Cebu - A retired US Marine soldier, was killed in a firefight with the Talisay City police after he shot his stepson and the Lawaan III Barangay captain. - US Navy Dean Torrefranca had a land dispute with Jed Ybañez (30), the son of his deceased wife Delia Ybañez Torrefranca, from their previous marriage. The land dispute started when Delia died over a month ago and Jed claimed the house and the two cars. At 9 o'clock, Jed and his uncle Bobby Omaña tried to get rid of a former police officer to clear their argument with Torrefranca in front of the Barangay captain, but they could not agree. Omaña says the house of Delia and the two cars had been bought during his first marriage with Jed to his father, which is why Jed claimed the possessions. Around 11 am, Jed and Bobby, along with Lawaan III Barangay captain Jimmy Bartilic (59) and a Barangay Tanod, came to Torrefranca's house to reschedule the dispute. Torrefranca received them with an AK-47 assault rifle and a .45 pistol and wore a bullet-proof vest. Jed and Bartilic fled and were shot dead by Torrefranca, Omaña and the Barangay-Tanod were able to flee in the opposite direction. Torrefranca then went to the second floor of his house when the police arrived. There was a shootout and Torrefranca set fire to his house. After that, there were sporadic shots within the next hour. When the fire stopped, the police found the burned corpse of the US Navy. The Deputy Chief of Talisay City Police Police Police Major Ardioleto Cabagnot says that Torrefranca was killed in the shootout by his policemen while the Police Regional Office - Central Visayas (PRO-7) Chief Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas said that Torrefranca suffocated in his house after he had lit it.
Yeah, and he was fully prepared "with an AK-47 assault rifle and a .45 pistol and wore a bullet-proof vest".!! Jed and Bartilic ( unarmed) fled and were shot dead by Torrefranca, ( in the back?? )
It's very sad for everyone involved. As far as the laws go here the stepson was probably legally entitled to at least 75% of the cars and house. If the wife had a will, she could have given her foreigner husband the usufructuary right to those properties. There is probably a lot more to this story. It seems to have escalated pretty quickly. If you and your wife/girl friend don't have a will you might want to think about getting one written up. It can save a lot of hassles and misunderstandings. Having a usufructuary right can give you a lot of privileges you wouldn't normally get.
So this can also be done with unmarried couples? We’re both 57 now and will be starting to build in a couple of years before we reach retirement (that is if Japan law doesn’t change-right now it’s 66). He hasn’t been married before so I guess it’s unlikely for him to have a first marriage at 66.
Sorry, no disrespect, but anyone with an interest in land without a WILL 0r USUFRUCT in the Philippines is really really really really asking for trouble.. I would have used a less respectable adjective, but people's lives are at stake, and lives would have been saved.... DO IT, even if it's only holographic (you can look it up). I know Filipinos HATE confrontation and uncomfortable discussions about "when one of us is gone," but this can save lives....
