Currents & Breaking News: 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

'Law Offices' of Fake Lawyer in LA Could Be a Front

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 45
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Thursday, December 16, 2010
~ The advertisement does not openly say he's a lawyer. But Pex A. Aves, looking years younger than his most recent picture, is actively soliciting clients who may have problems with divorce, immigration, labor employment, personal injury/accidents, bankruptcy and eviction. Well, he isn't an attorney, either in the Philippines or in California, as claimed earlier. Nor is he a journalist despite his vaunted "global" newspaper he says he manages. Now, his nemesis, web editor and journalist Bobby Reyes is asking for help from legitimate lawyers in unmasking the real Aves and his cohorts in what may be an illicit but thriving law practice in Los Angeles. Reyes urges people who might have been lured by Aves' ad and "victimized" to come out and file their complaints.

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An ad by Pex Aves listing lawyer services.

'LAW OFFICE' COULD BE A FRONT
Fake Lawyer Advertises Lawyer Services in Los Angeles

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - The purported law office run and manage by the non-lawyer and non-journalist Pex Aves (real name: Pacifico Aves) heavily advertises in some Filipino community newspapers in Los Angeles, California and actively solicits clients in other local publications.

The unmasking of Aves and his operation took another turn on Monday when web editor and journalist Bobby Reyes called on the Philippine-American Bar Association of Southern California to help in "documenting the illegal practices of Mr. Aves and/or his supposed 'legal team' members."

Aves boasted that he has five "high caliber" lawyers working with him in his "small law office" which he did not say where. An address in his advertising material -- at Bank of America Bldg., 3450 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1210, Los Angeles, California 90010 -- could be a front.

(News videos are available at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxvAdEAU7qM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL and at Vimeo at: http://vimeo.com/17767845 ).

In his letter to the bar association, Reyes said he believed people were victimized by Aves' operation and have sought remedies from its members who are legitimate lawyers.

"We need your assistance x x x so that we -- or your distinguished Bar Association -- can provide the information to the appropriate authorities for prosecution and redress of grievances," Reyes wrote.

"It is time to bring to justice the members of our community that enrich themselves at the expense of the general public and that violate the laws of the land," he added.

Of the claimed "high caliber" lawyers apparently in its stable, four, or possibly three, of the five are not licensed to practice in California, that is assuming they are real attorneys who have hurdled the Bar in the United States or in the Philippines.

The four named by Aves are Fred Holgado, Atty. Fred Marallag, Atty. Polie Okoronco and Atty. Ben Onyanaco. A fifth, Atty. Mitch Bushin, is legitimate and maintains a law office in the LA suburb of Van Nuys.

Fred Holgado is not in the list of The State Bar of California but Alfredo B. Holgado or Alfredo Banawa Holgado of Chino Hills is. He was admitted to the California Bar in September 1997 and shares one of his office addresses with Aves on Wilshire Blvd.

But two -- Okoronco and Onyanaco -- are not in the list of Philippine attorneys, either.

Similar sounding names, that of Alfredo B. Holgado and Fred Henry V. Marallag, do appear in the master list of Philippine lawyers. They could be the Fred Holgado and the Fred Marallag identified by Aves.

In his advertisement appearing in Balita newspaper in LA, Aves seeks clients who may have problems in at least six fields of law practice: family law, specifically divorce; immigration, labor employment, personal injury/accidents, bankruptcy and eviction.

In that ad, he never claims he's a lawyer. But the ad gives the impression he is.

The State Bar, an arm of the California Supreme Court, said it is authorized by law to take limited action against non-attorneys "under certain circumstances".

Information about possible unlawful practice of law by an unlicensed individual may be relayed to The State Bar of California, Office of the Chief Trial Counsel, Intake Unit, 1149 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015-2299, Attn: UPL Project or at 1-800-843-9053.

In the Balita issue of Oct. 2, 2010, page 37, Atty. Fred B. Holgado advertised his services and three office locations alongside Aves'.

His expertise apparently is in labor/employment cases with emphasis on discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, whistle blowing, breach of contract and religious/retaliation/unpaid wages.

(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 45, December 16, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com).

A check with State Bar reveals nothing about Fred Holgado.

