Doctors Call for Medical and Not Military Approach to Community Quarantine

Wazzup Pilipinas!

With many cities and provinces declared as MECQ starting August 4 to last for 15 days as per request of healthworkers, restrictions and limitations again for many of us.

Now referencing from a Philstar article, the statements below make perfect sense.

If only this government listens. From day one, I, together with many, have been voicing out that this pandemic requires a medical solution, medical quarantine, NOT a military approach. The military and the police is there to help augment but not the frontliner themselves. The generals dont know anything about health, and we dont have alot of pasaways that need the police presence. If only they listened.

Time to listen to our medical heroes! But first, the DOH must be rid of the incompetent man at the helm whose main concern seems self-profits rather than public health.

Duterte and his crowd has only one skill - THREATENING and INTIMIDATING.

In fact, this politician was elected to be president because he is supposed to be good in threatening (with death) alleged criminals. He has been threatening and intimidating everyone except the Philippine Military and china. It it but just natural that he resort to it in handling COVID-19. It will expose him as INCOMPETENT as we see in the article.

We are calling for an end to what it called "a militarist handling instead of a medical approach to the pandemic

A militarist handling instead of a medical approach to the pandemic wreaks fear among the people and proliferates human rights violations—while doing little, if not nothing, to curb the number of cases and spread of disease

The way the quarantines have been implemented are "devoid of scientific sense and health purpose."

The "Duterte-style enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or lockdown" set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases has been unscientific and oppressive.

"Doctors and healthcare workers must reclaim quarantine for what it should be: A public health measure aimed at saving lives by stopping the spread of disease. We must reject the distorted forms of 'community quarantine' being imposed on us, as these are devoid of scientific sense and health purpose, and serve only to oppress our people"

"If we are to implement a quarantine, it must be a medical quarantine, with healthcare workers in the lead and with clear health goals and outcomes. To truly benefit our overburdened healthcare workers, a new framework and new leadership direction than the ones we currently have are imperative"

Cases of aggressive and overzealous enforcement piled up over the ECQ in the name of "punishing" the public for its "stubbornness" and "complacency" with quarantine regulations—the same rules that a number of government officials have, themselves, failed to follow and walked scot-free regardless.

Most recently, law enforcement officials have broached the ideas of conducting house-to-house campaigns and repeating the administration's 2018 'anti-tambay' campaign. It has also deployed police supervisors per barangay for the "identification and monitoring of barangay residents on home quarantine."

"We call for an end to all militaristic and fascist measures being done in the name of quarantine."

"Too many lives of healthcare workers have been needlessly lost due to the wrong priorities taken by this criminally-negligent, corrupt, and tyrannical government. To honor our fallen colleagues is to demand a radical shift from the present blundering response to a scientific, public health, and pro-people response."

Even at the onset, the government treated this pandemic more of a ‘peace and order’ than medical in nature.

Kating-kati kasing gamitin ang military to potray strength and control - kuno.

All the Duterte Administration has is a hammer; therefore, to them, every problem is a nail.

The Five Stages of the Quarantined

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Downplayed does not even come close.

I spent the first few months in denial, I thought it will not last and will be over soon. I had some savings to keep me comfortable, so no worries.

I said it will be a much needed break after years of being busy. The few months on quarantine would be meant to spend time on my previous hobby of gardening. Back then before Covid-19 it was ornamental, then became herbal, now while covid is still around - veggies and fruits - see the trend towards the more essential?

Comfortable yet still complaining against the government because of the plight of others. Do they deserve to experience this?

But then there goes the reliefs of mostly few pieces of canned sardines, packs of instant  noodles, and few kilos of rice, then the ayudas or SAPs which because my wife works for the government (one of the agencies) we were not qualified to receive regardless how small her salary is.

No matter, I said. We are still lucky to have enough food on the table. Grocery and market shopping on a weekly basis, drug store visits for maintenance medicines, bank withdrawals, etc. Life continued.

The Kübler-Ross model, or the five stages of grief, postulates that those experiencing grief go through a series of five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Which stage am I now?

