camiar

I came across this post in Facebook:

Any comments from those who are following this issue?

ang saklap naman, wala emergency fund ang gobyerno, wala din naman ang tao bayan, sabi mag ipon, eh pati gobyerno pala wala din ipon...

 

diba may special powers na si digong na approved ng congress para mag re-allocate ng budget???

Meron tayong emergency fund para sa Typhoon, Earthquake, Flooding, Fire, even Dengue -- enacted by Congress in 2019.

But our laws does not allow the government to divert the emergency funds specifically intended for the above calamities to other purposes like fighting the covid-19 pandemic.

That's why Congress had to hurriedly enact a new law, the Bayanihan Heal as One Act to authorize the government to reallocate the budget for fighting the pandemic.

USA would remain a major global player. They have enough investments overseas. Pero China is doing the same thing,debt traps everywhere.

 

But yes, this may be the end for USA as the world leader if they dont handle the next few years right.

China, Brazil, India, and Russia will collectively rise to replace USA's global leadership.

The quality of future leaders of USA will determine whether the slide will be graceful or ignominious.

As a mayor/governor, when you see the statistics increasing rapidly, you make a decision. If President Duterte did not lockdown the NCR at the time he did it, our cases may have doubled. It is about timing.

As I said, it's an unenviable Catch-22 situation for the leaders. Damn if you do, damn if you don't. And everybody with hindsight always knew what the right decision should have been.

Anybody could make a mistake, regardless of his political party. But then again, it's not just the leadership. A lot of of the causes of the Americans' dire situation now are because they underestimated the pandemic and and carried on with their normal lives, until it was too late.

Tayo namang mga Pilipino, alam natin kung gaano kamahal ang ma-ospital. Kaya instinctively sumunod agad ang karamihan sa atin.

Is he really trying to save the citizens of NYC? If he was, he would locked down NYC earlier than the time he and De Blasio locked down NYC.

It boggles the mind what criteria a leader should consider in deciding when to lock down a city or a country at the onset of a pandemic.

No living being on Earth today has any first-hand experience in dealing with this problem.

There's a lot of opposing issues to consider. Enforcing lockdowns will put brakes on the economy, cutoff people's livelihood and cause innumerable cases of hunger and suffering. Allowing free movement however, will cause rapid spread of the disease which may overwhelm the capacity of the health care system.

It is an unenviable position any leader will not want himself to be in. It is wise for us to give them some slack.

As long as the leader makes decisions based on logically acceptable basis, we, the constituents, should support without complaints.

It is only after this pandemic has ran its course can we really look back at lessons learned. Only then would we know what actions and decisions should have been taken and when would have been the best time to have done it.

baket po ganun na wala na budget ang gobyerno para sa covid? eh wala din naman na pera ang mga mamamayan para dito sa covid?

 

nasaan po ba talaga ang pera???

Kasi, nung ginawa ang budget noong 2019, wala tayong ka-alam-alam no magkakaroon ng covid.

May budget tayo sa pagsasaayos ng pinsala ng bagyo, baha, lindol, o pagputok ng bulkan.

Para sa epidemic tulad ng Dengue,meron din.

Pero sa Pandemic na tulad nito na talagang titigil ang ekonomiya natin, kahit sinong bansa, walang budget.

Anong gagawin ngayon? Yung budget para sa pagpapagawa ng kalsada, tulay, irrigation, airport, etc... ipagpapaliban muna at gagamitin sa pagtulong sa mga nawalan ng trabaho, pagbili ng mga relief goods na ipamimigay sa mahihirap, at para sa pagpapagamot sa mga nahawa sa Covid-19.

He was suggesting something which he probably heard from the medical experts he talked to regarding the covid. In chemotherapy, don't you put chemicals in the body too?

Doxycycline, Amoxicilin and Azithromycin are chemicals. They k*ll bacteria. We call them antibiotics.

Sodium Hypochlorite, Isopropyl Alcohol, Benzalkonium Chloride, are chemicals, too. They k*ll bacteria, too. We call them disinfectants.

Antibiotics are drugs with specifically-designed molecules to target and bind to specific microorganisms to destroy it while leaving the body's living cells relatively unharmed. Cancer chemotherapy follows the same principle.

Disinfectants are chemicals designed k*ll microorganisms on inert surfaces. They are not to be ingested because they are toxic to almost all living microorganisms, including our own body cells.

 

This is where I believe our government has failed in dramatic fashion. The initial one-month lockdown was a necessary first step, and I was still supportive of the government at that point. But it became clear to me that the time it bought for us was frittered away. No plans were developed, no protocols put in place, de nada. Instead, we had an extension, followed by another extension. I am still waiting to hear what guidelines businesses must meet before they re-open, if such guidelines are actually put into place.

