Currents & Breaking News: November 2010

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.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Word War in America Between Two Journalist Friends

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Commentary
Volume 4, Issue No. 39
/ 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 12, 2010
~ A hand of friendship. That's what journalist Jesse Jose of Seattle, Washington offered Thursday to end the acrimonious exchanges with another journalist, Don Azarias, of Chicago, Illinois. The two journalists par excellence had been sparring a great deal a few days before boxing champion Manny Pacquiao could begin his own bout in Arlington, Texas on Saturday. The betting for or against Pacquiao started it all. And though Pacquiao could knock out his opponent with his powerful fists, Azarias and Jose were trying to outshout each other with the vilest invective available in the dictionary, thus providing cyberspace with a good curtain raiser for the Pacquiao bout. Azarias has not responded to Jose's overtures as of this writing. Here's my personal commentary.

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A CURTAIN RAISER FOR THE PACQUIAO BOUT
Waging Acrimonious Fight Across Cyberspace

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - The heated exchanges between journalists Don Azarias and Jesse Jose had caught me in a bind. The fire has somewhat eased but the flares continue to cast an uncomfortable light.

Neither deserved to be bad-mouthed by the other, yet there they were jousting with the best acidic tongues and the worst offending words.

These gentlemen are two of the best friends I've never met in person.

I got to know them, first in Bart and Yoly Tubalinal's weekly MegaScene newspaper, and later, in cyberspace - Pareng Don in Chicago, Illinois and Pareng Jesse in Seattle, Washington. For a time we three shared the same newspaper page as we dished out our weekly columns.

Then there's Bobby Reyes' MabuhayNewsRadio.com website where no-holds-barred is the rule and satire is celebrated as much as investigative pieces, as if they are a way of life for true journalists who pound the streets and corridors of power in pursuit of good stories.

How we manage to end up calling each other "pare" is a story in itself.

"Pare" means sharing many private, and sometimes personal, things like the almost clock-work email blast of Pareng Don involving erotica and triple x pictures. How's that for caring and sharing?

"Pare" also means trusting the other person in a way that a spouse would not . . . with amorous secrets and escapades narrated in colorful language re-live in English and Tagalog expletives.

"Pare" signifies a friendship like no other. Peer to peer. Colleague to colleague.

True gentlemen, true "cowboys" in Pilipino slang, Pareng Don and Pareng Jesse command my respect with the way they write and the manner with which they convey their messages to the world.

My friendship with them is something to uphold and fight for, for they mince no words in telling when a wrong is committed and when an apology is the only decent and honorable thing to do.

As the Greek philosopher Plutarch said: "I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better". Pareng Don and Pareng Jesse are definitely not shadows.

Pareng Don is more reflective, a true economist no less. Pareng Jesse is the humor-laden type whose journalist persona is best exemplified by mock ridicule.

Reading Pareng Don would give one insight, and sometimes the creeps for the seriousness of a given situation. Reading Pareng Jesse would give one stomach ache for the tons of air that needed out from unstoppable laughter.

In a way, one delivers the stress of living; the other, relief from that stress. One exudes the confidence of an expert economist; the other expertly mocks that confidence, all in the spirit of free-wheeling fun.

Despite accusations by one against the other of plagiarism, none holds water, for the body of work they write and publish and have accumulated speaks of them as being journalists of the highest caliber. Both had the education, the training, the skill, the experience and the by-products of those years of writing.

One gauge to prove this contention is originality of ideas. The thought process involve in the writing is reflected in the written article. And that can be gleaned from the sometimes-very long essays of Pareng Don and in the stinging, irreverent parody of Pareng Jesse.

Where Pareng Don tends to structure his articles in a scholarly manner, Pareng Jesse would just defy form for his less-pompous content. Either way, both conveys their messages just as effectively.

Judging from where they came from originally in the Philippines, I have no doubt that their firepower comes not only from being adept at guns but also by the high intensity of their curses. Suddenly, Mr. Webster is at a loss as to how to demonstrate the viciousness of an f-word or an s-word.

Pareng Don would let loose a barrage of unprintables and Pareng Jesse would just as quickly repel them. That's a draw in word count. In impact, however, neither wins.

But what it tells me is that these two friends of mine are at their core true friends. That is, if I would allow Ralph Waldo Emerson to have the last word on this, thus: "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them".
And if that's not enough of a reminder, let Oscar Wilde tell us: "True friends stab you in the front".

(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. 39, November 12, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com).

