Lawyer Threatens to Sue Over Picture

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE/The Filipino Web Channel - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 5
Commentary/Opinion
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /


. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com ) and the 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, February 25, 2011
~ A supposedly "private citizen" by the name of Melinda Rustia goes bonkers at the sight of her picture in a newsvideo at YouTube. So she goes to a lawyer, and expectedly, the lawyer demands its removal and threatens legal action if not complied with. The lawyer claims the caption "And kibitzer Melinda Rustia, what's her motive in passing gossips against this reporter?" was "injurious" and "damaging" to her as it is, the lawyer claims, "false and defamatory". She could see and feel the hurt to her but not to me and two other journalists -- Bobby Reyes in Los Angeles, and Joseph Lariosa in Chicago, Illinois when she spread gossips and rumours to her friends. Do we just clam up just because she said so? The practice of investigative journalism entails risks and Melinda Rustia's action threatening a lawsuit is just one of them. Here's the full story.
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Melinda Rustia (left) with Rory Elefano. Original image lifted from the Philippine Reporter website.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE OF THE PROXY WARS?
Toronto Community Fixture Threatens Lawsuit
Against The Filipino Web Channel and its Reporter

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)

TORONTO - "And kibitzer Melinda Rustia, what's her motive in passing gossips against this reporter?"

That line in a newsvideo on my YouTube channel has triggered a threat of a lawsuit from no less than the person herself, Melinda Rustia, through a lawyer, Ian A. McLaine, a Toronto barrister and solicitor.

I've never heard of this Melinda Rustia or what she does in the Filipino community. The very first time I saw her name was when she signed up as a subscriber in one of my online channels.

For months since I started doing videos in June last year to complement my news blogs, her screen name was there. This month, however, she promptly removed her name the moment my video "War for the Pockets - Toronto's Filipino Community in Turmoil" hit the airwaves. (To view, click the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2AOE9-z-o&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL)

Quite obviously, she did not like the idea of her image appearing there with the inscription "And kibitzer Melinda Rustia, what's her motive in passing gossips against this reporter?".

What I called "gossips" are the many unfounded allegations contained in emails and chatmails that were sent out a few years ago when some members of the Filipino community in San Diego, California were fulminating against a series of investigative articles that I wrote exposing corruption in community organizations.

For example, the $27,000 that went missing from the coffers of the Council of Philippine American Organizations (COPAO) and the payoffs into the hundreds of thousand dollars in the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) based in Washington, DC.

Most of the articles that Melinda Rustia spread had been consistently denied and rebutted by myself and another journalist in Los Angeles, Bobby Reyes even if we found out that its anonymous author was a shameless, gutless lapdog let loose by our arch enemies.

Not being a journalist -- though I am told she's one of the co-founders of Philippine Press Club Ontario, which is primarily a social and networking group -- Melinda Rustia never checked whether the information alleged in the questionable emails were accurate or not.

She admits harvesting from the treasure-trove of information that is Google and gleefully mass-emailed them anyway, thus making her complicit in spreading gossips.

In emails she sent to her friends, notably to Rory Elefano (aelefano@_), Tess Cusipag (balita@_), Paul de la Cruz (razorcutz007@_) and Philippine Independence Day Council (pidctoronto@gmail.com), Melinda Rustia claimed, and I quote her: "I don't know anything about Romy Marquez until I received the Breaking News yesterday from Rory . . . " (The Breaking News she referred to can be viewed at: http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/ ).

She continued: " so, I googled him and here is a compilation of interesting and hilarious comments about him. Some are personal and below the belt . . . "

I don't know what to make of her -- a liar, cheat or simply a dishonest person? Not that it mattered to me, but Melinda Rustia had fairly good knowledge about me when she subscribed to one of my channels. And that belies her claim of not knowing me or what I do.

Why would Melinda Rustia compile and then pass on comments which she already had adjudged as "personal and below the belt"? Since she has not checked the veracity of those comments, did she not spread rumours calculated to ruin my credibility as a journalist?

