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In addition to all that's been said already:
1. traffic rules in the Philippines are pretty much the same as everywhere else,
2. however, because there's so many without a drivers license (but still drive) and quite a few who have one but "bought it" (corruption anyone?) and
3. because those traffic rules are mostly not enforced,
it is wise to live by only one rule here when driving: always assume all other drivers are bungol (deaf) and blind and don't know the rules.

 

Tried Blair's Angus ribeye steak. Best I found in this area. Worth the money.

 

That has nothing to do with any Virus, it is and has been for a long time illegal to drive in Flip Flops or open toed Sandals it is a safety thing in Driving

 

I lived in Taiwan for 26 years. They really have their sh*t together on this. They learned a lot from the SARS epidemic and some senior officials (VP, mayor of Taipei for example) are medical doctors. One of my friends there was infected but recovered. Another was quarantined for two weeks with electronic surveillance and solid support from food delivery to laundry service. Taiwan has about the best socialized healthcare system in the world.

I don’t see DOCOM operating at the moment and certainly the usual scent of coconut on the breeze as you would notice in this season is absent. I haven’t seen a sugarcane truck in a while but they had just harvested before lockdown. The sugar business only really benefits a handful of landowners anyway.

Tax pisos flow up to Manila. I don’t expect to see any return.

Tourism is over for this year I’m afraid. We’ll see a swath of businesses either just not re-opening or changing hands at deep discounts. It won’t just be the resorts. Lots of smaller businesses rely on the resorts, like laundries, fruit vendors, tank fillers.

Another problem I don’t see discussed much is OFWs. Huge numbers of locals rely on remittances from overseas to sponsor their videoke and rum, and many of those are unemployable even in a strong economy. A downturn in global demand hurts the shipping industry and the cruise ship business is going to be decimated. That’s a lot of Filipino seamen idle. Only the medical professionals are going to be in demand, and we could sorely use those here. Vastly reduced remittances to folk with little to no education, work experience, habit or ethic.

I think Occ. played us. They knew we were going to extend ECQ and waited for the official EO to drop before announcing the phase out. A lot of politicians are far more concerned about media attention than the welfare of the electorate.

 

We go there every couple of weeks for lunch and find the food, staff and Orville great, and a nice peacefull enviroment in the resturant and also get some extra corn bread to take out to have with our dinner

 

Open until 7pm tonight for last minute Christmas requirements.

Angus steaks, brussel sprouts, red and white wines (chilled).

Everything has been kept perfectly frozen and chilled during the typhoon and following power outage. Generator ran for 67 hours with 30 minute breaks every 12 hours. Not bad for a Chinese made Promate from Matiao, 8.5KVA average (10KVA peak), ran 2 x 180W display fridges, 2 x 240W fridge/freezers, 1 x large display chest freezer and 2 x 2.5hp AirCons plus all lights and fans when we were open and also carried the Sari Sari store next door to keep his precious ice cream frozen and his drinks cold. 20litres of 95 every 12 hours.

 

I fully understand the strict rules imposed in Philippines with regard to the Lockdown, but many forum members also live outside the Philippines who retain an interest in their Homeland or their spouses Homeland. I have read on this forum and other forums, Expats moaning about the lockdown and objecting to it. The reason of my input was purely to comfirm that this Covid virus should be taken seriously, something which around the world is now being taken far to lightly.
I might also add that it would seem that Southern Asia has managed the virus more effiecently than elsewhere.

It is a sad fact that really poor people have little chance of improvement, I have seen the poverty first hand and as a Christian, support not just family members but charities dealing with
people in dire circumstances. The world has a lot more problems it should address, Covid is just one of them.

 

I tend to lean toward the idea that such statements from him are sometimes not meant literally but as a means to get compliance. A controversial method for sure but perhaps ultimately rooted in pragmatism guided by the understanding that it may be the most useful means to encourage obedience in a society notorious for bending or ignoring the rules. Duterte understands the mind of the Filipino.