Following up on yesterdays video on the drunk Canadian becoming a viral sensation in Cebu is this unfortunate news coming out of southern Luzon.
This is a story that I wasn’t aware of until a subscriber sent me the link. So, thanks to “Uncle Ruckus” for giving me the heads up.
According to reporting news agencies, a “Canadian” was murdered this past June 24th in Batangas City on the island of Luzon. (I say “Canadian” because if you look at his Facebook, he was obviously an American.) The 66 year old retiree, Barry Gamon, was shot multiple times and later died while in hospital. His wife of many years, a native Filipina, was also injured during the murder but survived her wounds. Reports note that two unidentified suspects approached the couple at the gate of their home in barangay Tinga Itaas shortly before 8 PM. One of the suspects then pulled out a handgun and fired off three or more rounds into Mr. Gamon’s torso. One of the bullets apparently deformed and struck his wife Luzviminda, aged 45, in the thigh.
[Short Aside: The female name Luzviminda was a popular name years ago and is a conjunction of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.]
The injured parties were said to have been “immediately transported” to the hospital of St. Camillus de Lellia where Barry Gamon later died at 8:17 PM while undergoing medical treatment.
The murderers reportedly fled the scene of the shooting, leaving behind 4 unspent bullets, 3 shell casings and – as reported – 2 “bullets.”
The Chief of Police, Superintendent Sancho Celedio, noted in a phone interview that the Gamons had apparently been involved in an ongoing dispute with neighbors over a parking spot adjacent to their property.
The Batangas police director, Senior Superintendent Edwin Quilates stated that a special Investigation Task Force (SITG) has been formed to identity and arrest the killers of Mr. Gamon, who had been living in the Philippines for ten years.
Supertintendent Quilates stated, “I have sent a team of intel last night to assist, SITF conference is ongoing, we’re following a lead…..”
He also noted that the couple had been “persistently” receiving threats due to the aforementioned property disputes.
Property disputes are a big thing in the Philippines and tend to take “terminal turns” a lot more than they do in the United States. This is not the first we have heard of property situations – in this case, apparently parking rights – resulting in dead landowners. Most often, they seem to stem from “right of ways” being suddenly rescinded for whatever reason. The property owner then doesn’t have vehicular access to his home and – in some cases – any access at all.
Also, as I noted in the video, the “clearance rate” of murders in the Philippines seems to be very low. That is, most of them simply don’t get solved. It also seems as if Philippine reporting and news agencies “undercover” the murders of foreigners in the Philippines. Add to that the fact that they very rarely follow up on murdered foreigners and one tends to note a pattern forming. Now, I am not saying that there is a conspiracy not to give adequate coverage of murdered foreigners in the Philippines (and ‘overcoverage’ of inane beauty pageants and the ubiquitous political corruption trials), I am just saying that they don’t seem to get a lot of news coverage.
Life is cheap, and life is even Cheaper “some places” ( can’t imagine where!). Best to keep a low profile and out of disputes in most of these 3rdworld joints. Would love to see the forensics on the thigh shot to her, simply because reminds me of case I worked where a Civ Base Cop was participant in a robbery (helped plan with his inside info and drove the getaway car) and once seen in scene, etc, the rest of crew had to take him out by airport and shoot him in the thigh to try give him alibi he was kidnapped, etc ?) …through and through wound …he’s damn lucky. Still didn’t save his ass, but that was US law enforcement on that case. Anyway, hard to avoid dispute if someone cuts you off from your own driveway or rt of way to house, etc. Lesson learned….tread Very lightly when move there next Spring.