Of the entries about me in Google and other search engines, Melinda Rustia zeroed in on the most despicable lies there. Maybe because, by her own admission, "NAKAKATAWA TALAGA!" (sic), meaning those were the items that made fun of me.

My impression was that she was being fed with the wrong and distorted information by my detractors in San Diego, California where I had exposed the crooks, scam artists and thieves who lorded it over the Filipino community.

For 16 years in San Diego, and many years before that in Manila and elsewhere where I had worked as a foreign correspondent, I had been threatened with violence, robbed, intimidated, bullied and sued many times over. But I am not one to cringe in fear or crack so easily for as long as I hold the truth.

Now that I've published her picture in my video, Melinda Rustia suddenly became a "private citizen" taking umbrage at my reporting. Did I hit it right that she's spreading rumours?

I'm not going to allow anyone, much less a Melinda Rustia and her cohorts, to drag me down her seeming fondness for the gutter. I'd let her and her friends bust their lungs in laughter and fart, but I'm not fair game for your moments of mirth. If it's dirt you want, it's dirt you'd get.

I'm quite surprised that Melinda Rustia has enlisted the services of a lawyer to demand that I remove her picture from my video. What's the lawyer for, to intimidate me?

Ian McLaine claims the caption "And kibitzer Melinda Rustia, what's her motive in passing gossips against this reporter?" is "personally injurious" to her and "damaging to her reputation". It is "false and defamatory," he says.

" x x x Mrs. Rustia x x x is an upstanding member of the Toronto Filipino community who is active in charitable causes benefitting that community", explains her lawyer. Well, that I'll have to find out.

Invoking her being a "private citizen", McLaine also raised the issue about her picture being published in the video without her consent. Yet her picture is all over the internet. One example is the one attached to this story.

"Accordingly, we demand that you immediately remove all images of and references to Mrs. Rustia from 'The Filipino Web Channel', the 'Currents & Breaking News' blog and any other publication, online or otherwise x x x " the lawyer wrote.

"Further, we demand that you immediately cease and desist from the publication of any further statements or images associated with or otherwise concerning Mrs. Rustia," McLaine further wrote.

McLaine demanded compliance by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Feb. 25, 2011 or else "we will have no choice but to initiate legal proceedings seeking monetary damages along with any other remedies to which Ms. (sic) Rustia is entitled."

(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 5, Issue no. 5, February 25, 2011. Email at: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com, 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/ .

Philippine Networks Wage Proxy Wars in Toronto's Filipino Community

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE/The Filipino Web Channel - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 4
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /


. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the 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, January 30, 2011
~ The Philippines' two giant networks are unwittingly tearing the fabric of Filipino family apart. Their mostly nonsensical shows - entertainment fare that caters to prurient interests - are aggressively marketed in North America, specifically in Toronto, Canada, with little or no regard to whether they ruin or uphold Filipino values. Their intense marketing strategies have been reduced to proxy wars between families and organizations of competing interests. At least a dozen officials resigned from the group that organizes the annual community fests. A newspaper columnist was censored over an innocuous mention of a name. An editor admits to not being able to practice fair reporting due to an arrangement with one of the protagonists. The Filipino family in Toronto is in shambles . . . over money!

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Some of the officers of PIDC, seen here from images lifted from PIDC website.

PROXY WARS BETWEEN THE 'KAPUSO' AND 'KAPAMILYA' FAMILIES
Toronto's Filipino Community Reels Under;
Mass Resignations Hit Top Organization


By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association


TORONTO - The Philippines' top entertainment clans have taken their internecine wars to North America, pitting relatively peaceful Filipino families against one another and threatening their respective communities.

That's how far the Kapamilya and Kapuso followers have gone in their battle for the pockets of thousands of Filipinos in Toronto, at least, where a thriving Filipino community has been turned into a battleground of competing business interests.

Kapamilya is, of course, the entertainment powerhouse TFC or The Filipino Channel of ABS CBN. Kapuso is the giant GMA-7 or GMA Pinoy TV, reputedly the Philippines no. 1 TV network.


