For Veterans And/Or Their Survivors - RAO Cebu

AS OF THIS DATE, CEBU IS THE NEAREST US RETIREMENT ACTIVITES OFFICE (RAO) LOCATION TO DUMAGUETE

Below is a copy of the email traffic I have rec'd.

"First, thanks for making contact with us..I hope for success on your continuing education endeavors.

A physical US address for many of our RAO retirees is a close relative who is living in the U.S. I don't know how to secure a physical US address while living in the Philippines. Our members are able to send and receive mail limited to 16oz.from the Military Postal Service or FLeet Post Office. I don't know if this weight limitation will satisfy your small package requirement.

Also I will say using the military postal service is as reliable as the U.S. Postal service . It's more reliable than the local Philippine postal system in your concerns of tracking and pilfering.

So our RAO Cebu members living in Dumagute actually get there mail from us by either visiting our office when in Cebu or in certain circumstances we forward their mail via LBC which is a national Door to door delivery service at the members additional expense. They travel to Cebu either by plane or using a combination of ferry and land travel.

Lastly, our members primarily rely on our restricted mailing privelages [sic] for their letter mailing correspondence and also receiving their medications from Tricare or Vetrans [sic] Administration. We do offer consulting on VA benefits and Tricare claims. We help widowers and their dependents file the proper paper works to receive their survivor benefits. We have a active membership of 121 retirees and their families including widowers.

I hope this answers some of your questions. Please contact us here any time for further questions."

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So since I do not want to burden my friend or Son with constant shipping of mail from US to Dumaguete, I will go ahead and pay for a mail forwarding service here in the States that DOES provide a STREET ADDRESS AND NOT A PO BOX ADDRESS.

Then they can scan mail if I want them to, authorize them to toss it out or to hold it for a monthly bulk shipment, or to send that piece of mail immediately.

Once a month I can have the mail forwarding company send that months worth of mail to me - and to forward mail to the Cebu address in NO GREATER THAN 16 ounce packages.

Most of my really important stuff is done electronically and paperless now. But using Cebu RAO might cut down the cost of international postage fees, and subsidize the cost of the Stateside mail forwarding service.

And hopefully, cut down on even more governmental paperwork and control.

I only want to be bothered with the required gov't paperwork, and relocating out of country adds a couple more things to have to file every year. Enough already!

A nice trip to Cebu once a month will give me a chance to explore that area, too.

But it sure would be even nicer if there was a VFW in Cebu.

Doesn't Dumaguete have a US Veteran population large enough to support a VFW?

Or, do Vets only come as tourists and leave?

nwlivewire

 

Dear Wrye83:

Yes. I have this POA on my Spring 2016 things to do list. It's a part of the last things I need to do on the legal side.

The other legal piece on my list is having a last will and testament re-done. The last one I made out was done before I left for Iraq and while my Spouse was alive. That thing is really out-of-date now as my Spouse is dead and my Son is now of majority age and married, too.

I was thinking of leaving two people with General and limited POA - one a friend and the other my Son. I already have a limited POA with my tax lady as I am in the middle of an IRS disagreement right now. And although this should be settled soon, I will extend that POA to the tax lady to run through 2020 (if possible).

So the POA and the Will pieces are the two legal things that need to be done before I depart. I really don't know if there's any other legal thing to do.

Frankly, I hope not. Lawyers are expensive for getting just the simple legal things done.

In terms of banking, I'm pretty sure I've set up my little checking and savings accounts as POD (Payable on Death) so as to make it easier for my Son to access money to get my remains back to the States if something happens to me.

Will add this to my checklist to be sure to that this is correctly established with the banks.

I don't want to get buried in the Philippines or have a casket flown back to the States. I just want to be cremated so it's easier for my Son to get me back to the States so he can dump my ashes over the waterfalls where my Spouse's ashes went over.

Now that's a piece I have NOT figured out yet. And Son will need to know what to do if something like that should happen to me while I am in the Philippines. I don't even know if I can even get cremated in the Philippines. Some countries are OK with cremation and have facilities for this - others not so much.

Any idea on this piece?

Wonder if I need a policy on this for repatriation of remains? Son can't get access to my checking/savings accounts until he produces a death certificate to the banks. As it stands right now, Son with three kids can barely keep things going on his home front - let alone deal with the possibility of BIG expenses of a dead Mom in the Philippines.

I know that sounds dark, and I don't plan on dying anytime soon. But the reality is that everyone is going to die at some point along the trail. I just want to be able to make sure this transition goes smoothly and in a way I want to go, and, to make sure my Son has the ability AND the funding to get my ashes back to the States - without a bunch of bureaucratic money wrenches thrown into mix.

Open to ideas on this piece, too.

