Well, no matter how you slice it, today marks two years, or twenty-four months or 731 days that I’ve been living in the Philippines. Time flies.

Not sure what to make of this anniversary. These past couple of months have been rather unpleasant but overall I can’t say I regret making the move. I have a comfortable and comparatively easy life here. I never found the love I’d hoped for but I’m learning to live without it. I’ve settled into my routines and as my faithful readers have surely noticed, that can sometimes get a little on the boring side. Honestly though, I mostly enjoy the walking, with a group or on my own. I miss my bar life these days which provided some semblance of a social life. I guess that’s enough for an old retired guy.

Looking backwards (dangerous I know!) I do miss the life I left behind in Korea. Not enough to second guess my decision to move here, but I have regrets about not appreciating my time there while I was living it. There’s something to be said for living in the moment. I was too busy lamenting the life I’d lost to enjoy the life I was living I suppose.

Looking forward I imagine this life will do and if it doesn’t I’ll do something different. Getting a first-hand taste of the utter incompetence of the idiots in charge does make me consider dusting off my Plan B. I understand Cambodia is back to pretty much normal these days. Well, at least the bars are open again there. But I ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. I do want to incorporate more travel into my life once things calm down again.

As to regrets, well, you know the song, I’ve had a few. Although really, the disappointments were the tuition to the school of experience. I’ve been scammed a few times by women I thought I knew and trusted, been ghosted by people I considered friends, and let down on occasion when I misjudged the true nature of someone’s character. But honestly, I’ve been doing that all my life so I guess it’s really on me.

So, the journey continues until it ends and I’m still motivated to keep on moving forward as long as possible. I’m relatively healthy and I’m thankful for that. I think my being here has made a positive difference in a few lives and that was one of my goals when I made the move. I’m going to strive to live each day as it comes and be satisfied with whatever it brings. And whenever I start feeling depressed or sorry for myself, I’ll just take a look out the window.

Thanks for joining me here. It’s nice to have y’all along for the ride!

“A man’s admiration of absolute government is proportionate to the contempt he feels for those around him.” –Tocqueville

I do my best to go along to get along. Compliance with the spirit, if not the letter, of the quarantine directives, seems appropriate. But I refuse to disengage my brain and blindly follow stupidity solely on the basis of “do it because I told you so”. Here’s an example of something that just pissed me off when I saw it:

I comply with the curfew. I maintain social distancing to the extent possible and certainly more than most Filipinos I observe. I wear a mask, such as it is, when I’m on the street as required. But I’m going to walk my dogs. And if I choose to take a hike, how is that different than walking to the market place? I’d say it’s a damn sight safer for me alone on the mountain than in a crowded grocery store. And even when I’m at the Speakeasy, I keep a safe distance from the other guests. The point is, even when I’m technically in violation, I do it in such a way as to not endanger others.

I’ve had to bite my tongue (withhold my fingers?) on social media where the do-gooders and busybodies criticize people like me who don’t adopt their strict “stay at home” mantra. Sometimes the attacks are personal but I just ignore them and move on. Oh, I might do a Facebook post quoting Tocqueville or a status of preferring to not be a sheep. I don’t know if they make the connection or not and I guess I don’t really care. Well, I cared enough to post this rant, but that’s the extent of it.

So, today I had to go out for some essentials–specifically dog food. I chose a mountainous 8K route to the veterinarian’s office to make my purchase. There, see totally in accordance with the quarantine procedures.

Anyway, just gotta keep on keepin’ on until this madness is over and done with.

Stay safe everyone!

So it would appear. There was a protest down Manila way and President Duterte responded thusly:

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the police and the military to shoot violators of the enhanced community quarantine if they are unruly and prove to be a threat to law enforcers’ lives.

Duterte’s statement came hours after residents of a Quezon City barangay staged a protest demanding food aid, which they said they have yet to receive. His statement also came as calls for his ouster flooded social networking site Twitter.

Duterte appealed to aid beneficiaries to be patient as he addressed “the Left,” telling them not to riot or he will have them jailed.
“I will order you detained at bibitawan ko kayo pagkatapos na wala na itong COVID,” he said. “‘Pag kayo ang na-detain, bahala kayo sa pagkain ninyo.”
[Translation: I will order you detained and I will release you after this COVID-19 crisis is over…If you are detained, you are on your own when it comes to food.]

