anyone ever deal with squatters? eviction?

Soonretired.
I am not quite as nice as some on this forum, I would see if you could get a septic truck to empty its load in the dwelling, no damage but would make it unlivable. Might cost a bit to clean up afterwards though.
regards Bruce

well,the squatter disappeared a couple weeks ago,his girlfriend doesn't seem to have a clue. probably met another whore somewhere with more pesos. i dont miss him a bit, LOL

Soonretired wrote:

i dont miss him a bit, LOL

Yippee...Neither do I.

You mean the saga ended?
No more episodes.

Soonretired wrote:

well,the squatter disappeared a couple weeks ago,his girlfriend doesn't seem to have a clue. probably met another whore somewhere with more pesos. i dont miss him a bit, LOL

Now the ball is in your court, you no longer have to deal with Goliath (as you described him) it's time to give her notice to move out as you're going to tear that shack down.

You should take action now before Goliath returns.

Or the little boy found out the gf is pregnant

we have a pretty good size typhoon passing just north of us sunday, and from what i see out in the ocean on my laptop radar map, we have another one building right behind that one, maybe a week away,and i little more south. this might finish off whats left of my "issue"

Soonretired wrote:

another one building right behind that one, maybe a week away,and i little more south. this might finish off whats left of my "issue"

Its looks to me it will be smack on...lets name it : "Good Riddance".
...You can take away the kubo but you cannot take away my freeeedoooom.

manwonder wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

another one building right behind that one, maybe a week away,and i little more south. this might finish off whats left of my "issue"

Its looks to me it will be smack on...lets name it : "Good Riddance".
...You can take away the kubo but you cannot take away my freeeedoooom.

well unfortunately we wont be naming that one 'good riddance' its moved north enough it won't clean the beach here as i wished, and the following one that was building looks like its going to dissipate and move north toward japan anyway. never thought i would be anticipating typhoons with joy when i moved here, LOL.



maybe next one ( :

Soonretired wrote:

well unfortunately we wont be naming that one 'good riddance' its moved north enough it won't clean the beach here as i wished, and the following one that was building looks like its going to dissipate and move north toward japan anyway. never thought i would be anticipating typhoons with joy when i moved here, LOL. maybe next one ( :

Well did Ulysses wipe out the squatter? Haven't heard from you on this or did it wipe out you too?

I think, and only an observation that if some wank#r tried to put a shovel into my land (said this before) they would get the short shift real quick, how the OP let this happen beggars belief. Relying on a typhoon to get rid of mistakes says it all.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl wrote:

I think, and only an observation that if some wank#r tried to put a shovel into my land (said this before) they would get the short shift real quick, how the OP let this happen beggars belief. Relying on a typhoon to get rid of mistakes says it all.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

i said this before when explaining the situation but maybe you missed it-

when he started it was a wood nipa thing and was 1 meter onto our lot and i was told its temp. thing...
i did not even know our exact lot at the time since it had been 6 years since we bought the area in front,and at the time i was consumed with BUILDING our house and wanted to make sure we had room enough i felt comfortable our house would end up on OUR lot... not too worried about someone foolish enough to build in the 20 foot area in front that was essentially beach and wave washed sand.(never occurred to me!)
it was only after he began expanding his presence that the wife and i pulled out our old paperwork and looked what exactly we bought 6 years ago, it was then we hired an engineer to come out and measure the 'exact' lot, that was when the "now deemed squatters" uncle and another character stole the lot markers as soon as the engineer left.and that began the summonses and hassles with neighbors.corrupt brngy captain etc...

it may beggar belief to someone as perfect as you but to us normal folks starting a new life in a strange new land with peculiar rules and its societies education levels or lack there of, and customs etc. ,we are still caught off guard at times by things that can occur that you would never have imagined in a more civil or polite society, no matter how much you studied and researched and planned before coming here.
(said this before)
CHEERS.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

well unfortunately we wont be naming that one 'good riddance' its moved north enough it won't clean the beach here as i wished, and the following one that was building looks like its going to dissipate and move north toward japan anyway. never thought i would be anticipating typhoons with joy when i moved here, LOL. maybe next one ( :

Well did Ulysses wipe out the squatter? Haven't heard from you on this or did it wipe out you too?

nope Ulysses didn't hit hard enough to clean away the "temp. structure" out front.
they found the squatter guy tho, the boyfriend. seems he passed away.

