CC Debts in Oz

Hi,
I've been in Australia since 1990. Pero sa lungkot ng buhay doon, na baon ako sa utang. 7 credit cards totalling over A$70,000.00 and 2 personal loans totalling more than A$30,000.00. Wala po akong assests doon kundi ang kotse at mga furniture and appliances totalling A$10,000.00. In May this year I lost my job and got a payout of A$44,000.00. But instead of paying off some of my debts and looking for a new job, I decided to spend it all and commit suicide.

My last few dollars left, I spent here in Philippines with my family para sana maka pag paalam ako sa kanila bago ako...nag attempt na po ako dito sa bahay namin pagkatapos ng birthday ko pero hindi natuloyan.

Nasabi ko na sa family ko ang problema ko at naintindihan nila ang kalagayan ko. Mahirap lang po kami. Gusto nilang dumito na muna ako.

My question is, may habol po ba and mga bangko sa Australia dito kung di muna ako bumalik doon? 2 months na po akong di nakapagbayad sa mga utang ko at di ko alam kung paano pa ako aahon doon. kahit mahirap lang kami rito, magkakasama naman kami. Advice naman please.

Advice naman po. Kahit kaunting comment man lang.

@kellyg

Kelly, Suicide is a coward's way out.

Your creditors in Australia cannot run after you, here, in the Philippines. It's a simple civil obligation. If the act of running away from creditors is deemed a criminal act in Australia, then they cannot extend their criminal jurisdiction in the Philippines in much the same way that we cannot extend our jurisdiction to Australia. Each is a sovereign state. The most common recourse is through Extradition if the two countries have an existing Extradition Treaty.

However, under Public International Law, for an offense to be extraditable, it has to be a criminal offense in both countries. And, I even seriously doubt if your creditors will be stupid enough to pursue you, here, in the Philippines without any assurance that they could be paid.

Don't lose hope. My sister got into a similar predicament in Australia. She and her family are now living happily in the Philippines. You never know what God has in store for you, here, in your homeland. Each person is a work in progress under God's mysterious wisdom.

Sometimes, nature has the uncanny habit of turning bad situations into great opportunities. In the Chinese alphabet, the word "crisis" and "opportunity" are written in the same character. The age-old wisdom of China has taught them that whenever there is crisis, there are great opportunities that it creates.

It really depends on how you look at things. Your perception becomes your reality. One person may look at the glass as half empty, but the positive thinker may look at it as half-full. Both are correct. It's just a matter of perception.

What doesn't kill you, strengthens you. After this tribulation, I am sure you will come out a stronger individual with a more prudent judgment.

May I share my favorite quotation:

"This, too, shall pass".

Maraming salamat po sa inyong pag sagot. But in my state of mind at the moment, I'm screwed either way. If I stay here, I'll be watching my back all the time. If I go back, I'd most likely get depressed and start thinking of so many things again. But thank you so much.

Suicide is not the answer.

You have to go on with your life. Learn from your mistakes and get a new job. You'll be surprised one day, because of your hard work, your life is A LOT better.

I don't know anything about laws, just moral support for you.

Zulfikarl, pwede po bang malaman kung gaano na katagal ang sister mo dito at kung meron kayong ibang kamag anak doon. Gusto ko pong bumalik at pag bayaran ang mga utang ko, pero sa ngayon, hindi pa po ako ready. May mga properties po ba ang sister nyo rito?

Thank you lordflasheart for your moral support.

I have no other relatives there anymore. She was in Australia for 18 years. Yes, she has a lot of properties in the Philippines now. After her ordeal in foreign lands, she went into different types of small scale businesses until she finally got a loan to start an export business.

Her creditors did not run after her. She said that there is a law in Australia where you can declare "bankcruptcy". Thereafter, your creditors can no longer bother you. The only adverse effect is that your credit rating will be affected i.e. you will have hard time getting a loan from financial institutions. But that's all.

Like I said, perception is reality. Your mind could turn a molehill into a mountain.

There is a common Filipino idiom: "Don't problem the problem. Let the problem problem you!"

Cheers!

Hi, thanks for your reply. One more question...did your sister file for bankruptcy before she left australia or was it her creditors who filed for it? Thanks again.

go for bankruptcy here in the philippines. you give up everything you own but at least you get a fresh start. good luck.