The God Culture: The Philippines is the Center of the Center of Marine Biodiversity

The scientific fact that the Philippines is the "center of the center of marine biodiversity" plays a central role in Timothy Jay Schwab's claim that the Philippines is the land of creation and thus the location of the Garden of Eden, Ophir, Tarshish, etc. So central is this to his thesis that the second video The God Culture produced to promote their new book "The Search for King Solomon's Treasure" is focused on this claim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCgbHXVJePo

Where did creation occur? Marine life survived the flood. The center of the center of marine biodiversity on the entire planet is the Philippines. Epicenter of the coral triangle. The Philippines land of creation.

That is a very truncated statement of Tim's doctrine concerning the Philippines' marine biodiversity as being proof that the Philippines is the "land of creation." That phrase is problematic in itself because God created an entire planet not just one land. This claim is also discussed elsewhere in his videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz2Bmcm05_A

4:23 So if we want to know the origin of man and animals the land of creation we know exactly where to look it's not difficult. We don't go looking for bones of man or land animals who rebooted during the flood as all but what was on the ark was wiped out but those creatures which were not wiped out by the flood, marine species. Find the most diverse population of marine life on earth and you have actually found the land of creation. Now, see that is science, observation, and even logic.

6:59 The Carpenter report on environmental biology of fishes reports "The Philippines is not only part of the center but is, in fact the epicentre of marine biodiversity, with the richest concentration of marine life on the entire planet." See not actually debatable is it. The Philippines is the land of creation

"Find the most diverse population of marine life on earth and you have actually found the land of creation. Now, see that is science, observation, and even logic."  That's actually called an assumption. Why would a diverse marine population tell us anything about the creation of man or land animals? Tim does not say. He simply asserts it as being true.

As I previously wrote Tim does not actually cite the Carpenter report's findings. Instead he cites a brief summary of the report. Let's look at the report and see what it actually says.

Carpenter Report

From the Synopsis:

Analysis of distribution data for 2983 species reveals a pattern of richness on a finer scale and identifies a peak of marine biodiversity in the central Philippine Islands and a secondary peak between peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. This pattern is repeated in diverse habitat and higher taxa classes, most rigorously for marine shore fishes, supporting geohistorical hypotheses as the most general unifying explanations.

From the Methods section:

Related to the area of accumulation hypothesis is that the IMPA also serves as an area of refuge (Bellwood & Hughes 2001) because it encompasses the most extensive and diverse tropical shallow water marine habitat on earth.

pg. 5-6

Results:

Analysis of the 2983 combined ranges reveals the central Philippines as the area of highest diversity and endemism (Figure 5a, b). A secondary area of high diversity is located between the tip of Malaysia and Sumatra and extends along north- eastern Sumatra and northern Java (Figure 5a). Both diversity centers are repeated in subsets of data based on distribution, habitat, all inverte- brate taxa, and shore fishes.

pg. 6 

Discussions

Because of its greater area, Indonesia may eventually be shown to have a greater overall marine biodiversity than the Philippines. However, there is a higher concentration of species per unit area in the Philippines than anywhere in Indonesia, including Wallacea, according to our study.

pg.8 

The hypothesis that the IMPA is a center of origin is not falsified by the central Philippine epicenter of diversity. However, it is not readily apparent why geological events that promoted allopatric speciation may have been more prevalent in the Philippines than in Wallacea.

pg.10 

The overall conclusion from our study is that the diversity found in the IMPA is likely a combination of many processes, as evidenced by the secondary center of diversity we observed. However the higher number of species per unit area in the Philippines than elsewhere in the IMPA indicates that concentrated allopatric speciation and island integration across the Philippine archipelago appears to have played an important role in shaping the diversity of the IMPA. These hypotheses warrant further testing through refined vicariance biogeography methods and molecular phylogeographic approaches.

pg. 13

To sum up according to this paper, "multiple datasets show global maxima of marine biodiversity in the Indo–Malay–Philippines archipelago (IMPA)." However the epicenter of this diversity is the Philippines. This diversity consists in "the number of species per unit area" and not the number of unique species per se which only number 2,983. There is also a "secondary peak" of diversity "between peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra."   This map illustrates these findings.

The top 10% of species richness is in shades of red and yellow and the remaining decreasing increments of species richness are indicated by lighter shades of blue. The greatest diversity is red (1693 to 1736 species), followed by pink (1650 to 1692 species), yellow (1606 to 1649 species), and light yellow (1563 to 1605 species).

pg.7

The map in the bottom corner (f) shows how this diversity overlaps. The entire area is a global center of marine biodiversity "per unit area" not in the number of species per se which is only 2,983. The diversity in the IMPA stems from it being crowded and not because there is a high number of unique species in the area.