Soonretired wrote:

bigpearl wrote:

I think, and only an observation that if some wank#r tried to put a shovel into my land (said this before) they would get the short shift real quick, how the OP let this happen beggars belief. Relying on a typhoon to get rid of mistakes says it all.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

i said this before when explaining the situation but maybe you missed it-

when he started it was a wood nipa thing and was 1 meter onto our lot and i was told its temp. thing...
i did not even know our exact lot at the time since it had been 6 years since we bought the area in front,and at the time i was consumed with BUILDING our house and wanted to make sure we had room enough i felt comfortable our house would end up on OUR lot... not too worried about someone foolish enough to build in the 20 foot area in front that was essentially beach and wave washed sand.(never occurred to me!)
it was only after he began expanding his presence that the wife and i pulled out our old paperwork and looked what exactly we bought 6 years ago, it was then we hired an engineer to come out and measure the 'exact' lot, that was when the "now deemed squatters" uncle and another character stole the lot markers as soon as the engineer left.and that began the summonses and hassles with neighbors.corrupt brngy captain etc...

it may beggar belief to someone as perfect as you but to us normal folks starting a new life in a strange new land with peculiar rules and its societies education levels or lack there of, and customs etc. ,we are still caught off guard at times by things that can occur that you would never have imagined in a more civil or polite society, no matter how much you studied and researched and planned before coming here.
(said this before)
CHEERS.

Agreed....sad but true.

some just need to pound on their chest and say how  macho they are.  Like you said, strange place, strange customs,  property laws very strange, and unsure of  boundries at the time.  Acting civilized is for sure the best  path to take, even when you would much rather hurt something!

LemSaDipolog wrote:

some just need to pound on their chest and say how  macho they are.  Like you said, strange place, strange customs,  property laws very strange, and unsure of  boundries at the time.  ACTING civilized is for sure the best  path to take, even when you would much rather hurt something!

Agreed the Key point here is..."ACTING"...yup works for me just fine...thats till they try and shove unreasonable stuff down my throat.

Soonretired wrote:

bigpearl wrote:

I think, and only an observation that if some wank#r tried to put a shovel into my land (said this before) they would get the short shift real quick, how the OP let this happen beggars belief. Relying on a typhoon to get rid of mistakes says it all.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

i said this before when explaining the situation but maybe you missed it-

when he started it was a wood nipa thing and was 1 meter onto our lot and i was told its temp. thing...
i did not even know our exact lot at the time since it had been 6 years since we bought the area in front,and at the time i was consumed with BUILDING our house and wanted to make sure we had room enough i felt comfortable our house would end up on OUR lot... not too worried about someone foolish enough to build in the 20 foot area in front that was essentially beach and wave washed sand.(never occurred to me!)
it was only after he began expanding his presence that the wife and i pulled out our old paperwork and looked what exactly we bought 6 years ago, it was then we hired an engineer to come out and measure the 'exact' lot, that was when the "now deemed squatters" uncle and another character stole the lot markers as soon as the engineer left.and that began the summonses and hassles with neighbors.corrupt brngy captain etc...

it may beggar belief to someone as perfect as you but to us normal folks starting a new life in a strange new land with peculiar rules and its societies education levels or lack there of, and customs etc. ,we are still caught off guard at times by things that can occur that you would never have imagined in a more civil or polite society, no matter how much you studied and researched and planned before coming here.
(said this before)
CHEERS.

I also and others said all this before and have followed your sad and unfortunate journey through this, your self perpetuated situation with as you can appreciate a sense of disbelief, hence "beggars belief".
While you are where you are now you have to appreciate that you brought this on yourself and asked for opinions on an open forum to remedy an avoidable situation and while you may be cynical to my opinion there are plenty of others that offered good and at times professional suggestions and I would ask? Have you acted? Probably not as C-19 is a good excuse.

If I was perfect I wouldn't be living in the Philippines, not being perfect and living in a foreign country I make my way, deal with mistakes, research aplenty, cry occasionally but certainly defend my biggest investment in this country,,,,,,,, my partner and next our property, finally the walls and frustrations of living and negotiating the every day traps.

