar eclipses happen and instead of explaining how the moon goes dark during a lunar eclipse Tim repeats his talking points and then when pressed stops responding. That's because he has NO answer to the question of how lunar eclipses occur.

I said above that Tim's explanation for eclipses sounds plausible enough within his Enochian Sun and Moon schema but when you take a look at just how the sun and moon would orbit a flat earth, yes Tim believes and teaches the earth is flat according to Enoch, his explanation rapidly deteriorates.

https://wiki.tfes.org/Flat_Earth_-_Frequently_Asked_Questions

Yes, I know that is NOT Tim's model. But it's the same as Rob Skiba's model and Tim uses his model in part 4 of this series about the moon. Two things are to be noted here. First of all picture the sun moving in concentric circles from the center of the image to the edge and back. Now, picture the moon moving in the same pattern but much slower and erratically. That would be an approximation of what Enoch's system looks like. That full system is what Tim is refusing to map out for his audience. Basically Tim is saying, "Trust me bro," when it comes to the moon and that simply won't fly. To prove his system he needs to map out the courses of the sun and moon together tracing their analemma. He does not do this and contrary to what one commenter said the analemmas of the sun and the moon do not match up with what Enoch writes or what Tim has charted as they both move in figure eight patterns up and down the sky while Tim has them moving in concentric circles. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksPELTKJUlk&lc=Ugzl_7IHsHatyxaZL1Z4AaABAg

The sun's analemma is proof that the earth is tilted because if that were not the case then the sun would not move across the sky in a figure eight pattern but would never move at all. 

If you looked at the Sun at the same time each day, from the same place, would it appear at the same location in the sky? If the Earth were not tilted, and if its orbit around the Sun were perfectly circular, then, yes, it would. However, a combination of the Earth's 23.5 degree tilt and its slightly elliptical orbit combine to generate this figure "8" pattern of where the Sun would appear at the same time throughout the year. The pattern is called an analemma.

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/art/analemma.html

Tim discusses the suns's analemma in video four and claims it is not proof the earth is tilted or wobbling but it is proof of perspective and that the sun moves.

19:26 They use circular reasoning and claim that this anathema (he means analemma) is evidence. They're actually using it as evidence uh yet they need to prove it ever happens in the first place. That is not  evidence of a wobble it is evidence of perspective, optical perspective just as we're showing you here.  

The Error of the Moon for Days, Weeks, Months and Years. Part 4. Answers In First Enoch Part 46

Obviously we see this pattern because of perspective. Everything we see is perspective but we do not see this pattern because the sun moves as Tim claims. It only appears to move. It is simply a fact proven definitively in our modern times by photography and astronauts that the earth orbits the sun which is stationary. Only arrogant blowhards like Timothy Jay Schwab continue to deny that fact. 

Second of all there is no reason at all for darkness to exist on a flat earth because there is NOTHING stopping the light of the sun! There would NEVER be night if the earth were flat. The sun would always be seen as it rotates across the horizon. It would never set. The darkness on this map is arbitrary because in reality there would be no object to stop or absorb the light of the sun. 

To sum up video 2 neither Enoch nor Timothy Jay Schwab give a sufficient explanation for eclipses, Tim refuses to chart the path of the moon and fully prove his claims, Tim falsifies the text of Enoch by claiming he said the moon recedes behind the sun when Enoch says no such thing, and the flat earth model does not account for night because there is nothing stopping the light of the sun which would never set if the earth were indeed flat. This video is incredibly ignorant and deceptive!

In the third video of this series Tim finally deals with that other channel he has been referring to and takes their arguments head on. Though he never mentions the channel's name it is obviously a video by Parable of the Vineyard which is part of a much larger series on Enoch.

The Error of the Moon for Days, Weeks, Months and Years. Part 3. Answers In First Enoch Part 45

The thing is though the other channel Tim is engaging with NEVER mentions The God Culture or their sloppy research or even alludes to The God Culture. This whole video is an exercise in paranoia. Instead of dealing with real issues and criticism like I offer Tim prefers to construct and burn down straw men. However, there is one interesting thing in this video which requires comment. Tim asks, "Does the modern day Bible canon support a 364 day?"

