The Old Folks Home

[scottcaddy]

Quote: I have to wonder about a weapons charge in this post, you seem so upright and doing the right thing for the right reason!

Good for Bernie, I hope he had a good Dinner!
Scott

 

[ozexpat]

I have to wonder about a weapons charge in this post, you seem so upright and doing the right thing for the right reason!

Scott

The weapons charge story.

Once upon a time (2007) we moved to the Philippines. We gave up our jobs and had a thirty year old beach house that had not been lived in for fifteen years basically rebuilt.

We originally bought a hectare of a 3.7 hectare lot owned by my father in law. The fence was essentially non-existent and as the only ice plant for 100 miles was across the road from our place, all the fishing boats would pull in on the beach in front of the house and walk through the land to buy ice. Additionally our place was the entrance to my father's "day use resort". At that time it was nothing more than an oversized trash pit. There was also a hand well pump that locals would use to rinse off after swimming on the beach. Basically there was a free for all. We cleared about 3 shipping containers of trash up and fired the caretaker.

My wife was rather nervous about being there on her own and also worried about potential threat to me as the only white boy in the area. As we were building our garage, the welder was left inside to make the steel doors the following day. When we went to start work the next morning, the welder was gone. The hog wire fence was cut and the welder was carried to the beach and loaded on a fishing boat.

Going back a little further, the mid-eighties was a tumultuous time in Negros. The price of sugar was at an all time high and hacienderos like my father in law were making buckets of money. The disparity between rich and poor was at a height never seen before (nor again). My wife as an educational experience when doing her political science degree spent time with communist rebels and had learnt to break down AK47s. Her father had a 45 cal 400lb Gatling Gun mounted on his water tower to defend against those rebels. She was also in the university gun club.

Knowing her way around firearms, Mrz Oz decided to buy a pump action shotgun. She held the license for the gun as I cannot own a gun as a foreigner.

Sometime around July, once all our fences were in place, trespassing on our place had all but stopped. The same did not apply next door. A typhoon had come pretty close and we had strong winds all night. In the Saturday morning, several of the little huts and the roof of a large shed had come down on our father in law's place. The looting started. There were at least 50 people on the lot picking up whatever they could carry.

Mrs Oz was livid. The locals knew better. They knew they were stealing. She asked me to get the shotgun which I did. We then proceeded to put three rounds into the base of a coconut tree a few feet from our patio and started yelling at the thieves. Most dropped their haul and ran. There were a few that persisted until a second volley was launched at the tree no more than 20 feet from us. The determined looters decided that they would not risk it, dropped the stuff and took off up the beach.

About 20 minutes later our previous Bernie came to the house to tell us the Philippine National Police (PNP) were at our gate. I said to show them in but they insisted we go to the gate. I was pleased that we would be able to tell them of all the looters. Instead we had about 20 PNP officers with military rifles pointed at me. We were informed that that somebody complained that I was shooting at them as innocent people strolling along the beach. I suggested that the police come and see the fresh holes in the tree and asked how many fresh holes there were in the people lodging the complaint.

By this time, enough people had gathered to see the "standoff" that the highway was shut down. It was a circus. I took the opportunity to ask loudly if it is true that we can shoot trespassers. The PNP officer in charge said yes. The gossip relaying the conversation was becoming more intense. So I repeated it asking that if we have a trespasser and kill them, we should call the police and have them come pick up the body. The cop again said yes. The chatter among the crowd was fever pitch. The police said that the complaint was at a local barangay (village) level and that the Tunod (local village sheriff) would take care of it. They said I should go to the Barangay Hall later in the week and sort it out.

On the Monday there was another visitor. The Barangay secretary presented me with a summons for unlawful discharge of a weapon. This looked serious.

I called a lawyer. He said it was serious.

The lawyer told me that he cannot attend barangay level complaints but we should do what ever it takes to stop the charge from escalating to a criminal complaint. As a white boy I would become a nice news headline example of the police being tough on guns. I could also face up to 21 years in prison. He suggested a nice "apology payment" to the plaintiffs, the barangay captain and the tunod. My mind was in a spin.

I plotted a strategy in my head. I told my wife that her job was to just translate what I would say and the responses.