My news channels can be viewed by clicking the links:
The Filipino Web Channel at YouTube:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT74cbxq6ak&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLYca354w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

At Vimeo:
1. http://vimeo.com/16962555
2. http://vimeo.com/user4144767

For other stories, please visit:
1. http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/
2. http://torontonewsroom.blogspot.com/
3. http://timecircumstance.blogspot.com/
4. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/
5. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/.
For newsvideos at The Gotcha Journalist Channel, please click the links:
1. Milestone in Leadership, Friendship and Service of Alpha Phi Omega in San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lmYnkU_3s&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. A 20-million peso Bounty for Gawad Kalinga from TELUS, a Top Canadian Firm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6w59zu-os8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
3. Ako ay Pilipino - The Song Heard 'Round Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlIfQWASv4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
4. Bayan Ko by PAMANA Vocal Ensemble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOeLLJA094A&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
5. Candid Talk with Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga Founder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4mkd_gX6RE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
6. The Life of a Filipino Caregiver in Song and Dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARiBxo1ilNM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
7. Filipino Caregivers Honor Philippine Labor Attache in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y5HfltfkC4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
8. Trees of Gold, Red and Orange - My First Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNOmsAZ8xW4&playnext=1&videos=Z4sl5t7IhZk&feature=mfu_in_order
9. The Blooming Wildflowers of Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Oj2n_L1is&playnext=1&videos=PixfkFrNkd0&feature=mfu_in_order
10. Cucina Manila - A Taste of Filipino Food in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLbDA6rkpQw&playnext=1&videos=56RoSgO_O4Q&feature=mfu_in_order

Monday, December 13, 2010

Los Angeles Law Office Staffed with Impostors?

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 44
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Monday, December 13, 2010
~ He was trying to build up an impressive credential of himself, dropping names of people in and outside government. But the way he articulates is the biggest give-away -- he writes likes an ignorant juvenile who laces his language with racist, vulgar unprintables and makes baseless accusations. Never would anyone believe what he says he is, a lawyer and journalist, and a broadcaster too, because he's too uncouth, unthinking and too careless to be true. Pacifico Aves alias Pex Aves says he has a law office in Los Angeles staffed with at least five "high caliber" lawyers. Well, four of the "lawyers" are not listed with the State Bar of California, which could mean he and his group are engaged in some form of scam through misrepresentation.

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The MabuhayRadio.com website based in Los Angeles, California joins Currents & Breaking News and The Filipino Web Channel in exposing what may appear to be a law office staffed with impostors.

ANOTHER CLAIM OF PACIFICO AVES PROVEN UNTRUE
Alleged 'High Caliber' Lawyers Not in List of Attorneys

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - Four out of the five reputed "high caliber lawyers" named by a lawyer-journalist impostor as "working" with him in Los Angeles, California are not listed in the State's roll of attorneys.

This information belies the claim of Pacifico Aves, alias Pex Aves -- who also said he's a "broadcaster" -- that he has "the lawyers working with me" at his office which he said "is more than 30 years" old.

(For a newsvideo of the person, please click the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxvAdEAU7qM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ).

Aves, whose dubious claims surfaced in a succession of attack emails haranguing his perceived enemies, identified the five individuals in an email on December 6, 2010 as: Fred Holgado, Atty. Mitch Bushin, Atty. Fred Marallag, Atty. Polie Okoronco and Atty. Ben Onyanaco.

According to Aves, Holgado is a retired Superior Court judge; Bushin, a California State consultant; Marallag, an associate of the late Philippine senator Jose Diokno; and Okoronco, a son of a British ambassador. He did not qualify Onyanaco.

Bushin's name is the only one that appears in the roll provided by the State Bar of California, which lists lawyers in good standing and are practising in the State.

Bushin has a law office in the LA suburb of Van Nuys, maintains his own website and has a published email address as required by the State Bar. He has not responded to inquiries as of this writing to confirm whether it's true or not that he's working with Aves.

It is possible, however, that Aves is providing him with clients through referrals as Aves' purported law office appears to be staffed with non-lawyers like himself. Then he gets a commission.

The names of the four others -- Holgado, Marallag, Okoronco and Onyanaco -- do not appear in the State Bar list. Searches returned no results.