10:17 Does the modern Bible Canon actually say the year is 364 days? 

11:34. Yes is the answer. The modern Bible Canon does support the sun calendar.

23:20 I know then they'll say,"But that's just the Dead Sea Scrolls that's not the modern Bible Canon." Uh, yep it is.

Tim asks if the modern Bible canon supports a 364 day year.  But instead of actually quoting from the modern Bible canon Tim defaults to the Dead Sea Scrolls!! He even goes so far to call the Dead Sea Scrolls the modern Bible canon when that is very clearly not the case as Tim in his other videos repeatedly says the modern day Bible canon is a creation of the Pharisees! And he STILL fails to cite anything from Genesis but relies heavily on Enoch and Jubilees which both contradict Genesis in giving the sun the preeminence. 

The fourth and final video in this series is mostly about the Cepher Bible and how they use a wrong translation of Enoch and thus get the moon wrong. However the first twenty minutes is a farrago of unscientific nonsense with Tim attempting to prove the sun moves based on its analemma which I already mentioned above. 

Here's the thing. RH Charles' translation of Enoch is not a pure translation. He amends the text to his liking in several places. This verse about the moon, Enoch 74:13, is just one place where he is doing not translation but also interpretation by fixing the text rather than giving us what the text says exactly. The other verse Charles changes is much more significant and I have yet to hear Tim discuss it because after all he is a dishonest schlub who tells people they need to keep the law but still shaves! In the Book of Enoch, Enoch is called the Son of Man. 

Enoch 71:14 And he came to me and greeted me with his voice and said to me, “You (are) that Son of Man who was born for righteousness, and righteousness dwells on you, and the righteousness of the Head of Days will not forsake you.”  -George Nickelsburg and James Vanderkam translation

Enoch 71:14 And he (i.e. the angel) came to me and greeted me with His voice, and said unto me 'This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness, And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.' -RH Charles translation

Now, I am not going to go in depth here on this subject but Tim, if he is reading this, needs to address this problem. RH Charles' translation is not correct and he notes that in the footnotes. Tim knows its there because he discusses it in the video and approves of the correction. He also excoriates the Cepher bible compliers for using an older translation of Enoch saying Charles' is better. Does he not know there have been translations of Enoch since Charles published his? I am sure he does but Tim does not care to compare versions. Tim's uncritical appropriation of Charles' translation of Enoch along with his introduction to the book and this series of videos shows how ignorant he is about this famous second temple period book. 

The God Culture: The Course of the Sun

Just when you thought you were done with Timothy Jay Schwab of the The God Culture he pulls you back in. This time it's a series about the course of the sun and the moon. All of this is based on the Book of Enoch and falls within Tim's Answers in Enoch series. 

In this article I will only be covering his videos about the sun. In essence the sun moves through portals, is powered by the wind, and the intensity of the sun's heat determines the seasons. As I noted in my previous article about the True Church I only want to focus on the big picture here. There are so many details to get lost in but the big picture is what matters.  

The Sun's Course Animation. Enoch's Scientific Observation. Answers In First Enoch Part 40

Now, the first thing I want to mention here is that Tim does not actually show the course of the sun according to Enoch animated. The so-called animation is very slow and takes half an hour or so to watch. It's like looking through a flip book one page at a time. I did this animation much better a few months ago using Tim's maps.

And he did not even copyright strike it!  

The gist of this video is that the sun moves in concentric circles through several portals located in the east and west above the Pacific Ocean over the course of the year. The sun is powered by the wind and the portals regulate the intensity of the sun's heat which determines the seasons. 

15:58 The sun is powered by the wind.

