OT - Oh My God !!!!!!!!!!

[6pt-sika]

I just returned from a visit in a local gunshop here in the Philippines !

They had mostly new semi auto stuff , but they did have a couple Henry's as well ! Anyway a new Ruger 10-22 heavy barrel was selling for about $1200 american dollars !!!!!!! Whats that about two and a half times what we would pay !

Also looked at a pair of Oakley sun glasses , they were about $500 american !

Then on the other hand I can take an air conditioned taxi all over the city for a couple dollars !

Tanduay Rum , which is supposed to be the best rum in PI sells for about 50 cents a pint ! Where as at home in the USA a pint of Baccardi is about $12-15 I think !

In a decent resteraunt or bar a beer is about 50 cents ! A good meal in a nice resteraunt is about $7.50 american !

I had a lechon (roasted pig) saturday , my cost for the whole cooked pig and delivered was about $60 american !

Fresh pineapple are about a nickel ! Mango's are about 75 cents FRESH !

In some ways it's like you died and went to heaven and then in others well you see !

Also never walked in so many places with armed guards at the door in my life like I have since being here in PI !

If I survive more to come later !

[papasan]

WOW..things must have changed big
time in The PI about guns. I spent
3 tours in the PI,69-71, 78-84
86-90 at Clark AB. Guns were a no no
except i guess the bad guys who could
get them. If they have gun shops who
can buy them? The only thing i ever saw was some places sold Air rifles.

I know an american could not have guns for sure. I had a friend who
got his household goods in from
CONUS. When they made the delivery
of his stuff, he made a comment he
could not wait to get his hands on
his Remington pump. Needless to say
all hell broke loose and the cops came and confiscated it big time.
Some how he managed to pack it unnoticed from the states when it was picked up to ship.

One thing i would still think is that
the dollar still goes A long way in
the Philippines.I still know guys that are still there,(retired) or
visit at times. In fact i retired
there in 1990, and left in 91 due to
Mt. Pinatubo, as luckily i still had
my travel benefits.

Somehow i got a taste for a cold
San Miguel Beer! Have one for me.

papasan

to confiscate it.

[6pt-sika]

It's still that way for an american to own a gun !

But filipino's can own them !
Matter of fact I was talking with an american guy at the airport that was married to a filipina . Think they had been married about 12 years anyway , he shoots trap and skeet over here and owns shotguns 1 However the guns , the car and the house all are in his wife's name as he can not own any of that stuff over here . Well maybe I am wrong about the car . But he told me he could not own guns or real estate here .

San Miguel is okay kinda reminds me of Pabst's Blue Ribbon !

[6pt-sika]

The exchange rate at the moment is 44.5 Pesos for a dollar !

[6pt-sika]

I went to the local bank today to get some money . And they have a 20,000 Peso minnimum . Most taxi's etc cannot break 500 or 1000 peso notes . So when I came from the bank I had a roll of money that would choke a horse ! When in reality it was a little less then $500 american !

[Hobie]

The first time I was a millionaire was in Korea. I had $5,000,000 Won... I think it was $10,000 at the time.

[6pt-sika]

Now if only they would let me bring my ENTIRE arsenal into the country and chase sambar's in the mountains of Mindanao , I would have the perfect place to retire

[6pt-sika]

But then if they allowed me to do that I would have to change my handle from 6pt-sika to 6pt-sambar

[Bruce Scott]

I have heard that they have pretty restrictive gun legislation. Something like 1 x .22 rifle, 1 x shotgun and a pistol per person. That must be fairly recent, if true. I remember being in Manila during election time back in the seventies and every campaigner had an armed entourage with all manner of weapons.

[Bruce Scott]

It may not be only one of each but the rules are restrictive.

According to Philippine lawyer Johnmuel Mendoza, President of PROGUN (Peaceful Responsible Owners of Guns):

"Getting a firearms license is not a right, it is a privilege in the Philippines whose constitution, unlike the US, does not guarantee the right to bear arms.

Instead, the law only allows qualified Filipinos to own shotguns, .22 calibre rifles and certain types of handguns -- and only if they comply with a numerous requirements for a firearms license.

This includes taking a drugs test, getting approvals from various law-enforcement agencies and submitting documents showing they are gainfully employed. They also have to shell out 4,000 pesos (77.10 dollars) in fees, which excludes the cost of the firearm.

Even then, the gun owner is not allowed to take his firearm outside. It requires another permit -- with more fees -- just to take it to the firing range for practice shooting. "

[AJMD429]

However the guns , the car and the house all are in his wife's name as he can not own any of that stuff over here . Well maybe I am wrong about the car . But he told me he could not own guns or real estate here .

I don't usually object to any posts here, but I may have to ask Hobie to delete this one quick, before my wife sees it, and gets any ideas...

[Ridgerunner]

At the Acredale post office, in the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach, I routinely see lines and lines of Filipinos with huge boxes of various goods they are sending back to the PI. I have seen the same thing at the Norfolk Airport. FYI, Virginia Beach supposedly has the largest Filipino population on the East Coast.

[Griff]

Ah, good ol' San Miguel beer... how I remember... wait, I don't remember ANYTHING! I was never there...

[Hobie]

However the guns , the car and the house all are in his wife's name as he can not own any of that stuff over here . Well maybe I am wrong about the car . But he told me he could not own guns or real estate here .

I don't usually object to any posts here, but I may have to ask Hobie to delete this one quick, before my wife sees it, and gets any ideas...

I knew a fellow in Korea, a military retiree, like that. Yes, he was VERY good to his Korean wife!!!! Of course it balanced out as his retirement income at the time was several times the average middle-income wage AND in US dollars AND he had access to the PX/Commissary and on-post health care. SWEET at the time.

[6pt-sika]

However the guns , the car and the house all are in his wife's name as he can not own any of that stuff over here . Well maybe I am wrong about the car . But he told me he could not own guns or real estate here .

I don't usually object to any posts here, but I may have to ask Hobie to delete this one quick, before my wife sees it, and gets any ideas...

I knew a fellow in Korea, a military retiree, like that. Yes, he was VERY good to his Korean wife!!!! Of course it balanced out as his retirement income at the time was several times the average middle-income wage AND in US dollars AND he had access to the PX/Commissary and on-post health care. SWEET at the time.

I could actually see me retiring here strange as that may sound !

But if I do you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll keep a house somewhere in the USA as well !