What does this mean for Tim's thesis that the Philippines has the most diverse marine life and is thus the land of creation? It means his claim is very misleading. It is readily apparent that he does not understand that the diversity consists in distribution of species "per unit area" and not in the number of unique species per se. In this study only the distribution of 2,983 species were studied. The region with the greatest number of those species "per unit area" is the Philippines. Those same species are distributed throughout the IMPA but in lower, but not by much, numbers. The entire area is a center of marine biodiversity with the Philippines being the epicenter.  Why is that? The author, Kent Carpenter, says more study is needed. 

There are far more then 2,983 marine species on the planet. Are there other areas with even more diverse populations of marine life? Of course.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2914069/

We analyze the state of knowledge of marine biodiversity based on the geographic distribution of georeferenced species records and regional taxonomic lists. A total of 12,046 marine species are reported in this paper for the Caribbean region. 

The total number of endemic species for those taxa is 1,563, which represents 25.6% of the species for these groups.

This paper on Caribbean marine biodiversity analyses 12,046 species and 25.6% of them are endemic, native, to the region. Likewise the Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot of biodiversity and boasts of many endemic species.

Mediterranean Sea

A rough estimate of more than 8,500 species of macroscopic marine organisms should live in the Mediterranean Sea, corresponding to somewhat between 4% and 18% of the world marine species. This is a conspicuous figure if one considers that the Mediterranean Sea is only 0.82% in surface area and 0.32% in volume as compared to the world ocean. 

As a result, the Mediterranean Sea is considered as a true hotspot of biodiversity [1, 2, 10], even by virtue of the high rates of endeCism it supports (an estimated 20–30% of marine species in the Mediterranean are considered endemic to the Basin.)

How does Tim account for this diversity in the Carribrean and the Mediterranean? Why does the marine biodiversity of the Philippines indicate it is the land of creation when it does not have the most unique species? The diversity of the Philippines is "per unit area" not per species. There are 6x more species in the Caribbean and 25.6% of those are endemic to the Caribbean which means they are not found in the Philippines. Likewise in the Mediterranean there are 8,500 unique species and 20-30% are endemic to that body of water. Why isn't the Caribbean the land of creation when it has more species? Tim does not explain any of this. He has probably not even considered it as he has not bothered to conduct any meaningful research into marine biodiversity. Instead he has taken a study about the Philippines which, as indicated by his lack of reference to it, he has not read and distorted its findings out of all proportion.

Closely tied to his appeal that the Philippines is the center of marine biodiversity on the planet is Tim's claim that there was no ocean before the flood. This claim is not rooted in science but in faith. Specifically faith in the narrative of the apocryphal Jewish text 2 Esdras.

pg. 270

2 Esdras narrows this down to a percentage we can understand. Only one-seventh of the Earth before the Flood was water which is approximately 15%. This is extremely significant as there are many who lose sight that the ocean did not exist at that time but was formed by the flood. 

The reason this matters is Genesis 2 is depicting the only major aqua nerve system on the Earth at that time.

pg. 270-271

 Tim's faith in 2 Esdras leads him to claim that only 1/7th of the earth was water before the flood.

2 Esdras 6:42 Upon the third day thou didst command that the waters should be gathered in the seventh part of the earth: six parts hast thou dried up, and kept them, to the intent that of these some being planted of God and tilled might serve thee.

In 2 Esdras 14 Ezra tell us that the books of Moses were burned up and God gives him a revelation to write them down. In fact he writes down 204 books, 70 of which remain secret.

2 Esdras:14:21: For thy law is burnt, therefore no man knoweth the things that are done of thee, or the work that shall begin.

37: So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we went into the field, and remained there. 

38: And the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, Esdras, open thy mouth, and drink that I give thee to drink. 

42: The Highest gave understanding unto the five men, and they wrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which they knew not: and they sat forty days, and they wrote in the day, and at night they ate bread. 

43: As for me. I spake in the day, and I held not my tongue by night. 

44: In forty days they wrote two hundred and four books. 

45: And it came to pass, when the forty days were filled, that the Highest spake, saying, The first that thou hast written publish openly, that the worthy and unworthy may read it: 

46: But keep the seventy last, that thou mayest deliver them only to such as be wise among the people: 

47: For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge. 

48: And I did so.

From this passage we learn that Ezra, inspired by God, dictated the books of Moses plus a lot of other things he withheld. That means faith in this text requires a belief that our current text of Genesis originates from this event and that we are missing a lot of other texts. 

Now let's read Timothy Jay Schwab's interpretation of Genesis 1.