V/R,

nwlivewire

 

Not the sort of thing I like to think about but here is some information for you.
Contact Us! The Haven Crematory Dumaguete City Negros Oriental

 

I sure can relate Jack. Not the sort of thing I like to think about either.

It's just that before I retired, the military had a whole piece in place to help deal with the logistics, and I don't have this piece anymore.

Then add on my now being a civilian and being in a foreign country should this unexpected event occur in the Philippines, well I really don't know how this works.

I'll have to put this on my "To Do" list for Spring 2016 in order to get some kind of plan in place so my Son has some kind of general idea of what to do should this happen. I simply want to make things as easy as possible on him during a time like that.

Meanwhile, I've lots of living to do. Just getting all my immediate ducks in a row for my transitional move from the Pacific Northwest to California is my primary focus for now. The move will happen in late July.

After I get to California, then I will be able to kick-off my Philippine checklist. Looking at SEP 2015 to start my paperwork process start time for the SRRV.

There are so many little details and pre-departure things to get done, that I literally had to make a checklist.

And then I had to break the checklist down with a monthly checklist of things to do so I wouldn't get overwhelmed or forget things or run out of time.

I also had to build in some "lead time" as many of the government agencies take weeks and weeks to get records from them, or get documents notarized by them, or both. It's the old "hurry up and wait" game.

GEEZ! One would think with so much information digitalized these days, it wouldn't take so long anymore to get stuff done. But that's not always the case.

Like I said in an earlier posting, by getting this stuff done now, I can more fully enjoy my Philippine experience when I get there. And not be bothered with having to be constantly monitoring my Stateside mirror. Or leaving my Son burdened down with stuff to do that I could have done for myself.

I have learned one thing from this: It pays to live a simple life.

And that is exactly what this next year in the States will allow me to do - to further simplify my life.

I'm going to be really ready to get on that plane to the Philippines when this pre-departure stuff is all said and done. Such a deal!

And I look forward to becoming a new member of the Dumaguete community.

Meanwhile, break's over. Back on my head....

V/R,
nwlivewire

 

i am not sure how many will appreciate the "breaks over back on my head" its a oldie but goodie..you are very organized..

 

For sure. It's a punch line from a joke I heard many, many, years ago.

Made me laugh then - makes me laugh even now.

Glad you caught it!

nwlivewire

 

Although not yet living in Dumaguete, I will be retiring there in the next few years. The info about the RAO is most helpful! Also, the mention of a VFW in Dumaguete makes me wonder if there really are enough veterans there who would qualify for VFW membership. I spent my 10 years on active and reserve service between conflicts, so I have never been eligible for a campaign medal (the "foreign war" part of Veterans of Foreign Wars) and therefore not eligible to join the VFW. If possible, I think an American Legion post would attract a whole lot more veterans. Just my 2 cents.

I appreciate all the great information I am absorbing from all of the posters on these threads.

 

Sure! I would think the Dumaguete could use a little of both.

For US Vets, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars went on for soooo long, that most young Veterans (to include female Vets) DO qualify for membership in the VFW. As they age, this will be another population group, of which a few, will relocate to the Philippines (and elsewhere).

For many years, the VFW was wrapped around their axles with WWII and Vietnam era Vets. They forgot about the Bosnia era Vets, the 1st Iraq War Vets. Now, the VFW is behind the power curve with the younger Vets from thess last two combat regions, and many younger Vets are choosing to join the IAVA.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Oh. The VFW? Why my VFW post has nothing but a bunch of old Nam Vets who don't give a crap about our issues".

The IAVA was founded in response to this real and/or perceived lack of legislative representation rendered by many older, more established Veteran lobbying organizations. The younger Vets have the perception that their issues were not being pushed to the forefront. So the IAVA came about to assist in the legislative arena and take their charge to the Halls of Congress.

Even so, the VFW is struggling in my area to attract younger Vets. And I know, as a female who was deployed to two different combat zones, and having been a member of both the Legion and the VFW, that as a female, I have yet to feel fully welcome. I probably have spent more time "outside the wire" than most of the males who got sent over to the places I went. I didn't get to be a chair-borne "Fobbit". Many of the older male Vets don't seem to "get it" that in this generation, the female Servicemembers are more than just "Donut Dollies", they do more than serve behind the "safety" of the hospital compound, and they do more than just sit at the HQ General's Field Office, typing their pretty little polished nails down to the quick.

Nowadays, female Servicemembers don't arrive "by accident" to these war zones wearing skirts and high heels. They arrive to these zones in full body armor, wearing combat boots, and slinging M-16s. Almost 150 females didn't make it out alive.

It's a whole different ball game now.

So I wish the VFW would come to Dumaguete. I'd be happy to participate. Just don't assume because I'm a female Vet, that I'm best utilized to sweep up the hall after the meetings and do the dinner dishes. I just might tell you to p*ss off - or worse!

V/R,
nwlivewire