The fact that these four are not listed opens many possibilities. They could be lawyers but are not licensed in California; they could be lawyers only in the Philippines and are working in California as para-legals; or they may have retired from practice and their names used for cosmetic purposes to attract gullible customers.

In any of the cases, the use of their names as bandied by Aves as "high caliber lawyers" working with him could constitute misrepresentation.

The State Bar, an arm of the California Supreme Court, said it is authorized by law to take limited action against non-attorneys "under certain circumstances".

Information about possible unlawful practice of law by an unlicensed individual may be relayed to The State Bar of California, Office of the Chief Trial Counsel, Intake Unit, 1149 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015-2299, Attn: UPL Project or at 1-800-843-9053.

Aves has been boasting about his powerful connections apparently to instill awe and fear among his internet adversaries who came up to the defense of three officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles whom Aves attacked in his online postings.

He listed three congressmen in the Philippines -- Herminio Teves, Miguel Romero and Jerome Paras -- and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, as his "media references" that can be contacted, presumably to vouch for him.

Aves also claims that he has a son who was previously assistant director of the Armed Forces Philippines Intelligence Service and who was recently taken in by the new Philippine Secretary of National Defense. "He's now with DND," he explains.

The authenticity of all the information that Aves claimed and disclosed has not been verified, however.

In another email dated December 7, Aves obliquely admitted that he is not a journalist and writer.

But, he says, he runs and manages a newspaper in the US and in every country where there are Filipinos and where his alleged "global" paper can be found. Later he said the paper had only 50,000 copies circulated weekly in the Los Angeles area.

Among his grandiose claims is his being a "columnist" at the obscure Pinas Global News. "Modesty aside," he writes in his non-punctuated, ungrammatical English-Tagalog monologue, "thousands upon thousands (libo-libo)" wrote to the paper to say they like his writings because they dwell on the average Filipino way of life.

Aves also admitted that he's being fed with information against journalist Bobby Reyes by a certain Rodel Rodis, an official of the moribund National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) in Northern California.

(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 44, December 13, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com ).

My news channels can be viewed by clicking the links:

The Filipino Web Channel at YouTube:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT74cbxq6ak&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLYca354w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

At Vimeo:
1. http://vimeo.com/16962555
2. http://vimeo.com/user4144767

For other stories, please visit:
1. http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/
2. http://torontonewsroom.blogspot.com/
3. http://timecircumstance.blogspot.com/
4. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/
5. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .

For some newsvideos at The Gotcha Journalist Channel, click the links:
1. 'High Caliber' Lawyers Not Listed in California State Bar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12WFIgikiGc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. Milestone in Leadership, Friendship and Service of Alpha Phi Omega in San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lmYnkU_3s&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
3. A 20-million peso Bounty for Gawad Kalinga from TELUS, a Top Canadian Firm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6w59zu-os8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
4. Ako ay Pilipino - The Song Heard 'Round Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlIfQWASv4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
5. Bayan Ko by PAMANA Vocal Ensemble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOeLLJA094A&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
6. Candid Talk with Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga Founder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4mkd_gX6RE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
7. Trees of Gold, Red and Orange - My First Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNOmsAZ8xW4&playnext=1&videos=Z4sl5t7IhZk&feature=mfu_in_order
8. The Blooming Wildflowers of Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Oj2n_L1is&playnext=1&videos=PixfkFrNkd0&feature=mfu_in_order
9. Cucina Manila - A Taste of Filipino Food in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLbDA6rkpQw&playnext=1&videos=56RoSgO_O4Q&feature=mfu_in_order

The MabuhayRadio.com website headlines the story.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Phony Journalist Who Also Claims to be a Lawyer in LA Unraveled

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 43
Commentary
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Saturday, December 11, 2010
~ A practice so prevalent in Filipino communities in the United States has surfaced in Los Angeles, California. A dimwit, nondescript bully known as Pacifico Aves alias Pex Aves, who claims being a lawyer and a journalist, took his rage to the internet, splashing profanities and spilling garbage in an attempt to silence legitimate reporters from exposing him. The guy is neither one nor the other. He is a fake. His kind, in the words of a Chicago journalist, is what is popularly called PNS, the acronym for "pinabili ng suka". He berates officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles after he felt offended at not being recognized for what he claims he is. Then he turns his ire to this reporter by writing the most obscene words only a foul mouth like him can utter.