Genesis 1:10 KJV

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.  

Hebrew:yam: יָם:sea, mighty river (Nile), salt sea.

The Hebrew yam can mean sea but it is also used for mighty river and even the Salt Sea or Dead Sea who is not a sea but a lake. Yam is obviously a generic word referring to a large body of water not narrowing down the specifics nor does such requirement exist. The word is not a definitive word for ocean nor does Genesis 1-6 ever describe an ocean but five mega-rivers which we will locate with perhaps lakes we call basins today.

pg. 271

According to Tim 2 Esdras is history which means Ezra rewrote the writings of Moses at the dictation of God himself. How does Tim explain this nonspecific language in Genesis 1 when 2 Esdras 6 is very specific? How does he explain the differing creation stories between Genesis 1 and 2 Esdras 6? 2 Esdras 6:49-52 relates an interesting narrative about Enoch and Leviathan which is nowhere to be found in Genesis.

49: Then didst thou ordain two living creatures, the one thou calledst Enoch, and the other Leviathan; 

50: And didst separate the one from the other: for the seventh part, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them both.

51: Unto Enoch thou gavest one part, which was dried up the third day, that he should dwell in the same part, wherein are a thousand hills:

52: But unto Leviathan thou gavest the seventh part, namely, the moist; and hast kept him to be devoured of whom thou wilt, and when.

Which Enoch is this? It can't be the "seventh from Adam." Neither Ezra nor Tim explains.

Timothy Jay Schwab's belief that there was no ocean before the flood results in two absurdities. 

The first absurdity, as I pointed out elsewhere, is that is if the Garden of Eden is under the Sulu Sea, as Tim teaches, then that means there was no marine biodiversity in the Sulu Sea before the flood because there was no Sulu Sea until after the flood. So why would marine biodiversity which appears after the flood and not at creation tell us anything about "the land of creation?" This fact alone destroys his ridiculous claim that the Philippines' marine biodiversity indicates the Philippines is "the land of creation."

The second absurdity is that Tim has no explanation for saline waters and the creatures who thrive in them. On this planet there are freshwater ecosystems and there are saltwater ecosystems. The fact is freshwater marine life cannot survive in saltwater and vice versa.

https://www.livescience.com/32167-can-saltwater-fish-live-in-fresh-water.html

Some fish species can live in both freshwater and saltwater. These species are called euryhaline fish. However, most fish species can only survive in one or the other based on their salinity tolerance, or how much salt their bodies can handle. 

Most fish that can only tolerate narrow ranges of salinity and are highly sensitive to any changes in the levels of salt to the water in which they dwell. These fish are known as stenohaline species and include goldfish, which can live only in a freshwater environment. 

Reversely, tuna can exist exclusively in saltwater, according to the NMFS. 

In fact, freshwater fish will often be unable to survive if the salinity levels of their surrounding water reaches more than .05 percent, according to the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII).

Tim's thesis that there was no antediluvian world ocean means there would have to be no life which requires the world ocean for its habitat. This includes whales, dolphins, corals, sharks, clownfish, tuna, octopi, squids, and mollusks just to name a few. As Genesis 1 says:

21: And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22: And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Were blue whales, dolphins, sharks, clownfish, tuna, and all the rest swimming around in large freshwater lakes which made up only 1/7 of the earth's surface? And after the flood did they adapt to the salinity of the ocean? Just what is the origin of the world ocean's saline content? For Tim to have a coherent thesis that there was no ocean before the flood he will have to take the above facts into consideration and offer an explanation instead of quickly jumping to mapping out a supposed ancient river system in the ocean trenches.

Most importantly Tim offers no explanation why the waters with the most diversity means that is the land of creation. Like many of his claims it's an unfalsifiable ad hoc hypothesis for which he offers zero explanation. There are 6x more marine species in the Caribbean than in the "center of the center of marine biodiversity." The Philippines may have more species "per unit area" but the Philippines is less diverse in terms of actual species. The waters of the IMPA and the Philippines are simply more crowded.

We also see his scriptural explanations from 2 Esdras do not pan out. Of course 2 Esdras is not scripture and has never been scripture. Nor is it science. It is apocryphal Jewish literature which is certainly not solid ground on which to build a case for anything scientific.

Retards in the Government 190

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

 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1383940/clandestine-shabu-lab-in-subic-bay-freeport-zone-busted-4-cops-nabbed

Four police officers who are allegedly protecting a clandestine shabu (crystal meth)  laboratory inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales, and another individual, were arrested during a drug buy-bust operation on Friday.

The laboratory could produce at least 3 to 4 kilograms of shabu daily, investigators said.