19:42 And in the fourth portal, that is the rising portal in the east, that sunrise and it is the beginning of Enoch's chart period. There's never ever any discussion to be had on the moon starting either of those measures. And in that fourth portal from which the sun rises in the first month are 12 window openings. Now, we render these on screen as best we can. We didn't see them, again, Enoch did but these are pretty good. From which, now we know because we mentioned them before, from which proceed a flame when they are opened in their seasons. So, they're fueling the sun essentially um powering it as far as the intensity of its heat depending on the season obviously. Makes perfect sense.

Now, you might ask has anyone ever seen these portals?  Well, of course not because no one has ever been to space. 

11:35 These are located in the firmament which, well, no man has actually entered into space, uh, not in any vehicle built by man it's never happened and we're not gonna go into all of that in this video but check it out you really should research that if you have not. No one has ever reached it except Enoch among men.

What is he talking about?  There is an International Space Station orbiting the earth! Astronauts flew into space and repaired the Hubble telescope! Men have taken balloons into space and then jumped back to the earth! If Tim wants to say no man has gone to the moon that is one thing but to say no man has ever been to space?? Well, that is just completely wrong and totally ignorant.

It's really the second video where all of his theories about the sun come into full bloom because this is where Tim "tests" them. 

Testing The Sun's Courses of First Enoch. Modern Scientism Fails! Answers In First Enoch Part 41

Now, what is meant by testing? Is it rigorous math, experimentation, and observation using a telescope over a period of months or years like Galileo and Copernicus?  No. It's just regular old observation with your eyeballs because observation apparently tumps experimentation. 

18:59 Forget what you see that's what they're going to tell you. We are right, your eyes are wrong. I'm sorry that's unscientific as the definition of science is observation and experiment. Neither have been conducted by these, who are creating these ridiculous theories. They have neither. We have eyes though and we do observe, do we not? You can see it on screen.

If you listen to that you can hear Tim SHOUT the word observation and whisper the word experiment. Tim is going to disprove the tilt of the earth by using his eyes alone.

Here is the picture Tim uses to disprove the earth is tilting on its axis. 

This photograph is supposed to thoroughly rebut the fact that the earth is tilting and it is round. Is Tim really unaware that this photo is one tiny fraction of the earth's surface? The curvature of the earth was proved by experiments that happened simultaneously at places hundreds of miles apart which measured the length of shadows at the same time on the same day.

Eratosthenes heard about a famous well in the Egyptian city of Swenet (Syene in Greek, and now known as Aswan), on the Nile River. At noon one day each year — the summer solstice (between June 20 and June 22) — the Sun’s rays shone straight down into the deep pit. They illuminated only the water at the bottom, not the sides of the well as on other days, proving that the Sun was directly overhead. (Syene was located very close to what we call the Tropic of Cancer, 23.5 degrees north, the northernmost latitude at which the Sun is ever directly overhead at noon.)

Eratosthenes erected a pole in Alexandria, and on the summer solstice he observed that it cast a shadow, proving that the Sun was not directly overhead but slightly south. Recognizing the curvature of the Earth and knowing the distance between the two cities enabled Eratosthenes to calculate the planet’s circumference.

Eratosthenes could measure the angle of the Sun’s rays off the vertical by dividing the length of the leg opposite the angle (the length of the shadow) by the leg adjacent to the angle (the height of the pole). This gave him an angle of 7.12 degrees. He knew that the circumference of Earth constituted a circle of 360 degrees, so 7.12 (or 7.2, to divide 360 evenly by 50) degrees would be about one-fiftieth of the circumference. He also knew the approximate distance between Alexandria and Syene, so he could set up this equation:

Eratosthenes estimated the distance from Alexandria to Syene as 5,000 stadia, or about 500 miles (800 kilometers). He made this estimation from the time it took walkers, who were trained to measure distances by taking regular strides, to trek between the cities. By solving the equation, he calculated a circumference of 250,000 stadia, or 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers).

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/big-history-project/solar-system-and-earth/knowing-solar-system-earth/a/eratosthenes-of-cyrene

Carl Sagan explains this experiment in the first episode of Cosmos more succinctly than I could ever hope to. You can watch that clip here. The thing to remember is you cannot always trust your eyes especially when it comes to the tricks light can play. In fact you cannot always trust any of your senses. How many times have people thought they were smelling gas when it was just Durian? That is why experimentation is needed and Tim offers zero experimentation in this video. 