 

And why bring up Trump? Just because the Americans have a buffoon for a leader doesn't mean we don't have one too.

Why I bring up Trump?

Because you keep insisting that our government is incompetent in handling just on the basis of their extension of the ECQ. Halata tuloy na di ka nakikinig sa government directives. Sinasabi nila palagi na puedeng ma-extend and Quarantive, depende sa infection rate statistics. Consistent naman sila sa decision making. Hindi mo lang naiintindihan ang reasons for extending the lockdown.

Do you know that at the start of the outbreak, our country's covid-disease reproduction number (the average number of people a person can infect) was 1.5 . As of April 17, it is down to 0.65. Our doubling rate (how many days it takes for confirmed cases to double) in the beginning was 4 days, now it's 16 days! That's how you tell if we're flattening the curve. That's the effect of quarantine, and constant reminder to the people to do social distancing, washing of hands, and wearing of masks.

And you still think our government failed? Compare this with what's happening in the US, and you'll see what government failure in handling covid pandemic really means.

Ooops. That was a typo. It was supposed to be 'not locking down' everything.

 

As for the countries that have implemented mass testing, calling it more than a few cafes re-opening is deliberately misleading.

 

It's a limited re-opening of the economy, but these countries already ahead of the curve when it comes to the new normal -- Taiwan is making hand washing a required protocol in schools, glass shields are being put in place to separate customers in restaurants, etc.

 

 

Hindi ako sa "locking down everything" natawa.

Natawa ako sa realization that you didn't have any idea what Sweden's "Herd Immunity" strategy really meant.

You thought it was "herd mentality"?

Did he actually recommend injecting patients with "chlorox"? Disinfectant doesn't mean it's "chlrox." A disinfectant is a chemical liquid that destroys bacteria which is the definition of the dictionary. Of course, doctors won't inject disinfectants like chlorox in the body. They will inject something that the body can take.

Trump really made a huge boo-boo with his hilarious disinfectant prescription. His spin doctors are having a hard time explaining away this one.

Trump's "news managers" immediate attempt to spin Trump's statement was to try telling the public that their president was just being sarcastic. But those who were listening to him can tell he was dead serious.

"Disinfectant" is a very well understood word in the US. Americans with elementary education know that "disinfectants" are not to be ingested because they are toxic to the body.

His idea of "shining a UV Light" inside the body to k*ll the virus is just as hilarious as his disinfectant injection. But that concept is more to the high school level. Every American high school student learn the Sun's UV rays k*ll virus and bacteria. They also learn that the melanin in our skin protects us from harmful effects of UV rays. But if you shine UV rays on the body's internal organs, its cells will die. You might as well inject disinfectant to k*ll the patient faster.

I can tolerate an elementary or high school student making gross misconceptions of such ideas, but not the POTUS.

What this crisis has shown are those countries where the leaders just turn to knee-jerk reactions, and those that actually rely on scientists to find solutions. Sweden's coronavirus strategy of resisting the herd mentality and locking down everything is controversial, for example, but it's been spearheaded by an epidemiologist who has a strategy in place.

 

Dito, natawa talaga ako.

What "strategy of resisting herd mentality and locking down everything..." are you talking about???

Sweden's government is trying to achieve "HERD IMMUNITY" by allowing the virus to spread naturally to the population, such that if at least 70% of the population catches the virus, and assuming 95% to 98% of the infected survive, the entire population would eventually develop herd immunity against the virus.

Therefore, Sweden does not impose lockdowns.

It is an entirely different strategy from what most other countries are doing. Again, like in all countries, it's too early to say if the strategy is sound. But many Swedish doctors are questioning the strategy.

The United Kingdom initially considered using the Herd Immunity strategy, but abandoned the idea after considering that in doing so, the surge in number of people getting infected might overwhelm their health care system.

 

Example of mass testing that paved the way for re-opening or prevention of strict lockdowns to begin with -

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-18/seoul-s-full-cafes-apple-store-lines-show-mass-testing-success

 

https://www.euronews.com/2020/04/20/coronavirus-germany-reopens-small-shops-as-it-seeks-to-avoid-on-off-lockdown-situation

 

You say to wait for factual data, but then mention current statistical data which may be less than accurate -- outside of China and the WHO, for example, there is a lot of skepticism regarding the figures coming out of China.

 

What this crisis has shown are those countries where the leaders just turn to knee-jerk reactions, and those that actually rely on scientists to find solutions. Sweden's coronavirus strategy of resisting the herd mentality and locking down everything is controversial, for example, but it's been spearheaded by an epidemiologist who has a strategy in place.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52395866

A few cafes opening to customers does not mean they are re-opening the economy. You're grasping at straws.