Those arrested were identified as Lt. Reynato Basa Jr., Cpl. Gino Dela Cruz, Cpl. Edesyr Victor Alipio, Cpl. Godfrey Duclayan Parentela. Also arrested was a certain Jericho Dabu.

Adrian Alvariño, regional director of PDEA – National Capital Region, said the syndicate behind the operation of the clandestine laboratory is composed of a Canadian national, a Filipino who delivers the shabu, and the four police officers from the Subic Station Drug Enforcement Unit “who is (sic) their protector and helps them dispose of the illegal drugs.”

He said a follow-up operation is ongoing for the arrest of the Canadian national.

Four cops from the Subic PNP Drug Enforcement Unit have been arrested or protecting a drug lab run by a Canadian national. The Olongapo police Chief has also been fired over this incident.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/359252/jail-officer-shot-dead-in-danao-city

At least eight still unidentified individuals are being considered as suspects behind the killing of a jail officer in Danao City on Thursday evening, January 14, 2021. 

The Danao City Police Station said Jail Officer 2 Reymond Roble Vasquez, 34, did not make it alive at the hospital after he was gunned down past 10:30 p.m. in Sitio Sta. Cruz, Barangay Dunggo-an in Danao City, northern Cebu.  

Police said the crime occurred right in front of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology – Danao City office (BJMP-Danao), and that they received the shooting alarm from a concerned citizen around 10:35 p.m. 

“According to the BJMP-Danao personnel, the (victim) was on duty and his post was outside of the BJMP-Danao premises,” they said.  

Based on the initial closed circuit television (CCTV) footages the investigators obtained from BJMP-Danao’s office, four motorcycles were seen surrounding Vasquez’s multicab shortly after the victim went inside his vehicle.  

Investigators added that the eight suspects, all of whom were seen wearing face masks, peppered Vasquez with bullets. 

As a result, the victim sustained several gunshot wounds in his head and his vehicle was riddled with bullet holes. 

A jail guard was assassinated by 8 unknown men for unknown reasons.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127507

Narcotics agents have arrested a former staff of the Iligan City Anti Drug Abuse Council (ICADAC) in a buy-bust operation Thursday evening in Barangay Luinab here.

Agent Neil Pabilona, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) assistant provincial officer for Lanao del Norte, identified the arrested person as Wilrap Losorata, 28, who yielded five sachets of shabu with an estimated market value of PHP54,400.

Losorata was under surveillance for several months based on the information provided by previously arrested personalities, Pabilona said.

Another (former) government official arrested on drug offenses.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1384663/2-police-rookies-face-dismissal-for-drug-use

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas has ordered the pre-charge investigation and initiation of summary dismissal proceedings against two police non-commissioned officers who were found positive for drug use.

 Sinas said Pat. Reyland Lacap Intal from the Olongapo City Mobile Force Company and Pat. Benhur Ismael from the 2nd Sulu Provincial Mobile Force Company have been disarmed and placed under restrictive custody by their respective units while investigation is ongoing.

Two more cops fail their drug tests.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/359562/lawyer-municipal-councilor-7-others-nabbed-for-illegal-cockfighting-in-tuburan

Nine individuals including a lawyer and a municipal councilor were arrested around noon of January 15 after they were caught engaging in illegal cockfighting in Purok 1, Sitio Matnog, Barangay Putat, Tuburan town, northwestern Cebu.  

The violators are currently detained at the Tuburan Municipal Police Station and will be facing charges for violating Presidential Decree 449 or the Cockfighting Law of 1974 as amended by Presidential Decree 1602, Section 9 (e) of Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Events of Public Health Concern Act, and the Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code.  

According to a spot report, the lawyer will also be facing a separate criminal case for violating Section 31 of RA 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Regulation Act after he was found in possession of a registered firearm without legal authority.   

CDN Digital is withholding the identity of the lawyer and his councilor-brother as we are still reaching out to get their side.

Confiscated from the area were 7 dead fighting cocks, 19 live fighting cocks, cash worth P48, 410, a variety of medicines for fighting cocks, syringes, nylon cords, gaffs, one (1) 9mmx9 PARA, and some gambling paraphernalia. 

Another LGU official caught engaging in illegal cockfighting.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/359858/retired-army-colonel-tagged-in-killing-of-cebu-lawyer-wounding-of-another-lawyer

Another retired Philippine Army official was arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of a lawyer in Cebu City. 

The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) accused Retired Colonel Edwin Layese of taking part in the fatal shooting of Lawyer Joey Luis Wee. 

Lawyer Renan Augustus Oliva, director of NBI-7, told reporters in a press conference on Monday, January 18, that they found out that Layese also happened to be part of a separate shooting incident involving another lawyer – Joseph James Gupana. 