Is this a great country or what?

Closer to home, it seems some of the locals don’t like seeing us foreigners out and about enjoying our privileged life.

With all due respect, let me just say this: Fuck you! Our being out and about, primarily up in the mountains creates no danger to you or your neighbors. We do maintain safe distances and have little to no interaction with the locals. Unless we are giving them food, treats, or money.

The owner of Baker’s Table restaurant has initiated a charity drive to provide food to our needy neighbors here in Barretto. Apparently, the Barangay officials are too busy erecting barriers and otherwise making a bad situation worse that they can’t be bothered doing something meaningful like feeding the hungry.

You know, it does seem that sometimes no good deed goes unpunished. This guy (I’ll come him Africa) is doing all the heavy lifting, going out and gathering the supplies, bagging them up, and then working through the Barangay to identify appropriate recipients. When Africa announced this effort on one of the internet forums, he couched it in terms of “if our neighbors are going hungry, us “rich” foreigners are going to become targets of opportunity; so it behooves us to work together to keep folks fed. Woo Boy, he took some flak for his uncharitable motivations. Fuck that. I do some stuff on my own and I do it for admittedly selfish reasons. It’s hard to live large in a country where so many have so little. Helping out a few eases my conscience and assuages my guilt. Sue me. The people benefitting from my efforts sure as hell don’t care why I’m doing it.

Speaking of selfish motivations, when I dropped into Baker’s Table to make my contribution today, I picked up these hot out of the oven pies:

As promised, here are some photos from yesterday’s hike:

Our surprise was getting almost to the bottom and encountering an officious old hag who sternly advised us our path was closed to non-residents. We tried to argue we were on a charity mission (we had in fact handed out food and money to a destitute family up top), but she wouldn’t budge. She stood between us and the way back home so we didn’t have much choice but to ignore her. She threatened to “take our picture” and we just shrugged her off. She told us she would report us to the barangay, and we kept walking. Then she threatened to call the police. Oh well, do what you have to do. Before we reached the bottom Ed, Helen, and I veered off to take an overland route back to Alta Visa (Ed and Helen are my neighbors). I figured if the cops were really laying in wait, I’d rather go a different way. Turns out there were no problems getting home for any of us, which was a relief.

We’ve decided that in the future we will stay on the My Bitch mountain to avoid power-mad old ladies. We will also meet up on the mountain so as to not make a spectacle of ourselves walking the quarantined streets.

The things we do to keep the peace in our little town.

The fun times continue! Such as they are. Well, you’ve got to go with the flow and make the best of an unfortunate situation I suppose. You never know what’s going to happen next. But I do know what happened since I last posted here and I’m happy to report that info to you, my faithful readers.

I did an afternoon walk down Baloy Beach way and it was deserted and kinda spooky. Almost all the resorts are closed now, and the couple that remain open are for take-out food only. Honestly, I would not want to walk that road alone in the dark.

Once I’d donned my mask, had my temperature checked (36.5C), and lathered my hands in the required alcohol solution, I stepped inside my local DiviMart to see what was available. I was actually pretty surprised that there were only a handful of customers inside the store. I was hoping to score a loaf of bread but there was none available. The meat section was pretty much wiped out as well. I grabbed some off the shelf milk, some cookies, and some candy (to hand out on my hikes) and headed for the checkout. Three cashiers, no one in line. I picked the cute one, paid and headed on home.

On the way home I ran into my Filipina neighbor, Joy. She jokingly asked if I left anything for her and I warned her about the bread situation. I saw her again later in the afternoon and she was pissed. It seems the Barangay folks wouldn’t let her go to the store, telling her she had to go during specified hours. She pointed out to them that a foreigner (me) had been allowed to shop and the official just shrugged and said: “we aren’t stopping foreigners.” That REALLY got her goat (she is married to one by the way).

Anyway, that’s the kind of bullshit that makes an already difficult situation worse. The store was practically empty while I was there, why deny a person entry? Ignorance abounds.

Last night found me back at my new old favorite hangout, “Gomans”.

