General Info

[Kabul Guy]

That's not what the health officials are saying, mate.

The virus is on water droplets that DOES get filtered out.

I wish everyone would stop wining and wear a mask.

[D Cups]

Actually it won't make much difference if they wear a mask or not. The virus is so small that it will go right through it. Unless it's a FFP2 or IIR mask, but that is most likely not the case.

The majority of the masks that people wear worldwide offer very little protection.

That's not what the health officials are saying, mate.

[Drbombay]

Populist politicians (ie 99% of them) sing from the same hymn sheet. There is no way mongers will be allowed in soon and, if they were, they would be blamed for Covid spikes and the shake downs would be horrendous. I would actually say some elements in Pinoy society are happy with this.

Duterte is not going to risk Angeles or Makati blowing up in his face. They are small; beans compared to international remittances in any event. The clock is being resent. Reality is being dispensed with and virtual is in. Europe is a mess with quarantine and other rules changing from day to day. I am under self quarantine myself but, more sadly, am confined to barracks as we cannot go anywhere or bonk anyone. Talk of going to the Philippines is akin to going to the moon, or Africa in the 1930's.

Jollibee days are over.

Not to be too cynical, but IMO things will probably begin to ease up in regards to travel when the Philippine Fiscal year is over and a tally can be done on the lower amount of remittances sent back from those overseas workers who may have had to work "on their backs" to make ends meet. Same goes for those tourist $$ that flow into places like Angeles, Subic and other areas. Maybe one fiscal year can be sustained, but a long term reduction in that type of money flow will begin to change political minds. Same as in places like Singapore, Thailand and other popular mongering locations. Not being able to send OWA out to other parts of the world to replace those that are out there who have stopped or moved on, and the whole cycle of revenue being brought in by bars and clubs can only be missed for so long. Don't let them fool you into thinking that it isn't a lot of money, because if it wasn't, and those do gooders had their way many places would have been closed a long time ago.

Just like the current US election cycle shows, people will use this crisis to get what they want. Case in point the LA Public Health director being caught on the microphone talking about opening the schools after the November 3 elections, as if by that magic date if Trump loses all of a sudden the virus will go away. Not making light of the COVID, nor is this some global plot against Trump, but a politician will do what they can to get as much power and money for themselves and screw the people. Emergency declarations mean more money flow from the government, and for those who work the system they know how to "work the system" and get as much of that excess as they can until those at the top realize that overall more needs to be coming in from other sources.

My long term guess, by the summer of 2021 things will start getting better. By late summer early fall of 2021 travel will see steady increases so that by late 2021 there will be an increase in flights and travel. How can I say this? Winter Olympics in China in 2022 and they could not live it down if they cancelled like Tokyo in 2020. Things will "miraculously" get better by then for the Games to begin.

[Datiao]

Actually it won't make much difference if they wear a mask or not. The virus is so small that it will go right through it. Unless it's a FFP2 or IIR mask, but that is most likely not the case.

The majority of the masks that people wear worldwide offer very little protection.

How does the country u are in now deal with this issue? Is it mandatory for masking ?

I think It does make a great difference versus not masking, maybe not as foolproof as the mask you mentioned.

[GDreams]

Actually it won't make much difference if they wear a mask or not. The virus is so small that it will go right through it. Unless it's a FFP2 or IIR mask, but that is most likely not the case.

The majority of the masks that people wear worldwide offer very little protection.

The masks people wear are to protect other people from those who have the virus sending contaminated aerosols throughout a room or surfaces. To protect the weara they need to be ones with close seal and exhaust valves which keep the fit but don't protect others.

[WestCoast1]

SambyFun, please clear out your inbox.

[Mogwai]

But chose to be ignorant that their stupidity of simple not wearing mask can cause another recurring wave of infection which will return them to the same dire situations.

Actually it won't make much difference if they wear a mask or not. The virus is so small that it will go right through it. Unless it's a FFP2 or IIR mask, but that is most likely not the case.

The majority of the masks that people wear worldwide offer very little protection.

[Soapy Smith]

Your examples are just a matter of gaining petty advantages. No big consequences.

I'm guessing you are not a native English speaker. "Falling in line" has another metaphorical meaning in English that equates with compliance and obedience. My point was that Filipinos often find ways to resist complying with authority, rules, and even laws in many social contexts.

[Datiao]

What you are observing about Filipino non-compliance with mask mandates and other covid rules is simply another form of "Filipinos don't fall in line."

Your examples are just a matter of gaining petty advantages. No big consequences.

These dick heads has been experiencing for the past 6 months the effects of the covid that cause thousands of lost lives, great economic impact that leads to huge loss of income and hunger.

The Quarantine lock out from normal living etc etc.

But chose to be ignorant that their stupidity of simple not wearing mask can cause another recurring wave of infection which will return them to the same dire situations.

[KilledSoul]

Whoops, I actually meant Colombia. The videos looked like a great party scene but if my penis can't touch a vagina I'm not interested.

Colombian girls do allow bareback if you fuck them once or twice.

[Soapy Smith]

Duterte knows his country men very well that there are many stubborn pigs that make his covid fight very tough. Maybe that is why he permit the shooting of extreme violators that retaliate posing danger.