As I noted in the first video Tim spends about 30 minutes tracking the course of the sun according to Enoch. He also states that the portals the sun passes through fuel the sun which causes the seasons.

So, they're fueling the sun essentially, um, powering it as far as the intensity of its heat depending on the season obviously. Makes perfect sense.

In the second video he proves this out by showing the monthly temperatures in the Philippines. He also uses other locales but the Philippines is what matters most of all.

26:47 Then December - January, again, middle month, middle month, uh, as well should make up the two coldest months. And what do we find? Exactly that! The coldest months in the Philippines.

Does Tim really live in San Fernando, La Union? The Philippines does not get cold! It is summer time all year round. That goes for all the equatorial nations especially island nations. While there might be a relatively slight chill in December and January there is no snow. There is no ice.  There is no winter here like in Maryland which is Tim's home state. In fact there are no seasons in the Philippines except wet and dry. 

Here is the graph he is using for the Philippines.

https://www.worlddata.info/asia/philippines/climate.php

The average temperature hardly fluctuates from month to month. But if Tim's flat earth model of the sun entering and exiting portals in concentric circles with the intensity of its heat determining the seasons is correct they should vary more profoundly. We don't see that. Also if the location of the sun as per Tim's map is what determines the seasons then in December - January Antarctica should be blazing hot and the Sahara desert should be chilly. That is not the case as the climate remains stable all year round in those locales.

Tim's assertion that the heat of sun as it is fueled by the portals in the sky is asinine in the extreme. When it's summer in the Northern hemisphere it is winter in the Southern hemisphere and vice versa. The intensity of the sun's heat cannot account for winter in the south and summer in the north at the same time. Not to mention Tim does not show any measurements of the sun's temperature to bolster his claims. If the sun's temperature is fluctuating he should be able to show proof of that and then show how that causes the seasons. He does not even attempt to give such proof. Instead he relies on temperature charts for various locations. And how about the polar caps? They don't melt in summer and freeze in winter because it is always below freezing in those places. It's ridiculous.

I want to end here with a note about the North Pole and directions on a flat earth map.

https://youtu.be/ksPELTKJUlk?t=2509

41:49 Verse 27: "and the sun has therewith traverse the divisions of his orbit." It has completed all six gates at this point on both sides so all the gates it's entered. Uh, so they're all represented and that's all he's saying here. The east and the west which we have observed at this point if you followed all the way through. "And turns again on those divisions of his orbit." So, basically he's going to head back in the other direction. Um, "and enters that portal," uh, meaning, uh, north south not east west he always, it always rises in the east sets in the west. Of course. I shouldn't need to mention that but I know for some I do or there'd be a blog about how we don't know. Right? Idiot. 

Far be it from me to say Tim does not know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But what I will say is cardinal directions on a flat earth map are meaningless. Look at the North Pole!  It's in the center of the map! How is the center of the earth north? Likewise though Tim has the sun moving through east and west portals he also has the sun moving downwards or southerly. And he even acknowledges this in his video just before he mocks this blog! In fact, no matter what direction you travel on the flat earth you would ALWAYS be traveling towards the Antarctic wall or "South" even if you were trekking toward the North Pole! That is absurd!

As I noted these are just the highlights of these two videos. There is a lot of nonsense in both of them and I dare say Testing the Sun's Courses is Timothy Jay Schwab's most ignorant video to date. I had to pause so many times until I was able to contain my laughter. 

To sum this up Tim, along with Enoch, claims the heat of the sun is what determines the seasons. But that cannot be possible because the seasons are reversed in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Also certain places like the Philippines and the Sahara maintain the same climate all year long. But even if it were true Tim offers no scientific proof. He doesn't even offer temperature readings of the sun. There is more astronomy to come from Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture as he will be discussing the course and purpose of the moon. I am sure it will be something to howl about!

