John and Elie Day Testimonial

Hi. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Day, and my wife Ellie.

I was most fortunate, very fortunate indeed to have made this connection with Chris Bech and his wife Theresa which i am about to tell you- really Divine Engineering. I would say.

Having lived in the Philippines from 74-87, from the north to the south, and many places in between, with my wife who is Filipina, and our first 5 kids, of whom were born thru-out the country, i had returned to my homeland, Hawaii where we have been living since. Ellie and i were planning a trip to return to the P.I. after 20 years of being away, to visit friends and family, so as i began to make contacts via the internet to set up our vacation, i discovered Chris and Theresa’s website, Paradise Beach. www.samarislands.com I was attracted and began communication with Chris and Theresa. I told Ellie,”Hon? come and see!”And so our relationship with Chris and Theresa began.

I had many questions, and Chris Bech was right there to answer. I had known of this area in N. Samar, from former trips there when we were living in Tacloban, Leyte, in 1984, so when i recognized that this was where Chris Bech was, i really got excited. So, I told Chris i’d like 2000sq. meters, by the river. This was March.(06) That would be 9$ a sq .meter,  then ,totalling $18000. He wrote me back saying he had a parcel that was already prepared  which was 3,400 sq. meters, and if i’d like that, I would only need to add an additional $7000, totalling $25,000. I said “wow. a beautiful 3/4 acre lot on the river, just a few hundred feet in from the beach, in this beautiful area forested  with lots of coconut trees, for $25,000?).” I was so impressed by Chris’s flexibility, and this deal, that i said “Yea!” (Here in Hawaii, this much land, this beautiful, this close to the water, on a river, would be well over $1,000,000. I kid you not. No exaggeration!) I wired the money.

Not too many days later, during a re-survey of the land in that area which Chris had to do for another client, we discovered that my lot wasn,t 3400sq. meters. It was actually 4000 sq. meters, and extra 600 sq. And Chris wrote and said,” but i guess you won’t mind?” So, he gave me 1 acre of this beautiful,(no extra charge) tropical piece of property for $25,000. This really began to show me the character of Chris Bech. I really felt good about Chris and Theresa Bech.

But then, all hell broke loose here in Hawaii with my family, and friends, when i told them what i just did. “What? Are you crazy? You bought land in the Philippines? thru the internet?? For all you know, the guy could be running a scam from Europe!”  Well, i had already had enough dealings, communications, and phone calls with Chris, and Theresa, that i felt like I knew them, and i knew i could trust them. But, just to appease my family, i said to Ellie, “ok hon. we,re going down there for a week”.

So we jumped on the plane and got down there in time for Chris’s birthday. But i need to add an experience here which is very significant and a very important sign to confirm to all my family and friends,(and even ourselves) about this transaction. Chris told me that Theresa’s Auntie and Uncle will be on the domestic flight from Manila to Catarman with us, on the airline Asian Spirit. I said, “how will i recognize them?”(you will understand my question better after you pass thru the domestic airport in Manila, on your way to Catarman.

Looking for a needle in a haystack?Very crowded.) He said that Raffy is a District Attorney, and his wife Tita is a Judge.” I thot, ok. What does a Judge and a District Atty. Look like? So, inside the domestic airport, where 100′s of people are awaiting there planes to the provinces, i see a couple sitting in the catarman section, and i say to Ellie, “Hon? You think thats them?” so as i approach, he looks up at me and i say,”Raffy?”. They rise, give us hugs, and we begin. I happen to have my marriage liscense with me so that i could get a year visa upon entering the country, (remember,w/a Filipina wife, you get a year, in case you did not know this), and on my marriage liscense is the name of the Judge that married us in 1974, in Quezon City, the capital of the P.I., where Tita is also a Judge.

I asked if they knew this Judge, and passed the document over to her, and she looked at me and told me she knows her well, and is in the middle of a transaction, presently(small world? sorry, theres 50 milllion people in the Philippines alone. Its not a small world. And then you have the element of time.This is what i mean about a “connection”) So, i looked at Ellie and said, ” Now do you believe”? Do you really think Chris Bech is running an internet scam out of Europe?”    It turned out that 5 minutes before i found Raffy and Tita in the airport, Theresa had just called them saying an American with a Filipina wife will approach you.

