General Info

[QUOTE=BrizLad;2562783]A little shout out to WR whom I met on one of my first trips to Cebu in 2012. We didn't party but we did enjoy coffee at Ayala Mall in Cebu.

The next year WR helped me out with two amazing referrals. Fark. Amazing and they left the industry soon after.[/QUOTE]Roger's friends have incapacitated several members on the board, including myself. Beware what you ask for. 😁.

[QUOTE=Goferring;2114990]While I was having fun with PinaLove, I received a PM from Wicked Rodger......[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=BrizLad;2562783]A little shout out to WR whom I met on one of my first trips to Cebu in 2012. We didn't party but we did enjoy coffee at Ayala Mall in Cebu.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Goferring;2562936]Roger's friends have incapacitated several members on the board, including myself. Beware what you ask for. 😁.[/QUOTE]Nickname for Bo's Coffee, Cebu Ayala, second floor: "Roger's Office".

IATF just nerfed all the awesome CEBU goodness that was going on. IATF has nothing to do with science, sanity or public welfare. I expected nothing less, I guess.

"all international flights scheduled to land in MCIA beginning 12:01 am Of May 29 until 11:59 pm Of June 5, 2021 will be redirected to the NAIA".

"Cebu-bound international flights to be diverted to NAIA".

[URL]https://ph.news.yahoo.com/cebu-bound-international-flights-diverted-134500929.html[/URL]

For those chomping at the bit to get back over here, I've included a link to an "Inquirer" article that I saw yesterday that should give you some reason for optimism:

[URL]https://globalnation.inquirer.net/196463/ph-prepares-to-welcome-fully-vaccinated-foreign-travelers[/URL]

According to the article, the country will begin to open to fully vaccinated passengers as early as sometime in June.

GE.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2563372]For those chomping at the bit to get back over here, I've included a link to an "Inquirer" article that I saw yesterday that should give you some reason for optimism:

[URL]https://globalnation.inquirer.net/196463/ph-prepares-to-welcome-fully-vaccinated-foreign-travelers[/URL]

According to the article, the country will begin to open to fully vaccinated passengers as early as sometime in June.[/QUOTE]Thanks GE. From the article:

[I]Bengzon said 13 hotels in Metro Manila had been allowed to accept leisure travelers and host staycations. But they can only accept guests age 18 to 65 years old, who must present papers showing negative antigen test results, he pointed out. Bengzon also said point-to-point leisure air travel for residents of NCR Plus is now allowed. This means they can fly to hotels or resorts that have been given authority to operate for point-to-point travel, he said. Under DOT Administrative Order No. 2021-003, point-to-point air travel is allowed from NCR Plus to a resort in an area under GCQ or modified general community quarantine. Travelers must take chartered flights [/I]

Its a good sign and start.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2564009]For anyone who may be interested, a new isolation edict went into effect in Davao today, banning any out of the house / residence activities on Sundays. I presume exceptions are granted for medical emergencies, but no casual travel on Sundays is permitted.[/QUOTE]Moved to Gen Info: Good information for this board and for all parts of the country. The entire country (and other countries, including my own) is a hodge-podge patchwork quilt of differing rules. From different regions, to different cities, to different Brgy within a city, and possibly other jurisdictions, rules can be different and can change. Covid numbers drive the changes. Each region, city, and Brgy leader (LGU) can issue proclamations (rules) during a calamity (as per the Constitution, I believe).

I would remind us all that there is little in the way of national policy. When Westy says his curfew is 10 pm in this city, it is possible GE's city is 9 pm. In another city there might be no curfew? Worse, it can be different in each Brgy in GE's city (Brgy Captains can make it more strict). Travel restrictions and quarantine requirements can be different by city. Homes, compounds, city blocks, or entire Brgy can be locked quickly by the government (DOH) when cases are discovered. In the same vein that GE and I have mentioned the possibility of flying to Phils in the near future, until the Covid situation stabilizes (probably herd immunity according to the government), you will have situations like this that are non-mongering friendly. "Feel free to come, but stay inside your place". If GE's large city has decided to restrict movement to stay indoors, even if only one day per week, its not a good sign. I've received word in the last week of two other provincial cities having blooms and they have moved back to a stricter CQ system also. More later (yellow tape).