The same handful of customers from the previous night were also in attendance. I kept my distance, both to avoid the virus and to not have to engage in their political discussions. I did learn from one of those present that she had run into a waitress from the [nearby place] on her way to work. I was surprised because I’d heard they were closed. This called for more investigation, so I left Gomans at 7:00, well in advance of the 8 p.m. curfew, and headed on over to [nearby place].

Upon arriving I saw a large sign saying closed and that the front door was blocked by a security guard. As I approached he said “Closed sir”. I asked if the manager, Sean, was working. The guard nodded and I asked him if he would tell Sean that John was outside. The guard left and a few minutes later Sean appeared, nodded, and gestured for me to come inside. He escorted me into the indoor bar (not poolside like in the past). There were half a dozen customers inside enjoying alcoholic beverages. Woo Hoo! Now I have another option for those lonely quarantined nights. I had a quick couple of beers and laughed with Sean about it feeling like a prohibition-era speakeasy joint. Left in time to make it home prior to curfew. No need to push my luck!

This morning I met up with Scott, Dave, and Joh (Dave’s wife) for a very pleasant 8K hike.

And now it is time to once again go peruse the menu at Gomans. Let it be.

Still just rolling along hoping to avoid snake eyes here in paradise. Yeah, you’ve got to work hard to come up with something that convoluted. What else is there to do?

I got accosted stopped on the street for the first time last evening. It wasn’t a law enforcement officer, rather it was a Barangay official stationed on the corner where the street from my subdivision intersects with the National Highway. It went down like this:

“Good evening. Where are you going?” I’m going to get something to eat. “Where?” Sit-n-Bull. “Do you have a quarantine pass?” Yes, I do. As I started to reach for my wallet, he said: “Or an identification card?” I breathed a sigh of relief and showed him my Alien Certificate of Registration card. That document shows my address as Barretto. The pass puts me in San Isidro and technically doesn’t permit me to be in Barretto. Even though it is not possible to leave Alta Vista by road without entering Barretto. Anyway, he looked at my ID, said thank you, and sent me on my way.

I didn’t go to Sit-n-Bull, I went to the restaurant that still allows sit down dining, I’ll call it Gomans for now. Had me a plate of fried chicken this time.

I posted the above photo on Facebook and one of the commenters somehow managed to identify the location. I promptly deleted the post, but I fear he may be the kind of wanker who would report the place to the authorities. I hope not. Because I’ve been getting my fill of beer there both before and after dinner as well. And I do enjoy enjoying beer.

We’ll see what happens with the next roll of the dice I reckon.

Nothing should surprise me these days, but I have to admit I was pretty damned shocked when I woke up and saw what President Duterte has imposed throughout Luzon (the big island that includes Manila and my province of Zambales). They are calling it an “enhanced community quarantine” and it includes these provisions:

24-hour CURFEW for EVERYONE
All public transport is suspended
You may go out ONLY to buy basic needs.
Work and school are suspended.
Restaurants are CLOSED. Only deliveries and take out are allowed, no eating in the restaurant.
Serious resistance or disobedience will subject the offender to arrest.

Sounds a lot like house arrest to me. Ah, but there is an escape clause for foreigners:

Those who want to leave the country are given 72 hours to leave/fly. Otherwise, it will be presumed that they opted to stay in the Philippines for the entirety of community quarantine (April 14)

Hmm. I briefly considered that option, then rejected it. Frankly, things seem just as dicey in the USA these days. I thought about Korea, but an indefinite stay there would be quite expensive. Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam are also imposing stringent measures to control the Wuhan Virus. Plus I have no support network there should the worst-case scenario come about. Nope, I’ve made the Philippines my home and I’ll stick things out here for better or worse.

It will be interesting to see how implementation works out and what the impacts of this quarantine will be. As I mentioned yesterday, the locals are in for some desperate times. One of the commenters on a forum I frequent had this to say about that:

I am normally the optimistic, the one telling everybody not to succumb to the fear mongering and doomsayers.  But today as I was driving by the gun store in my fairly affluent community, the big line around the block to get in made me think about what life must be like in Luzon now…and in the weeks to come.  