“While we were conducting the investigation, we found similarities in the execution and profiles involved in the two attacks,” said Oliva in a mix of Cebuano and English.

Layese was arrested within the vicinity of Fuente Osmeña last January 13, 2021, NBI-7 said. He will be facing charges of murder and illegal possession of firearms. 

Authorities earlier arrested another retired official from the Philippine Army, identified as Edgar Benigno Fausto Peralta, for the killing of Wee. 

Wee, 51, was shot in the head in front of his law office in Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City last November 23, 2020. 

Gupana, 74, on the other hand, survived an ambush-slay attempt in Barangay Pajac, Lapu-Lapu City last October 10, 2020.

Oliva said they believed Layese and Peralta were moonlighting as guns-for-hire.

Cebu City PNP thinks retired Army officials are working as guns-for-hire. Are there more? Who is hiring them?  Why would they take the job?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127837

The Sandiganbayan has convicted two former Lanao del Norte police officers who enforced the demolition of houses without a valid court order.

In a decision dated Jan. 15, the anti-graft court’s First Division found Rey Armodia Camanian and Lauro Rocaberte Diputado guilty beyond reasonable doubt of three counts of grave coercion and sentenced them to up to three years imprisonment for each count.

The two former members of the Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte PNP Civil Service Unit, along with then Mayor Rommel Arnado, was charged in a complaint filed by the Sambuat family after the policemen barged into their property and destroyed their homes even after they showed them copies of their title to the property.

Two cops convicted of demolishing a family's house without a court order.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1385619/village-chief-shot-dead-in-leyte-town

A village chief was gunned down by a still unidentified assailant along the national highway in Barangay Bobonon, Alangalang town, Leyte on Tuesday morning.

Another village chief assassinated.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127795

Two police officers of the Eastern Police District (EPD) are ordered dismissed from service after they tested positive for illegal drug use.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas identified the erring policemen as Cpl. Regie Alilano, assigned at the Pasig City Police Station Sub-Station 6 and Pat. Arnel Agustin of the District Human Resource and Doctrine Development Office. The two are undergoing summary dismissal proceedings.

Sinas said a random drug test administered to 76 EPD personnel last Jan. 13, 2021 screened and confirmed traces of methamphetamine in the urine specimen of Alilano and Agustin.

Both police officers have been disarmed and placed under restrictive custody.

"We will not stop until we completely cleanse the police force of drug-using members," Sinas said.

Two more cops test positive for drugs.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127922

Police authorities in Kidapawan City have launched a manhunt for three men who ambushed and injured a village chairperson on Tuesday evening.

Col. Ramel Hojilla, Kidapawan police director, said several leads are being pursued against the armed men who ambushed Albert Espina, chairperson of Barangay Sto. Niño, Kidapawan City.

Hojilla said Espina, 38, was heading home in his Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up with his wife and child at 7 p.m. when they were flagged down by still unidentified gunmen along a dimly-lit road in Purok 7.

“One of the suspects opened fire on him using a .45 caliber pistol,” he said over a radio station here Wednesday.

Hojilla said Espina sustained bullet wounds on his elbow and shoulder and is recuperating at a private hospital. 

Another attempted assassination against a village executive.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/01/20/2071713/89-barangay-captains-suspended-over-sap-cash-aid-anomalies

President Duterte announced Monday night the preventive suspension of 89 barangay captains for six months over alleged irregularities in the distribution of social amelioration program (SAP) cash aid intended to cushion the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his weekly televised address, the President read the list of suspended barangay captains after conducting his weekly meeting with core members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“Itong mga barangay captains, I warned you. ‘Pag umpisa pa lang sinabi ko na do not f**k with this. Itong pera sa pantawid. ‘Yong panahod ng COVID na namigay ang gobyerno ng pera para sa mga mahihirap. Sinabi ko na, lalo na sa barangay level, na ‘wag na ‘wag ninyo gawin (I warned you from the beginning, do not mess with this money for the poor),” Duterte said during his nationwide address.

The President stressed the barangay captains would be under preventive suspenion for six months.

89 more LGU officials suspend over anomalous SAP transactions.

https://politics.com.ph/jail-officer-nabbed-for-raping-lesbian-boarder/

A Bureau of Jail Management officer assigned in Taguig City has been arrested for the alleged rape of a 26-year-old lesbian, who was his tenant.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) identified the officer as Ramon Carolino. 

According to the NBI’s report to the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office, Carolino raped the woman after a drinking session at his house on January 16.

