A(H1N1) Update

The second A(H1N1) infection case in Hong Kong was confirmed last Wednesday. The 24-year-old man is a Hong Kong local who returned from the United States onboard a Cathay flight. He is currently held in isolation along with family members who met him at the airport and six other people who sat near him on the airplane. He is reported to be in stable condition.

To date, 33 countries have officially reported 6497 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

 Countries with A(H1N1)-related deaths are as follows:  

Country	Confirmed Cases	Deaths
Mexico	2446	60
United States	3352	3
Canada	389	1
Costa Rica	8	1

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths:  

Spain 100

United Kingdom 71

Panama 29

France 14

Germany 12

Italy 9

Brazil 8

Colombia 7

Israel 7

New Zealand 7

China 4

El Salvador 4

Japan 4

Guatemala 3

Netherlands 3

Republic of Korea 3

Finland 2

Norway 2

Sweden 2

Thailand 2

Argentina 1

Australia 1

Austria 1

Cuba 1

Denmark 1

Ireland 1

Poland 1

Portugal 1

Switzerland 1

Source: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_05_14/en/index.html

1st case of “swine flu” in Hong Kong detected

A 25 year-old male Mexican who flew in via Shanghai from Mexico yesterday and stayed at the Metropark Wanchai Hotel has been transferred to the Princess Margaret Hospital and confirmed to have the A/H1N1 virus. Apparently, the man only started to develop fever and other symptoms indicative of swine flu when he arrived in Hong Kong.

The whole hotel has been quarantined. Government says there is no need to panic but citizens should stay vigilant. As of writing, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow is heading a press conference informing the public of the incident.

Hong Kong flu alert has been raised to “emergency” status.

Philhealth or Feel Hell?

The current Philhealth procedure requiring members to secure proof of contribution from their employers prior to issuance of hospitalization benefits is plain moronic!  Shouldn’t Philhealth, being the authority in this situation, provide the necessary documents to the hospital themselves? Philhealth should be in the position to prove if a member has paid his dues or not. How come members are forced to get the proof of contribution from their respective employers when Philhealth should have a proper database for this purpose? In this high tech age, why can’t Philhealth keep their systems updated real time? Why do we have to suffer all this red tape?

In our case for example, when my wife gave birth by C-section last February, my father-in-law who was our official “runner” had to spend hours on the road and suffer the poor traffic conditions from Pasig to España, where my wife works, just to obtain that blasted piece of paper! We also found out that Philhealth has not posted the latest payment yet so we had to produce the receipt as evidence. When the hospital bill was processed, we were given a measly discount of about Php 7000. I was actually expecting more. Was it worth all that trouble? What a waste of time, cash and energy! Why do I have this feeling that we are not getting our money’s worth from Philhealth?

I found this article in inquirer.net. Please click the link below, read through and find out the reason behind the title of this post.

http://blogs.inquirer.net/voxpopuli/2009/02/20/wake-up-philhealth/

What a scam!

Credit grabber par excellence

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was in Saudi Arabia last week. There, she declared that OFWs in the kingdom need not worry about loosing their jobs.  She assured that Filipino expatriates working there are safe despite the global financial meltdown.  C’mon! What is she talking about?! She could not even keep the unemployment rate in her “Strong Republic” at a respectable level. How will she keep jobs safe in a territory she has no authority over for her compatriots? The oil-rich Saudi is also adjusting to minimize the deleterious effects of the financial crisis on their economy. Uncertainty looms. When push comes to shove, will the kingdom give priority to OFWs, say, versus their own citizens? Of course not! Filipinos scattered around the world will always be second class residents in their host countries; and being second class really sucks! But what sucks more is when your own government, torn by internal bickering and corruption, is too indulgent and does not seem to have any long term plans to counteract the diaspora.

On the contrary, since Philippine GDP benefits from OFW remittances, the government continues to make policies that enables emigration. This is a major dilemma. So, should we prevent something that is helping the economy stay afloat? I guess the answer is NO, sadly, because we have no choice right now. But I pray that the next president and future officials of our beloved country would not have this “cash cow” mindset because it just adds fuel to the fire.

As I have said in previous posts, the OFW phenomenon is a symptom of a problem. It is not the solution to the ills of our nation. Even without government officials acting as intermediaries between OFW wannabees and foreign employers, Filipinos will still be able to find overseas employment out of necessity. So when some big shot self-centered government official, always quick on the pogi points, announces that he or she was able to find a number of job opportunities in the Middle East or in Europe or even in Mars, my blood boils! That is like credit grabbing! In the first place, officials should not be looking for jobs outside the country. They should create jobs INSIDE the country! Looking for jobs overseas is a no-brainer. Anyone can do that! We have plenty of private employment agencies to help us. What a waste of taxpayer money some of our government officials are!  I suggest they end their career in government and set up an overseas employment agency instead.

According to the Inquirer, President GMA stated, “Dito sa Saudi ang pinakamalaking expatriate Filipino community sa buong mundo. Gusto kong tiyakin na matatag ang trabaho ninyo dito sa kabila ng pandaigdigang krisis sa ekonomiya, dahil may mga kababayang nawawalan ng trabaho sa ibat-ibang bansa. [The biggest expatriate Filipino community in the world is in Saudi. I want to assure you that your jobs are secure here, because in other parts of the world, our countrymen are losing their jobs].”

These are very big but empty words. Can she tell Filipinos who are still in the Philippines the same thing? That jobs in our country are secure despite the crisis? That is what I would really want to hear. That is what we should expect to hear from a president.

STOP MILKING THE CASH COW!!!

Reference:
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view/20090203-187201/Arroyo-Saudi-OFWs-jobs-safe

Why did the Philippines not attend the World’s Happiest Party?

The annual Hong Kong Chinese New Year Parade was held on the 26th of January 2009 at Tsim Sha Tsui. Sponsored by Cathay Pacific, the spectacle was dubbed as the “World’s Happiest Party.”There were local floats and performers but there were foreign participants as well. I saw representatives from Macau, mainland China, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Russia, Latin America and even Africa! However, I was disappointed not to see one from the Philippines. I thought, since the Philippines is in the proximity of Hong Kong, someone from the Department of Tourism (DOT) or the Philippine Consulate would have thought of joining this internationally renowned parade. I bet it’s a good way to promote our country since tourists from all over the world, like the sweet Italian couple to my left, the pretty South Korean ladies to my right, the hyperactive German kids on my front, and the elderly Swiss tour group behind me, witness this parade every year. It is also a chance to somehow change the sterotypical domestic helper image of the Filipino in Hong Kong—not that there is something wrong about being a DH, but not all Filipinos who go here are domestic helpers.

I don’t know the politics and bureaucracy involved in enlisting for this parade and I am not sure if the Philippines has sent representatives in the past but we sure are passing a good opportunity by not ‘partying at the World’s Happiest’.

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Here are some of the pictures I took during the parade.