At work, we jokingly refer to the months of January and February as the time of BC or Before COVID. We remember the potluck lunches we did, the hoarded coffee pods we would keep when supplies were refilled and that Zambales Team Building we had before everything got shutdown.
Who knew that it would be the last thing we would do together as six months into this pandemic we are still in lockdown, though the government rebranded it as being in Enhanced Community Quarantine.
As early as January 30 when we had our first case from a Chinese couple who were vacationing here tested positive and eventually died, the government knew that it had to issue a COVID 19 response to avoid a pandemic. Instead, they downplayed the disease saying that there was nothing to worry about.
“It has affected a lot of countries, but you know in one or two [cases] in any country is not really that fearsome,” Philippine President Duterte said on February 3 on this article.
“The response of the people from the initial reports of coronavirus was also hysterical when there was really no need for it actually. If there is really a virus going around, why do you have to be hysterical?” Duterte said.
At this point, there were already 80 patients under investigation just 4 days after the first confirmed case in the country.
From Unsplash credits to Vickor Forgacs
His then Presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo said that people just need to have a strong immune system. Later on he also said that eating bananas would prevent people from getting sick.
"I read a few things about how to destroy or contain the virus. You know, even without me knowing it, I've been fond of bananas," he said.
"They I saw on the internet, that bananas are a good way to fight [viruses]. So here I am, eating bananas every day."*
Even the Department of Health Secretary did not fare any better as early as the 1st week of February were calls to put travel bans from high risk countries, in particular China, which he answered as being unfair to China.
“If we do this, then the concerned country – China in this case – might question why we’re not doing the same for all other countries that have reported cases of the new coronavirus. It’s very tricky… but we commit to take this into consideration,” Duque said.
He would later on reiterate that there was nothing to worry about and even encouraged to travel more.
All of these actions set a dangerous precedent as supporters followed suit and made fun of people who wanted to be careful as worrywarts, killjoys and even to the level of branding people who called for the temporary ban on China as xenophobic racists.
People lived as if there was no global pandemic happening as they crowded into bars, department stores, churches and sporting events. People did not worry.
People did not practice social distancing protocols and wear masks as they complained they could not breathe.
Locally, another government official complained that wearing a mask would hinder her physical and mental health.
Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia responded, saying she would breathe more carbon dioxide in his mouth which would cause “overall exhaustion, lower my immune system and affect my brain.”
From Twitter Papa 911 taken from Facebook DDS Darksecrets
Hypoxia due to wearing a mask has been largely refuted in a number of research and medical articles.
"Dr. Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, an epidemiologist and lecturer at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at University of New South Wales Australia, says the risk of hypoxia and hypercapnia are unlikely to take place with cloth and surgical masks, because they are not tight-fitting: " Source from Snoops
The same governor would release a memo to practice Tu-ob which is the local term for salt steam inhalation.
The process is to boil water in a pot, put 3 tablespoons of salt, stir until the salt dissolves. Then get a towel or blanket, enclose the body and the pot, then inhale the steam that comes from the boiled saltwater. Some advocates suggest adding garlic, lemon and other spices to be more effective.
This method is often listed under natural healing and alternative medicine but the Department of Health of the Philippines as well as WHO has both issued statements that there is no evidence that Tu-ob is an effective cure for COVID 19.
Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) specifically said in its COVID-19 myth busters page that there is no evidence that regularly rinsing the nose with saline has protected people from coronavirus infection.
“While some western, traditional or home remedies may provide comfort and alleviate symptoms of COVID-19, there is no evidence that current medicine can prevent or cure the disease. WHO does not recommend self-medication with any medicines, including antibiotics, as a prevention or cure for COVID-19,” WHO said. - [Source is from Rappler]
One has to wonder why this government is not using science to make decisions and statements that will be grounded to what is verifiable or at least consult with true experts.
The result is six months we are still suffering a semblance of a lockdown, an all-time high of 45.5% unemployment rate nationwide or about 4.8 million Filipinos reporting to have lost their jobs. The government again downplays this and the current Presidential Spokesperson now Harry Roque said the following:
"I am glad that we did not hit 100 percent unemployment because we’ve been under lockdown for a long time. I’m still surprised at our resilience and only 45 percent lost their jobs. It could have been worse because we’re in complete lockdown),”
The government has been more focused on silencing their detractors with cancelling the franchise of one of the largest media network in the country, red tagging the opposition and fast tracking the approval of the Anti Terrorism bill which weaponized the law to suppress dissent and criticism.
Don't worry about COVID 19
As of September 21 we had 3,475 new cases and a total case of 290,190.
I can't help but worry. I still can't see how we will be able to turn things around. I worry because of my experience getting sick with COVID 19 and of a chance to be reinfected.
I have written down my account of surviving COVID 19 in this post I am alive after getting COVID 19
"It went critical when my oxygen saturation reached 77%. They needed to intubate. I had apprehensions, no I was downright scared. Everything that I read and watched about COVID 19 how painful being intubated is. How you already have one foot in the grave. In my mind, it was game over. So I refused. I was going to get better without it."
I have talked about my fears, my thoughts as I contact traced how I got the virus, of the loneliness and despair I felt at certain times.
I fear for my fellow countrymen as they get sucked in the narrative that we are winning and that we have nothing to fear.
I know we cannot be on lockdown forever but no sensible plan for health, economic rehabilitation and moving forward as a people has been created and relayed to diminish the anxiety and fears of people. Instead we are drowned out by the noise created by both political sides while COVID 19 seems to have been forgotten.
I worry for what tomorrow brings.
This post was created in response to a post by 
It is supposed to present a COVID 19 Conspiracy theory and debunk it with peer reviewed research and presentations but has taken shape as more political in nature rather than scientific.
My intention was to write something scientific and add some personal touches as I am a COVID 19 survivor.
I was critical and spent 21 days in the hospital fighting for my life and it just makes me mad that people are acting that it is just a common flu that they can get and simply shrug it off.
When I revealed that I got sick and people reached out to me and asked me what to do because there are so many misinformation and fake news out there.
I really hated the whole Tu-ob (Salt Steam inhalation) that people were touting as the cure this illness. I personally knew someone who did it and injured his lungs as he inhaled extremely hot vapors because he read that by having 70 degrees or hotter will kill the virus quick.
Asking people to be careful and you get branded as a fearmonger who is in cahoots with big Pharma because in one of my talks I mentioned that I responded well with Remdesivir. That I was belittling alternative healing methods like Tu-ob. It was taken negatively. All I was saying was what worked for me and to be careful of inconclusive methods.
Traditional Western medicine is indeed expensive. The cost of a treatment for Remdesivir is around $3,120 or about PHP 151,181.16. While the Tu-ob kit cost the Cebu government about $52 or PHP 2500 for one person.
This post has became an outlet for my frustration on how COVID 19 was dealt with.
Here is to us adjusting to the new normal.