The Filth

The stench they left made me gag yesterday. How can anyone live that way? I saw some photos where they partied, dressed up nicely, accepted visitors and basically used the house like it was their own. They never asked permission from my Mom for their capricio.

I realized, no matter how you try to make yourself look good, the stench of the bad things you're doing will seep out. But I can't imagine how people could live in a place that reeked of rat urine. To think we had been doing pest control the past two years. They lived a really dugyot life. I promptly got sick yesterday after checking if my Mom's old plates were still in the basement cabinet. 

The past few days I've focused on securing my Mom. I'm putting things back into proper order. Paying unpaid bills. Getting supplies since there wasn't anything to eat, not even canned goods. There wasn't even any cleaning liquids, not even Joy. Everything is filthy and I honestly don't want to touch anything at this point. At least the roof isn't leaking now, I managed to have it fixed and the work just finished last week. 

Criminals don't have remorse because they think they deserve what they've taken. I believe in working hard and living within your means. Whatever I have and whatever I can provide for my Mom was born out of many years of toiling. I will protect and take care of my Mom to the best of my ability. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Dugo-Dugo Gang

When I was a kid we were victimized by the dugo-dugo gang. My Yaya Men (nickname for Carmen) got a call and was told that my parents met an accident and needed money. Since she didn't have any cash on her she was instructed to bring whatever appliance she could get her hands on. She then went out of the house and met the guy at the labasan and turned over our VHS player. It was our most expensive appliance in the 80s and it came from my Ate who lived in the US.

Last week we saw written on the homeowners association a warning that the dugo-dugo gang has been focusing on our village. My Mom briefed our helper about it before she went on vacation. Just two days after my parents left our helper got a call and was told that Jay (my husband) was in a car accident with his Mom in Makati. I found out about this when she called me up right after the call. She sounded very harassed when she relayed the message to me.

I had to have her tell the story twice because she was really rattled. I told her then to calm down and not to worry because Jay was okay (he was right beside me) and that their car was actually parked in our garage.

The day after early in the morning our helper noticed that there was somebody outside the house. The guy looked like he was stalking the place. She immediately went inside and locked up and asked the neighbor to check if the guy was still around. At around lunchtime she got another call from the dugo-dugo gang and got the same story. She didn't panic anymore since she realized that it was the same guy who called the day before.

Unbelievable. While so many people are working hard to earn a living these criminals continue to scour and victimize homeowners. It's sad to see that more than 2 decades later since we were victimized they are still around.