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2564314]The entire country (and other countries, including my own) is a hodge-podge patchwork quilt of differing rules. From different regions, to different cities, to different Brgy within a city, and possibly other jurisdictions, rules can be different and can change. Covid numbers drive the changes. Each region, city, and Brgy leader (LGU) can issue proclamations (rules) during a calamity (as per the Constitution, I believe).

I would remind us all that there is little in the way of national policy. When Westy says his curfew is 10 pm in this city, it is possible GE's city is 9 pm.
I've received word in the last week of two other provincial cities having blooms and they have moved back to a stricter CQ system also. More later (yellow tape).[/QUOTE]Certainly the case in parts of Leyte. Some towns / bgys are super strict and are acting as an ECQ others more relaxed. Infuriating, confusing, maddening etc. Also the need to fiesta is causing some covid spikes (just read the local Manila news to see the idiots doing that. And then mass testing shows lots of Covid cases!

So 'hodge podge' is a nice way to describe it.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2564314]Homes, compounds, city blocks, or entire Brgy can be locked quickly by the government (DOH) when cases are discovered.[/QUOTE]Lockdowns can be announced in advance (ala GE's Davao post: Don't go out on Sundays). Or, much more quickly, without warning. One day I went for a morning walk, including straight down Adriatico, from Faura to Pedro Gil. Stopped into the McDonald's on the corner for coffee. All systems normal. A few hours later I was in Rizal Park and grabbed a taxi to Robinson's. I told the driver to drop me at the Faura entrance. I should have been paying attention to Faura street. When the driver dropped me, I walkeded across Faura and was walking towards the taxi drop-off area in front of the entrance, oblivious. A hand stopped me. "No entry sir". It was a military-uniform police officer. Yellow tape was run along the sidewalk, chest-high, for as far as I could see in the direction of Taft Ave. Looking to my right, towards Roxas, same. It was 11 am.

People were streaming out of the mall from the exit doors. Nobody was attempting to go inside the entry (guard) doors. I walked towards Roxas. Heavily armed police and contagion-garbed DOH personell were there directing pedestrians thru a bullhorn. I continued west along Faura, crossing Adriatico. More yellow tape. Passed the old G-Point. Got to Mabini and stopped to take some pics (below).

Pic #1, corner Faura / Mabini, looking east along Faura. Red arrow is the old G-Point. Notice the yellow tape, nobody on the G-Point side of the tape, others walking on the street side. Pic #2, I turned right 90 degrees, looking south along Mabini. Same, yellow tape, nobody in the business side, pedestrians in the street. Red arrow is City-State Tower hotel. Pic #3, I stepped across Mabini to the City-State side, looking at the Faura / Mabini corner. My residence guard said the next day that it was still locked down. Pic #4 (from Wastebook today), to show the difference in announced lockdown levels in the various cities, as just announced. MECQ = most strict of the three, GCQ is a medium strictness, and I think MGCQ is the least restrictive of them (correct me if I am wrong).

From the time I walked down the street in the morning (8 am-ish), till I got back around 11, they had closed and were clearing the mall, and they'd cordoned off the mall and surrounding block, and had personnel out for enforcement.

When I was in the province, my several regulars would come see me and bring me pics of similar yellow-taped closings. I'd see on the news that this or that Brgy had separate lockdowns s going on. My girl would txt to say her compound and the neighboring compound were yellow-tape locked down, and she might not be able to come the next day unless the lockdown is lifted (often they were 24 or 48 hour locks). "F*ck sake we can't leave our home even". Both the advanced-announced and sudden lockdowns continue to happen. I think westerners don't have these kinds of things. Again, non-mongering friendly. Good news: things have lightened some in Manila.

Sudden local lockdowns, in addition to announced strict city-wide edicts, mean that you must be creative to play the game, and on some days (or weeks) nothing works. Your Brgy block gets locked for 2 days. Then when that's finished you plan to have that new dating site hottie meet for some joy, but then her compound gets locked. After that she has her period. You are only here for 2 weeks, fella. Point-and-shoot barfines are gone: Learn to adapt, and do it in a way that doesn't offend the nice people here who aren't in the Burgos-type business.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2564797]You are only here for 2 weeks, fella. Point-and-shoot barfines are gone: Learn to adapt, and do it in a way that doesn't offend the nice people here who aren't in the Burgos-type business.[/QUOTE]In a way it has added a new dimension to poverty poon.