With so many people there living payday to payday, barely making enough to survive, and with little or no monetary safety nets for all these bargirls, restaurant workers, bus drivers etc who will simply be without income for a month, people will soon become desperate.  Think how many scammers and con artists have always been at work there.  Now all these people literally will not have legitimate income for the next month.  And the foreigner visitors that normally keep a steady stream of cash are no longer arriving.  I think there’s a great potential there for dramatically increased violence.  How can there not be?  How long can you listen to a baby cry of hunger before you take matters into your own hands?

For all the expats and brave visitors there now, you gotta be extra careful.  I’m sure it’s the monger buyer’s market of a lifetime, but I have to imagine that given the new circumstances, past trustworthiness doesn’t necessarily mean current trustworthiness.

It’s a good thing to have money.  It’s a bad thing to be the only one in town with money. Stay safe!

Yeah, something to consider for sure.

Anyway, I’m proceeding as normal until I’m told otherwise. I walked the dogs as usual which I guess is technically a violation. I also observed that the construction crews have continued to work on the houses being built, in clear violation of the “stay home” directive from the President. Well, it’s only day one so maybe the Army has yet to be deployed to apprehend these scofflaws.

I decided to push my luck further and take my normal morning hike outside the relative safety of my subdivision. And boy, was I in for a surprise!

“What the hell is going on?” I wondered (hopefully not out loud). It seems the traffic jam was generated by a police checkpoint just up the road at the entrance to Subic town. I guess they were taking temperatures of everyone who provided a good enough reason to be leaving Olongapo. I have to believe at some point they are going to enforce the quarantine requirements, but apparently not today.

I also popped into Johansson’s which was open. It is a hotel/restaurant/bar type facility. I sat down and jokingly ordered a beer, and the bartender got up to get it before I stopped her. Apparently it is business as usual for them as well. I messaged a friend who works at Treasure Island resort and they are open and serving customers too. Then I got the text message reminding me of the dart tournament at Alley Cats today. I’m not sure what’s going on and why everyone is ignoring the Presidential decree with apparent impunity, but that’s not likely to last for long. Although, I hope I’m wrong about that.

You know, I get that these measures are intended to lessen the impact of the coronavirus on the population at large. I certainly know that I am in a high-risk category should I be infected. I just don’t see how these steps are going to actually make a difference in any meaningful way. I’ve put my own plan for self-defense in motion already:

Speaking of the Hash, we might have to postpone future gatherings until the crisis has passed. Angeles City and La Union have already done so. It was a nice 7K hike yesterday and I’ll post about that tomorrow. Right now, I’m going to really push my luck and walk into Subic town and see what all the fuss is about. And whether or not the police will let me in. I guess if pressed I can always say I’m out searching for food! I’ll let yáll know how that goes as well.

Crazy times.

I did a bar crawl on my own last night. Well, I ran into fellow Hashers Scott and Jim in BarCelona and enjoyed their company while quaffing some brews. Afterward, I made a rare appearance in Rum Jungle and was greeted by name by the waitress. I’m always impressed with the ability of these gals to remember customers, especially folks like me who are far from regulars. As a reward I allowed her to give me a back massage and provided her a 100 peso tip. Nice to see you again too, Sallie!

After a couple more beers I moved next door to Wet Spot, another bar I don’t frequent that often. But I had a “buy one, get one” coupon that was due to expire and I wanted to use it up. While I was enjoying my beer the owner, Dave, came in and joined me at my table. As I mentioned in the post linked above, Dave is a retired physician and owns several businesses in Barretto. Always fascinating to talk with, and he has some unique insights into local happenings given his connections. Naturally, the conversation turned to the Wuhan virus (my preferred name now that the Chinese are trying to memory hole where it came from). He confirmed my suspicion that the panic is having a devastating impact on business. In fact, he’s considering closing his bars two or even possibly three days a week! And he also revealed that the first confirmed case of infection has occurred in Barretto. A Filipina recently returned from Japan, with (fortunately) no connection to the bars. Still, it’s happening here and not being reported, which is really no surprise.

But the really big news today is coming out of Manila:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday announced a halt on domestic land, sea and air travel to and from Manila, as well as community quarantine measures, in what he called a “lockdown” of the capital to arrest the spread of coronavirus.