Before we purchased our property I measured the boundaries, the then owner said no, this is the limit of the ocean side titled boundary but I researched better than he, the owner did. My observations were confirmed some 2 years later,,,,,, 18 months ago when we moved here and engaged a surveyor. The boundary markers confirmed my research and pushed forward some 12 metres on what the previous owner and builder of our house believed, some 360M2 more of titled land,,,,,, then another 800 odd M2 of tax declared land but still some 20 odd metres from the lapping waves.

As said we know, manage and defend our property as do all the other owners here in our area.
A simple wooden nippa hut? Take your shovel and workers away or I will make your life a misery today.

OMO (only my opinion) but offer again, beggars belief.

You have the tools now to remedy an egregious situation but seem to rely on one of the many typhoons to wash your woes into the ocean.

I do appreciate your situation and I'm sure it's a learning curve for the uninitiated (this thread) and wish you the best sorting out your predicament and then some, keep us posted.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

bigpearl wrote:

I think, and only an observation that if some wank#r tried to put a shovel into my land (said this before) they would get the short shift real quick, how the OP let this happen beggars belief. Relying on a typhoon to get rid of mistakes says it all.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

i said this before when explaining the situation but maybe you missed it-

when he started it was a wood nipa thing and was 1 meter onto our lot and i was told its temp. thing...
i did not even know our exact lot at the time since it had been 6 years since we bought the area in front,and at the time i was consumed with BUILDING our house and wanted to make sure we had room enough i felt comfortable our house would end up on OUR lot... not too worried about someone foolish enough to build in the 20 foot area in front that was essentially beach and wave washed sand.(never occurred to me!)
it was only after he began expanding his presence that the wife and i pulled out our old paperwork and looked what exactly we bought 6 years ago, it was then we hired an engineer to come out and measure the 'exact' lot, that was when the 'now deemed squatters' uncle and another character stole the lot markers as soon as the engineer left.and that began the summonses and hassles with neighbors.corrupt brngy captain etc...

it may beggar belief to someone as perfect as you but to us normal folks starting a new life in a strange new land with peculiar rules and its societies education levels or lack there of, and customs etc. ,we are still caught off guard at times by things that can occur that you would never have imagined in a more civil or polite society, no matter how much you studied and researched and planned before coming here.
(said this before)
CHEERS.

I also and others said all this before and have followed your sad and unfortunate journey through this, your self perpetuated situation with as you can appreciate a sense of disbelief, hence "beggars belief".
While you are where you are now you have to appreciate that you brought this on yourself and asked for opinions on an open forum to remedy an avoidable situation and while you may be cynical to my opinion there are plenty of others that offered good and at times professional suggestions and I would ask? Have you acted? Probably not as C-19 is a good excuse.

If I was perfect I wouldn't be living in the Philippines, not being perfect and living in a foreign country I make my way, deal with mistakes, research aplenty, cry occasionally but certainly defend my biggest investment in this country,,,,,,,, my partner and next our property, finally the walls and frustrations of living and negotiating the every day traps.

Before we purchased our property I measured the boundaries, the then owner said no, this is the limit of the ocean side titled boundary but I researched better than he, the owner did. My observations were confirmed some 2 years later,,,,,, 18 months ago when we moved here and engaged a surveyor. The boundary markers confirmed my research and pushed forward some 12 metres on what the previous owner and builder of our house believed, some 360M2 more of titled land,,,,,, then another 800 odd M2 of tax declared land but still some 20 odd metres from the lapping waves.

As said we know, manage and defend our property as do all the other owners here in our area.
A simple wooden nippa hut? Take your shovel and workers away or I will make your life a misery today.

OMO (only my opinion) but offer again, beggars belief.

You have the tools now to remedy an egregious situation but seem to rely on one of the many typhoons to wash your woes into the ocean.

I do appreciate your situation and I'm sure it's a learning curve for the uninitiated (this thread) and wish you the best sorting out your predicament and then some, keep us posted.