Carolino allegedly forced the woman to have sex with him at gunpoint after their drinking buddies left the house. The victim was a boarder at the officer’s residence. 

The NBI said the victim reportedly suffered mental trauma after being raped. She has been referred to the bureau’s behavioral department for therapy. 

“The victim could not stop crying when she arrived at the NBI office and fainted several times, during the process of the investigation,’’ the report read.

Carolino claimed he and the victim had consensual sex, but results of the medical exam on the woman showed lacerations or injuries in her genitals.

A BJMP employee is accused of raping his tenant!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1386247/cop-girlfriend-nabbed-in-camarines-norte-drug-sting

A police officer and his girlfriend were arrested in a search operation in Daet town in Camarines Norte province on Wednesday morning.

Lieutenant Colonel Chito Oyardo, Daet police chief, said Police Senior Master Sergeant Jacky Palomar, 40, assigned at the 2nd Police Mobile Force Company of the province, and Mylene Delos Reyes, 29, were arrested in Barangay Magang at 11:45 a.m.

Oyardo said they were identified as members of the “Rey Gutierrez Drug Group” operating in the province.

Confiscated were 50 grams of suspected shabu (crystal meth) worth P350,000, a caliber 9mm with 15 live bullets, and a stolen Toyota Hilux vehicle.

“He was under surveillance after previously arrested drug personalities identified his involvement in the group,” Oyardo added.

Palomar was allegedly protecting the operation of the group, causing other anti-illegal drug operations in the province to be compromised, Oyardo said.

He has been in service with the Philippine National Police for 18 years.

Another cop busted for being involved in drugs. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1128052

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Debold Sinas, on Thursday ordered a deeper investigation on the Binangonan Municipal Police Station following the arrest of two “civilian assets” for alleged extortion activities.

Sinas directed Calabarzon PNP director, Brig. Gen. Felipe Natividad, to place Binangonan police chief, Lt. Col. Ferdinand Ancheta, under investigation for command responsibility over alleged extortion activities of his subordinates that was confirmed in the entrapment operation on Tuesday by the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) right in front of the town hall.

“I will not let this incident pass without implementing appropriate criminal and administrative action against those involved," Sinas said.

The IMEG operation resulted in the arrest of Albert Domingo alias Joel, and Pablo Dolfo alias Botchok, both civilian assets of Binangonan Police Station.

Domingo and Dolfo were identified by IMEG as the persons who extorted money from a certain Stephen Kellu in exchange for the release of an impounded motor vehicle.

During the entrapment operation, IMEG operatives also discovered that a "person under police custody", Cpl. Archieval Perez, who is facing non-bailable charges for infidelity in the custody of prisoners, was outside the detention facility and serving as lookout during the extortion pay-off using two mobile phones for communication, IMEG director Col. Thomas Frias Jr. said.

Kellu also identified six members of Binangonan Police Station as involved in the alleged extortion.

They are Senior Master Sgt. Randy Andanar; Staff Sgt. Joel Acosta; Staff Sgt. Joe Sevillena; Cpl. Allan Alvarez; Cpl. Marson Tayaban; and Cpl. Ew Armenis.

Six cops allegedly involved in extortion activities.

Coronavirus Lockdown: All Jabs Are the Same, Military Tanks, and More!

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

It's finally happened. The new mutated strain of the virus has reached the Philippines.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/01/14/2070343/new-covid-19-variant-now-philippines-doh

The new and more contagious variant of COVID-19 that first emerged in the United Kingdom has been detected in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) announced last night.

In a statement, the DOH and PGC said that following strengthened biosurveillance and border control efforts, the B-117 SARS-CoV-2 or the UK variant was detected in the Philippines after samples from a Filipino who arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Jan. 7 “yielded positive genome sequencing results.”

The patient is a male resident of Quezon City who departed for Dubai on Dec. 27, 2020 for business purposes. He returned to the Philippines on Jan. 7 via Emirates Flight EK 332.

The patient was accompanied by his female partner during his trip.

However, the woman tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, upon arrival.

“Both of the returning Filipinos had no exposure to a confirmed case prior to their departure to Dubai nor had any travel activities outside Quezon City,” the DOH and PGC said.

Two people traveling together, both were not exposed to any known cases, and yet one of them tested positive for the new variant. Sounds like the virus is airborne and if that is the case then all the health protocols in the world won't stop its spread. Already 8 passengers on the same flight tested positive for the new variant.

Lawmakers and others are asking about how much Sinovac's vaccine cost. The Palace says they got the BFF price and that it was somewhere around P650.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/14/21/palace-china-sold-covid-19-vaccine-to-philippines-at-bff-price

Beijing offered the Philippines the COVID-19 vaccine from its state-backed Sinovac Biotech at a "BFF" or "best friend forever" price, Malacañang said on Thursday, after a lawmaker urged the government to rethink the procurement over efficacy concerns. 

