To allow readers a full grasp of the issues affecting NaFFAA (National Federation of Filipino American Associations) and a full appreciation of the stories, some background may be found at the links provided below. These are just some of my articles published both in print and online publications. The stories currently appear on MabuhayRadio.com and other websites.
1. Greg Macabenta Caught Lying as He Denies Taking $300K Grant from Wells Fargo Bank
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4226-greg-macabenta-caught-lying-again-as-he-continues-to-deny-300k-grant-from-wells-fargo-bank.html
2. NaFFAA Co-Founder Tells NaFFAA Clique: "Jump Off Golden Gate Bridge"
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4235-naffaa-cofounder-tells-ruling-clique-members-to-jump-off-the-golden-gate-bridge.html
3. NaFFAA Chair Admits Making Money from Professional Deals with Wells Fargo Bank
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4309-naffaa-chair-admits-making-money-from-professional-deals-with-wells-fargo-bank.html
4. NaFFAA Co-Founder Alleges Theft of Federation Funds
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4336-naffaa-co-founder-alleges-theft-of-federation-funds.html
5. NaFFAA Official Asks Probe of Missing Funds Estimated at $450K to $1-Million
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4343-naffaa-board-member-proposes-fact-finding-committee-to-investigate-alleged-stolen-federation-funds-valued-at-450k-to-1-million-or-more.html
6. NaFFAA Rejects In-House Investigation Into Alleged Fraud
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4362-naffaa-ruling-clique-fakes-manifesto-passed-allegedly-in-a-teleconference-done-without-a-quorum.html
7. Is NaFFAA a Spent 'Milking Cow' or a 'Ship' Running Aground?
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4389-is-naffaa-a-spent-milking-cow-andor-the-fil-am-version-of-the-ss-titanic.html
8. Support for NaFFAA and its Officers at a Dismal Low, Manifesto Shows
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4402-support-for-the-naffaa-and-its-officers-at-a-dismal-low-manifesto-shows.html
9. NaFFAA Sympathizers Issue Threats, Hint at Violence
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4419-naffaa-sympathizers-issue-threats-against-and-hint-at-violence-directed-at-investigative-reporters.html
10. NaFFAA Co-Founder Disowns Threats; More Grant-Money 'Secrets' Turning Up
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4421-naffaa-co-founder-disowns-threats-more-grant-money-secrets-turning-up.html
11. NaFFAA's $50K Deal with Philippine Firm Raises Questions About Money Laundering
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4444-naffaas-50k-deal-with-philippine-firm-raises-questions-about-money-laundering.html
12. Officials Trash Probe of NaFFAA Due to Fears of Finding More 'Skeletons'
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/4482-officials-trash-probe-of-naffaa-due-to-fears-of-finding-more-skeletons.html
Friday, April 30, 2010
NaFFAA Stripped of Its Home in DC; Top Officials Resign as Organization Teeters
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 4
/ 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, April 29, 2010
~ For an organization supposedly as big as NaFFAA, silence in the past many months is deafening. Questions about its money-making and money-spending activities have been largely ignored. Now, a NaFFAA co-founder comes out with the revelation that it is in shambles. Senior officials have quit. The organization was driven out of its head office in Washington, DC because of rental problems. Even its non-functioning website is perpetually "being updated". Meanwhile, those whose hearts really bleed for NaFFAA are passing the hat to keep it afloat. Where are the thousands upon thousands of dollars that it used to brag having? What has been done to address the issue that at least $400,000 had been stolen?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NaFFAA Stripped of Its Home in DC; Top
Officials Resign as Organization Teeters
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
TORONTO - Just less than a year after a distress call was aired to officials of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) by its chairman Greg Macabenta, the supposedly US-wide organization is now staggering to death, abandoned by its senior officials and stripped of its home, according to one of its founders.
The lone holdout seems to be only Macabenta himself, propped up by a skeleton crew who sometimes makes NaFFAA's presence felt via social media, mainly the internet. Even NaFFAA's official website is on the throes of extinction, being perpetually under a state of "being updated".