Cheers, Steve.

i said this before when explaining the situation but maybe you missed it-

at the time i was consumed with BUILDING our house,never occurred to me someone would be foolish enough to build something in front on essentially beach sand at some point in the future,and no matter how much you studied and researched and planned before coming here.you can still be caught off guard by things that occur here you would never have imagined. i think that's very believable by most people and don't see how it "beggars belief".
i have had pretty good luck with letting God take care of things in my life and ended up deciding on this to be one of those things after considering my options. ridicule me for letting typhoons help me out if you choose. at any rate after deciding to let God take care of it the guy is dead now and i dont mind the girl and her kids hut being a meter and a half on my land for the time being, so no " predicament"  so no need to keep you posted.
CHEERS

Soonretired wrote:

i have had pretty good luck with letting God take care of things in my life and ended up deciding on this to be one of those things after considering my options. ridicule me for letting typhoons help me out if you choose. at any rate after deciding to let God take care of it the guy is dead now and i dont mind the girl and her kids hut being a meter and a half on my land for the time being, so no " predicament"  so no need to keep you posted.
CHEERS

Yup, it seems God has taken care of it for the Girl and her Kids. Her abusive husband is dead, she has beach front property and a landlord who doesn't charge her rent. "Praise The Lord"

Enzyte Bob wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

i have had pretty good luck with letting God take care of things in my life and ended up deciding on this to be one of those things after considering my options. ridicule me for letting typhoons help me out if you choose. at any rate after deciding to let God take care of it the guy is dead now and i dont mind the girl and her kids hut being a meter and a half on my land for the time being, so no " predicament"  so no need to keep you posted.
CHEERS

Yup, it seems God has taken care of it for the Girl and her Kids. Her abusive husband is dead, she has beach front property and a landlord who doesn't charge her rent. "Praise The Lord"

& Praise Saint Soonretired.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

i have had pretty good luck with letting God take care of things in my life and ended up deciding on this to be one of those things after considering my options. ridicule me for letting typhoons help me out if you choose. at any rate after deciding to let God take care of it the guy is dead now and i dont mind the girl and her kids hut being a meter and a half on my land for the time being, so no " predicament"  so no need to keep you posted.
CHEERS

Yup, it seems God has taken care of it for the Girl and her Kids. Her abusive husband is dead, she has beach front property and a landlord who doesn't charge her rent. "Praise The Lord"

yup and i dont have to put up with his attitude anymore which was my main issue,as far as free rent i wouldn't know how to charge for %10 of her hut crossing the property line by a meter anyway.no biggie it will be gone soon like the guy.

@Calif-Native

Hi thank you for you knowledge.

After these letters are sent to Barangy captain and Mayor.

And they dont leave. Who can legally evict them with out a case.

Police wont help us as they are scared of harassment case against them.

The squatter wont allow us to enter the property to re survey or fence both my us and the owner of the lot next door have the same problem with the same squatter.

And im not waiting 2 years for the court process

Cheers Rob

Did anyone here already suggest money, figure out what the legal process would cost and offer to give them that much. When my wife’s parents sharecropper rice farm was being sold they were supposed to pay them 7,000 peso to leave after 4 generations of farming that land. We bought it so they didn’t need to leave their property. I see where two families have built Nipa houses next to the stream but they are long time workers for her dad.

Here in the PI, I believe the land owner must present a clearly structured letter that includes a very clear non-legal understanding of certain laws to all authorities. Example, write a letter to the Brgy that includes violation(s) covered under the following:

Republic Act 6552 (The Maceda Law) that governs sales on installment of real property, Presidential Decree 1517 (The Urban Land Reform Law), Republic Act 7279 (The Lina Law), Tenancy law.

Check with the Center for Global Best Practices and register for the next Zoom special property-related training topic entitled, "Resolving your right-of-way issues". The last CGBP info I have from 2017 is as follows: [link under review] may also try to call these Manila Lines (+63 2) 8556-8968/69 or (+63 2) 8842-7148/59.)

The key is your wording in all documents used. I learned to include the phrase. "Professional squatter(s)” in all documents. The following example I am sharing as just an example I developed over 3 years ago. This is not legal advice..... just sharing portions for study purposes.

"To:   _____________ ________________, Brgy. Captain

Brgy. _____________________

________________________, Republic of the Philippines

cc: Mayor _________ _ _____________________

Subj:  My intention to summarily evict the “Professional squatter(s)” on my land known as “__________ ___________” under the provisions of RA 7279.

It is my intent to have “__________________” and any other of his family members or his associates that are illegally occupying my property, to be legally evicted, as stipulated by Section 27 of RA 7279.

Please note, that this section states:

“Any person or group identified as such shall be summarily evicted and their dwellings or structures demolished, and shall be disqualified to avail of the benefits of the Program.”