When we arrived that the barangay hall, we sat down and the barangay captain explained the proceedings. The plaintiffs would explain why they made a complaint and then we would have the opportunity to counter. She also said that the goal was to work out some sort of equitable arrangement that day (translated to how much I was going to pay)

The plaintiff told how they were just walking along the beach and someone began shooting at them. They said that they were very scared.

I asked them if they were the people stealing.

Of course not.

I asked if they saw people looting.

They said they did and it was shameful.

I asked them if they new it was law that a Filipino could defend his property with lethal force.

They said they did.

I asked them to show me the holes from the shot gun.

No answer.

I told them that the shotgun was fired at a tree in front of us. I explained my wife's gun experience and asked if they thought she would have missed at the distance they said they were away from our patio.

I then apologized that the act of protecting our property scared them. I asked the barangay captain to enforce the laws and stop looters. I suggested that she should also educate the locals who had not hear (that would be zero) that Mrs Oz had a shotgun and she was not afraid to use it.

Done.

Mrs Oz fetches her own shot gun these days - not that we have ever needed it. Five rounds into a tree created a legend.

 

[ronott1]

The weapons charge story.

Once upon a time (2007) we moved to the Philippines. We gave up our jobs and had a thirty year old beach house that had not been lived in for fifteen years basically rebuilt.

We originally bought a hectare of a 3.7 hectare lot owned by my father in law. The fence was essentially non-existent and as the only ice plant for 100 miles was across the road from our place, all the fishing boats would pull in on the beach in front of the house and walk through the land to buy ice. Additionally our place was the entrance to my father's "day use resort". At that time it was nothing more than an oversized trash pit. There was also a hand well pump that locals would use to rinse off after swimming on the beach. Basically there was a free for all. We cleared about 3 shipping containers of trash up and fired the caretaker.

My wife was rather nervous about being there on her own and also worried about potential threat to me as the only white boy in the area. As we were building our garage, the welder was left inside to make the steel doors the following day. When we went to start work the next morning, the welder was gone. The hog wire fence was cut and the welder was carried to the beach and loaded on a fishing boat.

Going back a little further, the mid-eighties was a tumultuous time in Negros. The price of sugar was at an all time high and hacienderos like my father in law were making buckets of money. The disparity between rich and poor was at a height never seen before (nor again). My wife as an educational experience when doing her political science degree spent time with communist rebels and had learnt to break down AK47s. Her father had a 45 cal 400lb Gatling Gun mounted on his water tower to defend against those rebels. She was also in the university gun club.

Knowing her way around firearms, Mrz Oz decided to buy a pump action shot gun. She held the license for the gun as I cannot own a gun as a foreigner.

Sometime around July, once all our fences were in place, trespassing on our place had all but stopped. The same did not apply next door. A typhoon had come pretty close and we had strong winds all night. In the Saturday morning, several of the little huts and the roof of a large shed had come down on our father in law's place. The looting started. There were at least 50 people on the lot picking up whatever they could carry.

Mrs Oz was livid. The locals new better. They new they were stealing. She asked me to get the shotgun which I did. We then proceeded to put three rounds into the base of a coconut tree a few feet from our patio and started yelling at the thieves. Most dropped their haul and ran. There were a few that persisted until a second volley was launched at the tree no more than 20 feet from us. The determined looters decided that they would not risk it, dropped the stuff and took off up the beach.

About 20 minutes later our previous Bernie came to the house to tell us the the Philippine National Police (PNP) were at our gate. I said to show them in but they insisted we go to the gate. I was pleased that we would be able to tell them of all the looters. Instead we had about 20 PNP officers with military rifles pointed at me. We were informed that that somebody complained that I was shooting at them as innocent people strolling along the beach. I suggested that the police come and see the fresh holes in the tree and asked how many fresh holes there were in the people lodging the complaint.

By this time, enough people had gathered to see the "stand-off" that the highway was shut down. It was a circus. I took the opportunity to ask loudly if it is true that we can shoot trespassers. The PNP officer in charge said yes. The gossip relaying the conversation was becoming more intense. So I repeated it asking that if we have a trespasser and kill them, we should call the police and have them come pick up the body. The cop again said yes. The chatter among the crowd was fever pitch. The police said that the complaint was at a local barangay (village) level and that the Tunod (local village sheriff) would take care of it. They said I should go to the Barangay hall later in the week and sort it out.

