Can't leave the Philippines due to Shut Down

[flicks1998 1,044]

Foreigners are not allowed to enter the Philippines as of now and Filipinos are not allowed to leave.  That is until April 30th.  Since there is no control of this pandemic in the Philippines, it would be wise to extend this, but then the government is clueless at all levels so they may start flights in and out by May 1.  This is also a country where 90% of the people get their "news" from Facebook and where most are not able to differentiate between fact and fiction.  I dont blame the people at all, I blame the education system.  Since the almighty supreme leader has come out with a ridiculous comment yesterday that he expects the lockdown to be finished by May since there will be antibodies available, who knows what will happen.  This "antibody" process isnt even expected to be available until September or October at the earliest with a potential vaccine next year.  However, remember there is no vaccine for Sars or Mers.  Funding was cut off during these peak outbreak periods and economically wasnt a viable option without the funding.  Part of the problem we have today.  

 

At any rate, everyone should be extremely cautious if the country does open up May 1st and take as much precaution to your fiances as possible as they may not be given accurate data.  If you plan to come back here into Manila, etc, please try to be prepared as possible with as much PPE you can bring.  The country is truly caught at a crossroads.  Pressure is too high now to open up as people need to work, government running low on funds but then balancing this with the expected spread of the virus.  Remember, Makati Med, St Lukes, Asian Hospital in Alabang, and most others put out a memo a month ago they were no longer taking COVID-19 patients as they were at max capacity and had no space.  This was at the beginning of the curve.  I believe it was JP Morgan who put out a graph of where countries are on the curve (as of last week) and the Philippines was #20 out of 20, they were just beginning to start up the curve, and this was just last week.  

[payxibka 10,044]

What I heard was that he would be willing to lift the lockdown in May IF antibodies were available.   Maybe my tagalog isn't as good as yours

[flicks1998 1,044]

44 minutes ago, payxibka said:

What I heard was that he would be willing to lift the lockdown in May IF antibodies were available.   Maybe my tagalog isn't as good as yours

The thing that was so frustrating about his comment was that he knows there are not going to be any antibodies by May.  The earliest is by Fall.  This isn't a secret and I was confused as to the purpose as to why he said that because he runs the risk of angering the people if the lockdown continues through May.  Unfortunately, the Philippines will not be ready by May but that doesn't mean the lockdown won't be lifted.  Its really is a no win situation for the country.

 

I see that he is now going to be giving 5-8K php per month for 2 months for middle class people.  The 1st payment would be around May 1st.  This in itself tells me that the lockdown may be extended until July 1 at least.  Why give out all this money if you plan to lift the lockdown and send everyone to work on May 1st.  

 

Its a ticking timebomb and we can only hope the Embassy can just open for interviews and then get out of this place.  Not only will the virus be rampant, but then you have the problem of petty crime increasing significantly.  Its not just the Philippines experiencing this though.  Its the same with many other countries.   

[apellica 76]

My fiance is in the same boat.  I need to get her to the USA by August.  Like flicks1998 said, I think  the lockdown will be lifted sometime in May or June,  but you really don't know what condition the country is in due to lack of tests and medical facilities to serve COVID-19 patients.  When I find that small window to pick her up, I might have to take it despite the risks.  Paying money for extra plane tickets, hotel stays, medical checkups and visa fees all over again is not ideal for me.

 

Ugh....these are really trying times.

[payxibka 10,044]

I hope your correct but I'm not nearly as optimistic as you 

[Prisonmate 93]

7 hours ago, apellica said:

My fiance is in the same boat.  I need to get her to the USA by August.  Like flicks1998 said, I think  the lockdown will be lifted sometime in May or June,  but you really don't know what condition the country is in due to lack of tests and medical facilities to serve COVID-19 patients.  When I find that small window to pick her up, I might have to take it despite the risks.  Paying money for extra plane tickets, hotel stays, medical checkups and visa fees all over again is not ideal for me.

 

Ugh....these are really trying times.

Best wishes to you. My fiance is in Cebu.  It's like Martial Law down there. You can't even travel from one city to the other city next door. You have to have a pass just to go out shopping for food. They only issue one pass per household. The President of the Philippines sounds like he won't lift the lock down for months. In the meantime, the working poor in the Philippines will be dying from hunger than from the virus.

[NoMansLand2020 298]

22 minutes ago, Prisonmate said:

Best wishes to you. My fiance is in Cebu.  It's like Martial Law down there. You can't even travel from one city to the other city next door. You have to have a pass just to go out shopping for food. They only issue one pass per household. The President of the Philippines sounds like he won't lift the lock down for months. In the meantime, the working poor in the Philippines will be dying from hunger than from the virus.

