Nothing should surprise me these days, but I have to admit I was pretty damned shocked when I woke up and saw what President Duterte has imposed throughout Luzon (the big island that includes Manila and my province of Zambales). They are calling it an “enhanced community quarantine” and it includes these provisions:
24-hour CURFEW for EVERYONE
All public transport is suspended
You may go out ONLY to buy basic needs.
Work and school are suspended.
Restaurants are CLOSED. Only deliveries and take out are allowed, no eating in the restaurant.
Serious resistance or disobedience will subject the offender to arrest.
Sounds a lot like house arrest to me. Ah, but there is an escape clause for foreigners:
Those who want to leave the country are given 72 hours to leave/fly. Otherwise, it will be presumed that they opted to stay in the Philippines for the entirety of community quarantine (April 14)
Hmm. I briefly considered that option, then rejected it. Frankly, things seem just as dicey in the USA these days. I thought about Korea, but an indefinite stay there would be quite expensive. Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam are also imposing stringent measures to control the Wuhan Virus. Plus I have no support network there should the worst-case scenario come about. Nope, I’ve made the Philippines my home and I’ll stick things out here for better or worse.
It will be interesting to see how implementation works out and what the impacts of this quarantine will be. As I mentioned yesterday, the locals are in for some desperate times. One of the commenters on a forum I frequent had this to say about that:
I am normally the optimistic, the one telling everybody not to succumb to the fear mongering and doomsayers. But today as I was driving by the gun store in my fairly affluent community, the big line around the block to get in made me think about what life must be like in Luzon now…and in the weeks to come.With so many people there living payday to payday, barely making enough to survive, and with little or no monetary safety nets for all these bargirls, restaurant workers, bus drivers etc who will simply be without income for a month, people will soon become desperate. Think how many scammers and con artists have always been at work there. Now all these people literally will not have legitimate income for the next month. And the foreigner visitors that normally keep a steady stream of cash are no longer arriving. I think there’s a great potential there for dramatically increased violence. How can there not be? How long can you listen to a baby cry of hunger before you take matters into your own hands?
For all the expats and brave visitors there now, you gotta be extra careful. I’m sure it’s the monger buyer’s market of a lifetime, but I have to imagine that given the new circumstances, past trustworthiness doesn’t necessarily mean current trustworthiness.
It’s a good thing to have money. It’s a bad thing to be the only one in town with money. Stay safe!
Yeah, something to consider for sure.
Anyway, I’m proceeding as normal until I’m told otherwise. I walked the dogs as usual which I guess is technically a violation. I also observed that the construction crews have continued to work on the houses being built, in clear violation of the “stay home” directive from the President. Well, it’s only day one so maybe the Army has yet to be deployed to apprehend these scofflaws.
I decided to push my luck further and take my normal morning hike outside the relative safety of my subdivision. And boy, was I in for a surprise!
“What the hell is going on?” I wondered (hopefully not out loud). It seems the traffic jam was generated by a police checkpoint just up the road at the entrance to Subic town. I guess they were taking temperatures of everyone who provided a good enough reason to be leaving Olongapo. I have to believe at some point they are going to enforce the quarantine requirements, but apparently not today.
I also popped into Johansson’s which was open. It is a hotel/restaurant/bar type facility. I sat down and jokingly ordered a beer, and the bartender got up to get it before I stopped her. Apparently it is business as usual for them as well. I messaged a friend who works at Treasure Island resort and they are open and serving customers too. Then I got the text message reminding me of the dart tournament at Alley Cats today. I’m not sure what’s going on and why everyone is ignoring the Presidential decree with apparent impunity, but that’s not likely to last for long. Although, I hope I’m wrong about that.
You know, I get that these measures are intended to lessen the impact of the coronavirus on the population at large. I certainly know that I am in a high-risk category should I be infected. I just don’t see how these steps are going to actually make a difference in any meaningful way. I’ve put my own plan for self-defense in motion already:
Speaking of the Hash, we might have to postpone future gatherings until the crisis has passed. Angeles City and La Union have already done so. It was a nice 7K hike yesterday and I’ll post about that tomorrow. Right now, I’m going to really push my luck and walk into Subic town and see what all the fuss is about. And whether or not the police will let me in. I guess if pressed I can always say I’m out searching for food! I’ll let yáll know how that goes as well.
Damn, the walls are really closing in. Hate to say this, but I’m happy I’m in South Korea right now. There have been cancellations and shutdowns, true, but the government hasn’t ordered people into their homes, nor has it threatened anyone with draconian fines, imprisonment, or anything else dire. There have been strongly worded directives that amount to suggestions about how to act during the crisis, and for the most part, the conformist populace has been going along with everything. Koreans can be plucky, rebellious, and anti-authoritarian when they want to be, but right now, I think everyone sees the wisdom in staying put and behaving… except, apparently, for at least one other Christian denomination that has once again proven to be a problem for the country because of its insistence on continuing to meet for worship. These people—and other people like them—might prove to be the literal death of the rest of us if they keep that shit up.
Anyway, despite the church-related craziness, I can’t say that life is all that different for me. Part of the issue may be my own introversion: I don’t travel around that much; I have almost no social circle to speak of; there’s little for me to do, or that I want to do, aside from walk around and bike around (still working on the biking thing). Everything else that I do is done indoors, at home, e.g., blogging and watching movies (I have a lot of movies to catch up on). I’m thankful that I’m free to take random walks if I want. I kind of wish the Duterte government understood that confining people to, for example, apartment buildings is a good way to turn those buildings into petri dishes for the virus. It’s better to let people roam; the open air would do everyone a lot of good.
Anyway, good luck as you deal with the realities of a de facto house arrest. I hope you don’t get caught and—God forbid—thrown in jail for violating the new directives. Jail strikes me as a potential infection zone. I’d be rather paranoid about being confined in such a space. And what would your dogs do while you’re in the clink?
As Dubya once wrote: “Let freedom reign!” Please keep us updated on this unwholesome situation.
I think you should only start to worry about being a victim of coronavirus crime if Duterte follows suit with Iran and Brazil and starts emptying the prisons. Doubt he’ll do that though, having only just filled them up. Oh, the irony.
Kev, yeah if I thought these measures would really make a difference I’d be much more supportive. That’s government for you though. I have a smart TV I never watch, might need to start catching up on the Amazon Prime channel material I am paying for. I’ll post an update on the situation here later today.
Dan, not heard anything along those lines. Knowing the president, he’d be more likely to say let them die there.
Gun and ammo sales are up in Colorado Springs
Was a strategic planner for many years and many years ago we were concerned about the negative impacts of globalization. Here we are.
Used this in a paper years ago. Don’t remember enough to cite the quote. May not be exact wording.
“The 20th century showed us the horror of physics. The 21st century will show us the horror of biology. We are in humanities last century.”
Pretty grim. Take care John/all.
This too shall pass.
Jerry, I hope it doesn’t come to that, but humanity or no, I’m definitely in my final century! Hang in there!