What once was a solid Filipino family is now divided into two hostile groups -- the Kapamilya and Kapuso. A third by a newly-emerging channel tries to waylay loyalties by coming up with Kapatid.

A humble upstart with no big money to spend, to begin with, mocks the three big networks with its Kapitbahay, a video outlet of The Filipino Web Channel that's available for free viewing on YouTube and Vimeo. Except that this one is devoted to news and current events in Filipino neighbourhoods in Toronto, Canada.


From reports made available to this reporter, the organizers of community festivals in Toronto under the umbrella of the Philippine Independence Day Council, have turned to Kapamilya for co-sponsorship of the festivities slated this year.


What a "sponsorship" entails in revenues was a question nobody wants to answer.


Last year, in July 2010, celebrations billed under the aegis of Mabuhay Festival were co-sponsored by Kapuso. The answer to the question about co-sponsorships may be found in that experience.

PIDC declares in its website that it's "fostering unity within the Filipino-Canadian Community," a claim ironically lost in efforts to tighten its grip on the financial windfall that a network sponsorship promises. 

PIDC practically abandoned its pre-eminent role by succumbing to the entertainment program provided by Kapuso. What was supposed to be a wholesome family-oriented celebration of Philippine independence had been turned into an endless entertainment fare involving sex actors and a retinue of gyrating young women.

A good example was Katrina Halili, the femme fatale whose sexual congress with her lover Hayden Kho played out for months in cyberspace.

Halili was topbilled by PIDC in the Mabuhay Festival as if she's the epitome of virtue for young Filipino women in Toronto to emulate.

Not content with that, she was partnered -- to provide a balance -- with the chest-thumping entertainment macho, a certain Wendell Ramos, who had disrobed his top apparently because he could not resist the chanting crowds of drooling matrons. 

As soon as he took off his shirt, the crowd roared, no doubt to the orgasmic delight of screaming fans. There were whispers for Katrina to do the same, meaning to strip.

Was that "wholesome" entertainment worthy of the community's money and attention. What's the cultural aspect of it, other than to show a fetish for the flesh?

So what's in store for the Filipino community of Toronto this year?

For sure, family-oriented fests designed to unify every Filipino would take a back seat in favor of shows prepared by the networks. So it's essentially a Kapuso or Kapamilya show geared towards promoting their networks through a parade of stars. The unstated target is the Filipino purse.

Kapuso's point man in Toronto, Rosemer Enverga, refused to answer questions from this reporter, citing what she calls "sensitivity of my position as GMA Pinoy TV consultant".

Enverga also explained the same "sensitivity" applies to her husband, Tobias "Jun" Enverga, who was recently elected as a trustee of the Toronto Catholic School Board.

The Envergas are active community volunteers before they took on their new jobs at the beginning of the year.

ABS CBN's The Filipino Channel has not responded, either, to queries. The network's representative in Toronto referred this reporter's questions to its head office in the Philippines.


Tenny Soriano

But the extent of the proxy wars already seems apparent in the local media.

Veteran journalist Tenny Soriano was admonished by his editor and publisher in Balita newspaper to rewrite his column after managing editor Tess Cusipag apparently saw the name of Rosemer Enverga mentioned in passing.


Soriano was furious. "This is curtailment of press freedom!" he cried. "Let's see what the Philippine Press Club Ontario will do with this issue of press freedom".

Tess Cusipag, who by profession is a teacher, has inherited most of the job of husband Ruben Cusipag - a hard-hitting journalist from way back in the Philippines - after he figured in an accident. She now calls the shots at Balita newspaper.

Tess Cusipag

"We have made a commitment that GMA/Rosemer Enverga's project will not be mentioned at all in Balita," Tess Cusipag wrote to Soriano rejecting his article.

"We took the stand that Rosemer's project does not exist at all as far as we are concern (sic) and that PIDC will only be the project to watch out for in the Summer," she stated, clarifying an "arrangement" her paper has with ABS CBN and Philippine Independence Day Council, the organizer of the festivities.

