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).
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| 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
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