A SCOT has been reduced to begging on the streets of the Philippines' capital after falling for what he called a scam.
Robert Gray, known as Bobby, travelled to manilla two years ago hoping to make a new life for himself.
He took his pension out in a lump sum, left his council house and packed his bags.
But, he said, things were not what they seemed and what was supposed to be "hunky dory" became a nightmare.
The 63-year-old told our sister paper the Ardrossan Herald how a relationship with a local woman broke down once his pension pot ran out and he found himself out on the street.
He said: “I was abandoned like a dying dog.”
Robert has been surviving by begging, and said all he has is a Kilmarnock football top, a pair of trousers and his passport.
His friends in Scotland are eager to help bring him home, but are worried that any money they send to him may disappear.
Bobby Crozier, who knows Robert from travelling to football games together, has kept in contact with him.
He said: “I would never send money to that place. He is vulnerable and weak, people would take advantage of him.”
Bobby said that Robert looked like a prisoner of war.
Photos from 2018 and last week show how Robert’s physical appearance has changed dramatically.
He said he had gone from having a ‘good build’ to weighing just 8 stone.
He said he had thought of taking his own life out of desperation.
A landlord allows Robert to sleep in a bedsit between 9pm and 9am and he spends his days on the streets begging for scraps.
The Philippines suffers from widespread corruption, according to a global study.
German based non-governmental not-for-profit Transparency International collates the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
Last year, the Philippines scored 34 out of 100 in terms of perceived levels of public sector corruption.
Local Councillor Jim Montgomerie wants to help bring Robert home to the Three Towns.
He told the Herald he would consider travelling out there to bring Robert back himself if it were possible.
Currently, he is trying to work out how he can arrange travel for Robert back to Scotland with the aim of fundraising to pay for his passage.
Robert said he had sought help from the British Embassy but because he has been living in the country for so long they could not bring him home.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Spokesperson said: “We are providing assistance to a British man in the Philippines.”
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