As it now appears, NaFFAA is ready to tumble. "Our problem in NaFFAA is very serious," says Ernesto Gange, NaFFAA co-founder and chair of International Network of Filipinos Overseas Inc. in Philadelphia.
"We lost our NaFFAA National Headquarters in Washington, DC. We lost . . . , " he bewails, and listed the names of officials who quit.
Gange said NaFFAA's national executive officers he identified as Lourdes "Ludy" Corrales, national treasurer; Atty. Reuben Seguritan, legal counsel; Armando "Doy" Heredia, executive director and chief operating officer; and Leslie Talusan, secretary to the executive director; have already resigned their posts.
"NaFFAA runs on fumes," Gange stresses, quoting Macabenta's exact words. "We run out of gas," but "we will survive," he adds.
Gange has been scouting for what he calls "new players" to breathe life into the 13-year-old organization which he co-founded in 1997 with the now retired Alex Esclamado to unify Filipinos in America under one big umbrella organization.
"Life must go on, and together we will rebuild NaFFAA," he says in an email to this reporter.
It wasn't immediately clear when NaFFAA was kicked out of Washington, DC, but it effectively ended its presence in the US capital, mainly to complement its lobbying efforts. Previously, Macabenta had complained about not being able to pay rent for the NaFFAA office on time.
NaFFAA's present destitute state was a far cry from its early years when newspaper publisher Alex Esclamado and businesswoman Loida Nicolas-Lewis headed it in succession. At that time, NaFFAA seemed to enjoy wide support within and outside the Filipino community.
It fell into disrepute soon after journalist Bobby Reyes of Los Angeles, California began questioning its fund-raising activities and money-spending sprees. He also bewailed NaFFAA's arrogance, lack of transparency and accountability.
Reyes had sought office as a NaFFAA regional chair but was voted out in an election he claimed was rigged by NaFFAA officials who did not want him there. The incident has become known as "Ballygate" after the name of the hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada where it took place.
Huge sums of monies -- estimated at between $450,000 to $1 million -- are alleged to have been "stolen" from the organization through elaborate schemes by unnamed insiders. A proposal to create a fact-finding committee to investigate had been promptly nipped in the bud.
Previously, NaFFAA was also linked to a celebrated case in San Jose, California involving a community organizer named Ben Menor who had been indicted for grand theft and pleaded no contest to other charges.
According to Gange, NaFFAA's national conference normally held in September has been moved to October this year. Sources said there's very little interest in the conference, specially at a time when NaFFAA is reeling under.
"We have to pass the hat," Gange says, to pay some people who worked at NaFFAA. He said former NaFFAA chair Loida Nicolas-Lewis had volunteered to pay $20,000 out of $40,000 debt NaFFAA owed its executive director, and paid another employee for half NaFFAA owed.
"We passed the hat and paid for the balance," he explained.
"Atty. Reuben Seguritan resigned, out of frustration, because, when he was asked for his opinion with what to do with the unexplained missing funds, estimated to about $400K, before the attorney from New York could form a fact-finding commission, Ruben suggested for the manifesto. And, everything stopped," Gange stated.
NaFFAA has stonewalled on a number of questions posed by this reporter since last year.
"Regardless of what happened in the past, we owe it to ourselves to rebuild NaFFAA. We must nurture NaFFAA for the next generation of Filipinos, a vehicle to use, as their voice in America," Gange concluded.
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no.4, April 29, 2010).
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 4
/ 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, April 29, 2010
~ For an organization supposedly as big as NaFFAA, silence in the past many months is deafening. Questions about its money-making and money-spending activities have been largely ignored. Now, a NaFFAA co-founder comes out with the revelation that it is in shambles. Senior officials have quit. The organization was driven out of its head office in Washington, DC because of rental problems. Even its non-functioning website is perpetually "being updated". Meanwhile, those whose hearts really bleed for NaFFAA are passing the hat to keep it afloat. Where are the thousands upon thousands of dollars that it used to brag having? What has been done to address the issue that at least $400,000 had been stolen?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NaFFAA Stripped of Its Home in DC; Top
Officials Resign as Organization Teeters
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
TORONTO - Just less than a year after a distress call was aired to officials of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) by its chairman Greg Macabenta, the supposedly US-wide organization is now staggering to death, abandoned by its senior officials and stripped of its home, according to one of its founders.