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A copy of an email written and sent out by Pacifico Aves alias Pex Aves.

HIS FRIENDS CALL HIM PEX AVES
Neither a Lawyer Nor a Journalist, Filipino 'Mediaman'
in Los Angeles Is Exposed

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO -- In some internet postings archived in Google, he's referred to as a "practicing lawyer in Los Angeles". A colleague claims he didn't know him personally with the caveat that "I thought he is an attorney from the Philippines although not sure if he practices law here in the USA".

Another journalist in Chicago, Joseph Lariosa, says he "already knew his character" once the guy walked away from a wager he himself had started upon sensing that his co-bettors were serious in calling his $2,000 bluff during a recent boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito.

Again, the guy dangled some serious money -- $30,000 -- for journalist and editor Bobby Reyes to produce his school credentials apparently to prove he had studied journalism and law. " x x x if you can give me the right answer supported by hard evidence my 30 thousand is yours no questions ask," he dared. When Reyes accepted and produced the documents, the man went on a silent mode.

Pacifico Aves alias Pex Aves. (Photo by D. Grava)

I have no idea who the guy was. From his email address that suddenly popped out of nowhere, his name appears to be Pacifico Aves, alias Pex Aves.

He had added me to his email list, presumably to allow me to read his rant against three officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.

In my 16 years of news coverage of Southern California, among other beats in the United States, I've never heard nor come across the guy with this strange monicker. I looked up a number of search engines, and the name doesn't show up.

The dictionary was quite helpful though. "Aves," it says, is very rarely used as a noun except when it refers to birds, therefore, it's classified under "nouns denoting animals". Pex Aves is a noun, so he must be an animal.

In his email rant, Aves describes himself in his own graphic words, thus: "x x x ang MATANDANG PANGIT na Pex Aves na may-ari nang isang maliit na Law Office at Los Angeles Bureau Head at Kolumnista sa isang global newspaper (Pinas Global News)" (sic).

His own description poses a challenge but I'm not going to contest how he pictures himself. If he avers that he is a "matandang pangit", then so be it.

However, there are also assertions implied in that statement. One, he could be a lawyer due to his fatuous claim that he owns a small law office in LA; two, that he is a journalist of a global paper. Quite likely these claims are dubious.

Part of Pex Aves' email where he makes his grandiose claims.

The State Bar of California does not list either his full name (Pacifico Aves) nor his alias (Pex Aves) in its roll of attorneys. Based on that, Aves is a fake. Why is he using an email address that says "accident.immigrationattorney@ x x x .com"?

He should have promptly corrected the reference to him as a "practicing lawyer in Los Angeles" because he is not. He knew he is not. But why doesn't he do it? What is his racket? Who does he victimize in his law office? (Readers may want to alert law enforcement authorities).

The other part of his exaggerated claim is that he is a "Los Angeles Bureau Head at Kolumnista" (sic) of what purports to be a global newspaper. Oh yeah? There's only one website with the name "Pinas the Filipino's global newspaper". Not surprisingly, the website declares: "We are under repair. Be back soon".

For a while, I was amused by the sentence "we are under repair". Did it refer also to Pex Aves' head? I raise this question only because Aves seems to be the exemplar in this adage of a man reaching for something that exceeds his grasp.

For one supposedly known globally, Pacifico Aves alias Pex Aves has no cyber personality. He has no presence and no published historical records to support his wild claims. The major search engines returned no results about him in any of the two classications he claims he belongs to.

Google had only one entry, which tells me that he is practically non-existent as a lawyer, journalist, or whatever he boasts he is. He could be the perfect impersonator, an impostor, belonging to a distinct Filipino tribe called "pinabili ng suka" or PNS - the types that inhabit Filipino media organizations in the United States.

In journalism parlance, anyone is called PNS (the coinage is attributed to journalist Joseph Lariosa of Chicago) who has no formal training nor experience nor talent either as reporter, editor, broadcaster, photographer, videographer or cub but who has the gumption and the thick hide to say he's a journalist.

Literally, PNS means being sent to buy vinegar (a euphemism to do errands) and when the courier returns he's already a journalist. There's a lot of them in the cyberworld and in print where they freely mingle with the real ones.