Retards in the Government 277

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

  

 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1184397

Operatives of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) anti-scalawag unit arrested the deputy chief of police of the Balayan Municipal Police Station in Batangas for extorting money from a resident whom he accused of operating the illegal numbers game “loteng”.

In a statement Friday, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) chief Brig. Gen. Warren de Leon said Capt. Ruben Marilag was arrested in an operation at around 5 p.m. Thursday in front of a bank near their station by the IMEG Field Unit and local police.

"The operation stemmed from a complaint lodged against him for coercing and intimidating the complainant/victim into paying a weekly payola for the victim’s 'loteng' operation. Accordingly, the said 'loteng' operation had already been stopped since March of 2021 when the victim was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. Despite this, the suspect insists that the victim must pay for his weekly payola amounting to PHP2,000," de Leon said.

Recovered pieces of evidence were boodle money, the suspect’s service firearm with a magazine containing 14 live ammunition, an inside holster, smartphones, a cap with artificial hair and a wallet containing cash, and the suspect’s PNP ID.

The suspect is now under the custody of IMEG Headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City for investigation and proper disposition.

A police captain has been arrested for extortion in relation to a numbers game

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1670898/ex-sra-chief-serafica-cited-for-contempt-to-be-detained-for-15-days

A former chief of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) was cited for indirect contempt of court for issuing a memorandum allowing the importation of sugar despite a writ of preliminary injunction issued by the court.

Hermenegildo Serafica was ordered imprisoned for 15 days and to pay a fine of P30,000 by Judge Walter Zorilla of the Regional Trial Court Branch 55 in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental on Monday, September 26.

The judge on March 2, 2022, issued a writ of preliminary injunction directing the SRA, its agents and representatives or persons acting on its behalf to cease and desist from implementing the sugar importation program embodied under Sugar Order No 3, Series of 2021-2022.

On May 4, 2022, Serafica issued SRA Memorandum Circular No. 11, Series of 2021-2022, allowing the importation of 200,000 MT of sugar in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, except in Region 6, the judge said.

“Serafica willfully disregarded and manifestly disobeyed the writ of preliminary injunction when he issued memorandum circular 11,” the judge said.

The former head of the SRA was cited for contempt for dispelling a writ of preliminary injunction.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1671139/martires-admits-corruption-exists-within-office-of-ombudsman

Corruption exists within the Office of the Ombudsman, its top official Samuel Martires himself admitted on Tuesday.

Surprisingly, he made the revelation when asked by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III if the Office of the Ombudsman’s P4.781 billion 2023 budget was adequate to cover the expenses for its activities during a hearing before the Senate committee on finance.

For Martires, the fight against corruption is not easy, no matter how many billions are spent.

(In my opinion, the fund of the Ombudsman is sufficient. But it is not enough to fight corruption even if you give us P100 billion.)

“I must admit to you, Your Honor — this is not to destroy the Office of the Ombudsman — we ourselves are fighting corruption within the office,” he added.

Since they don’t use their phones or landlines, Martires said they can’t present any proof of wrongdoing by their staff.

Instead of meeting at the office, he said these workers choose to do business over meals. Although the Ombudsman wanted to eavesdrop, the head of security wouldn’t let him.

(We have employees who are corrupt. The problem is that we cannot find concrete evidence. I did everything I can.)

Martires also stressed that their office had forgotten its program that aims “to address the causes of inefficiency and red tape.”

Martires, appointed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, earlier said that it is nearly impossible to cleanse corruption in the government.

The head of the Office of the Ombudsman admits his office is with rife corruption and it is nearly impossible to clean the problem.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/28/cop-killed-by-own-gun-in-abra/

A member of the Abra Provincial Police Office died after he accidentally shot himself while fixing his own gun at the motor pool of Camp Juan Villamor in Barangay Calaba here on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Police identified the victim as Corporal John Paul Belisario Ayon-Ayon, 30.