In addition, no citizen of any country with reported outbreaks of the virus will be permitted entry into the Philippines, effective March 15. That, of course, includes the USA. So, it looks like I’m not going anywhere for the time being, or if I do go I won’t be coming back. I had been planning a trip to Thailand (also on the list) in July, so that’s obviously on hold now. Since I’m already here I don’t anticipate any issues with getting my tourist visa renewed at the end of the month, but then again, this is the Philippines, so who knows?

I don’t know if this is all an overreaction or if it’s time to panic. I guess I could play it safe and not venture outside to walk or visit the bars. That strikes me as being too drastic at this point in time. I’m just going to wait and see what happens next. It’s still more likely I’ll die from crossing the National highway than it is from contracting the virus. That could very well change I suppose.

Life is a crapshoot. Let’s roll the dice!

I have seen you in the movies
And in those magazines at night
I saw you on the barstool when
You held that glass so tight.
And I saw you in my nightmares
But I’ll see you in my dreams
And I might live a thousand years
Before I know what that means.

Once there was a friend of mine
Who died a thousand deaths
His life was filled with parasites
And countless idle threats.
He trusted in a woman
And on her he made his bets
Once there was a friend of mine
Who died a thousand deaths.

Another day in paradise. The thought occurred to me that maybe I should be feeling bored with my life here. Most days are pretty much the same. I fill the hours with my walks and time spent in the bars. Oh, sometimes the walks take me somewhere new and I see familiar faces in different bars. There’s the Hash, darts, and an occasional game of pool. Is that enough?

I’m not sure what got me thinking about this subject this morning. I dreamed about working last night and that seems to be a frequent occurrence when I sleep. Is my subconscious telling me to find some meaning and purpose in my life? Hell, when I contemplate what I might blog about, sometimes I feel sorry for you, my faithful readers, once again being subjected to my daily drivel about nothing of substance.

But then I think of the little things that make a life. Spending time with the dogs and soaking up some of the pure love they provide me. Pausing to look up from the computer and out of my window and feeling the peace that nature’s beauty brings to the soul. Sitting down for breakfast at Sit-n-Bull and being warmly (and sincerely) greeted by name. Just feeling part of a community rather than an anonymous face in the crowd is somehow comforting.

So, maybe it is a boring life. But there are much worse things than being bored. I’ll cop to playing it safe and not putting myself “out there” and risking my heart or peace of mind. Some might call that cowardly I suppose. I choose to embrace my routines and be satisfied with the simple life I’ve made for myself. If someday that’s not enough I’ll look for something different. For now, it is what it is and I’m glad to be here.

Okay, enough of that self-reflection. Let’s get to the good stuff, or at least as good as it gets:

I’m not sure what it is that makes me find litter so “interesting”, but here’s another trashy photo:

Life can be a beach sometimes.

What else is cooking? Well, there is this:

The lack of news and updates about the coronavirus here in the Philippines is a little disconcerting. It’s been weeks since any reports of new infections which doesn’t seem plausible. This is the Philippines after all. Anyway, not much you can do but take the standard precautions and hope for the best I suppose.

Politics anyone?

This made me laugh:

Thanks to all for your indulgence!

You see it all around you
Good lovin’ gone bad
And usually it’s too late when you, realize what you had
And my mind goes back to a girl I left some years ago (Who told me)
Just hold on loosely
But don’t let go
If you cling to tightly
You’re gonna lose control

Happy Leap Year, everyone! I’m not sure if that’s even a thing. I’ve not even heard this 29th day of February mentioned in passing. Oh well, only four years until the next one.

I celebrated Leap Year’s Eve with a night out on the town. I wasn’t feeling like playing darts, and with nothing better to do I changed things up by attending the SOB dance contest. This week’s venue was Man Cave and there was a full house:

The man on the left in the photo above is Dave Fisher, a legend here in Barretto. He owns several of the bars and at least one hotel that I know of. At the Aftermath event in Rum Jungle, Dave joined me at my table and we had a very enjoyable chat. Dave’s a licensed physician who prior to retirement worked for a large pharmaceutical company in Europe. He still maintains a residence in Amsterdam and splits his Philippines time between Manila and Barretto. The guy is in his mid-seventies and shows no sign of slowing down at all. Had a great time hanging out with him.