Appearances deceive and many PNS-types pass themselves off as legitimate journalists specially in social events and high-profile coverages. They love to be in the pictures; the higher the official the closer they want to pose, an ego trip no less.

It's during the moment of writing or talking when they unravel themselves. Most times, they speak of "envelopmental" journalism, which is to say, exploring possibilities to line up their pockets.

Pacifico Aves alias Pex Aves does not need to float his boat to put a semblance of authority to his rant. He is a PNS through and through, a bullying phony.

A lawyer or a journalist does not speak the way he does, or writes the way he does.

As an example, he wrote and circulated on Sunday, December 5, 2010 this gem of insanity: "WALANG TUMAWAG SA AKIN NA ABNORMAL PERO YUNG IBA TINAGURIANG RITA BRENDA HEHEHEHEHAHAHAHA RITA IS RETARDED BRENDA IS BRAIN DAMAGED HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA HEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEE".

He was referring to another journalist, Bobby Reyes of Los Angeles, who was his main target.

After I demanded on Dec. 7 that he recant his unfounded accusations against me and to apologize publicly for doing so, he answered back on Dec. 8 like a child, to wit (I decided to let the profanities stand so people will know what kind of person he is): "IN BEHALF OF ALL THE BLACK GUYS WHO MOLESTED YOUR PUWIT AT ITO ANG DAHILANG NAGKA U OD (WORMS) AT SYPHILIS ANG PUWIT MO AT PATI PAG DUMI MO WORMS ANG LUMALABAS
I APOOOOLOOOOGGGIIIZZZEEE".

Lawyer? Journalist? Certainly his language says differently. And he's quite profound in portraying his indecency.

I am seized by pity after reading this email.

Pacifico Aves or Pex Aves is sick and his response to me was a pathetic plea for help. As I write these lines, I'm also placing a call to a mental hospital close to his office in Los Angeles.

(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 43, December 11, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com ).

My news channels can be viewed by clicking the links:

The Filipino Web Channel at YouTube:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT74cbxq6ak&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLYca354w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

At Vimeo:
1. http://vimeo.com/16962555
2. http://vimeo.com/user4144767

For other stories, please visit:
1. http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/
2. http://torontonewsroom.blogspot.com/
3. http://timecircumstance.blogspot.com/
4. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/
5. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .

For some newsvideos at The Gotcha Journalist Channel, please click the links:
1. Milestone in Leadership, Friendship and Service of Alpha Phi Omega in San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lmYnkU_3s&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. A 20-million peso Bounty for Gawad Kalinga from TELUS, a Top Canadian Firm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6w59zu-os8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
3. Ako ay Pilipino - The Song Heard 'Round Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlIfQWASv4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
4. Bayan Ko by PAMANA Vocal Ensemble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOeLLJA094A&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
5. Candid Talk with Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga Founder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4mkd_gX6RE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Making Fun of NaFFAA Election by NaFFAA Officials in San Francisco

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 42
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Thursday, November 25, 2010
~ The levity and constant ribbing had robbed the process of any semblance of little respectability left of an organization whose other foot, a top official admits, is "in the grave". The scene was reminiscent of high school days when the class votes on who would be president, vice president, etcetera in an election process that involves finger-pointing, head-nodding, eye-winking, cheering and breaking into jubilant applause. That scene was streamed online on the day early this week when NaFFAA's empowerment conference in San Francisco chose a new set of officials who would attempt to rescue NaFFAA from oblivion. Instead of sobering up like respectable individuals for their tasks ahead, the electors and their audience amused themselves with their own jokes, even laughing at them. But levity aside, the whole task of electing top NaFFAA officials was not an exercise in frivolity. Just keep in mind that NaFFAA is either already dead, on the brink of dying or on the way to facing court scrutiny.

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NaFFAA's top officials raise their arms after they were declared winners by "unanimous landscape" (sic) by election officers during the NaFFAA Empowerment Conference in San Francisco late last week. The seriousness of the election was lost in the constant ribbing by the officials.

EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE PICKS NEW OFFICERS
Levity Takes Over NaFFAA in Most Serious Moment

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - The election by acclamation took less than 10 minutes but the video on Ustream went before and after the main event, so it became15 minutes longer, enough to give viewers time to reflect on how and why the process to pick top leaders of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) could be so tacky.

