The main subject was making a Will that would be recognised here in the Philippines. It seems that a Will does not have the authority it has in the west, instead of it being a legally enforceable document it can only be a statement of wishes. Even so, it is something that should be put in place so as to make sure that the partner/wife is in a position to meet financial commitments immediately after the event.  There are MANY stories of expats who have died with no clear instructions in place, leaving wives/partners in dire circumstances and with bank accounts inaccessible.

A list of people to contact, with full addresses and telephone numbers, should form the start of anyone’s document. Details of bank accounts, pension arrangements, what you want done with your body … there is plenty to write down and keep safe. If you were killed in a car accident tomorrow – would your partner know what to do?

IMPORTANT – FORTNIGHTLY MEETINGS SUSPENDED

After the usual raffle the subject of the fortnightly morning meetings was brought up. Numbers have dwindled in recent months and it was felt that we should suspend the meetings for the time being. It may be that meeting at a different time of day might be more popular than 9am. Anyway, the current felling was that we should take a recess so far as the formal meetings are concerned and that motion was carried by a majority vote.

It was also felt that the 8,300 pesos held by our treasurer should be given to a local worthy cause and the consensus was that it should be donated to the women’s prison at Ma-aa. They have received our support before and have put good use to the funds provided. Paul & Grace will supervise the distribution of these monies, in a carefully supervised way.

BUT – FOM is not disbanded … far from it. The website will remain active. We are currently assisting 2 people who are planning to relocate from the USA to Davao. One arrives next month, the other in January 2013. We continue to receive all sorts of enquiries via the Contact Us page.

We will continue to send out emails and will alert you to forthcoming events as they arise. We will endeavour to have a get-together as a group once a month, probably based around a dinner event.

Meantime, for the regular down-towners, a number of members will usually be found at the Casa de Amigos bar and restaurant on Poinciana Street, opposite the PLDT/Smart offices. Look for an elevated sign which points down a side street, Casa de Amigos is 50 yards down that street and there is a reasonable amount of parking outside. The regulars tend to gather early as they like to take advantage of Happy Hour, which is from 5:00-8:00pm.

Take care – see you downtown!

Anyway, the versatile Gary Lowe entertained us on the guitar, with a carefully chosen set of songs that the group certainly related to. The absence of hip hop, plip plop and similar modern rubbish that poses as music, was a relief.

Yet another mini United Nations where all the nationalities sorted out all the world’s problems peacefully. Well maybe it was a little loud as the beer flowed. Yvonne told us about how bad she is at cooking, Paul told us how he is not cutting down on cigarettes. Whilst Reg and John from the U.S. recalled the old days of American TV. But Irene surprised us all with her love of Fawlty Towers.

It was a pity about the appalling food and matching ‘service’. Prices have gone up since the last time we were there almost a year ago and the standard of everything has gone down! Not recommended for anything other than a beer.

If anybody has discovered any other location with a nice view and decent food – please let us know via the Contact Us form. It is astounding that in a huge city like Davao, with miles of waterfront, that there is no place with a pleasant open air view, with service and food that would come anywhere close to a western standard. Samal is not that convenient, but so far seems the only alternative.

Several new people were in attendance namely Dan and Marlene Bray and Dan and Ivy Grady. Dan and Marlene have a plan to build up a sewing and manufacturing unit here, producing quality bags for various airline requirements. They have their existing customer base and can produced their quality products in the Philippines.

Dan and Ivy Grady are relocating from Bohol  to Davao mid-May and are currently seeking suitable accommodation. We hope that both these couples will continue to support the Friends of Mindanao and look forward to hearing more about their plans in the coming months.

Our guest speakers were Major Grace Tacalun and Jail Officer 1 Monna Sawan, of the Davao City Jail.

Grace Tacalun spoke about the experiences of being placed in charge of the Men’s Jail and the challenges that confronted her managing a jail built for 650 but housing 1,175 inmates.

Her talk was most enlightening and elicited numerous questions. Grace described the difficulties she and her staff face daily. She has 60 staff to contain 1175 inmates over a 24 hour period. Lack of medicines and health professional add to the woes of the inmates. The daily allowance for medications is 3 pesos a day. Some inmates have health needs that require medicines costing 200 pesos each tablet and the dosage is 2 a day! Obviously the funds cannot not cover their needs. The daily budget to cover food for inmates is 50 pesos each. No luxuries to be found there!

Our second speaker was Monna Sawan who is a trained psychologist. Monna had many interesting things to tell us and it is clear that she has a strong dedication to her profession. However, alone she cannot minister to more than 1000 inmates. Currently she is researching and writing guidelines for the jail service related to role of psychologists.