"Sorry, it is a commitment and I can not practice fair reporting at this time," Tess Cusipag explained.

One of the questions asked of organizer PIDC president Minda Neri was the amount of money the organization stands to gain from the ABS CBN-TFC/Kapamilya sponsorship. A request for a copy of PIDC's financial statement has not been answered.

Minda Neri

Neri has remained tight-lipped about the many issues swirling around PIDC, even refusing to respond to criticisms that she's inexperienced and incompetent in handling community affairs of the magnitude of PIDC-generated events.

Sought last year for comments about the appearance of sex star Katrina Halili and the strip act of Wendell Ramos at the Mabuhay Festival under PIDC, Neri simply went quiet, never acknowledging that legitimate questions were being asked to enlighten the public.

PIDC itself is caught in a maelstrom, some triggered by Neri's alleged ineffectual leadership, some by the lack of transparency and some by widespread disappoinment over perceived personal agendas being pursued by those in leadership positions.

Reports reaching this reporter said at least a dozen officers of PIDC resigned their positions in recent weeks owing to a growing dissatisfaction with the leadership. The number included Rosemer Enverga who opted out as vice president internal owing to what she considers a conflict of interest.

Rafael Nebres, until early this month president of the 200-member Philippine Chamber of Commerce, confirmed that he quit PIDC and that his group (the chamber) was let go from PIDC.

"They (PIDC) want to manage the trade show, which the chamber has been doing in the last five years as a component of the festival," he said in an interview.

"As far as I know," Nebres explained, "PIDC likes to get all the financial benefits". Though he did not elaborate on the benefits, he indicated they could be substantial.

PIDC has not made an accounting of its financial and community activities in the last year, at least, a fact that could have sparked the mass resignations.

A list provided by sources showed 16 individuals who have resigned. A certain Estring Aguinaldo whose name appears in the list explained that she "did not resign from PIDC and I am proud to be involved with PIDC".

Aguinaldo was among those sought for comment. When furnished with the questions, she apparently blew her top.

Her unedited comment: "Let us not destroy the Filipino community by doing this kind of interrogation to different people. All of us are working so hard to keep the community be known in this country in a good way and not in a bad way. Lets keep it that way".

A Mr. Tony Tarungan claimed: "This is the first time in the Filipino Community that a large number of officers have resigned in one organization under the leadership of Minda Nerie (sic)".

Based on the unverified list, those who quit included: Bernard Sychangco, Jim Marasigan, Josie Consunhi, Pors Canlas, Romy Rafael, Ben Ferrer, Ethel Stewart, Leone Manzanares, Jojo Rodrigues, Bing Marasigan, Sheila Canazares, Zena Flores and Benny Dision.

(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 5, Issue no. 4, January 30, 2011. Email at: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com, 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/  .

Bogus Lawyer Outed in 2002, Ordered to Pay Fine

PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE/The Filipino Web Channel - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 3
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /


. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the 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 Wednesday, January 26, 2011
~ It's incredible how this man could be so brazen. Outed last month as an impostor on two counts -- lawyer and journalist so-called -- Pex Aves, alias Pacifico Aves, had been engaged in his racket much earlier than thought. In 2002, according to documents published by investigative journalist Bobby Reyes, a judge found Aves engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, fined and ordered to return money to his debtors. How he and his law and journalism practice flourished during the period until now has yet to be unraveled. A complaint to the State Bar of California could open a can of worms.

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A published ad by Pex Aves

PEX AVES AKA PACIFICO AVES - THE NON-LAWYER IN LAW PRACTICE
LA Braggart Engaged in 'Unauthorized Practice of Law,' Says Judge


By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - The doubly bogus man who had flouted his contacts with high Philippine officials and peddled his influence in Los Angeles, California had brazenly engaged in the "unauthorized practice of law" though he was not a lawyer, a Filipino journalist reported in his popular website.