The Philippines has booked 25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, which Senate finance committee chair Sen. Sonny Angara earlier said cost around P3,600 per 2 jabs. 

Communist China is "not driven by market forces" and can "unilaterally fix" its vaccine prices, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. 

(We were given a price fit for their BFF.)

(If I am not mistaken, that is just the third most expensive out of 6 brands, so it is in the mid-range. There is no sense to the claims of critics that Sinovac is very expensive.)

A confidentiality agreement covers the prices of vaccines, and Roque said he was "not at a liberty" to disclose Sinovac's exact cost. 

It seems the Filipino people have no right to know how much of their tax moneys went to pay for this vaccine. To all those who balk at the though of getting a Chinese jab Duterte says Sinovac is just as good as Pfizer or any Western vaccine.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/01/13/2070375/claim-all-jabs-are-same-duterte-defends-sinovac-purchase

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday renewed his trust for COVID-19 vaccines developed by China, even going as far as claiming that all jabs are just the same despite developers reporting different efficacy rates.

The president in his weekly address was seemingly responding to criticism that the administration is preferring the Chinese-made Sinovac despite 50% efficacy and yet the second most expensive.

(This vaccine is as good as any other that the Americans or Europeans developed. The Chinese are not lacking in mind.)

Sinovac's efficacy remains unclear to date, but its clinical trials in Brazil showed it was at 50.4%, compared with other jabs such as Pfizer at 95% and AstraZeneca at 70%. It had been the subject of concern at home, even from lawmakers, who had criticized the move to procure 25 million of Sinovac's doses.

(The one they picked is better. This is more effective and we would get this early. For those who don't want it, you're on your own.)

Obviously a vaccine with a 50% effectivity rate is nowhere near as good as one that has a 95% effectivity rate.

In response to the presence of the mutated virus the government has extended the travel ban until the end of the month.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127461

The Philippines has extended the travel ban on countries with confirmed cases of B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant, or the United Kingdom (UK) variant, until the end of January, Malacañang announced on Friday.

To curb the spread of the new variant in the country, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the recommendation to extend the temporary travel restrictions until January 31, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

“Travel restrictions in more than 30 countries extended until January 31, 2021,” Roque said.

Travelers from the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, China, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, Spain, the United States, Portugal, India, Finland, Norway, Jordan, Brazil, Austria, Pakistan, Jamaica, Luxembourg, and Oman are prohibited from going to the Philippines.

Studies found that the UK variant is nearly 70 percent more transmissible than the original Covid-19 variant. However, there is no evidence yet that it is deadlier than the previous variant.

The list could grow as the new mutation spreads. The DOH says they will be testing all incoming travelers and any who test positive will undergo genome sequencing.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1383964/all-incoming-travelers-with-covid-19-to-undergo-genome-sequencing-doh

(Aside from countries with travel restrictions, we are now going to test all of those passengers or incoming travelers coming from all countries. Once they arrive here, they will undergo swab test and the specimen of those who will test positive will be tested for genomic sequencing.)

(It’s part of the evolution of the virus. It will mutate. It will produce new variants. We cannot have a total travel ban forever, so we need to adapt. We just need to prevent its entry and to strictly comply with and implement our protocols.)

Further, Vergeire said that the government will only add countries to the travel ban list if it is confirmed from official sources that they have the new virus variant.

Hopefully the Philippines can find a way to adapt without shutting down all travel.

Cebu has called out the military to prevent people from celebrating Sto. Niño.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/359394/military-tanks-sent-to-cebu-city-brgys-celebrating-fiestas-this-weekend

Military tanks were deployed to certain areas in downtown Cebu City starting Friday night, January 15. 

Uniformed personnel with long arms also roamed streets in these areas to make sure that residents stay at home. 

Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Central Command (Centcom) are tasked to prohibit Cebuanos who will be celebrating the feast of the Señor Sto. Niño this Saturday and Sunday from gathering, said Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). 

EOC has sought help from Centcom to especially secure Barangays Suba, Pasil, Ermita, and Sawang Calero ahead of the fiesta Señor celebration on Sunday. 

As a tradition, residents in these areas would converge to hold their own Sinulog activities to celebrate the annual feast of the Holy Child. 

Residents of Barangay Pasil, for example, is known for showering water to devotees, a practice that they have been doing for years. 

Garganera said military personnel will stay in these barangays until Sunday to control the crowd. 