The victim was assigned to the Abra PPO General Services and a resident of Barangay Napo, Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur.

The Bangued Municipal Police Station said they received a call at 2:20 p.m. regarding an accidental firing inside the motor pool.

Initial investigation showed that the victim was removing the slide assembly of his 9mm Taurus service firearm when he accidentally squeezed the trigger and fired towards himself.

Ayon-Ayon sustained a bullet wound in the chest. He was taken by colleagues to the Abra Provincial Hospital where was declared dead.

Another PNP officer killed himself with his own gun. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1672456/sc-affirms-conviction-of-ex-leyte-mayor-for-allowing-illegal-cockfights

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the conviction of a former mayor in Leyte for allowing members of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) to hold illegal cockfights.

Charita Chan, who served as mayor of Babatngon town from 2007 to 2016, was found guilty for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

She was meted imprisonment of six to seven years and disqualification from holding a position in the government.

The High Court said Chan issued a permit in favor of the Liga ng mga Barangay, allowing it to hold cockfighting in a licensed cockpit every Saturday.

Under Presidential Decree (PD) 449 or the Cockfighting Law of 1974, and Municipal Ordinance No. 281, cockfighting in a licensed cockpit shall be allowed only on Sundays, legal holidays, during local fiestas, agricultural, commercial or industrial fairs, carnivals, or expositions in the municipality for not more than three consecutive days, and upon a valid resolution passed for that purpose.

In its 12-page decision, the SC’s first division ruled that by issuing a permit for a cockfighting event on April 13, 2012, Chan violated PD 449 and Municipal Ordinance No. 281.

The conviction of a mayor for allowing illegal cockfighting has been upheld. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/28/22/ca-fails-to-act-on-nominations-of-tulfo-calida-13-others

Fifteen appointees of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA), the body said Wednesday.

According to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who serves as CA chairperson, the body failed to tackle the appointments of the 15 due to "lack of material time."

The first regular session of Congress is set to pause from Oct. 1 to Nov. 6.

"There was a lack of material time... If we pursued Sec. Tulfo and Bonoan, we would have finished at 7 p.m. and would have started the Senate session at 7:30 pa. Hindi puwede yan... We cannot also sacrifice our work in the Senate," Zubiri said.

According to him, the 15 bypassed officials would have to seek reappointment from Marcos.

"All the Secretaries... who have not been confirmed will have to seek a reappointment by the President as they would all be considered bypassed," Zubiri said.

The Commission on Appointments failed to do its job due to lack of time which is not a valid excuse at all. 

Coronavirus Lockdown: 5 Kilos of Rice, Phase of Acceptance, and More!

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

While the government is expending all its efforts to get everyone vaccinated Bohol has eliminated the vaccine card requirement for entry.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/22/22/bohol-stops-requiring-covid-vax-card-for-entry

Bohol province will stop requiring COVID-19 vaccination cards for most inbound travelers, its governor said in an order released on Thursday. 

"The presentation of COVID-19 vaccination cards or certificate of vaccination for travelers entering Bohol will no longer be required for asymptomatic individuals," Bohol Governor Aris Aumentado said in an executive order signed on Wednesday. 

However, inbound travelers with COVID-19 symptoms will still be required to present a vaccination card for entry. If this is unavailable, they will be advised to seek medical intervention and disclose personal information for contact-tracing, the order said. 

The order "shall take effect immediately," said the governor. 

"Relaxing the entry protocol to Bohol is one way of stimulating the local economy and start the march to economic recovery," Aumentado said, adding that COVID-19 cases are "no longer as high" as they were at the start of the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, the vaccination drive will be "intensified in all levels of the local government units in Bohol," according to his order.

In fact the government is looking to ease border restrictions for foreigners. Experts say if that happened a surge would be unlikely. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/09/22/2211335/new-covid-19-surge-unlikely-amid-eased-border-restrictions

Another surge in COVID-19 cases is unlikely even if the government eases the country’s border restrictions for foreign travelers.

