Covid Politicized

I checked my columns in BusinessWorld on health and lockdown economics , I realize that I mentioned or quoted Doc Iggy Agbayani 8x already. Reviewing them here. 1. GDP contraction, CDC PH, and medicine taxes November 11, 2020 https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2020/11/11/328243/gdp-contraction-cdc-ph-and-medicine-taxes/ "My alumni group, the UP School of Economics Alumni Association (UPSEAA) held a Zoom lecture given by Dr. Benigno “Iggy” Agbayani, Jr., on “Philippines COVID-19 Response, What we got right and wrong” on Nov. 4. Dr. Agbayani is a fellow UP alumnus (BS Biology, Medical Degree, and Residency at UP-PGH). He is currently the Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics, Manila Doctors Hospital. He is also a co-founder of the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines (CDC PH) that campaigns to “Flatten the fear” and lift the lockdown..." 2. Global economic impact of lockdowns March 1, 2021 https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/03/01/347594/global-ec...

Belated post, but last March 16 was the 3rd anniversary of "two weeks to flatten the curve" in the Philippines and many countries. That day, all flights and boat trips, domestic and international were cancelled; all buses, jeeps, taxi, Grab etc were halted; all malls, many restos and shops were closed, etc. Even mobility of people on their cars were limited and restricted. Anyway, "only 2 weeks to stop the virus spread" of heavy draconian lockdown. Two weeks passed, wrong mistake palpak. The bright infectious disease "experts" said "two more weeks" of lockdown,... Became two months, became two years. Now three years and several restrictions remain like mandatory facemask in many areas, inside planes, even requiring vaccination cards in some hotels and restos. Or requiring antigen test for all guests like what they do at the Senate and House of Reps. The experts from WHO, DOH, FDA, PMA, PSMID, UPCM, OCTA, etc even added or didn't oppose the ma...

*  BusinessWorld  February 27, 2023.  ----------- Feb. 24 last week marked the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Ukraine crisis has morphed from a border war between the two countries to a potential nuclear conflict in Europe. Here are five major crisis narratives which have had a big impact on economic growth and individual freedom. 1. The virus/pandemic crisis.  It led to widespread government-imposed business and mobility restrictions or lockdowns and human isolation, while expanding government spending and borrowing. House Bill 6522 and Senate Bill 1869 will create a new bureaucracy — the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). I have two objections against this bill. One, it contradicts the National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP) of the Marcos Jr. administration which aims to reduce redundancy or duplication of functions, and reduce government spending. See this column’s piece last week, “Bureaucratic rightsizing a...

Looking back at the PH's lockdown policies 2020-2021, Duterte administration and his economic, health, political, general and medical "experts" job was to sink the PH as deep as possible. To impose the strictist lockdown possible, to close as many shops, restos and malls as possible, to close all buses, taxi, even jeepneys as long as possible. When they said "only 2 weeks to flatten the curve", they were lying already when they extended to 2 months, 2 years, more. The new administration job is how to get out of the morass and sinkhole quick. Bad news -- Duterte team and advisers still there, like Vergeiri, Gen. Galvez, Salvana, etc. But at least mobility restrictions been abolished by mid-2022, including mandatory mandatory masks, vax card, etc. Those 2+ years lockdown has no precedent yet it happened. Now that there is a precedent, very likely it will happen again. The authorities and authoritarians have already tasted so much power over people's lives, the...

 These are the Covid narratives that I find dishonest and corrupt. 1. Natural infection per se even among the young and healthy is bad, hence endless masks, distancing, etc. 2. Natural immunity from natural infection cannot be trusted. Only vax and booster immunity should be trusted. 3. Post-vax diseases and deaths are due to something else. Emergency use vax are pure safe and effective. 4. Cheap, off patent, proven for 4+ decades like Ivermectin cannot be trusted. Only expensive treatment should be trusted. 5. Only the virus evolve into many variants. Humans and their innate immunity don't evolve to deal with these new variants. Wala nang trangkaso (regular flu), Covid na lahat . Trangkaso is not scary but Covid is scary, hence the endless reference to Covid. It's now 2023 and the Covid establishment still calls it COVID-19, they should call it Covid-23 because these are different variants of the virus already from the 2019-2020 variants. But Covid-19 has the most alarmist, mo...

In a few hours, we will leave year 2022 and welcome the year 2023, nice. Two years of lockdown 2020-2021, then remnants of restrictions and mandatory-mandatory this 2022 -- mandatory facemasks in MRT/LRT, airport, etc. Even mandatory vax card in some big hotels.  Then mandatory big public spending, bigger public debt, to procure huge Covid vaccination and boosters by the DOH. So among my New Year wishes is that Acting DOH Secretary Vergeiri and her team of medical tyrants be replaced and their endless, no time table health emergency be discontinued.  https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1710768/doh-sees-vax-challenge-if-calamity-state-lifted Wala ng trangkaso/flu, lahat Covid na. Wala nang  natural immunity, puro vax and booster immunity na. DOH WHO and their cabals hate cheap, old, proven off-patent treatment, they only want expensive, publicly-procured, emergency-use vax and medicines.  We are still far from having fiscal discipline and public health honesty because the p...