All that activity kept me out later than normal and I’d been drinking SML’s (Zero was out of stock again). I had intended to walk home, but a few steps down the highway I thought better of it and summoned a trike. I’d spent enough time walking that damn highway the past couple of days. Why push my luck?

Today’s “interesting” photo comes from my afternoon walk yesterday:

The good news is I can probably mark myself safe from the Wuhan virus:

Speaking of the worldwide epidemic that is bound to kill us all, still not much happening here in the Philippines. Or at least, nothing much is being reported. They have however banned entrance from Korea now, so if any of my old friends from there were planning a surprise visit, you’ll need to change your plans. For now at least.

That’s it for now. I’ve got some walking to do.

Er, I mean witness. Yep, I finally got my time in front of the Barangay officials to explain what went down on that ill-fated boat ride.

Jeff (the accused) asked us all to report to the Barangay office at 1:00. And then we waited twenty minutes or so for the officiants to return from lunch break. Ah yes, they were on Filipino time. When I looked in the door I saw Resa and Hana along with their friend Eva, another participant on the boat trip, also waiting. I stayed outside until called upon.

I wasn’t sure what format the proceeding would take, one on one or as a group, but once called inside a conference room with a large table, I observed that Resa, Hana, and Eva were on one side, with two barangay officials at one end and a third on the other. Jeff had a total of six witnesses and we all crowded in on the other side of the table.

Based on my seating choice, I was called on first to give my account of events. To summarize, I stated the following:

Resa and Hana were both very drunk, having been drinking heavily from four bottles of Emperador rum all afternoon. When it was time to depart, Resa walked out on the narrow bow of the boat giving every indication she intended to jump off. The boat crew would not proceed with her not seated. So Jeff grabbed Resa and held her down in the bottom of the boat while others tried to get a life jacket on her. She continued to resist, so finally, Jeff released her and went back to his seat. At no time did Jeff punch, hit, choke, or otherwise harm Resa as alleged.

The other five witnesses for Jeff all stated pretty much the same thing. In support of Resa, Eva testified that there was no suicide attempt. She claimed that Resa merely wanted to pee. Eva claimed that Jeff had been unnecessarily rough and held Resa down in a chokehold. Whatever Hana said, she said in Tagalog so I have no clue. Resa didn’t say shit.

With witness testimony concluded the head of the Barangay delegation spoke. She told Resa that the people present were not strangers, rather they were individuals who cared about her well-being and did not want to see her get hurt. Next, she told us foreigners that we should not have intervened. If someone has to physically restrain a Filipino we should have another Filipino do so. Then she turned to Jeff and asked him if he would consider offering an apology. Jeff said he was sorry his actions had been misunderstood and sorry that he had gotten involved in trying to protect Resa. He promised he would never do so again.

And that was pretty much it for us. Apparently, there will be a final mediation session next week. The witnesses were advised that our services were no longer needed and we were excused.

So yeah, it was all basically a bunch of bullshit. If Resa proceeds with a criminal complaint I may have to testify again. I can’t believe that she will still pursue that course in the face of what she heard yesterday. Then again, she has demonstrated that she is crazy as a loon.

In happier news, I went out this morning with Pubic Head and Blow My Pipe to scout our upcoming (March 2) Hash trail. They let me take the lead and liked what I showed them. Still a couple of wrinkles to iron out, but we should have a nice “sane” trail of 6K with a 9K version for the runners. One climb and the rest gently rolling or flat. My kind of trail!

For today’s “interesting” photo, I offer you the Department of Education’s Vision statement, as painted on a wall outside Barretto National High School:

I’m really happy to see that the President is not holding any grudge against Mitt Romney:

And at the risk of being accused of virtue signaling, I want to share with you my no meat commitment.

And that’s all I’ve got for now.

Yesterday’s first-ever visit to the barangay office was a bit of a fiasco. Or should I just say that everything was done in typical Filipino fashion? Oh wait, those are both the same thing. Anyway, here’s the story with the background reasoning of why I was even there despite having pledged to myself not to go.