The less than 20 people shown on video were having fun, and if that single episode where they are heard and seen ribbing each other would be a gauge of why NaFFAA is not taken seriously, or why its erstwhile chair bitterly complained, in his own words, "we still lack clout," then the fault could be laid squarely on those who make the choice of who would lead them.

"We have a federation that is operating on empty and in survival mode," declared Gregorio Macabenta to underscore the gravity of the situation of NaFFAA, which he headed in the last two years. Yet despite the grim warning, the electors went ahead with the merriment.

"Hep hep Navarra!" they yelled in unison. It sounded like a slogan than an official proclamation that the respected engineer Ed Navarra of Michigan had won, or more accurately, had been chosen as the new NaFFAA chair, replacing Macabenta.

"It's a landscape (sic)," the unidentified elections chairman declared, repeating an off-color joke he attributed to movie-actor-turned-senator Manuel "Lito" Lapid, to mean posting a landslide victory.

What the elections chair perhaps meant to say was "unanimous" since Navarra had nobody against him. The same was true of J.T. Mallonga, who was chosen NaFFAA vice chair. The selectors were the 12 individuals representing NaFFAA regions who were told to sit and to bring their chairs in front of the stage.

There they sat and applauded, trading jokes, and never making an attempt to look serious, or to appear respectable, as they acclaimed Navarra and Mallonga to lead NaFFAA to be truly a voice that it has always claimed to be for the huge Filipino communities in the United States.

"There's a unanimous landscape," the elections chair said again over the microphone, sending the small crowd into fits of laughter.

The crowd of course knew already. As Mallonga and Navarra had no challengers, their pre-selection before this videotaped process had to be unanimous. A "landslide" in a way, because it's overwhelming.

Navarra succeeds Macabenta, who despite his skills at advertising, publicity and propaganda, had failed to reverse the downward spiral of NAFFAA from heights of its early glory to its present state of bankruptcy and near-extinction.

"This is the state of NaFFAA today. We have a federation that is operating on empty and in survival mode. But," Macabenta turns optimistic, "NaFFAA is alive and still actively pursuing its mission".

The revelation -- only last year -- that NaFFAA founder and former chair Alex Esclamado and his wife Lourdes M. Esclamado had been paid princely sums of monies totalling $103,500 as stipends and for professional services had raised questions about NaFFAA, which journalist and critic Bobby Reyes has referred to as a "milking cow".

Macabenta's own advertising agency Minority Media Services Inc. had been paid at least $1,000 by NaFFAA for some work.

A statement by Lorna Dietz, Macabenta's NaFFAA colleague and advertising solicitor for his Filipinas magazine, further complicated the situation when she unwittingly linked the periodical's financial health with the $300,000 money grant by Wells Fargo Bank to NaFFAA.

The fact that Navarra and Mallonga were unanimous choices could mean there were not enough takers to lead NaFFAA out of its sorry predicament, particularly considering that it is facing legal challenges in a court of law.

The next few months could make or break the organization, depending on what the Office of the Attorney General in New Jersey would decide on the complaint filed by journalist Bobby Reyes of Los Angeles.

Reyes has named what he referred to as "persons of interest" allegedly link to a "conspiracy to defraud the federation and the taxpayers" of monies which were not reported or have remained unaccounted by NaFFAA officials.

He identified several individuals, calling them "the corrupt controlling clique in the NaFFAA", namely: Alex Esclamado, Lourdes Esclamado, Loida Nicolas-Lewis, Gregorio Macabenta, Alma Q. Kern, Rozita Lee, Rodel Rodis, Ben Benedicto Menor, Lourdes Corrales, Lourdes Ongkeko, Jon Melegrito, Armando Heredia, Aurora Cudal, Lorna Dietz and Does 1-100.

Efforts by this reporter to get them to comment on Reyes' allegations have not been fruitful.

(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 42, November 25, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com ).

