Another silly American....

[don2222]

Hi All,
 A Filipina friend of mine has informed me that one of her neighbors is getting married tomorrow. The groom, an American, 56, just arrived here in the Phils last week.  What he may or may not know is that all of the correspondence that he had with the Filipina before arriving here was all written by her brother.  The brother has been using pictures of his sister to entice men to send money and to visit the Phils.  Well, some unlucky guy believed the lies, and has arrived here to marry the sister. On Filipina Heart the girl is listed as over 18, but in reality she is only 16.  The bride to be has informed my friend that she has a Filipino boyfriend that she loves, and has absolutely no feelings at all for the American.  But, her family is essentially forcing her to marry the American.
I do not know if the American knows her true age, and I am guessing it will be some sort of off the books "secret wedding". I don't see how the wedding could be legal.
Anyway, in my opinion, it is the guy that is an idiot.  I'm sure if he bothered to spend more than just one week with this girl he would learn some or all of the truth.  I have met the family of the girl , and their attitudes about Americans were pretty obvious to me $$$$$$$$.
Buyer beware, I guess...

Don

[Ray]

... in response to Another silly American...., posted by don2222 on Apr 24, 2003

But I wouldn't lose any sleep over this one.

Unlucky? Idiot? Maybe not. Think about it for a minute.

A 56-year-old dork who probably couldn't get laid in a whorehouse takes a month vacation in paradise with a hot young 16-year-old chick to boink every night till he passes out from exertion. After his fantasy honeymoon, he hops on a plane and flies home, happy as a bird and she never hears from him again.

The marriage is not valid because she is under the legal age and it's not recorded with the government anyway and there never even was a marriage license, so he is off the hook legally. They can’t even pin a rape charge on him because she lied about her age. Besides, by the time they realize that he dumped her, there won’t be any evidence left and she will be busy keeping her boyfriend happy.

What if this guy knows exactly what is going on and is playing along with the game. What a way to have the fantasy vacation of a lifetime! Do you know what a young good-looking hooker would cost him for the same time? Yep, maybe this guy is smarter than you give him credit for and the joke is on her family. I guess the real loser is the girl, but it’s her own family who screwed her over. Anyway, she probably got a couple of pairs of new shoes out of it :-)

I am certainly not recommending that you guys try this scam yourselves, but there is always another way of looking at it...

Ray

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Fantasy is right!, posted by Ray on Apr 24, 2003

Always good to hear the other side of what if.  

What if she is 18 and they get a real civil marriage?

Now he goes home to Utah and never sees her again.

Is he considered married in the US?

Can she get a divorce from him in the Philippines if she can't find him?

What if???

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Fantasy is right!, posted by Peter Lee on Apr 24, 2003

Good what-if questions Peter.

Legal marriages in the Philippines are recognized in all of the U.S. states. He cannot get remarried unless he legally terminates the Philippine marriage first.

There is no way that she can get a divorce from him in the Philippines. Her best bet would be to convince him to file for divorce in Utah. Second choice would be to try for an annulment either in the Philippines or in California.

There is only one way that a Philippine citizen can legally get divorced under Philippine law. If the Filipino marries a foreigner and the foreign spouse files for divorce overseas, then the Filipino citizen is considered divorced under Philippine law and may remarry. If the Filipino initiates the divorce, then the Philippine government will not recognize it.

Ray

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Yes & No, posted by Ray on Apr 24, 2003

Thanks Ray that cleared up a lot of questions I had.

Hope I never have to use that knowledge, thanks.

[don2222]

... in response to Fantasy is right!, posted by Ray on Apr 24, 2003

she has used quite a few unpleasant words in describing him, and she says she does not like him at all.
I seriously doubt the honeymoon will be much fun.

[Ray]

... in response to Maybe not...., posted by don2222 on Apr 24, 2003

Isn't that exactly what a hooker might be expected to say about a client behind his back? Maybe she'll put on a good act like a good hooker would, which is all he would expect anyway, right?

Ray

[don2222]

... in response to Well..., posted by Ray on Apr 24, 2003

I don't think she looks at it that way. She is just being forced to marry a man she does not like.

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Well..., posted by don2222 on Apr 24, 2003

You're probably right.

I know a couple of old farts here in San Diego who have very young wives over in the Phils. They visit every few months for a couple of weeks at a time but will never ever petition them to come to the States. Why? They don't really want a full-time wife because it would interfere with their “freedom”, but they have a “temporary” wife waiting for them whenever they fly in. They said it costs them a heck of a lot less to keep a wife over there than it would here. The point is that it’s not always a case of the stupid old fart American getting scammed by some young chick Filipina and her family. It can work both ways.

What are you doing up so late over there? How has the weather been in Cebu? I guess you’re right in the middle of summer now.

Ray

[don2222]

... in response to Re: Re: Well..., posted by Ray on Apr 24, 2003

Hi Ray,
 I'm a night owl, so I spend part of my time on the internet at night.  Yes,it is the middle of Summer here, but it is still not as hot as Atlanta in August.
It is really funny for me to be surrounded by Filipinos that are complaining about the heat, and I am not even sweating at all.  They are all shocked when I tell them that my city of Atlanta is worse than here sometimes.

Don

[Dave H]

... in response to Sweating Filipinos, posted by don2222 on Apr 24, 2003

Hi Don,

My aircon went out in my car and I am about to die. Every time I check the weather, South Florida runs about the same as Cebu, if not hotter!

Dave H.

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Heat!, posted by Dave H on Apr 25, 2003

Hey Dave!

Come on up to Daytona, we are all cool up here.   It could be the breeze from the beach or we just cool.

I notice when i was in Cebu in Jan there was always a strong stiffening breeze that seemed to cool things down.

[Bubba]

... in response to Another silly American...., posted by don2222 on Apr 24, 2003

She's yound enough to be his grand-daughter, my grandmother was 35 the day I was born and she is the only grandparent I have still alive.

What a fantasy for a guy his age I just don't know if he will get to bring her home to the US but then again maybe the family will get a few years of support before he gives up on bringing her home.

[Alvin1]

... in response to Re: Another silly American...., posted by Bubba on Apr 24, 2003

Don,
Thanks for the post.  This serves as a reminder to us old men that we can be idiots when it comes to young stuff.  They will probably have a secret wedding which will not be registered and then the US$ will roll in each month until he dies or gets smart.

She is young enough to be his great grand daughter.

Have fun in the RP and good luck with your search or should I say party time.

Cheers
Alvin

[Bubba]

... in response to Serves as a reminder, posted by Alvin1 on Apr 24, 2003

She is young enough for a Grand daughter but not Great, it pretty hard to squeeze 3 generations into 40 year. Even at 15 years each it's 45 years.  My Grandmother is 35 years older than me and I don't know anyone else with that narrow of an age gap although I'm sure some are out there.