My first visit to the Philippines was for five months in 2006 and 2007. An interesting thing I observed were signs posted in government offices, health clinics, and pharmacy counters that read, "Fall in Line." This is odd wording; more typical instructions in English-speaking countries would be "Form a line." I asked various Filipinos what they believed to be the origin of this wording. Nobody knew. The one place that "fall in line" has been used is in the American military. It was a simple command given to instruct troops, for example, to line up for the mess hall or mail call. I suggested to a few older Filipinos that perhaps these words originated from American occupying forces immediately after WWII, like "fall in line" to get the food or supplies we're giving out. Lacking other explanations, they agreed that this made sense.

The problem with "Fall in Line," is that many Filipinos don't do it. Invariably when I stand in a "Fall in Line" pharmacy line, some Filipino or Filipina will come in later, notice the long line, and slip around further down the pharmacy counter and try to get the attention of other workers back in the medicine dispensing area. Often it works.

The same thing holds for driving in lanes in a multi-lane highway. Filipino drivers often straddle two lanes, perhaps because it offers greater opportunities to move ahead quickly in one of the two lanes if space opens up and to block others behind you from overtaking you. It also applies to basic "right of way" rules. In most countries a vehicle entering from a side street yields right of way to other vehicles already in the closest lane of the through street that they're trying to enter. Not necessarily so in the Philippines. Here the rule of thumb is "whoever gets the front of his vehicle out in front of the other guy's vehicle has right of way." That is, you yield to the guy cutting in ahead of you so as to avoid an accident from hitting him.

What you are observing about Filipino non-compliance with mask mandates and other covid rules is simply another form of "Filipinos don't fall in line."

[Datiao]

I think that's exactly right. In particular, declaring a state of calamity authorizes local government units and national agencies to draw down resources from the national government for response, recovery, and mitigation costs.

Interestingly, the case and death numbers indicate that the Philippines has a 1.7% fatality rate among those that contract the virus. Globally that rate is currently 3%. Perhaps the Philippines is doing a better than average job of responding to known cases.

In March, 6 months of calamity was declared and now extended for another 1 year.

I think more like they are giving up of really bringing down the virus numbers, rather more concerned of an economy meltdown, solely pinning the hope of vaccine.

The GCQ status instead of ECQ in NCR attest to that even the virus cases are averaging about 1500 daily.

I live in cebu city and it has done well in bringing down the cases from daily few hundreds to present 30's or so by implementing ECQ from April to June and now we are in MGCQ. Thanks mainly to actions by authorities strict Quarantine measures and apprehend / penalise violators.

But yesterday when returning from shopping for my groceries, I passed by an area which caters vans to passengers for near provincial travel.

There were at least 10 persons including the van personnel and passengers who were not wearing masks or have them pulled down below their nose or mouth.

And about 20 m away sits the security who pretend nothing happened.

I did not see any police or army uniformed person else I would definitely make a complain.

I guessed they thought that it's MGCQ now and they can be complacent since the virus cases are low.

Duterte knows his country men very well that there are many stubborn pigs that make his covid fight very tough. Maybe that is why he permit the shooting of extreme violators that retaliate posing danger.

I do hope cebu does not go back to ECQ cause of these irresponsible hopeless idiots but we know very well how these pigs are and behave.

The situation in NCR is very much worse.

Even Vietnam, that is top in covid cases control is facing a surge in cases.

Tourist travel to Philippines or even Vietnam is not realistic for a long time and worst if you are from a country w rampant covid issues.

[Soapy Smith]

As I understand a state of calamity simply allows the government to exercise additional powers during that period. These powers may be used well into the new normal or beyond for economic reasons.

I think that's exactly right. In particular, declaring a state of calamity authorizes local government units and national agencies to draw down resources from the national government for response, recovery, and mitigation costs.

Interestingly, the case and death numbers indicate that the Philippines has a 1.7% fatality rate among those that contract the virus. Globally that rate is currently 3%. Perhaps the Philippines is doing a better than average job of responding to known cases.

[PedroMorales]

Populist politicians (ie 99% of them) sing from the same hymn sheet. There is no way mongers wil be allowed in soon and, if they were, they would be blamed for Covid spikes and the shake downs would be horrendous. I would actually say some elements in Pinoy society are happy with this.

Duterte is not going to risk Angeles or Makati blowing up in his face. They are small; beans compared to international remittances in any event. The clock is being resent. Reality is being dispensed with and virtual is in. Europe is a mess with quarantine and other rules changing from day to day. I am under self quarantine myself but, more sadly, am confined to barracks as we cannot go anywhere or bonk anyone. Talk of going to the Philippines is akin to going to the moon, or Africa in the 1930's.

Jollibee days are over.

Philippines extends state of calamity for one year amid COVID-19 spread.

Source: Xinhua.

2020-09-18 19:27:37.

Editor: huaxia.

MANILA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has extended a state of calamity for a year amid the spike of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country, the government said on Friday.

Duterte declared a state of national calamity for six months in mid-March as the country strengthened its response to the pandemic.

"I, hereby extended the declared state of calamity throughout the Philippines for a period of one year, effective September 13,2020, to September 12,2021, unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstance may warrant," read the proclamation that Duterte signed on Wednesday but was released to the media on Friday..

[Kabul Guy]

.....
"I, hereby extended the declared state of calamity throughout the Philippines for a period of one year, effective September 13,2020, to September 12,2021, unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstance may warrant," .....

Unless earlier lifted or extended as the circumstance may warrant is the key wording. While we can take a clue as to how long the government expects the impact of the virus to last, that does not mean travel will be restricted this long or that tourists will not be allowed. As I understand a state of calamity simply allows the government to exercise additional powers during that period. These powers may be used well into the new normal or beyond for economic reasons.