"This request for direct and immediate assistance from this LGU is a serious matter. Therefore, my urgent request for assistance in resolving this matter will not be based on any suggested contract or agreement. I do not intend to violate the law or the intentions of the law. Notwithstanding the above, I do not expect nor will I tolerate any attempts to “tolerate or abet“ these “Professional Squatters” as stipulated by Section 27 of RA 7279.

Please also note, the section that states:

“A public official who tolerates or abets the commission of the abovementioned acts shall be dealt with in accordance with existing laws.”

As a direct consequence of my filing this case, it is my intention to request and expect authorities to act in accordance with law to include the imposing of any and all penalties and imprisonment, as mandated by law.

Please note, that RA7279 also states:

“For purposes of this Act, professional squatters or members of squatting syndicates shall be imposed the penalty of six (6) years imprisonment of a fine of not less than Sixty thousand pesos (P60,000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000), or both, at the discretion of the court.”

Apreciate your help thank you very much hoping light at the end of the tunnel.

In this  3rd world legal system.

Cheers Rob

@Calif-Native Whew, this is getting pretty intense. And what is a "professional squatter"? One who squats professionally? 😂

Yes very big learning curve for me.

I bought the property nearly 2 years ago from the daughter of the previous owner the father that has the title from 1978.

1955 square meters which i pay excess of 5 mill peso.

The women that applied for the right of what they call river bed from DENER decides that our lot is hers and the next door lot as well.

Both titled

We have a couple of kubo cheap things built on ours but next door a huge building.

We went to relocate and fence the other day but the lady wouldnt let us on it.

We were promised asistance of Police the previous week the on the day of relocation revoked.

All scared of harrasment case against them.

Told us we need to get a court order went to court the court told us the police have to help you. No need of court order which you cant obtain with out a trial.anyway.

Went to DENER as she has asked for rights behind our lot.

They said they will revoke her rights if she contunues to want the 2 titled properties.

Barangy are telling us we need to be strong and dont give in trying to fence and relocate.

But police told us to stop.

Welcome to the  PI and land owners rights

As of 2022, laws such as Lina Law still cover legal disputes involving squatting. Contrary to the common misconception, it is not the responsibility of the landowner to look for a relocation site. In the instance where your property is being occupied by those duped into residing there by professional squatters or in cases where squatters are simply underprivileged and homeless citizens, you can coordinate with the local government unit (LGU) for the relocation of the squatters and secure a court order stipulating eviction and/or demolition.

If the informal settlers residing in your lot are underprivileged and homeless citizens, there are mandatory provisions involved in the execution of eviction or demolition orders. It’s best to consult a lawyer to ensure that the provisions in Section 28 of RA 7279 regarding eviction and demolition will be followed. The key point for you to be aware of as the property owner is that the affected persons squatting on your property should be provided with at least a 30-day notice prior to the date of eviction or demolition.

https://www.lamudi.com.ph/journal/qa-wh … rt%20order

Easier said than done.

@Jackson4

Thank you so much and thanks to expat.com

To find some solutions from others in the know of these difficultys

Cheers Rob

Hello robmccredie,

Thank you for your message.

The credit goes to all the loyal members of this forum.

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@danfinn

The term used is directly inline with the terms in the law. I use this term because under section 3 of RA 7279, states: "professional squatters" refers to; Individuals or groups who occupy lands without the express consent of the landowner and who have sufficient income for legitimate housing, as identified by the proper Local Inter-Agency Committee (LIAC) with the assistance of the Urban Poor Affairs Office (UPAO).

Recent new in Manila includes: https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/08 … -squatters

This document can also be reviewed as it pertains to the "professional sweater" vs. other occupiers of land not owned by them: https://www.coa.gov.ph/wp-content/uploa … sec6.8.htm

Reminder: expats should never put in writing that they own or purchased the land in dispute. We can purchase/own the structures but can never purchase/own the land and be on title, as such. They're a court cases that are based on the fact that, "The Philippine Constitution of 1987 is clear and explicit in its prohibition of land acquisition by foreign citizens. However, Article XII, Section 7 of the same Constitution includes a minor exception that allows heirs to acquire the property, even though the heir may be a foreigner." 