NaFFAA's electors representing its regions sit in front of the stage.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Attorney General Wants More Documents on Allegations of Fraud, Corruption in NaFFAA

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 41
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Friday, November 19, 2010
~ What a critic calls "the corrupt controlling clique" of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations will try to resuscitate the organization from its painful and slow demise at another of its so-called empowerment conference in San Francisco. As it goes down and out, authorities in New Jersey took the initial step to investigate NaFFAA for alleged violations of federal and state laws related to its fund-raising ventures. Further documentation is asked, and once provided, reviewed and found enough to stand scrutiny, the investigation process will take place into what could be the most shameful caper ever pulled by Filipinos on the Filipino community.
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THE 'CONTROLLING CLIQUE' TRIES TO RESUSCITATE
NaFFAA's Alleged Scams Probed in New Jersey

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - Authorities in New Jersey took the first step to investigate the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) over allegations it perpetrated a financial scam that violated federal and state laws in the United States.

The move came amidst frantic preparations for the opening today (Friday, Nov. 19, 2010), of its three-day 9th Empowerment Conference in San Francisco. A co-founder of the organization, Ernie Gange, has reported that "the convention is not attracting delegates". "Perhaps," he said, "there will be less-than 50 delegates".

A letter from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, signed by Catherine McLaughlin, Supervising Investigator, of Charities Registration Section, acknowledged the filing of a complaint by Los Angeles-based journalist Bobby Reyes against NaFFAA and its top-ranking officials.

McLaughlin asked Reyes to provide the NJOAG with more information and documents in support of his claim that the "Office of the Attorney General of New Jersey is the first legal entity to express interest in investigating the NaFFAA".

Reyes has suggested to NJOAG to "take the lead in doing official investigations of the said federation in coordination with the IRS, the Department of Justice and the Attorneys General of California and Nevada".

" . . . Referencing x x x your email letter, may we ask you to please provide all available information (documents, newspaper articles, speeches given etc.) as to when and by whom within the NJOAG interest in NaFFAA was expressed," McLaughlin wrote to Reyes.

She assured that after the case has been reviewed and assigned to an investigator, the NJOAG will contact him to begin the process.

An investigation by state and federal authorities would further erode public confidence in NaFFAA which claims as "the voice of Filipinos and Filipino Americans" in the United States and boasts of member-organizations running into a few hundreds.

Critics said the numbers are inflated to project an image of bigness so that it could attract funding from corporate supporters out to corner a potentially-rich customers' base that NaFFAA claims to have.

In fact, one contentious claim was that NaFFAA's region 1 chapter in New York had gone into a deal with SMART, a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. SMART advanced $50,000 to NaFFAA in exchange for selling its plug 'n talk devices to its members. The deal has not been fully explained.

But since two years ago at the latest, funds from traditional sources have dried up, forcing NaFFAA to let go of some employees and abandoned its national office in Washington, DC.

"Our funds have begun to run very low for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the scarcity of corporate funds," Greg Macabenta, incumbent NaFFAA chair, said in August last year. From that time on, the situation has worsened.

Macabenta himself is not spared of suspicion after Lorna Dietz, his NaFFAA colleague and marketing agent for his Filipinas magazine, unwittingly spilled the beans on the $300,000 money grant from Wells Fargo Bank and revealed as well the apparently wobbly situation of the periodical.

Dietz said in an email that Macabenta's Filipinas magazine would not have financial problems if allegations were true that Macabenta had received the $300,000 money grant plus commission.

The implication was that Macabenta was already poised to use money donated to NaFFAA for his private enterprise. Neither Macabenta nor Dietz made an effort to explain it.

Reyes named what he called "persons of interest" allegedly link to a "conspiracy to defraud the federation and the taxpayers" of monies which were not reported or have remained unaccounted by NaFFAA officials.

In his complaint attachment, Reyes identified several individuals, calling them "the corrupt controlling clique in the NaFFAA", namely: Alex Esclamado, Lourdes Esclamado, Loida Nicolas-Lewis, Gregorio Macabenta, Alma Q. Kern, Rozita Lee, Rodel Rodis, Ben Benedicto Menor, Lourdes Corrales, Lourdes Ongkeko, Jon Melegrito, Armando Heredia, Aurora Cudal, Lorna Dietz and Does 1-100.

As of 9 a.m. Pacific Time, the deadline given to them by this reporter to respond to Reyes' allegations, not one of those named has reacted.

Efforts by another journalist, Joseph Lariosa, of Chicago, Illinois, to get them to react also appeared futile.

NaFFAA has a lot of explaining to do with regard to its operations and status as a non-profit organization.