The flight on the Asian Spirit was about 1 hour, and as we approached Samar, the plane banked left, and flew along the northern face of samar. You could see the beauty of the island, the colours in the coral reefs below, the blues and greens, and then, i saw my land. I recognized it because of the river, and because Chris had sent me a very professionally done blue print of the area. Man, was i excited! We got off the plane, and there was Chris. We finally meet. Man, it was good to see him.The events which happened thru-out this first day with Chris Bech and wife Theresa, their family, her mom and dad, seemed to last an eternity. And, it was as if we had known these new friends, all our lives- just in the first day.

I cannot put words on the beauty of our experiences on that day, and the things which happened which created a Family relationship, but because of Chris Bech and wife Theresa’s hospitality, we became very good friends.You know? We just clicked. For us this was not an ordinary business transaction by any means. And the day was not yet over. We stopped at our property, which Chris Bech had had landscaped for us, with a little bamboo fence around it, there was the river, and then we walked a few hundred feet north, and there was the ocean, with the southern part of Luzon Island across the San Bernadino Strait- blue sky, fluffy white clouds, lush greenery- you know, the kind you see in pictures. You know what i mean. You guys in the cold, frozen north have seen pictures of these kind of tropical islands, and dreamed of living there. Well, i was in full understanding of why Chris had given it its name-Paradise Beach.

Chris Bech introduced us to a few of the residents who had made the discovery, and who had left their countries to begin a new life in this new land- all having similar reasons for being there. The heavy taxes of their western worlds, the heavy expenses, the feuds and wars- here in Paradise Beach, there was peace, and then there was the price. I can live there for $1000 a month, like a king, and so can you. Here, i would have to work the rest of my life. I could not retire and live in Hawaii for $1000 a month.

Lastly, since most of us know of the beauty of the islands of the pacific, at least thru pictures, i don’t need to elaborate on that. You can see Chris’s website for yourself, but i would like to point out one last,very impressive detail – On the nite of Chris’s birthday party, where 500 guests were to arrive, at a nearby resort they operated, there was another party going on- At one point during the evening, Chris asked me to come back to his house with him, just 5 minutes drive down the beach- there at his house was all the helpers( I believe 66 at the time) who worked for him, on his properties. They didn’t feel comfortable coming to his party, even though they knew they were invited.

I guess they just didn’t feel comfortable being around a congressman, doctors, lawyers, owners of business,  foreigners, etc. so, Chris had another party, especially for them, at his house, with all the same foods, and thru out the evening, he would disappear for a while, make trips back to see them, to make sure that they too, were enjoying themselves and that they too were taken care of. To me, this was only more confirmation of his character. While i was there, Chris got selected to be the President of the Rotary Club, of Catarman, the capitol of N. Samar. But during and after that week of living with them, i saw that they not only take care of the upper class of society down there, but also has a heart for the poor. So, you may be wondering why i,m spending so much time sharing with you more on Chris and Theresa, than the actual beauty of the land and sweetness of the Filipino people. Well, its because i had questions about buying land thru someone i did not know, and in a far away country who’s ways of doing things were totally different than here in our Hawaii, and i feel its important to know that whatever happens along the way legally, Chris and Theresa are there to make sure my investment is protected, and that its ours, and that i don’t have to worry because i know they will take care of these matters. So, all that to say, that if any of you have  any doubts  at all, about Chris and Theresa’s integrity, honesty, and sincerity, just re read this, my account of our experience of our days in our lives with Chris and Theresa at Paradise Beach, Bobon, N. Samar, in the Eastern Visayas Region, of the Philippine Archipelago.

But better yet, take that time off work, book yourself a ticket, get on the plane and get down there and see for yourselves. But, better do it today.  Because tomorrow will be too late.

See  you  down there, ,

John/ Ellie Day,

Kaneohe, Hawaii./ Paradise Village, Bobon, N. Samar