“We sent Centcom tanks to Barangays Pasil, Sawang Calero, Suba and Ermita in anticipation of the crowd in tomorrow’s fiesta celebrations,” he said.

Garganers aid the village chiefs of the four barangays have also been warned against allowing fiesta celebration otherwise they will have to face administrative charges for violating quarantine protocols.

How much of that is really necessary? 

While the Philippines has breached 500,000 total cases some areas, such as Bataan, have seen no new cases. This has prompted the IATF to allow this areas with no zero transmission to transition to the "new normal." Problem is they do not know what that means.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127728

In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has approved “in principle” his proposal to place some areas of the country under the “new normal” classification next month.

He said the basis to determine areas to be placed under the new normal classification will be based on scientific data, specifically case doubling rate and critical care capacity.

“(Well it will still depend on data because we follow analytics when it comes to determining quarantine classifications. But what I can say is, I have long pushed for and the IATF has approved my proposal to declare areas under the new normal -- these are places with no new transmissions)” he said.

Roque said placing some areas under the new normal classification may spark hope among the public that the life can continue even if Covid-19 vaccines are yet to be available locally.

“(In this case, we can have hope that there is an end to the Covid-19 pandemic even if we don’t have vaccines yet because there are places with no transmission. So that we can determine if they can return to normal),” he added.

Currently, he said the IATF is now formulizing the “dos and don’ts” in areas to be placed under the new normal classification.

“(What they are crafting now are the dos and don’ts under the new normal because once we transition to a new normal, some might start to hold rock concerts. That’s what we need to clarify, the dos and dont’s),” he said.

New normal, according to IATF guidelines, refers to the “emerging behaviors, situations, and minimum public health standards that will be institutionalized in common or routine practices and remain even after the pandemic while the disease is not totally eradicated through means such as widespread immunization.”

“These include actions that will become second nature to the general public as well as policies such as bans on large gatherings that will continue to remain in force,” the guidelines read.

I thought we were already in the new normal. It seems odd that the IATF has not crafted guidelines for the new normal after almost a whole year. Roque's claim that "some might star to hold rock concerts" is rather absurd and is probably hyperbole but still very absurd.

DOH Secretary Duque says the Philippines will need cold storage facilities by August but those who own cold chain storage units say the government has not contacted them despite their reaching out.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1383826/cold-chain-group-offers-help-awaits-word-from-govt

The government is expecting the first shipment of the vaccine for COVID-19 next month but the country’s cold storage operators, who could have key roles in the distribution of the potentially life-saving shots, are still awaiting official word from the authorities on how they could contribute to control the pandemic.

The country’s biggest cold-chain association had expressed its willingness to play a major role in the storage of coronavirus vaccines in partnership with the government.

Anthony Dizon, president of the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP), told the Inquirer on Thursday that no one from the government had formally reached out to his sector for help, leaving it out in the cold, unsure about whether it must now prepare the equipment to store vaccines.

“We have on several occasions already manifested our capability and willingness to be part of the vaccine distribution program,” Dizon said in an interview. “We have spoken with some people in [the] government to deliver the same message but up to now, there has been no active coordination from any agency or government involved in this vaccine program expressing intention to link up with the private sector.”

If it's such a necessity then why hasn't the government coordinated with these people who are willing to help out? Why wait until the last minute like they are doing now?

The government is getting ready for the vaccines by holding a mock vaccination clinic.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127844

The city government of Manila on Tuesday started its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination simulation as part of the Manila Vaccination Plan (MVP) program.

“We want to achieve, to practice, together with our Manila Health Department (MHD), hospital directors, and medical front-liners, to see the possible scenarios that may slow down the process and avoid mishandling of the vaccines,” Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso said in a mix of English and Filipino during the simulation program at the Palma Hall of the Universidad de Manila (UdM).

He said the city government decided to conduct a “mock vaccination” while waiting for the arrival of vaccines.

Domagoso said the simulation showed that the vaccination process itself may last from five to six minutes if the patient has already pre-registered through the website manilacovid19.com.

For walk-in or unregistered individuals, he said there may be an additional five minutes on top of the six minutes.

Domagoso, however, clarified that the said time does not include the individual’s schedule for queuing.

After receiving the vaccine, the patient will be asked to stay at a holding area for about 30 minutes to 1 hour under observation for any adverse reaction.

After the vaccination, the person’s data will be found in an ID indicating the name of the person who administered the vaccine, the vaccine’s lot number, its brand, and the date it was given.

The said ID, Domagoso said, will be the person’s proof that he is already vaccinated against Covid-19, which he may present when he reports back to work or when traveling.

Sounds like the whole process will take a little more than an hour. Hopefully they can work out all the kinks and make it a smooth process.