Gregorio Miguel Pallugna
“AFTER the love has gone, what used to be right is wrong,” goes the lyrics of what is probably the perfect theme song for many of our foreigner clients who have found love in the Philippines and lost more than just that.
Donald, an Englishman, sold all his properties in Britain several years ago to settle in a beautiful paradise called the Philippines where he met the love of his life, a Filipina. Because Donald was deeply in love, he married the woman and and bought several cars and at least three properties with her. Since the Philippine constitution does not allow foreigners to own land, the lots they bought were all registered under the name of his wife. Everything seemed to be right and things fell in the right places. They ran a good business and lived a fairly happy life. That was until their relationship became sour because Donald discovered that the wife was still married, not to one, but to two other men! He also discovered that their marriage, which he spent a lot of money for, was a farce and the marriage contract they signed was never registered. He had clearly been conned.
After the quarrels, Donald’s wife kicked him out with no properties and no money in his pocket to get him by. He had to beg for food from other people so that he would survive. Somehow, Donald found his way to our law firm to ask for legal assistance. His case is now pending in court.
Albert, an Austrian, also met the woman of his dreams in the Philippines. He married her the soonest he could, bought a beautiful house in the Philippines and sent her to school because she had not finished college then. He settled down in Mindanao and bought properties here. Of course, all the properties were also registered under the name of his young wife. Albert’s wife was not married to other men like Donald’s wife but after she graduated and settled down, she kicked Albert out of the house, accused him of physical abuse, and took all the properties. Albert was a very kind and soft-spoken man, he unfortunately passed away already.
Christian was an American who loved both golf and Filipina beauty. She met his Filipina wife through the internet and he immediately fell in love with her. He left America to live with his wife in the Philippines. They bought four properties and built a big house, all with Christian’s money and under the wife’s name. The wife became an American citizen because of their marriage, and she went to work in the US while Christian was left here. Everything was fine for Christian until the wife came home with a baby that was certainly not his. They fought and Christian forgave his wife and accepted the child as his own. They were fine until the wife came home again with another child that was also not his. They fought about it, among other things, and Christian was eventually kicked out of the house. He also, already passed away.
Donald, Albert and Christian are only three of many foreigners who found love and lost more in the Philippines. I am not saying that foreigners are perfect or that Filipina’s are bad wives. What is clear here though is that our laws, particularly the constitutional prohibition on foreigners owning land and the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act, are very convenient tools that could be used against innocent foreigners who come to our country to invest good money with the hope of living a peaceful and happy life. So if you are a foreigner planning to do just that, do not leave your Filipina girlfriend because most Filipinas are the best wives you can ever find. Instead, make sure that when all the loving flies outside the window, your money and properties do not disappear with it. There are legal ways to do this. Yes, to love is to trust and all that blah but do not forget that after the love has gone, what used to be right is usually wrong.
