Shady

They really should have some kind of pre-flight fingerprinting procedure at the Immigration office that foreigners need to get when they want to exit the country, to check and clear them if they aren't on any lists................. nah, that would be a big waste of time, just do it at the airport.

Related:

In a row? Never happened in Cebu, apparently the rules depend on the region.

That 6 month extension seems to be hit or miss. Initially you could only get 2 of them and they had to be after your first 59 day extensions. Then starting last year you couldn't get it all if you were under 60 or whatever age they decided. What the rules will be later this year is anyone's guess.

The homeschooling option seems better than ever, that's the sentiment I'm hearing and I tend to agree

Basically, sarcasm is when you say one thing but mean something else, often the opposite. If I use it with Filipinos, that's how they understand it as a joke, they call it "opposite".

What about when opening the new account, was the UK account a (helpful) factor in any way?

Was the Philippines HSBC able to access your UK account, transfer the info, and link the accounts? Or are they entirely separate?

Also they should stop using "social distancing", the accurate term is "physical distancing". /rant

Are they really going to count people entering / exiting malls? I'd rather not wait in line and just wear a mask.

It looks like the plan will be re-open, but limit the amount of patrons.

I don't agree, in fact that's what defines their culture most throughout history; the high suicide rate now, the 'kamikaze' bombers of WW2, all the way back to the Samurai code of harakiri. Success or death: it's literally why they had to be atom-bombed into submission. Meanwhile the Philippines takes the noon-lunch-break to new levels, but that's the laid-back attitude that makes it comfortable for tourists (unless you need something done at noon).

In some ways, yes. But in other ways the Japanese are as far from Filipinos as you can get, hyper-competitive and obsessed with success to the point of nearly leading the world in suicide.