SEO Builders No More

It’s a long story and I won’t go into it all here. Criminal and Civil lawuits abound, both in USA Federal Court, and in Philippine Court. If you want to read more about the underlying circumstances check our the Marisyl “Sly” Castillon page on my site.

The below photo was taken on November 22, 2006, when I, along with my Attorney, and about 20 PNP (Philippine National Police) officers raided SEO Builders, armed with a Writ of Replevin, a court-issued document that allows me to retrieve property that I was unlawfully deprived of.

Compare the above to the below. That big red truck in the above photo was needed to haul away all the computers, air conditioners, desks, network equipment and all sorts of other stuff I had bought prior to March 2006, and which was stolen from me.

SEO Builders No More.

The feedback I get from some SEO colleagues have suggested that I should not publish this kind of stuff, that’s it’s unprofessional, spiteful, vindictive, immature, and not-good-for-business. I think that’s a very shallow assertion. Relevant perhaps, and I do appreciate the input; but not insightful to the actual situation.

The Philippines has a bad reputation as a corrupt and lawless land, but that is changing. The Courts here recognize that if it allows people like the Castillons to rip-off foreign investors, that it will jeapardize the benefits that are brought to The Philippines by all these offshore outsourcing projects.

I know of one investor who had a Filipina partner. His plan was to buy property here and resell it. He would split the profits with her 50-50. Since foreigners can not buy land here, he bought all the property in her name. After they had a accumulated about a dozen properties and were trying to make sales as the investor had exhausted his investment capital, she told him he was out of the deal and that she owned everything. “It’s all in my name”, she said.

The Philippine Court did not see it that way. The lady judge here in Cagayan de Oro City lambasted the lady, telling her, “You are a prime example of the kind of person who is killing the economy of this country, you should be ashamed of yourself.” The judge ordered that the property be sold and that the foreign investor receive 95% of the proceeds and the Filipina to receive only 5%, which basically was enough to cover her legal expenses. She left with nothing, but she did not go to prison.

In my case, it’s a bit different. Marisyl Castillon is looking at 84 years in prison, if I file all the cases I have against her. Her father, mother, uncle, aunt, and one brother are all looking at 12 years in prison (current cases file). Her other brother (PNPA) is looking at 24 years (current cases). Her brother-in-law accountant is looking at 72 years (if all cases are filed).

The Philippines is a great place to do outsourcing. Let not my tribulations scare anyone away. Just be careful and consult a good attorney. Filipinos speak much better English than Asian Indians. Of all Asian countries, The Philippines is the most culturally adapted to USA values, mores and norms. It is the best alternative, my sufferings notwithstanding.

The above is a two-minute video of the ABS-CBN TV-Patrol local news show which highlighted the raid. I’m not sure why they showed up. I didn’t call them. Click the image to see the video.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 11:00 am and is filed under Globalization, Sylly Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.