I learned indeed a lot more than expected from container gardening - organic fertilizers and pesticides, hydroponics, etc., and even got noticed by one of the shows of a TV network and invited me to guest. But now that they've been shut down.......

Many questioned the priority of the government that they would think of other tasks aside from what is most urgent. I guess they are just waiting for the vaccine and do not intend to do anything else to spend the trillion of funds they now have after loans.

Covid-19 cases increasing.

Many lost their jobs and businesses. Online shopping and deliveries quadrupled. We are still capable of spending for pampering.

Covid-19 cases increasing.

No intention for mass testing. Election season is fast approaching. Are they saving the funds for their campaigns?

News of their unjust methods proliferating. Closure of a critical media outfit? Or was it closed down because of content that adds to the dumbing down of the masses? After all, that gay comedian is sickening, the big brother wannabe is obviously scripted, and the reality shows are capitalizing on the emotional baggages of contestants.

Just as how an online media provokes people with their click-bait headlines and content, do we really need media outfits who will do everything to sell their news like whores?

People may rise up to protest against incompetence. Anti-terror bill is passed.

Should we be at the anger phase right now?

A friend invited me to follow the example of others in seeking alternative sources of income, but you were still too stubborn to believe this pandemic will be staying longer.

Then it will take another friend to shake you back to reality as if saying indirectly that....This pandemic is not ending soon. You have to adjust and evolve. A lot of businesses have closed down, lots of people lost their jobs, face-to-face events are not coming back soon so that means no event coverage and less opportunities to collab with brands... other than those who switched to online selling and delivery, including online events via livestreaming.

So my eagerness coupled with my inclination towards technology having a background in IT from previous work experiences, learning livestreaming was limited only to what the free versions couldn't offer. I can't just invest on something that may soon have several other competitive likeness due to possible increase in demand- zoom, be.Live, streamyard, etc., were previously just alternatives but now they are necessities if you want to stay home and avoid getting infected.

And then there's the SONA, which further added salt to our wounds.

To be continued....and FYI, this could be a forever changing diary each time I remember to add something significant within the story.

Super Juniors Tamayo, Abadiano are now Fighting Maroons

Wazzup Pilipinas!

When the next basketball season of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines opens in a Covid-free future, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons will have the one-two punch of Nazareth School of National University in their line up.

UP Men’s Basketball Team manager Atty. Agaton Uvero confirmed today the transfer of 6’7 ultra talented big man Carl Tamayo and decorated floor general Gerry Abadiano to UP after the two National University (NU) Bullpups committed to make the big jump to Diliman.

Fighting Maroons head coach Bo Perasol personally met with the new recruits and happily welcomed the two high school stars to the team.

“Carl [Tamayo] and Gerry [Abadiano] will be a big part of our rebuilding efforts,” Uvero said. “We graduated six players last season and we have five more players who have just one playing year left. These two will help us secure our basketball future. We hope they will be model student-athletes of UP.”

“We are very happy to have Carl and Gerry in our team. Coming straight out of high school, they have five full playing years with the team. They will really be a big boost for our young team which is again in the process of rebuilding,” added Bo Perasol.

Tamayo and Abadiano, who graduate from high school this year, said they chose UP because they value education and know how the University makes sure its student athletes also perform well academically.

“It’s one of my dreams na makapag-aral sa UP. Education is one of my reasons for picking the school and siyempre ‘yong basketball program din,” said Tamayo, enrolled as a B Sports Science major.

“Sobrang saya kasi siyempre tulad ng sinabi ni Carl, dream school ko rin ang UP. Hindi lang ito tungkol sa paglalaro. ‘Yong napili ko rin dito is education. Kapag natapos na [ang basketball], di natin masabi ano mangyayari. Ang importante ay maganda ang tinapos namin,” said Abadiano, who is taking up BS Tourism.



Tamayo and Abadiano, who suited up for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, join a loaded pool of UP recruits this year. Other players who committed to UP recently are Xavier School ace Miguel Tan, Fil-Canadians Alonso Tan and Anton Eusebio, Fil-Australian center Ethan Kirkness, Fil-Am guard Sam Dowd, and Gilas Youth cadet RC Calimag.