Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

I can't understand why they do it. Friends 20+ yo kids went for their covid injections ( Pfizer ), after their injection they had to read a DOH list of do's and don't's, 1st line was do not eat prawns, lobster or other shellfish after vaccination, a quick check on Pfizer web site identified avoid excessive alcohol and smoking after vaccination, no other dietary restrictions, quick check on a few national health systems had the same advise. Why do they make up such stupid lies here?

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

Just like the wearing of face shields. The only place in the world. Is it effective?

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

Yes the Philippines is "The only Country in the World". That denies vaccinations to people with high blood pressure, in the rest of the world they are shoved to the front of the queue. Requires face shields for the general public ( supposedly less than 1% effective and even less when worn on top of head ). Requires plastic shields between motorbike rider & pillion, which according to the law could only be husband and wife, never found the design for the one they must have between them in bed at night though. But despite all these extra requirements they have come bottom in a world ranking on recovery post covid ranking.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

You have to wonder why. It's not as if the Philippines are lacking people with enough expertise to make sound, science-based decisions, so why the rogue statements like 'no shellfish' and the silly policies such as the windshield? It just doesn't make sense.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

It must only be something to do with money, the motorbike windshields were fabricated by a company with family links to a politician, face shields have been linked to 'my BFF' of the president and I can only assume that someone in the DOH owns a chicken or pork farm looking for increased sales due to restrictions on seafood consumption.

I would dispute your statement that they have sufficient science based expertise here after reviewing a friend's son's science module where the answers given in the back by the department of education were 52% wrong.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

Ah, good old fashioned corruption. It's all over the world isn't it, the only difference is the lengths taken to hide it (or not!).

That's a worry about the DOE giving incorrect answers to test questions.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

I've been looking at a year 11 Maths text book recently. So far all answers have been correct, but back in my day only half the problems had answers given. In this book they are all given, only they are a few pages after the end of the section and they are upside down!

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

Why does the Philippines have quite a number of silly policies? Saw another one locally here recently when they sprayed the smaller roads against covid. Like the face shield as you don't hear of it being done in other countries and they even did it on a day when it was clear they would soon be rained heavily on, which they were.
I think silly policies are endemic to developing countries, whereas in the developed world they can have them but they usually don't persist.
In the face shield example they went from something you should use in crowded hospitals and other public spaces to public transport and much less crowded indoor and open areas. Even to builders outside. Put through an IATF meeting last year without much thought when they were looking desperately to restrict transmission. Maybe some members had links to importing companies, yes.
At present the policy on wear is supposedly being discussed in government but it's a few weeks now since the President's latest announcement. Last year he said you only needed them in hospital, then rapidly changed his mind. Like those supermarket ads in the UK "Every little bit helps", he said even if it adds a little extra protection it is worth while! He is not a deep thinker and his attention is elsewhere as he ends his 6 years. This time a representative wrote to him making the argument of cost to give him a get out and save his face. They're not expensive. So once the chief executive here gets involved science, or the lack of it, doesn't count.
As he has been defending a company recently about face shield purchases I think you won't hear much more about it. The face shield rule requirement will persist into next year, though maybe not enforced so strictly. Then a new President will make an announcement.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

I think you will find the answers to all, or most of the above is the value of the ''back handers'' expect more and more of the same as we get closer to the elections, be they national or local, even at micro level.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

It just absolves the company for having to do anything to resolve the problems, any loss due to incompetence, inactivity, lack of maintenance or corruption etc. is just passed onto the customer, so why would they bother to fix anything.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

PAGASA seems to have a warped outlook on how the months of the year work. Looking for the coldest time of year in Philippines, PAGASA state "Based on the average of all weather stations in the Philippines, excluding Baguio, the mean annual temperature is 26.6o C. The coolest months fall in January with a mean temperature of 25.5oC" I was just wondering how many months are there in January here.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

So yesterday El Presidente says face shields no longer required. Widely reported last night in Daily Inquirer, PhilStar CNN , Manila Times etc.. so I enter SM Makati this morning without shield happy as life is now more normal.
Two guards tell me to put my shield on and basically physically tried to stop me entering. I asked if they were aware of the Presidents ruling and that their refusal to let me in was totally wrong. The older security fellow told me " we are still awaiting official orders from the boss."..
I suggested they read the news ( showed them a screenshot of President saying Face shields no longer required )" and if their boss had a problem, he should contact Malacanyang
They went to delay someone else with no shield, at which point I walked in to continue my business. Yet they were harassing every Filipino and making them wear their shields... sometimes Filipinos are extremely ( too ) passive when confronted by a person in uniform.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

Isn't that El Presidente has instilled in the population for the last five and a half years?

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

He deliberately put the new face shield policy out late evening yesterday to miss the evening news so it was bound to be poorly applied. His last few months will be spent on campaigning so we will see him taking even longer on decision making.

Re: Oddities in the Philippines
 

In the presidents directive for no face shields required in areas with alert level 1, 2 & 3 a bit further down the document it says "LGUs shall have the discretion to mandate the use of face shields" , glad that cleared things up.