For University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Emergency Medicine chair Dr. Ted Herbosa, the easing of border restrictions may pose risks, but strict compliance with minimum public health standards could prevent COVID transmission.

“There are, indeed, risks if we ease border restrictions; other COVID variants might enter, and if you haven’t been infected by that particular variant, there’s a chance that you can really be infected,” Herbosa said in Filipino and English during the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday.

“But if you are vaccinated, perhaps, if you get infected, you could have very mild symptoms because that’s the promise of vaccination. And if we will wear face mask, there won’t be another COVID outbreak in the country even if we ease border restrictions,” he added.

The government is looking into the possibility of easing the country’s border restrictions and allowing the entry of all foreigners while the task of verifying the travelers’ medical status will be given to airline companies, according to the health expert.

Emphasizing that the country is still nowhere near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, infectious diseases expert Dr. Rontgene Solante has warned the public against the possible emergence of a more virulent variant of the infectious illness.

In an interview with “The Chiefs” aired on Cignal TV’s One News last Tuesday night, Solante advised the public to stay vigilant because the pandemic is far from over.

“We are not yet off the hook, even (if) cases are going down, there are still people who die of COVID,” he said.

People are still dying of COVID?  Also week we were told it was an average of 3 per day. How is that a cause for concern? And what are the stats on those deaths? Vaccinated? Unvaccinated? Half-vaccinated? Boosted? Old? Young? Comorbidities?? Those statistics are relevant and important and they are always omitted.

The founder of Go Negosyo says the Philippines is now entering the "phase of acceptance."

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/09/23/2211594/philippines-enters-phase-acceptance-pandemic-concepcion

Filipinos continue to learn to live with the COVID-19 virus as the country enters a phase of acceptance in the pandemic, Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said.

In a statement yesterday, Concepcion said the Philippines is entering a “phase of acceptance” in the COVID-19 pandemic, where people are aware of the risks but are learning to manage them.

“I believe it has started and that we will have to live with the risks of the virus still being around,” he said.

Infectious disease expert Benjamin Co said that the country cannot wait for everyone to decide on his or her personal health.

“We cannot protect everyone all the time. I guess we have already provided everyone with the tools to prevent, diagnose and treat Covid-19. The next move is ours on an individual basis,” said the OCTA Research fellow.

Co further explained that it may appear that SARS-CoV-2 cases are going down globally, but that it is not because there are fewer people getting infected, but because people are not testing as frequently as before and prefer to move on in spite of the pandemic.

The infectious disease expert further likened the pandemic to the stages of grief – anger, denial, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

“The sixth stage is the final journey after acceptance – finding meaning,” Co said.

He acknowledged the difficulty in returning to how things were before the pandemic. “We will never be the same anytime soon. Yet we need to be,” he said.

Gee, I don't know for sure but I am pretty sure the people have learned to live not only with COVID but with the unnecessary restrictions imposed by the government within the first week of the first lockdown. It's really the government who is finally learning to live with the virus as seen by the mandatory face mask ordinance being dropped. 

The vaccine program remains in full swing. Seniors in Angeles City who get injected with the experimental goo will get 5 kilos of rice.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1669650/5-kilos-of-rice-free-for-angeles-city-seniors-who-get-covid-19-vaccine

In a bid to ramp up its vaccination program against COVID-19, the city government here announced on Friday that senior citizens who will have themselves vaccinated will  also get 5 kilos of rice for free.

“To encourage more people to be vaccinated, resident senior citizens who will receive first dose of vaccines against COVID-19 will get five kilos of rice,” an emailed statement from the city government said.

The city government told Inquirer the “vaccine-to-rice” program will be held at the legislative building of the city hall from Sept. 26 to 29.

Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. said the program is a form of reward to encourage the elderly to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

(The vaccine is our only protection against the virus, so we are encouraging our senior citizens to get vaccinated.)

If "the vaccine is our only protection against the virus" then get rid of the face mask ordinance completely. Get rid of social distancing completely. But they won't do that because the government does not really believe "the vaccine is our only protection against the virus." Vaccinated people do die despite and because of receiving the vaccine.