The lone holdout seems to be only Macabenta himself, propped up by a skeleton crew who sometimes makes NaFFAA's presence felt via social media, mainly the internet. Even NaFFAA's official website is on the throes of extinction, being perpetually under a state of "being updated".
As it now appears, NaFFAA is ready to tumble. "Our problem in NaFFAA is very serious," says Ernesto Gange, NaFFAA co-founder and chair of International Network of Filipinos Overseas Inc. in Philadelphia.
"We lost our NaFFAA National Headquarters in Washington, DC. We lost . . . , " he bewails, and listed the names of officials who quit.
Gange said NaFFAA's national executive officers he identified as Lourdes "Ludy" Corrales, national treasurer; Atty. Reuben Seguritan, legal counsel; Armando "Doy" Heredia, executive director and chief operating officer; and Leslie Talusan, secretary to the executive director; have already resigned their posts.
"NaFFAA runs on fumes," Gange stresses, quoting Macabenta's exact words. "We run out of gas," but "we will survive," he adds.
Gange has been scouting for what he calls "new players" to breathe life into the 13-year-old organization which he co-founded in 1997 with the now retired Alex Esclamado to unify Filipinos in America under one big umbrella organization.
"Life must go on, and together we will rebuild NaFFAA," he says in an email to this reporter.
It wasn't immediately clear when NaFFAA was kicked out of Washington, DC, but it effectively ended its presence in the US capital, mainly to complement its lobbying efforts. Previously, Macabenta had complained about not being able to pay rent for the NaFFAA office on time.
NaFFAA's present destitute state was a far cry from its early years when newspaper publisher Alex Esclamado and businesswoman Loida Nicolas-Lewis headed it in succession. At that time, NaFFAA seemed to enjoy wide support within and outside the Filipino community.
It fell into disrepute soon after journalist Bobby Reyes of Los Angeles, California began questioning its fund-raising activities and money-spending sprees. He also bewailed NaFFAA's arrogance, lack of transparency and accountability.
Reyes had sought office as a NaFFAA regional chair but was voted out in an election he claimed was rigged by NaFFAA officials who did not want him there. The incident has become known as "Ballygate" after the name of the hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada where it took place.
Huge sums of monies -- estimated at between $450,000 to $1 million -- are alleged to have been "stolen" from the organization through elaborate schemes by unnamed insiders. A proposal to create a fact-finding committee to investigate had been promptly nipped in the bud.
Previously, NaFFAA was also linked to a celebrated case in San Jose, California involving a community organizer named Ben Menor who had been indicted for grand theft and pleaded no contest to other charges.
According to Gange, NaFFAA's national conference normally held in September has been moved to October this year. Sources said there's very little interest in the conference, specially at a time when NaFFAA is reeling under.
"We have to pass the hat," Gange says, to pay some people who worked at NaFFAA. He said former NaFFAA chair Loida Nicolas-Lewis had volunteered to pay $20,000 out of $40,000 debt NaFFAA owed its executive director, and paid another employee for half NaFFAA owed.
"We passed the hat and paid for the balance," he explained.
"Atty. Reuben Seguritan resigned, out of frustration, because, when he was asked for his opinion with what to do with the unexplained missing funds, estimated to about $400K, before the attorney from New York could form a fact-finding commission, Ruben suggested for the manifesto. And, everything stopped," Gange stated.
NaFFAA has stonewalled on a number of questions posed by this reporter since last year.
"Regardless of what happened in the past, we owe it to ourselves to rebuild NaFFAA. We must nurture NaFFAA for the next generation of Filipinos, a vehicle to use, as their voice in America," Gange concluded.
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no.4, April 29, 2010).