On the Monday there was another visitor. The Barangay secretary presented me with a summons for unlawful discharge of a weapon. This looked serious.

I called a lawyer. He said it was serious.

The lawyer told me that he cannot attend barangay level complaints but we should do what ever it takes to stop the charge from escalating to a criminal complaint. As a white boy I would become a nice news headline example of the police being tough on guns. I could also face up to 21 years in prison. He suggested a nice "apology payment" to the plaintiffs, the barangay captain and the tunod. My mind was in a spin.

I plotted a strategy in my head. I told my wife that her job was to just translate what I would say and the responses.

When we arrived that the barangay hall, we sat down and the barangay captain explained the proceedings. The plaintiffs would explain why they made a complaint and then we would have the opportunity to counter. She also said that the goal was to work out some sort of equitable arrangement that day (translated to how much I was going to pay)

The plaintiff told how they were just walking along the beach and someone began shooting at them. They said that they were very scared.

I asked them if they were the people stealing.

Of course not.

I asked if they saw people looting.

They said they did and it was shameful.

I asked them if they new it was law that a Filipino could defend his property with lethal force.

They said they did.

I asked them to show me the holes from the shot gun.

No answer.

I told them that the shotgun was fired at a tree in front of us. I explained my wife's gun experience and asked if they thought she would have missed at the distance they said they were away from our patio.

I then apologized that the act of protecting our property scared them. I asked the barangay captain to enforce the laws and stop looters. I suggested that she should also educate the locals who had not hear (that would be zero) that Mrs Oz had a shotgun and she was not afraid to use it.

Done.

Mrs Oz fetches her own shot gun these days - not that we have ever needed it. Five rounds into a tree created a legend.

Do Not Mess with Mrz. Ozz......

 

[Cynthia12]

Did they have the surgery done at Vanderbilt? That's where Maddy had her surgery. Great Drs. & great staff.

We're in Utah. So it was done here.

 

[tnspursfan09]

It's just that they do so many of these surgeries and we saw people from all over the country. I felt fortunate that we only had to drive from the Tri-Cities area. She was so gassy as a baby that those drives were really not fun for her, we had to pull over often to give her a break from the carseat. She loved staying at hotels, though...we always went overboard with room service and had picnics on the bed.

 

[Cynthia12]

The weapons charge story.

Once upon a time (2007) we moved to the Philippines. We gave up our jobs and had a thirty year old beach house that had not been lived in for fifteen years basically rebuilt.

We originally bought a hectare of a 3.7 hectare lot owned by my father in law. The fence was essentially non-existent and as the only ice plant for 100 miles was across the road from our place, all the fishing boats would pull in on the beach in front of the house and walk through the land to buy ice. Additionally our place was the entrance to my father's "day use resort". At that time it was nothing more than an oversized trash pit. There was also a hand well pump that locals would use to rinse off after swimming on the beach. Basically there was a free for all. We cleared about 3 shipping containers of trash up and fired the caretaker.

My wife was rather nervous about being there on her own and also worried about potential threat to me as the only white boy in the area. As we were building our garage, the welder was left inside to make the steel doors the following day. When we went to start work the next morning, the welder was gone. The hog wire fence was cut and the welder was carried to the beach and loaded on a fishing boat.

Going back a little further, the mid-eighties was a tumultuous time in Negros. The price of sugar was at an all time high and hacienderos like my father in law were making buckets of money. The disparity between rich and poor was at a height never seen before (nor again). My wife as an educational experience when doing her political science degree spent time with communist rebels and had learnt to break down AK47s. Her father had a 45 cal 400lb Gatling Gun mounted on his water tower to defend against those rebels. She was also in the university gun club.

Knowing her way around firearms, Mrz Oz decided to buy a pump action shotgun. She held the license for the gun as I cannot own a gun as a foreigner.

Sometime around July, once all our fences were in place, trespassing on our place had all but stopped. The same did not apply next door. A typhoon had come pretty close and we had strong winds all night. In the Saturday morning, several of the little huts and the roof of a large shed had come down on our father in law's place. The looting started. There were at least 50 people on the lot picking up whatever they could carry.