You are exactly right. You can't confine people to their homes indefinitely. People eventually need to return to work so they can provide for their families. My fiance lives with her two children and 5 other family members in the province. The only way they are able to eat and pay utility bills is because I am sending money.

 

Duterte said recently that the lockdown/quarantine won't end until a vaccine or antibodies are readily available to everyone. That could be next year... 

People are going to starve before they die from the virus. 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Solaris81

[flicks1998 1,044]

22 hours ago, Solaris81 said:

 

Duterte said recently that the lockdown/quarantine won't end until a vaccine or antibodies are readily available to everyone. That could be next year... 

People are going to starve before they die from the virus. 

I left the Philippines in January after my last decade there as part of the I-129F is I need employment in the US and not overseas to show we would actually be living permanently there.  I ended up with a job at quite a large medical center so I get up to date information concerning COVID-19.  The place I work is one of 70 different companies/medical centers around the world working on a vaccine.  The one where I work at has been proven to work in animal (as of early April) and they are pushing FDA approval to start testing on humans.  This FDA approval was trying to be pushed to 3 weeks or so.  Human testing goes in phases so at the earliest for a vaccine would be March or April next year.  This is actually extremely fast since getting a vaccine approved can normally take up to 10 years.  The antibody method could be approved or used around Sept or October this year as a way to try and slow down infections, etc.  For the vaccine they are working on where Im at, they mentioned this can be very quickly mass produced.  They have a history of creating some of the global vaccines and putting these into mass production in the past.

 

The concern is the vaccine could also take all the way through to end of next year, it all depends on how humans react to it.  I guess for us, if you had plans to wait the full 90 days or close to it when your fiance arrives to get married, maybe take this time to get to know each other more and more (as much as you can remotely) and then get married asap when you can finally enter the US, especially if there is no vaccine yet when that occurs.  If you have health insurance through your employer you can usually add your fiance through a qualifying event.  I would not want to have my fiance without insurance in this current situation.

 

Also, the Philippines is going to have to open up before antibodies etc are found.  Economically people cant survive.  Expect the crime rate to increase as well.  Part of this job I work with International SOS and they are expecting worldwide crime to increase as more people become desperate.  The only safety net in the Philippines are the families and most families who have overseas workers have also been effected by this.  The economic crisis may really cause more turmoil in many countries then the health crisis.

 

If your fiances are coming into Manila for the interview or medical exam, have them stay right in Malate.  There are alot of hotels and airbnbs there.  Quite a few airbnbs by Robinsons.  Bayview Hotel as always been a fall back which is essentially across the street from the Embassy on Roxas and the SLMC is just around the corner.  Try to have them travel as little as possible because even when Manila opens up, I dont trust the system they will have in place and will just assume the virus is rampant.  

[NoMansLand2020 298]

1 hour ago, flicks1998 said:

I left the Philippines in January after my last decade there as part of the I-129F is I need employment in the US and not overseas to show we would actually be living permanently there.  I ended up with a job at quite a large medical center so I get up to date information concerning COVID-19.  The place I work is one of 70 different companies/medical centers around the world working on a vaccine.  The one where I work at has been proven to work in animal (as of early April) and they are pushing FDA approval to start testing on humans.  This FDA approval was trying to be pushed to 3 weeks or so.  Human testing goes in phases so at the earliest for a vaccine would be March or April next year.  This is actually extremely fast since getting a vaccine approved can normally take up to 10 years.  The antibody method could be approved or used around Sept or October this year as a way to try and slow down infections, etc.  For the vaccine they are working on where Im at, they mentioned this can be very quickly mass produced.  They have a history of creating some of the global vaccines and putting these into mass production in the past.

 

The concern is the vaccine could also take all the way through to end of next year, it all depends on how humans react to it.  I guess for us, if you had plans to wait the full 90 days or close to it when your fiance arrives to get married, maybe take this time to get to know each other more and more (as much as you can remotely) and then get married asap when you can finally enter the US, especially if there is no vaccine yet when that occurs.  If you have health insurance through your employer you can usually add your fiance through a qualifying event.  I would not want to have my fiance without insurance in this current situation.

 

Also, the Philippines is going to have to open up before antibodies etc are found.  Economically people cant survive.  Expect the crime rate to increase as well.  Part of this job I work with International SOS and they are expecting worldwide crime to increase as more people become desperate.  The only safety net in the Philippines are the families and most families who have overseas workers have also been effected by this.  The economic crisis may really cause more turmoil in many countries then the health crisis.