Monday, April 5, 2010
Journalists Demand Recall, Retraining of Philippine Labor Attache in Toronto
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 3
/ 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, April 5, 2010
~ Instead of being resolved, the controversy has turned for the worse. The aggrieved journalists who feel slighted and humiliated are now demanding the recall and retraining of Philippine Labor Attache Frank Luna. In a letter addressed to the Secretaries of Foreign Affairs and Labor in Manila, Filipino journalists in Toronto are calling Luna "obstinate, indifferent and aloof". They described his actions as "so undiplomatic x x x and marked by apparent arrogance". Though the journalists' move is unprecedented in Canada, it is not entirely without precedent. Several years back in Los Angeles, California, Filipino journalists succeeded in having a sitting consul general recalled, and another much earlier, in blocking the appointment of another at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Journalists Demand Recall, Retraining
of Philippine Labor Attache in Toronto
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
TORONTO -- Calling him "obstinate, indifferent and aloof," the Philippine Press Club-Ontario has demanded the recall to Manila and retraining of Toronto-based Philippine Labor Attache Frank Luna.
The move, though a first in Canada, is not entirely without precedent in North America. Some years back in Los Angeles, California, Filipino journalists had succeeded in blocking the appointment of Tomas Gomez as consul general, and in recalling then Consul General Edwin Bael.
"To our humble mind, Mr. Luna should be recalled and required to undergo training in conducting himself accordingly," a copy of the letter made available to this reporter during the weekend, said.
The feud between the labor official and Filipino journalists here erupted in January after the former called the latter "morons" in a newspaper article many had suspected as having been ghost-written by Luna himself on behalf of a publisher and editor widely known in Toronto as a real estate agent.
Luna had previously denied the accusations. "As you will note," he explained, "I did not call Tenny Soriano and Mon Datol as morons – it is their word, not mine."
Soriano, president of PPCO and columnist of Balita newspaper, and Datol, director and publisher-editor of Philippine Courier, are two of the five signatories to the petition. The others are Ace Alvarez, vice president, who is also editor of Manila Media Monitor; Tony Sicat, director: and Mogi Mogado, treasurer.
In the article, Luna had indeed referred to an unidentified press club officer as "a moron" for suggesting that the citation awarded by Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose S. Brillantes to a mainstream newspaper reporter instead be given to Filipinos advocating for caregivers.
"The use of such language is unbecoming from no less than an officer of the Philippine government," said the PPCO in the letter addressed to Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo and Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque. A copy was furnished Consul General in Toronto Minerva Falcon.
The whole text of the letter was also published in the April 2010 issue of Philippine Courier.
According to the signatories, Luna had utilized his friend's newspaper to respond to issues the journalists had raised concerning the award, specifically the recognition of community advocates who had also worked hard on behalf of Filipino nannies.
"Mr. Luna's responses x x x were so undiplomatic x x x and were marked by apparent arrogance," the PPCO said.
The club also alleged that Luna "has allowed himself to be exploited by Eddie Lee in discrediting the PPCO".
"It was funny enough for no less than an officer of the Philippine government in Toronto to respond through a print media (Lee's newspaper) which was not a party to comments made on the matter, and not through the same media where the comments emanated," the PPCO added.
Lee, a real estate agent, publishes the Atin Ito newspaper, which, like most publications in Toronto's Filipino community, are entertainment-oriented.
Atin Ito started out as a newsletter on agriculture, then eventually expanded to now include story reprints from Manila-based newspapers. Questions are now being raised about Lee's competence to edit the paper since he has no journalism background.
Lee has accused Soriano and Datol of "using" this reporter to push their own agenda. He says in Tagalog: "Upang maunawaan mo ang buntot at ulo ng intriga," referrencing his article in his paper's January issue. "Dito mo makikita ang paggamit din nila sa iyo."
Lee had not responded to inquiries from this reporter as to why he made such a conclusion. As for Luna, he was not immediately available to comment on this story as it was being written.
The PPCO complaint against Luna was first verbally told to newly-installed Consul General Minerva Falcon during her first press conference 10 days after she assumed office in early March.
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no.3, April 5, 2010).