I guess it might also be possible that the Filipina gets stranded outside her barangay and nice BrizLad is forced to give her accommodations for a few days. Of course that would be another complication.

Now this reminds me of two different AC girls from my history there. At different times they would be on their "off" days from their work and stay over at my place. I guess they told their families they had extended work meanwhile happy to hang out while I worked and be my dinner and bed companion. (of course this is different to having a person stay over that actually would prefer to be back in their barangay.)

For those of you waiting with packed bags to go to the Philippines, it seems that establishing the veracity of the vaccine certificate is the major stumbling block for the Department of Tourism (DOT).

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/31/2102017/dot-looking-ways-verify-vaccine-certificates[/URL]

DOT is seeking help from the IATA. The so-called Green Lane will still have quarantine, but for 7 days only (instead of the current 14 days).

Has anyone here used the IATA Travel Pass app? It has a Digital Passport module for vaccination certification, but the access is currently by "invitation only".

[URL]https://www.iata.org/en/youandiata/travelers/iata-travel-pass-for-travelers/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Pinga98;2565024]For those of you waiting with packed bags to go to the Philippines, it seems that establishing the veracity of the vaccine certificate is the major stumbling block for the Department of Tourism (DOT).

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/31/2102017/dot-looking-ways-verify-vaccine-certificates[/URL]

DOT is seeking help from the IATA. The so-called Green Lane will still have quarantine, but for 7 days only (instead of the current 14 days).

Has anyone here used the IATA Travel Pass app? It has a Digital Passport module for vaccination certification, but the access is currently by "invitation only".

[URL]https://www.iata.org/en/youandiata/travelers/iata-travel-pass-for-travelers/[/URL][/QUOTE]The problem here—perhaps unsurprising—is that as soon as the various localities started issuing vaccine certifications, forgeries became available on the gray market. Not only that, but each location appears to have designed and generated its own version of a certification document. Mine, here in Davao, is a simple white card, with no picture, with the logos of various organizations printed, together with my name, birthdate, date of vaccination, vaccine manufacturer and lot number. A friend in CdO has a card that includes his picture and which looks much more "official. " Another friend in Makati also has a non-picture certification card, but one that looks different from mine. So, much like the US, there's virtually no standardization of certification documents which means that the forgery market must be booming. On the plus side of the ledger, it's getting ever easier to get vaccinated here, but on the debit side, a huge percentage of the population is extremely reluctant to get vaccinated due to a lack of information, fear of injections or both.

GE.

Will foreign tourists (and returning Filipinos) with completed vaccination be still subjected to quarantine? There seems to be inconsistent reports, sometimes from the same reporter & newspaper.

On May 22, Elijah Rosales wrote in The Philippine Star:

"the DOT said the creation of a green lane can allow immunized foreigners to travel to the Philippines without the need to undergo the required quarantine ".

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/22/2100001/dot-proposes-green-lane-vaccinated-foreigners[/URL]

On May 30, Romeo Limpangog wrote in The Freeman:

"With the green lane, DOT said, immunized foreigners need not have to undergo the required quarantine".

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2021/05/30/2101830/high-time-reassess-entry-foreign-tourists-chan[/URL]

On May 31, Elijah Rosales wrote in The Philippine Star the following, contradicting her earlier writing:

"Through the green lane, returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and foreign nationals who completed their vaccination will just need to quarantine for seven days, from 14 days at present, to enter the Philippines".

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/31/2102017/dot-looking-ways-verify-vaccine-certificates[/URL]

Bottom Line: It's not clear if Green Lane will have no quarantine or seven days of quarantine.

[QUOTE=Pinga98;2565044]Will foreign tourists (and returning Filipinos) with completed vaccination be still subjected to quarantine? There seems to be inconsistent reports, sometimes from the same reporter & newspaper.

On May 22, Elijah Rosales wrote in The Philippine Star:

"the DOT said the creation of a green lane can allow immunized foreigners to travel to the Philippines without the need to undergo the required quarantine ".

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/22/2100001/dot-proposes-green-lane-vaccinated-foreigners[/URL]

On May 30, Romeo Limpangog wrote in The Freeman:

"With the green lane, DOT said, immunized foreigners need not have to undergo the required quarantine".