 

If your fiances are coming into Manila for the interview or medical exam, have them stay right in Malate.  There are alot of hotels and airbnbs there.  Quite a few airbnbs by Robinsons.  Bayview Hotel as always been a fall back which is essentially across the street from the Embassy on Roxas and the SLMC is just around the corner.  Try to have them travel as little as possible because even when Manila opens up, I dont trust the system they will have in place and will just assume the virus is rampant.  

My insurance allows me to cover domestic partners. However, they have to be living in the US. No US based insurance covers people living abroad. You can get travelers insurance, but that is very different. 

[flicks1998 1,044]

11 hours ago, Solaris81 said:

My insurance allows me to cover domestic partners. However, they have to be living in the US. No US based insurance covers people living abroad. You can get travelers insurance, but that is very different. 

I’m still on a Philhealth plan until end of this year which is good enough. It can be used at st Luke’s or makati Med for hospitalisation.  I normally just self insured for the rest. Doctor visits are only 700-800p at makati Med and anything else is relatively cheap. I tore a calf muscle a few years ago and the bill on that was only 8k pesos at makati med and that includes emergency room, doctor fees, X-rays, medicine etc etc.  I could never qualify for Travelers insurance in the Philippines as it’s still considered place of residence. And I have a feeling Travelers insurance is going to become more expensive and also won’t cover COVID-19. 

[delish 29]

I heard from the news today that Duterte will have his decision this week basing on what experts recommend to him . Options he has is to extend the lockdown or modified quarantine like lockdown on certain city's with high cases and open up places with no positives but definitely no total lockdown.

 

on the other note i just saw this on twitter( see attached file) this is vague statement and am hoping that in the coming days we will have a definitive statement. 
 

 

[Prisonmate 93]

I agreed that the Trump tweet is so vague on who it will affect. My fiancee has her approved K1 visa on her passport. Does it mean she will not be allowed to enter? If she is allowed to enter because K1 is consider a non-immigrant visa, will they reject her Adjustment of Status petition? This stupid tweet is making havoc in many couples lives.

[flicks1998 1,044]

2 hours ago, Prisonmate said:

I agreed that the Trump tweet is so vague on who it will affect. My fiancee has her approved K1 visa on her passport. Does it mean she will not be allowed to enter? If she is allowed to enter because K1 is consider a non-immigrant visa, will they reject her Adjustment of Status petition? This stupid tweet is making havoc in many couples lives.

Completely agree.  We were literally a week away from the interview back in March when the embassies shut down and are just waiting.  I thought I was making a wise decision to come back to the US for awhile after being away so long and I am now really starting to regret it.  Even the few months Ive been back its nothing at all what it used to be.  I am hoping that this affects more working visas, but you have a guy in office who has no empathy, whos changed his party lines 5 times in his life, and has no clue on what he is doing nor does he care.  As with everything, its so general and misleading you could imply just about anything from his message.  The only part that worries me is limiting entry from a health aspect as that could mean just about anyone.  If this ban applies across all visas, hopefully Duterte (although he is just as incompetent) will at least open the country to foreigners and Ill try to work remotely from Manila while waiting out the travel ban.  There is no other option.  Can you imagine the backlog that will incur worldwide for US visas.  People will be waiting years. 

 

The issue with the Philippines though is they are so incredibly behind in testing that a true picture of the pandemic cannot be obtained at this time and hopefully before its known, we can at least get our fiance and kids out of there.

 

Wishing you good luck.

 

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

Some details have come out on the new immigration rules for the next 60 days or so but not sure how it effects us.  Havent had time to digest it and of course its convoluted.  Looks like a stoppage for green cards for the time being (60 days?).  As I said before, I never had any contact at all with the US in 10+ years and now being back for a few months, its truly amazing how far this place has fallen.  When you have no contact at all and then thrown into the environment, you can have a very interesting picture looking from the outside in.  

[apellica 76]

Based on the current version of the Executive Order, K1/CR1 visas are exempt.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean a darn thing if the international borders are still closed.  It really is screwing up a lot of people with valid visas in-hand and who are also worried about them expiring.  Currently, Duterte has extended the ECQ lockdown until mid-May.

 

if it was up to Duterte, I think he would easily extend the lockdown to June-July timeframe.  However, increasing economic pressures must be preventing him from doing so.  Let’s hope this continues to do so where he has no choice but to open the country back up so visa holders can leave.  I know it’s a selfish thing for me to say, but I am so sick of these travel bans.  The travel bans are only delaying the inevitable....the virus is already here and we can’t stay lockdown forever, especially when a vaccine is a long ways away.

 

Wearing protective gear, maintaining good hygiene, and eating healthy is your best defense against this virus.   Most people are recovering, but the media will tell you otherwise and declare doomsday.