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 3
/ 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, April 5, 2010
~ Instead of being resolved, the controversy has turned for the worse. The aggrieved journalists who feel slighted and humiliated are now demanding the recall and retraining of Philippine Labor Attache Frank Luna. In a letter addressed to the Secretaries of Foreign Affairs and Labor in Manila, Filipino journalists in Toronto are calling Luna "obstinate, indifferent and aloof". They described his actions as "so undiplomatic x x x and marked by apparent arrogance". Though the journalists' move is unprecedented in Canada, it is not entirely without precedent. Several years back in Los Angeles, California, Filipino journalists succeeded in having a sitting consul general recalled, and another much earlier, in blocking the appointment of another at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Journalists Demand Recall, Retraining
of Philippine Labor Attache in Toronto
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
TORONTO -- Calling him "obstinate, indifferent and aloof," the Philippine Press Club-Ontario has demanded the recall to Manila and retraining of Toronto-based Philippine Labor Attache Frank Luna.
The move, though a first in Canada, is not entirely without precedent in North America. Some years back in Los Angeles, California, Filipino journalists had succeeded in blocking the appointment of Tomas Gomez as consul general, and in recalling then Consul General Edwin Bael.
"To our humble mind, Mr. Luna should be recalled and required to undergo training in conducting himself accordingly," a copy of the letter made available to this reporter during the weekend, said.
The feud between the labor official and Filipino journalists here erupted in January after the former called the latter "morons" in a newspaper article many had suspected as having been ghost-written by Luna himself on behalf of a publisher and editor widely known in Toronto as a real estate agent.
Luna had previously denied the accusations. "As you will note," he explained, "I did not call Tenny Soriano and Mon Datol as morons – it is their word, not mine."
Soriano, president of PPCO and columnist of Balita newspaper, and Datol, director and publisher-editor of Philippine Courier, are two of the five signatories to the petition. The others are Ace Alvarez, vice president, who is also editor of Manila Media Monitor; Tony Sicat, director: and Mogi Mogado, treasurer.
In the article, Luna had indeed referred to an unidentified press club officer as "a moron" for suggesting that the citation awarded by Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose S. Brillantes to a mainstream newspaper reporter instead be given to Filipinos advocating for caregivers.
"The use of such language is unbecoming from no less than an officer of the Philippine government," said the PPCO in the letter addressed to Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo and Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque. A copy was furnished Consul General in Toronto Minerva Falcon.
The whole text of the letter was also published in the April 2010 issue of Philippine Courier.
According to the signatories, Luna had utilized his friend's newspaper to respond to issues the journalists had raised concerning the award, specifically the recognition of community advocates who had also worked hard on behalf of Filipino nannies.
"Mr. Luna's responses x x x were so undiplomatic x x x and were marked by apparent arrogance," the PPCO said.
The club also alleged that Luna "has allowed himself to be exploited by Eddie Lee in discrediting the PPCO".
"It was funny enough for no less than an officer of the Philippine government in Toronto to respond through a print media (Lee's newspaper) which was not a party to comments made on the matter, and not through the same media where the comments emanated," the PPCO added.
Lee, a real estate agent, publishes the Atin Ito newspaper, which, like most publications in Toronto's Filipino community, are entertainment-oriented.
Atin Ito started out as a newsletter on agriculture, then eventually expanded to now include story reprints from Manila-based newspapers. Questions are now being raised about Lee's competence to edit the paper since he has no journalism background.
Lee has accused Soriano and Datol of "using" this reporter to push their own agenda. He says in Tagalog: "Upang maunawaan mo ang buntot at ulo ng intriga," referrencing his article in his paper's January issue. "Dito mo makikita ang paggamit din nila sa iyo."
Lee had not responded to inquiries from this reporter as to why he made such a conclusion. As for Luna, he was not immediately available to comment on this story as it was being written.
The PPCO complaint against Luna was first verbally told to newly-installed Consul General Minerva Falcon during her first press conference 10 days after she assumed office in early March.
(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted, on condition that the author and the publication be properly credited. By Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no.3, April 5, 2010).
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