Admittedly, Korea has succeeded in using technology in its fight against covid. But it is not reopening. It still averages over a hundred new cases of covid infections everyday, just like in the Philippines. They won't re-open any time soon.

Early in March some people prematurely praised Singapore for its "successful" handling of the virus epidemic. They judged too early. The recent surge of infections put the small island city among countries with the highest number of infected cases in Southeast Asia. 13,000 infected among 5.6 million population, that's 2,300 infection cases per million population. Compare that with the Philippines' 7,300 out of 104 million, which is 70 per million population.

You have been unfair in saying our government is incompetent in handling this crisis. You judge them without even waiting for the crisis to pan out. And yet even if you look at the initial figures today, you'd see that our government is not doing so bad.

Just look at the US and compare. Almost 900,000 infected. That's about 2,700 infected cases per million population. Their President is so desperate and so out of touch with reality that he recommends injecting patients with Chlorox to treat them. Now that's incompetence if you ask me.

Asian countries such as South Korea and Taiwan have put in place systems of mass testing and have begun to ease social distancing restrictions. The health care infrastructure is there because the governments of these countries recognize that the coronavirus problem is not going away any time soon. Citizens will be required to wear masks and avoid large public gathering even as businesses re-open, but measures are in place in case of another outbreak.

 

This is the sort of realistic, science-based approach I was hoping for from our government. Instead we have extended lockdowns which are becomingly increasingly restrictive. Instead of the government using the initial lockdown period to prepare Filipinos for the 'new normal' of masks and avoidance of mass gatherings, we have instead been given a series of rolling lockdowns that have pushed people to the breaking point. Based on some of the comments of MTCers in other threads, they plan to cut loose and celebrate when the 2 months of lockdown finally end. That's likely to result in a second wave, which will probably result in a never-ending series of lockdowns.

 

Like many Filipinos, I used to support Duterte, but his rambling and blustering response to the coronavirus has turned me against him. His repeated threats of imposing martial law are just adding insult to injury.

 

History will determine whether the lockdown strategy was effective or not in actually lowering the infection rate, or in setting the stage for more deaths when a second wave hits. If the latter, then political leaders like Duterte must face the fall-out over the fact that they destroyed the economy over little to no public health care gains.

Ang tanong ko lang, which country doing mass testing, is now re-opening? Ang haba ng sagot mo, pero hindi mo pa rin nasagot.

You say Duterte government is incompetent in this covid fight, but you yourself say that history will determine whether his government's lockdown strategy was effective.

We are still in the middle of the crisis. Wait for enough factual data before blustering.

FYI:

Comparison of currently available statisitcal data with other heavily-hit countries seems to show that the strategies being taken by the Philippine government is helping flatten the curve.

I dont know where to post this, but I wonder how the business climate will be for spas in the next 6 months or even a year.

Since social distancing is impossible in spa services, don't count on spas being allowed to re-open in the next 6 months. Unless ....

1. Guest are checked for fever and symptoms of respiratory ailment before checking-in. Guests give their true identification and contact details in case contact tracing is needed in the future.

2. Spas redesign their layout such that guests will go through an isolated room, disrobe from street clothes, take a full bath, and don spa-provided freshly-laundered robes/jammies, before going to their designated spa treatment room.

3. All surfaces in the treatment room has been disinfected and all sheets and towels replaced with fresh supply.

4. The therapist comes in full headgear PPE (mask, goggles/face shield), after having taken a full bath and new change of fresh uniform.

5. Spa management is willing to provide all the above precautionary measures without doubling their price.

Actually, the LGU Business Permit authorities should consider the above alternative rather than risk therapists of moonlighting and clandestinely providing home service to earn their livelihood without supervised precautions like what I listed above.

This is where Duterte's talk about decentralizing the economy is exposed for what it truly is -- just talk. Without the economic engine provided by Manila, Cebu, etc. our economy is going to sink into the toilet.

 

Meanwhile, other countries that used their lockdown to actually do something like mass testing are now re-opening. The Filipino people continue to pay the price for this incompetence.

Mass testing will not lower the infection rate. Lockdown will.

Mass testing is just one of the tools to identify more patients to isolate and treat. It can also be used to validate the effectiveness of the lockdown.

Which covid-19 affected country, who is doing mass testing, is now re-opening? Check your facts before blustering.

In a crisis, the government should think about the people rather than pay the debt as soon as possible.

A lot of people are also complaining why the government is spending money on folks who are idle and refused to work, and those who gamble away, or buy liquor and drugs with the amelioration money they got from DSWD.

Perhaps these people will appreciate that their hard-earned tax money is being used to reduce our debt, rather than waste it on people who don't deserve the dole-outs.