Mrs Oz was livid. The locals knew better. They knew they were stealing. She asked me to get the shotgun which I did. We then proceeded to put three rounds into the base of a coconut tree a few feet from our patio and started yelling at the thieves. Most dropped their haul and ran. There were a few that persisted until a second volley was launched at the tree no more than 20 feet from us. The determined looters decided that they would not risk it, dropped the stuff and took off up the beach.

About 20 minutes later our previous Bernie came to the house to tell us the Philippine National Police (PNP) were at our gate. I said to show them in but they insisted we go to the gate. I was pleased that we would be able to tell them of all the looters. Instead we had about 20 PNP officers with military rifles pointed at me. We were informed that that somebody complained that I was shooting at them as innocent people strolling along the beach. I suggested that the police come and see the fresh holes in the tree and asked how many fresh holes there were in the people lodging the complaint.

By this time, enough people had gathered to see the "standoff" that the highway was shut down. It was a circus. I took the opportunity to ask loudly if it is true that we can shoot trespassers. The PNP officer in charge said yes. The gossip relaying the conversation was becoming more intense. So I repeated it asking that if we have a trespasser and kill them, we should call the police and have them come pick up the body. The cop again said yes. The chatter among the crowd was fever pitch. The police said that the complaint was at a local barangay (village) level and that the Tunod (local village sheriff) would take care of it. They said I should go to the Barangay Hall later in the week and sort it out.

On the Monday there was another visitor. The Barangay secretary presented me with a summons for unlawful discharge of a weapon. This looked serious.

I called a lawyer. He said it was serious.

The lawyer told me that he cannot attend barangay level complaints but we should do what ever it takes to stop the charge from escalating to a criminal complaint. As a white boy I would become a nice news headline example of the police being tough on guns. I could also face up to 21 years in prison. He suggested a nice "apology payment" to the plaintiffs, the barangay captain and the tunod. My mind was in a spin.

I plotted a strategy in my head. I told my wife that her job was to just translate what I would say and the responses.

When we arrived that the barangay hall, we sat down and the barangay captain explained the proceedings. The plaintiffs would explain why they made a complaint and then we would have the opportunity to counter. She also said that the goal was to work out some sort of equitable arrangement that day (translated to how much I was going to pay)

The plaintiff told how they were just walking along the beach and someone began shooting at them. They said that they were very scared.

I asked them if they were the people stealing.

Of course not.

I asked if they saw people looting.

They said they did and it was shameful.

I asked them if they new it was law that a Filipino could defend his property with lethal force.

They said they did.

I asked them to show me the holes from the shot gun.

No answer.

I told them that the shotgun was fired at a tree in front of us. I explained my wife's gun experience and asked if they thought she would have missed at the distance they said they were away from our patio.

I then apologized that the act of protecting our property scared them. I asked the barangay captain to enforce the laws and stop looters. I suggested that she should also educate the locals who had not hear (that would be zero) that Mrs Oz had a shotgun and she was not afraid to use it.

Done.

Mrs Oz fetches her own shot gun these days - not that we have ever needed it. Five rounds into a tree created a legend.

Oz! Great job! Too bad you couldn't add this to the plaintiff. I don't know..maybe you did behind his back.. ??

Man, that is something else. Hope things settle down around there.

 

[ozexpat]

Oz! Great job! Too bad you couldn't add this to the plaintiff. I don't know..maybe you did behind his back.. ??

Man, that is something else. Hope things settle down around there.

that was several years ago. its well and truly settled. we have not been messed with and get on well with our village.

 

[drumstick diva]

OZ - that was really scary

thank goodness it ended well. All I would have done was poop myself and that wouldn't have helped at all. You guys are my heroes.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I don't know how I missed the post on Dakota. Adorable. You've got a cute helper, there.

Oz, had to read one part of your story a few times. I was under the impression that the welder was a person the first few times I read it. I was wondering why there were no kidnapping charges.

Mrs Oz does sound pretty awesome - perhaps she does need that mask and cape.

 

[chickadoodles]

Do Not Mess with Mrz. Ozz......

X2