Alright, if you’ve been following along, the barangay crap is one the ongoing repercussions from the insane events on the return trip from Sampaloc Cove I wrote about here. During that fateful boat ride, one of the recipients of the drunken physical abuse administered by Hana and Resa was naturally pissed off. Once we reached shore she and her foreigner boyfriend, we’ll call him Jeff, went to file charges with the police. The police apparently referred them to the barangay to seek resolution.

Alright, let’s briefly explain what a barangay does, or better yet, let’s let Wikipedia do that:

A barangay (/bɑːrɑːŋˈɡaɪ/ (abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy., may also be as Bo.), sometimes referred to as barrio, is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. In metropolitan areas, the term often refers to an inner city neighbourhood, a suburb or a suburban neighborhood.^[1] The word barangay originated from balangay, a kind of boat used by a group of Austronesian peoples when they migrated to the Philippines

And why you might ask would the barangay get involved in what is seemingly a police matter?

The Barangay Justice System or Katarungang Pambarangay is composed of members commonly known as Lupon Tagapamayapa (Justice of the peace). Their function is to conciliate and mediate disputes at the Barangay level to avoid legal action and relieve the courts of docket congestion.

So, the general consensus of those on the trip is that what happened on the boat should have stayed on the boat. Which is why I and most of the others were not inclined to get involved in Jeff’s complaint. And then the plot thickened when the instigators (Hana and Resa) filed a counterclaim with the barangay asserting that Jeff had physically attacked and choked Resa. Oh brother.

I had ignored Jeff’s attempts to contact me through Facebook messenger; sticking to my decision not to get involved in this nonsense. He cornered me at the Hash and pleaded with me to come and tell what I saw so that he would not be charged with a criminal complaint. Damn. Well, here’s the thing. As much as I don’t want to be involved I can’t sit idly by and watch a fellow foreigner get railroaded by the bitches who caused the trouble and committed the violence. Two Filipinas testifying against the white guy carries a lot of weight in a “justice” system that favors the locals in almost all circumstances. It is the reason I made a decision not to drive here, I knew any accident would automatically be my fault.

I know I’d want someone to stand up for me in a situation like this (even though Jeff brought it on himself by complaining in the first place) so I reluctantly agreed to show up yesterday at 2:30 to explain what I witnessed. And just what did I witness? Well, when crazy Resa was acting like she was going to jump off the boat, Jeff held her down while others attempted to put a life jacket on her. Resa resisted the effort and so Jeff let her go and sat back down. The counterclaim is that Jeff punched and choked Resa which just didn’t happen. Oh, and I also saw Hana punching Jeff’s girlfriend. That’s really all I can say.

So, I got there a few minutes early. I wasn’t sure where to go so I waited outside. I was happy to see several others from the boat ride show up as well, including guys with their Filipina girlfriends. Again, testimony from a local carries more weight from everything I’ve heard and seen. Anyway, Jeff and his gal arrive and he tells us that the meeting is not until 3:00 p.m. He goes inside the barangay office and comes out a few minutes later to tell us that the barangay officials want to talk to the complainants first and will take our statements afterward. Right at 3:00 Hana and Resa walked by our group and went inside the barangay without a word, although they didn’t appear too happy to see us all there.

And so we waited. And waited. Just before 4:00, Jeff comes back out and advises that the barangay folks will not be taking statements today after all. Apparently they used their allotted time in a failed effort to mediate the dispute. So now we’ve all been asked to come back next Tuesday afternoon to provide witness statements. Jeff thanked us profusely for coming and said that Hana and Resa were being completely vindictive and wanted to see Jeff being declared a woman abuser and potentially deported. That’s really fucked up, especially given the fact that the only violence that occurred was at the hands of these two crazy bitches. So yeah, I guess I need to go back next week.

I then proceeded to break my 5 o’clock rule and join my fellow witnesses for beers at Cheap Charlies.

Sampaloc Cove is a lush, but forbidding, land. Located at the southernmost tip of Subic’s Redondo Peninsula where the tranquility of Subic Bay meets the turmoil of the open sea, Sampaloc Cove is at once a hidden paradise of sprawling white-gray beaches stroked by the foaming turquoise sea and a remote habitat that tests the very survival of the indigenous Ayta people.