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, please click the link:
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
11. A Visit to Ottawa, Canada's Capital, and Notre-Dame Cathedral:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKOrpSBeAmw&playnext=1&videos=smiQ71GXQ1c&feature=mfu_in_order
12. Top Toronto Cop Assures Filipinos on Arrest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJd0tyW16rM&playnext=1&videos=GruA8S99fRM&feature=mfu_in_order
13. Mass Celebrating the Feast Day of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nVg6yaC2dw&playnext=1&videos=RikOTyyMUeA&feature=mfu_in_order
14. Manila's Rizal Monument in Toronto's 'Quilt of Tiles': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bADykG7Ijc&feature=channel
15. Images of the Philippines on Apparels and Accessories in Toronto at: http://vimeo.com/15160450
16. Bicolanos in Toronto Celebrate Feast of Our Lady of Penafrancia with Mass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fBa88FUXfk&feature=channel
17. Filipino Protesters Hold Rally in Toronto Against Martial Law in RP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc6QOXR4oqk&feature=channel
18. Quiapo! Quiapo! - The Famous Filipino Restaurant in Toronto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y1PnpjCyNk&feature=channel
19. Restless in New York -- A Writer's Journey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g37TAHkSgSE&feature=channel
20. Share Your Blessings, Filipino Organization Urges Toronto Community: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by0eGuHLimU&feature=channe

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Sexual, Other Abuses Exposed as Filipino Caregivers Decry Toronto Police Apathy, Indifference

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 4, Issue No. 38
/ 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 Tuesday, November 9, 2010
~ A town hall meeting called to improve community policing in Toronto became the venue of a complaint by Filipino caregivers who decry the apathy and indifference of Toronto police because, as they said, "they're merely caregivers". But that's just one of the problems. Other Asian communities have their own stories worsened by language and a seeming lack of cultural sensitivity among law enforcers that lead to mistrust and misunderstanding. Toronto's multicultural landscape where 120 languages are spoken provides a big challenge for authorities. Monday night's town hall meeting with Toronto Police Chief William Blair tried to address the multi-ethnic concerns.

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Terry Olayta and Judith Gonzales (at table) deliver their briefs at the town hall meeting with Toronto Police Chief William Blair and other top-ranking officers on Monday night at police headquarters. Asian diplomats and Asian community leaders attended.

"THEY'RE APATHETIC AND INDIFFERENT TO OUR PLIGHT"
Filipino Caregivers Complain Against Toronto Police

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - Two Filipino caregivers told authorities of their fears and experiences with police in reporting sexual and other abuses by their employers only to be intimidated and ignored.

The complaint was aired at a town hall meeting called on Monday night (Nov. 8, 2010) by Toronto Police Chief William Blair with Asian diplomats and leaders of the Asian communities at Toronto police headquarters in downtown.

A representative of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Consul Edna May G. Lazaro, wasn't around when the caregivers delivered their complaints. She showed up, however, towards the end of the program.

"We were intimidated by police officers because we are only caregivers," said Judith Gonzales, a co-founder of the First Ontario Alliance Caregivers Canada (OACC).

Her colleague, Terry Olayta, gave a similar damning account before a jampacked audience who also shared their own brushes with police. She claimed being beaten by four police officers on duty while helping a boy in a family reunification program several years ago.

Olayta later on affirmed Gonzales' initial allegations, which she called "sickening". "There are rape cases and sexual abuse that had taken place and continue to do so," she explained.

In many instances the encounters centered on language and lack of understanding of the immigrant's cultural background, which lead to futher misunderstandings between law enforcement authorities and the multicultural communities of Toronto.

Toronto Police Chief William Blair

There are about 120 languages spoken in Canada's largest city alone and, according to Chief Blair, the police have the ability to speak more than half.

Gonzales and Olayta recounted a recent incident in which they "rescued" a Filipino nanny from her abusive employer who practically made her a slave, working 18 hours seven days a week, and imprisoned her at home.

"When another OACC official (Edna Tiosen) intervened, police asked her intimidating questions. Edna was really upset the way the police did the interview," Gonzales explained later after she spoke. She said the initial clash with police showed they had no knowledge about the live-in caregiver program.

Gonzales stressed a recurring fear of police intervention because "it might affect their application for permanent residency once police authority gets involved in their situation."

Quite a number of caregivers, she explained, "are working under temporary working permits, and always have fear that they can deport us back when we leave them. Worse, employers falsely accuse of criminal activities like theft, sexual molestation of our wards, neglect, violence and physical abuse."

"We would like to work with police authorities. We would like to exercise our rights to have a safe and secure work environment. We would like to live safely here in Toronto," Gonzales stated.

For his part, Blair said his department recognizes the problems facing immigrants and has adopted a "don't ask policy" pertaining to heir immigration status.

"We don't want people not to come to us to seek the protection of the police, or seek justice. Our job is not to enforce immigration laws. Our job is to protect our citizens," he emphasized.

Blair said the police are "trying hard to make sure that people trust us". He stated: "regardless of people's immigration, status, they're here and we have the responsibility to protect them".

Blair's assurances are quite comforting, according to those interviewed after the program. Filipino caregivers also feel relieved.
Blair's deputies -- Staff Superintendent Jane Cox and Inspector Francis Bergen of Community Mobilization Unit -- also fielded questions during the town hall meeting.

(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. 38, November 9, 2010. Email at: PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com) .

Toronto Police Chief William Blair, S/Superintendent Jane Cox and Inspector Francis Bergen of Community Mobilization Unit with Asian representatives to the town hall meeting.

Currents & Breaking News