The interest rates are not that high as per Imee should we delay the payment. We will definitely pay more interest if we delay principal payments since we will continue paying interest but that is the small price to pay if the objective is to feed hungry Fiiipinos.

It may not be the interest rates, but the value of the Peso now vs. what it might be further down the line after covid-19 pandemic.

 

I have nothing against the Chinese and I am open to them helping us in this covid crisis but I am still skeptical regarding this. So far, the media has been publicizing about the cases in the US and Europe. The Chinese Communist Party must be really strict in giving out information on Chinese infections.

So far, we seem to be better off with Chinese help, especially the treatment methods. Telling us what worked and what didn't work.

I'm in constant contact with my relatives in the US, many of whom are in medical profession. They are still in trial-and-error mode in the treatment method.

But Duque is still around. I have turned a blind eye on Dominguez but rejecting Imee Marcos' suggestion of a debt moratorium is moronic. Imee made a sensible suggestion of holding off debt payments. We will be paying more interest but that is only a small price to pay if the debt moratorium will feed countless Filipinos.

Imee's suggestion is practical but has political undertones.

I am a follower of President GMA's style of debt management. The best time to pay your loan is when money is cheap.

The pandemic caused oil prices to crash, bringing the US Dollar down with it. Now is the best time to pay your Dollar-denominated loans.

But why only say it now that Wuhan lifted its lockdown?

Because it is only now that they can retrace the events and confirm their suspicions that there could more.

Nothing wrong in correcting your data to reflect the true picture. It will play a big role in reviewing the lessons learned from their experience.

I said that either they had extraordinary control measures or they are lying through their teeth. It will be known eventually which is which. Some of its medical experts are here to develop a treatment for covid-19.

I was about to reply to your post above, when you posted a new one below.

 

In Wuhan -- where the virus was first detected late last year -- an official announcement raised the city's death toll by half, to a total of 3,869.

The additional deaths were cases that were "mistakenly reported" or missed entirely, the posting said.

But the revision will play into a growing narrative of Chinese untrustworthiness led by Trump's nationalist administration.

I read that news article, too. That is exactly what I meant that if there were discrepancies, the Chinese government didn't lie.

At the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, China still did not have enough testing kits. So thousands could have gotten infected and recovered or died without being diagnosed as Covid related.

Trump can play his narrative but will we still believe his story?

Do you mean regarding the number of deaths in Wuhan? I also noticed that the number of Chinese infections has remained at 80,000+++ while the US, Italy and Spain have surpassed them in number of infections. It is either they have extraordinary control measures or they are lying through their teeth.

OK, so you won't believe the 80,000+ cases.

You think there's more. So do I.

But I don't think Chinese government is lying. Like all the other countries hit, they did not have enough testing equipment to determine the number of cases at the outset of the epidemic. There's a possibility that many of the initial deaths were not recorded as covid-related.

China and Iran were the first one hit. Nobody knew then how to handle it. But the Chinese government were able to do what they do best. Use their authority and political will.

And the Chinese people cooperated -- under the threat of punishment? who cares? It worked.

CNN's comment: "...Trump will continue to fulminate against WHO and China and any other targets to distract attention. Yet the record is clear: China got the epidemic under control while the US did not. China implemented a strict national lockdown while the US did not. China deployed its top technologists and companies to do the job. In fact, Trump repeatedly praised China during February, only turning on China when the situation got tough in the US..."

source: https://cnnphilippines.com/world/2020/4/13/US-coronavirus-world-s-highest-death-toll.html?fbclid=IwAR3XtaiH_0VWIbYKPgzuPqyqqn3ALQpoy3se2TC4LHU53IYT7foAJIc2CoI#.XpPNth5Uxh4.facebook

My support for President Duterte is unwavering. However, he has people under him who are incompetent and questionable.

That's part of the package of becoming the President.

He did fire some of them already.

Do you mean regarding the number of deaths in Wuhan? I also noticed that the number of Chinese infections has remained at 80,000+++ while the US, Italy and Spain have surpassed them in number of infections. It is either they have extraordinary control measures or they are lying through their teeth.

No, not the number of deaths, but the decisiveness and focus of their leadership in coping with the pandemic.

USA is now so divided on petty politics that it can't get its act together.

 

Let's see...one government lied and, as a result, caused more deaths worldwide than if it had just been honest. But the CCP can't be honest, communists never are.

What was it the Chinese lied about?

It's all subjective. If you don't believe anything they say, then all will be lies.

The US has been forewarned as early as January. The problem is both the federal government and the American people themselves underestimated the threat. They only have themselves to blame, unfortunately.

I wouldn't equate dishonesty with being a communist as I will never assume a democrat is inherently honest. Anybody, regardless of his political or religious belief, can be honest or dishonest depending on the situation.