We wish to record our thanks to Grace and Monna for taking time from their busy schedules to speak to our group.

The raffle was well supported and Annabelle the lovely partner of Al was the lucky winner.

Steve Baker who acted as our chairman today, requested funding to purchase a BeatBox for the music group in the woman’s section of the Davao City Jail and on a vote it was unanimously approved.

Gary the Baker announced that he will perform for us at the first meeting in May. Gary once earnerd a living as a guitarist and singer and has agreed to do a few numbers made popular by Elvis Presley. Sideburns are not required to attend!

Our planned guest speaker Superintendent Grace Taculin (Warden of Ma-a City Jail) was unable to attend as an urgent matter came up at the last moment. She has promised to speak at the next meeting on the 21st.

We decided to ask our members to talk about their previous careers and we we had an entertaining start with the exploits of John Carvey, an ex Royal Engineer with the British Army. John has traveled extensively throughout the world blowing the odd thing or two up and then repairing things as he passed through. His 20+ years as a soldier explains his considerable skills on the pool table!

Then we heard from ‘Gary the Baker’ who told us about his many years spraying cars and then industrial equipment in Germany.

Then came Chris Kaluna who, after 20+ years in the US army, now travels around the world installing security devices. Some very nice locations he has worked in – some really tricky and dangerous ones too (like Afghanistan).

Bill Simpson spoke about his life working around Las Vegas and the inevitable slot machines. Very interesting activity Bill!

Finally came John Bisceglio who also spoke about his career in Medical Equipment sales. We should hear more from John in the near future.

One lovely young lady gave a brief rendition of the beautiful song Memories (from the show Cats). Unfortunately lack of backing music and a sudden attack of stage fright saw the entertainment come to a fast conclusion. She has promised to sing at the next meeting with music and the words!

Gary will also put on a guitar and song performance in May. We do not believe he is shy. Gary performs many of Elvis Presley’s well known songs. That will be a performance to look forward to.

The FoM meeting contributed 2000 peso for the purchase of a violin. The violin will go to the Davao City Jail ladies musical ensemble. A volunteer teacher provided 10 lessons to show them the basic skills. If anyone has violin teaching skills and would like to volunteer their time (or fund a teacher) the jail ladies would love to hear from you.

Next meeting is Wed 21st March.

JoJo put on some very tasty meat patties and when placed inside a bread bun with lettuce and tomato made a delicious hamburger for want of a better name.  The fruit bowl was again a refreshing treat.  We are indeed lucky to have such a delightful venue to hold our meetings in.

Our guest speaker was Stacey Baird who spoke about being the Voluntary US warden for the Davao area.  Wardens serve a vital role in the American citizen community by maintaining the lines of communication between the US Embassy in Manila and local Americans and also providing critical support for non-routine consular issues.

Stacey described his duties in some detail and outlined a few of the matters he has to deal with related to US citizens.  The Black Hawk helicopter story would have been amusing if the underlying stupidity of the American in question had not been so alarming. Regular warden duties include relaying messages and information to American citizens in the community, raising awareness of emergency preparedness strategies, and helping the U.S. Embassy coordinate outreach events in the Davao area. It is a totally unpaid position and frequently requires Stacey to put his hand into his own pocket to give assistance to a US citizen in urgent need.

Stacey is to be congratulated for his cheerful assistance and often demanding role as the US warden. He encouraged all US citizens living in Davao to register with him and also directly on the US Embassy website at http://manila.usembassy.gov/service.html.

Stacely also presented his work related to the Shrine Hill development of which most is illegal and without permits.  His greatest wish is to see the potential/proposed housing development at Shrine Hills cancelled because it is unsafe ground to build on – and have the area formally declared as a green space with accompanying trees and shrubs. See Stacey’s further info HERE.

The raffle was held under the normal strict security and the winner was Stacey Baird who in keeping with his generous nature donated his winnings back to the FoM coffers.

Steve Baker spoke about a visit he had to the Maa city Jail and listened to a very brief musical recital by one of the detainees.  They have two violins donated by the Fuller family and he reported that the violin group had a need for a third instrument for the string ensemble to play.

A vote was taken and the members agreed to donate the cost of a violin.

The meeting ended happily as always.

Lunch is served buffet style – the food was actually quite good, but the replenishment of the containers was slow and at times people were waiting. Clearing of tables was left to the diners in the main. Just the usual poor service, sorry to say.