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2021/05/30/2101830/high-time-reassess-entry-foreign-tourists-chan[/URL]

On May 31, Elijah Rosales wrote in The Philippine Star the following, contradicting her earlier writing:

"Through the green lane, returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and foreign nationals who completed their vaccination will just need to quarantine for seven days, from 14 days at present, to enter the Philippines".

[URL]https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/31/2102017/dot-looking-ways-verify-vaccine-certificates[/URL]

Bottom Line: It's not clear if Green Lane will have no quarantine or seven days of quarantine.[/QUOTE]It's my understanding that the recently-published news about opening the country sometime this month remains more of an objective than a realized goal. The most thorough article I've read on the subject indicated that rules and procedures are still being formulated, and that might account for the inconsistency in reporting. My best guess is that an expedited process will be established for fully vaccinated travelers from a specific list of countries, though I'm not sure which countries will be on the list.

GE.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2565077]It's my understanding that the recently-published news about opening the country sometime this month remains more of an objective than a realized goal. The most thorough article I've read on the subject indicated that rules and procedures are still being formulated, and that might account for the inconsistency in reporting. My best guess is that an expedited process will be established for fully vaccinated travelers from a specific list of countries, though I'm not sure which countries will be on the list.

GE.[/QUOTE]You are right GE regarding the evolving process. I see several forces pushing the government towards opening up for tourism:

1. The economy is in bad shape. Tourism accounted for 10% of GDP and employed millions. Hotel, restaurants, transportationthe entire tourism infrastructure with high asset burden is difficult to preserve. Instead of tax revenue, government is losing money in handouts.

2. Thailand was planning to open its tourist attraction from July, with no quarantine requirement. European countries are opening for Americans and for each other. It presents a safe model for the Philippines and puts pressure on the government to do something.

3. Du30 needs cash badly for the next year's election handouts.

Of course, there are reasons for caution also:

1. The recent rise of Covid in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesiaall neighboring ASEAN countriesmust be a reason to worry. The images from India don't help either and serve as a warning against rushed opening.

2. Verifying who has been vaccinated, is a mess. It is unlikely that a universal system will emerge. Digital Green Certificate (Europe), Green Pass (Israel), Coronapas (Denmark), Excelsior (New York) there are as many passes as countries. As GE pointed out before, even in the Philippines, different regions have different vaccine certificate. If the fake pass leads to a rise in virus, it will be unfortunate.

3. Philippines is way behind in the vaccination, the only certain way to bring down the disease. Covax, a major supplier of vaccine for Philippines, went dry because Indians were supplying 85% of their vaccine and they can no longer send vaccines to Covax while their own house is on fire. The supply from Thailand also got delayed because the new factory can not get its act together. The current vaccination, roughly 1% of population, is not going to make much difference. Vaccine hesitancy is another major problem, thanks in part to the Sanofi Dengue vaccine fiasco four years ago.

[QUOTE=Pinga98;2565140]...1. The economy is in bad shape. Tourism accounted for 10% of GDP and employed millions...[/QUOTE]Actually ALOT worst than you think it is. GDP is down 41% $37 b just went poof in 2020 and 2021 is on the way to being worst because of the lack of government funding could see job losses double.

What does this mean for the average monger? We are in for a treat and extremely beautiful women when we return. Lots of covid babies and guys with no jobs to support them so this means these hotties need to find a job. The (old) women who were holding down the fort in AC will be relegated to working elsewhere and for a lesser bar fine. I predict we start to see 8-9-10's again in AC instead of what we were seeing pre covid girls in the 6-7-8 area. I think we see a resurgence of LT GFE as for these bar girls to lock in multi day bar fines. As western tourists likely to be let in first we will have the pick of the litter when they reopen to tourists.

Philippines just doesn't want to be first, If another country opens they will follow suit. So watch the Olympics and watch Thailand reopen hopefully without a kerfuffle, phils should follow suit regardless of the situation due to not wanting to lose another $37 b.

At this point I am ok with a 7 day quarantine if they will let me loose on all the 10's that await. 14 days is way too long but 7 is doable. Anyone know if they allow groceries deliveries in quarantine? I am not very keen on eating the food they prepare for me.

"PH travel, tourism sector lost $37 b, 2 m jobs in 2020".

[URL]https://manilastandard.net/business/economy-trade/356121/ph-travel-tourism-sector-lost-37b-2m-jobs-in-2020.html[/URL]