Winston wrote:Guys,
Check this out. My expat friend in the Philippines, a meticulously accurate person with a very high IQ (probably the smartest expat in the Philippines I'd guess, besides me of course lol) told me that his Filipino neighbors on the beach are conspiring to blackmail him for 2 million pesos! WTF? I thought the Filipinos there would be more peaceful and nature-loving. Sheesh. I guess in some cultures, most people really are shameless, greedy, evil scums. Now you guys understand why the Philippines is such an annoying country to me, to have to put up with this kind of shit all the time.
Here is what he wrote me about it. He said I could tell you all about it as long as I don't name any names.
"The poor Filipino neighbors here have hatched up what they think (with their 85 IQs) is a clever blackmail/extortion scheme:
1) Fabricate bad things about me and spread this around as gossip;
2) Use these fabrications as an excuse to build a wall between my property and the beach in front;
3) Offer, as an alternative, that I pay P2 million to buy their lot (the beach.)
I am working on having their beach property deleted from the register of deeds since it is no longer valid property... it is purely sand and sea.
Honestly, I'd rather pay my lawyer $10,000 than pay these scum sucking Filipinos a dime. Typical Filipino assholes, huh?"
Then when I asked about who owns, the land, he wrote:
"While we were in Angeles last time, I let ******* use my car and my house, so he took his family up here. That's when the neighbors told him what I had supposedly been doing, and what they were going to do.
Just idiot Filipinos looking for another opportunity to be greedy. I look forward to creaming these assholes, through official channels of course. It will mean that I won't have good neighbors around me, but it will also mean that they can't easily reach the beach and none of their extended family will ever work for me again (I employed lots of them for 18 months solid). It also means I will never help them with medical bills or funeral costs etc. again. And believe me, I have helped them A LOT.
The beach was originally (a long long time ago) part of the main lot here, set up by the founder of this Barangay. Over the years it was eroded to nothing (sand and sea) because they never built a sea wall. In 1996 the main lot was subdivided, and the surveyor (my surveyor, the best in town) separated out that beach lot because it could not be sold (it was already under sand/water). But it became a sub-lot. All the other lots were sold, but that lot remained because no one ever bothered to delete it.
This beach lot SHOULD be deleted from the records because its ownership reverts back to the State when it becomes beach. I am now working to make sure that this happens "
Winston-
By your note, I am assuming that this guy is a pretty good friend. The first thing he must do is take pride and ego out of the equation
and be wise rather than just try to satisfy his ego. As you likely know already, he has made some critical mistakes up to this point that may have
set him up for this kind of thing.
He has an online business and his own life to live, so he really needs to recognize the futility of getting into a pissing match with his neighbors.
As you know, if you make a Filipino lose face, he will likely hate you forever. It is smoke and fumes...a slow burning but hot fire.
Sure he can build a fence, hire security, this and that, but can he really expect to live in a hostile neighborhood? I think he needs a more creative solution.
With his largess he has created the impression that he is loaded. In the Philippines, that is a bad impression to make if you do not have the network of friends and clan to support it. It really puts one at risk if they are seen as isolated. I understand the harshest of security tactics- I worked in that field in the past as a civilian contractor, but in this case that is not very relevant. His talk about how he will "take it to the mat" with his neighbors, is not very well thought out.
Does he intend to move?
What he needs in successful subversion of the plot. He needs to change the narrative. He has a friend who is a provincial governor I think you were saying. Well, direct intervention should be a LAST RESORT, as hostility is not necessarily ended with that.
Is there one ringleader to this whole deal I would wonder? If so, he needs to know that guy's weaknesses and keep them in mind.
Back to the governor...do the neighbors know of this relationship? If not, they are pretty well unlikely to want to take on a man of that status, who can TOTALLY screw their day with a few phone calls.
But this can be introduced in a way to defuse, fluster and derail, rather than confront. So the threat is removed and peace is restored. isn't that what he wants? I would suggest subterfuge, for example, so long as no ripples will be created with the Governor, spread a story( Just happen to confide etc, knowing full well it will cover be spread right away.) that he is extremely worried now. He is worried, because Governor xxxxxxx who is VERY HOT TEMPERED etc, (as needed) is wanting to buy his house, and will be VERY PISSED to hear about this complication with this bogus lot deal!
Lay it on as needed...the Gov is wanting this for his extra house, his retreat or whatever, and your friend is very worried now that some radical action will be taken against those in his neighborhood, and is doing his best to make peace! Now the Gov is getting lawyers and a detective or whatever, to ream those in the neighborhood for screwing with his future house, and your friend is heroically stepping up to calm down the mad Gov and make peace!
So he can introduce the threat and at the same time appear to be a victim of it and defenders of his neighbors. Some variation of this scheme is a good place to start. If it does not work, then he can still go forward with additional actions...
>>no one losses face.....he has to resist urges to grind anyone's face in defeat...and yet he has to win...if he takes the direct linear approach to this he will lose...so better get used to side-thinking the deal...
outwest