(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 41, November 19, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com).

My earlier stories can be viewed at my news channels at: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGotchaJournalist and at: http://vimeo.com/user4144767/videos

Also, view what we have at The Filipino Web Channel, which is located

At YouTube:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLYca354w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT74cbxq6ak&list=ULl4ME6chy_z4&playnext=3

At Vimeo:
1. http://vimeo.com/16962555
2. http://vimeo.com/user4144767

Sunday, November 14, 2010

San Diego Baker Honors Manny Pacquiao with Another Special Bread

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Features
Volume 4, Issue No. 40
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Sunday, November 14, 2010
~ Manny Pacquiao has boxed his way to immortality. In San Diego, Pacquiao's name is now found in at least five bread products and a fruit drink invented by a woman business owner famously known as "The Creative Baker". Wilma Fernandez Ventura has now added the very latest, no doubt inspired by Pacquiao's win in Texas on Saturday night, baptized as "Pan de Ocho de Pacquiao" to show his eight titles. The new bread begins selling on Monday in National City, California. (Here's the video link provided by Richard's Bakery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD2yNU_oUuQ&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL)
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THE CREATIVE BAKER PAYS TRIBUTE TO A CHAMP
New Bread - Pan de Ocho de Pacquiao - Set to Launch in San Diego, California

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - Manny Pacquiao's winning his record eighth crown has guaranteed the immortality of the many bread products and fruit drink created in his honor in America's unofficial capital of the Philippines.

The Filipino champion may have lent his name to many products he owns or has developed but in San Diego County's National City, Pacquiao's name is affixed to special breads that businesswoman Wilma Fernandez Ventura has created to celebrate his many victories.

For example, until Ventura came up with Brazo de Pacquiao, the only brazo carries a female name, as in Brazo de Mercedes. Now, Brazo de Pacquiao is the male counterpart that also evokes masculinity and agility.

It's one of the many items that's pushing sales and fanning popularity of Ventura's The Original Richard's Bakery, a famous business landmark in National City, which is home to the largest Filipino population in the United States.

The city that borders the City of San Diego and is about 15 miles to the frontier with Mexico has a population under 100,000. About one-fifth, or 20 percent, are Filipinos or Americans of Filipino descent.

A big chunk of Filipino businesses is also based in National City, a fact recognized by everyone at City Hall.

When former President Fidel V. Ramos visited in early October, National City Mayor Ron Morrison welcomed him with these words: "Welcome to the unofficial capital of the Philippines in America".

It's not surprising, therefore, that the only bread recognition ever given to Pacquiao comes from a Filipino bakery based in National City.

In March when he won his seventh title in Texas, Ventura, also known as "The Creative Baker," invented the Siete Coronas de Pacquiao, a special bread shaped like a giant 7.

That was followed by another, Brazo de Pacquiao and still another, the Pan de Pacquiao. Earlier on in his boxing bouts that he easily won, Ventura was so inspired and moved to create a fruit combination called Pacquiao Punch.

Ventura is now poised to come up with another bread that would reflect Pacquiao's victories.

Contacted for comment in San Diego, Ventura said she has in mind "Pan de Ocho de Pacquiao" that would take the appearance of a big number 8. The bread is glazed on top to make it shiny and stuffed with reasonable amounts of Bavarian cream for that distinct taste.

Ventura has been readying this latest addition in the last weeks in anticipation of a Pacquiao win. The finished product would be marketed at $3.99 per piece starting on Monday at her bakery.

"It's incredible that Manny Pacquiao now has eight boxing titles. I am so proud of him," Ventura said in a phone interview.

The Original Richard's Bakery shot to national prominence when Ventura created the popular Obama Pan de Sal which she launched on the day Barack Obama took his oath as the 44th president of the United States in January last year.

From then on, Ventura's creative juices continued to flow. Her bakery's many bread products became the outlet for her creative streak.

The bakery has an array of Ventura's inventions, among them: the Pacquiao breads, Obama Pan de Sal, Genesis Loaf (named after Filipina movie actress Genesis, aka Patricia Javier), the Reyna Bibingka ng America (named after Imelda, Gloria and Cory).

(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 40, November 14, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com).

Front of The Original Richard's Bakery displays posters of its popular products.

Currents & Breaking News