In these cases I have reviewed, the term "acquisition" includes a down-payment or even transfer of money directly from the non-citizen spouse.  In all cases, the title of the land (called the TCT or Transfer Certificate of Title) will be in the name of the Filipino spouse. The foreigner’s name should not be included in the Contract or Deed of Sale, but it can be in the TCT or land title as the "foreign spouse" of the land owner, but as as a co-owner on title.

As a SRRV holder, I will add the following:

There is a great deal of misconception among foreign retirees holding a Special Resident Retirees Visa or SRRV, that they are allowed to own land.

Since we come under the PRA, according to the Philippine Retirement Authority, foreigners holding an SRRV are NOT allowed to own land or real estate property in the Philippines.

If the foreign retiree is legally married to a Filipino citizen, the foreigner may purchase land but, the property will be registered in the name of the Filipino spouse.

@Calif-Native

Hi, so what exactly, if any, is the significance or purpose of my name listed as married to the owner printed on the TCT.

I was surprised and always wondered what it actually meant when I seen my name printed on our/her TCT...

My understanding is simply you are spouse and to be recognized.

I am not married but my partner owns the land here and I have a long term lease, covering (or trying) to cover my derriere in case of a relationship failure we had the title also listed in my name as the lessee and encumbered the title, bit like a 1st mortgage and released by me or my executor if I kick the bucket.

Basically means if my better half wants to sell the land (I own the buildings and improvements) He probably can but the prospective purchasers have me as a tenant for another 20 years and possibly a further 25 years.

Our learned expat Calif can probably throw better light on this.

Cheers, Steve.

Agree. I think by having your name in the title as 'married to' gives you some influence upon selling or mortgaging the property. The 'owner' on the title cannot sell the property without consent from the 'married to' person. I believe it also gives you 50% ownership however, you cannot 'own' the property per se as a foreigner. If in case the 'married to' person becomes deceased, his/her heirs will own that 50%. If the heirs cannot agree between themselves and/or the 'owner' as to what to do with property, this is how SHTF. So, even you are in the 'married to' line, it is best to plan ahead before diciding to kick the bucket.

As said let's see if our learned friend chimes in.

Cheers, Steve.

he walks around like a big bully and wears a shirt that says "silent but deadly" at least 4 days a week.but i know he has lots of other shirts,i see them all hanging across my front lot on their clothes line blocking my beach view every day.
-@Soonretired

"silent but deadly" reminds me of something that can occur after having beans for dinner.

It may not be about his behavior being deadly.

@vehicross100

A primary reason for this annotation on the TCT relates to what happens if you survive your spouse and there are heirs from his/her side. Additionally, it connects land TCT/TD to any house/structures where you are on the tax declarations (TD) as the house owner and allows the tax declaration for the house to be under your name only (as the owner), if spouse agrees.  Your name will not be allowed on the Tax Declaration for the land/lot. 

All of this assume the proper tax docs have been processed after the addition and issuance of the separate TD for the house was done. 

If a house and lot was purchased together, it is way more complicated to get the local tax department to process it correctly. In all cases of a combined house and lot, both the house and the lot should each have their own TD. 

So true Calif, my understanding also. In our case the TCT is encumbered by the lease.

As I own the buildings there are 2 TD's in my name, the house and a separate one for the detached office/studio. The other 2, TCT and one for the tax declared lot are in Bens name as the owner, Philippine national.

Hope I or my executor never have to test that in a local court.

Cheers, Steve.

@bigpearl

Yes, you are exactly correct!  The lease option becomes void with a valid marriage, so in your situation (as I recall), you and Ben have dodged that issue.  It sees also that you wisely updated any improvements and your TD's are proof.  Many locals fail to do this to avoid taxes and they have big potential penalties in the end.

Well those that don't pay their TD's here always have the brown envelope option it Seems. drivers license, car registration or simply paying their rates/dues on time and generally here a good discount if paying ontime or early.

As for same sex relationships seems a loophole that certain constabularies and government over look because we are minority voters and church attendees. Backwards and no need to name the church that controls the government.

Laws are simple and adhere we do, loop holes are a bonus until an antiquated Hierarchical system gets it's sh1t together. We are all equal and Ben can buy property in Australia but as an Aussie I can't own land here. I thought we had reciprocal arrangements with PH, well tax treaties anyway.   

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.