Post by Isambard Kingdom Brunel on Apr 4, 2021 8:21:48 GMT
Got some serious news yesterday about dad, Boater Sam, who is still stranded in the Philippines.
It seems that he has now moved into a larger "house", still looks like its a clapboard and corrugated iron shed. He is living with his lady from the hotel still but there are two other hotel staff members living there too, both female.
I am a bit concerned by this, three women is a lot for an old guy to handle but he seems to be happy enough and coping.
That's the not so bad news.
He has been keeping himself occupied doing odd jobs for the Mayor, fixing his school kids van, arranging food parcels for the desperate poor, sorting out the plumbing and wiring in some of the houses etc. and seems to be well respected.
Now the really bad news.
Immigration have caught up with him, his visa is over 12 months out of date. They arrested him and put him in the local gaol last week. They wanted 75,000 Peso, about £1,280, to renew his visa.
Clearly this was impossible and there ensued a bit of a to-do when they interviewed him and he ended up in cuffs and leg irons in gaol.
He told them that I would not pay and he had no money at all. If they wanted they could deport him back home. As there is no way they can fly him out at present there was a bit of a stalemate.
His female friends went to see the mayor who came up trumps, sorted immigration out and got the police to release him into the mayor's care. So now he is classed as an employee of the mayor with a temporary work visa and everyone is happy again.
How much longer it will be before he can get back I do not know. The situation out there is still not good, severe restrictions on any travel, even locally, no assistance from the government and no signs of any vaccines for the general population. They did get four million doses I believe but that would have been for the medics and politicians I would guess.
Dad said the shoot on sight curfew was frightening, he thinks no one actually got shot apart from a few more drug dealers which is the norm but there were sounds of shots most nights in the barangay. Scary stuff.
Hope he stays well, the women do seem to be looking after him, sly old sod!
It seems that he has now moved into a larger "house", still looks like its a clapboard and corrugated iron shed. He is living with his lady from the hotel still but there are two other hotel staff members living there too, both female.
I am a bit concerned by this, three women is a lot for an old guy to handle but he seems to be happy enough and coping.
That's the not so bad news.
He has been keeping himself occupied doing odd jobs for the Mayor, fixing his school kids van, arranging food parcels for the desperate poor, sorting out the plumbing and wiring in some of the houses etc. and seems to be well respected.
Now the really bad news.
Immigration have caught up with him, his visa is over 12 months out of date. They arrested him and put him in the local gaol last week. They wanted 75,000 Peso, about £1,280, to renew his visa.
Clearly this was impossible and there ensued a bit of a to-do when they interviewed him and he ended up in cuffs and leg irons in gaol.
He told them that I would not pay and he had no money at all. If they wanted they could deport him back home. As there is no way they can fly him out at present there was a bit of a stalemate.
His female friends went to see the mayor who came up trumps, sorted immigration out and got the police to release him into the mayor's care. So now he is classed as an employee of the mayor with a temporary work visa and everyone is happy again.
How much longer it will be before he can get back I do not know. The situation out there is still not good, severe restrictions on any travel, even locally, no assistance from the government and no signs of any vaccines for the general population. They did get four million doses I believe but that would have been for the medics and politicians I would guess.
Dad said the shoot on sight curfew was frightening, he thinks no one actually got shot apart from a few more drug dealers which is the norm but there were sounds of shots most nights in the barangay. Scary stuff.
Hope he stays well, the women do seem to be looking after him, sly old sod!