Yesterday saw me make a return visit to the lovely Sampaloc Cove. I blogged about the trip last May here. It’s nice to change things up and get out of the normal routines now and then. But I wound up getting a bit more than I bargained for in that regard. That comes later in the story, let’s go to the pictures:

We had a very pleasant day at the beach. Most of the menfolk were enjoying some beers. And the women kept pouring Emperador shots. I had a couple to be polite, but I know better than to mix my alcohol. I was amazed at the capacity of these Filipinas to drink shot after shot. When they opened the FOURTH bottle, I admit to feeling a little concerned. Resa was doing the pouring and she was relentless.

I’m not exactly sure when things started going wrong, but I noticed Resa was out in the water being assisted, then carried back to shore. They laid her on a bench in the Nipa hut and someone told me she has been upset that she found out her boyfriend was cheating on her. The implication I gathered was that she had either tried to drown herself or was being a drama queen. I was leaning to the latter, although clearly she wasn’t faking being drunk.

I went on about doing my thing and then noticed later that all the women-folk, including Resa, were gone. Apparently they went hiking to some nearby waterfalls. Given the amount of rum they had ingested I wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but who am I to say? A while later I see one of the boat crew carrying Resa back to the beach. I guess she never made it to the falls, but most of the other gals did. Anyway, once everyone had returned from the hike it was time to starting loading up and heading home.

Now, I was feeling no pain at this point, but I wasn’t drunk-drunk either. So I was really surprised when Steve fell down on the beach and couldn’t get back up. Hell, it took like three of us to get him back on his feet and help him board the boat. He must have had a lot more shots than I had noticed.

As the boat begins pulling out, Resa makes for the bow and from my perspective, it looked like she was fixing to jump off into the water. Someone grabbed her and pulled her back into the boat, then forced her to sit down on the floor. She struggled mightily to escape, so someone tackled her and held her down. Well, Hana is Resa’s best friend and she went nuts, attacking the person who was holding Resa. I guess Steve said something to Hana (his live-in girlfriend) because she went after him, actually punching him in the face and drawing blood.

While this was going on, Resa made another escape attempt and a female member of the group (a former cop I’m told) pinned her down again. Resa wound up biting her and the cop responded with some blows that also drew blood. They got separated, and Resa wound up sitting down on the floor near me. I put my arms around her, trying to comfort her and calm her down. She continued to struggle some and with my arms otherwise occupied, my hat blew off and into the water. I really liked that hat, had it for years.

Meanwhile, Hana has gone wild throwing shit at those she considered culprits in Resa’s abuse. Some of it went overboard, including that nice grill grate we used to cook my meat on a stick. I was really worried she was going to grab my backpack and throw it in the water. I would have been screwed if she had, it held my wallet and phone. It didn’t come to that, the crewmember not driving had seen enough and he gruffly barked in Tagalog and Hana backed down.

I was still holding Resa, stroking her head and telling her it would all be fine. I guess she didn’t agree because she pinched my finger so hard it broke the skin. I let her go at that point and was thinking “fine bitch, kill yourself if you want. I’m done with this shit”. Resa didn’t jump though, instead, she sat next to Hana and sulked for the remainder of our journey.

Suffice to say, once we docked at Arizona no one left the boat in a happy mood. It was a pretty fucked up way to end an otherwise nice day, that’s for sure.

Without a doubt, it was the most insane time I’ve experienced here in the Philippines. The most surprising thing was seeing how crazy Resa and Hana are. I’ve been acquainted with both for a while and never saw any behavior that would lead me to believe they were psychopaths. But then again, I never saw them drinking Emperador before either. The sad thing is I had been quite attracted to Resa in the past, but our timing was never in sync. And now I’m just thanking the Gods of Love for protecting me. Another reminder of just how bad I am at judging the true nature and character of the human female.

And life goes on!

*I’ve decided to not use actual names in this post. I don’t think anyone local reads my blog, but I don’t want to risk being called to the Barangay office or deported. The libel laws in the Philippines are not foreigner friendly I’m told.