Zamboanga City is also offering this same deal of 5 kilos of rice in exchange for getting a booster shot. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1184626

To encourage more people to get vaccine boosters during the weeklong "national vaccination days," Mayor John Dalipe announced Monday that each booster vaccinee will receive five kilos of rice as an incentive.

Dalipe announced this during the launching of the Sept. 26 – 30 “Bakunahang Bayan: PinasLakas Special Vaccination Days here at the Southern City Colleges.

The local government has allocated rice for the 16 health districts for distribution to booster vaccines during the special national vaccination days, the mayor said.

Dalipe urged residents to “continue to safeguard one another by encouraging our friends, family, and relatives to get the shots” for added protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Remember, that 5 kilos of rice will be gone within a week but the after effects of the experimental vaccine will last forever. 

Commuters in areas with Alert Level 1 are now allowed to stand on buses and jeepnies.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1670959/standing-allowed-once-again-in-buses-e-jeeps

Commuters can once again put up with standing during their commute, after public utility vehicles (PUVs) have been allowed once more to accommodate passengers beyond their seating capacity.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday issued Memorandum Circular No. 2022-070, which brought back, starting that day, the practice among PUVs with seats already fully occupied to allow more passengers and have them stand on the aisles.

This was effectively discouraged by the rule of physical distancing at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But since the pandemic isn’t over, the circular still imposes certain limits on allowing standing commuters in PUVs.

For “low-entry/low-floor” buses, only a maximum of 15 standing passengers will be allowed and they must be “at least one person apart,” the circular said.

For coach-type buses, only 10 standing passengers are allowed and they must maintain the same social distancing rule.

Modern e-jeepneys can only accommodate up to five standing passengers.

The LTFRB said “existing policies on minimum public health protocols inside PUVs shall be strictly observed at all times.”

Thus, failure to comply with the circular will be deemed a violation subject to penalties stipulated in Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, which includes suspension or revocation of a PUV’s license.

But commuters are only too familiar with these rules, as opposed to the realities on the ground. INQ

Does commuters knowing the realities on the ground mean these rules aren't enforced? Another rule that has been lifted pertains to OFWs traveling to their destination. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/09/25/2212006/wearing-ppes-no-longer-required-traveling-ofws

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has issued an advisory against requirements of certain agencies for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to wear full personal protective equipment (PPE) while traveling to their country of destination.

The advisory, issued by POEA officer-in-charge Bernard Olalia last Friday, was in compliance with a directive from Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople.

Ople, who is in New York as part of the presidential delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, said the wearing of PPEs is not sanctioned by the department and the POEA.

“I agree with the sentiments of Sen. Pia Cayetano and other legislators that the PPE requirement for departing OFWs is outdated, misguided and oppressive. I regret not having issued this order much earlier to spare our OFWs the discomfort of going to the airport in full PPE attire,” she said in a statement.

In the POEA Advisory No. 62 Series of 2022, Olalia reminded recruitment agencies not to make the wearing of PPEs a requirement for OFWs as they travel “whether in Philippine airports or in the countries of destination.”

“Asking our OFWs to wear PPEs at this time is like asking surfers to wear ballgowns – it’s cumbersome, awkward and extremely peculiar,” Ople added.

It was learned that a manning agency’s Japanese principal had required the wearing of PPEs and masks for Filipino crew bound for Japan since the COVID-19 virus is still prevalent in that country.

A Chinese shipping vessel also requires its local manning agency to supply PPEs to embarking crew to prevent infection during travel, with the cost of the PPEs shouldered by the employer.

But Ople said: “The DMW firmly believes that having vaccines plus booster shots and wearing face masks provide sufficient protection to our overseas workers. Until otherwise recommended by our health officials, the POEA advisory against mandatory wearing of PPEs for our OFWs by their respective recruitment and manning agencies shall remain in force.”

This article does not describe exactly what kind of PPE's OFWs were being forced to wear but it sounds like they were fully suited up.