Pex Aves, alias Pacifico Aves, had also been fined and ordered to return money to his debtors, according to documents published by investigative journalist Bobby Reyes in his MabuhayRadio.com.

Aves' name appears neither in the rolls of attorneys in California nor in the Philippines -- a fact that did not stop him from advertising in Filipino newspapers in LA about his "small law office" with a stable of five of what he called "high caliber lawyers".

Though he's not a credentialed journalist, Aves stakes a claim that he runs and manages as "Los Angeles bureau head at kolumnista (sic)" of a "global" newspaper. When asked how "global" it was, he admitted that it has a weekly circulation of 50,000 copies.

"Modesty aside," he wrote in mistakes-laden English-Tagalog, "thousands upon thousands (libo-libo)" wrote that they liked his writings. That was probably meant to back up his questionable reputation.

"The (Superior) Court," according to Reyes, "found that Aves committed a fraudulent, unfair, and deceptive act, fined him $2,000, and ordered that he return another $3,000 in fees to the debtors."

Aves was not immediately available for comment. In previous weeks, he responded to questions with a barrage of vulgar and racist unprintables.

In the document quoted by Reyes, it said that: "Judge Russell issued findings that Pex Aves, a petition preparer, engaged in the unauthorized practice of law x x x

"The Court found that Aves had several violations of Section 110, including failing to sign the bankruptcy documents, failing to disclose his identifying number, failing to disclose his fees, using the term 'legal' in his advertising, and collecting the filing fee x x x "

Aves had boasted about his high connections in the Philippines and named three congressmen and a cabinent member as his media references, namely, Herminio Teves, Miguel Romero and Jerome Paras, and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.

In Los Angeles, he listed the names of the "high-caliber" lawyers so-called, thus: Fred Holgado, Atty. Mitch Bushin, Atty. Fred Marallag, Atty. Polie Okoronco and Atty. Ben Onyanaco.

Only Bushin's name appears in the California State Bar. Bushin did not respond to queries like the others who can be reached by email.

(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 5, Issue no. 3, January 26, 2011. Email at: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com ,  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 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

Filipino Media in Toronto

Some of the Filipino newspapers in Toronto are shown above. Retired lawyer and blogger Joe Rivera comments: "It is not so much the quantity of newspapers but rather the mediocrity and reportage that these newspapers suffer from". Out of 15 newspapers we counted to join our discussion, only four responded -- three editors and one columnist. The others did not bother to answer back.


THE FILIPINO WEB CHANNEL - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News

Volume 5, Issue No. 2

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

 

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the 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, January 15, 2011

~ We tried to get a good grasp of the media situation in the Filipino community of Toronto by attempting an interview with 12 of the 15 or so newspapers. From our perch, we would like the publishers and/or editors to challenge the contention that a significant number, if not most, of the papers suffer from what one blogger calls "mediocrity". We have our own observation that we will also publish here. In the meantime, news coverage by the local press of community events remains wanting in substance and depth.

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What Ails Local Media? Is It Profit-Motive, 'Mediocrity'
or Lack of Honest-to-Goodness Journalists?

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)

TORONTO - Were numbers the sole criteria to determine size, the Filipino media in Toronto would easily qualify as big!

Fifteen tabloids are locked in cutthroat competition to gain patronage of a fraction of the estimated 200,000 Filipinos in Canada's largest city.

The papers dazzle readers with full-page colored pictures, entertainment stories, beauty contests, gossips, endless parties and private get-togethers.

(To view video at YouTube, please click the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgyPPVQhfns&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL)


Non-profit organizations unabashedly shed their political color from time to time through advertorials or plain ads.

News coverages are focused on movie stars and entertainment people either from the GMA or TFC stables.


In areas where public support is massive, the competing networks practically take over and run the community fest.


As in July 2010 when sex star Katrina Halili was marketed as role model by organizer Philippine Independence Day Council.

From this image lifted lifted from websites, Katrina Halili

is shown with her lover Hayden Kho in an ad promo.

And because GMA was out to promote its stars, PIDC had to give way to instigation for actor Wendell Ramos to undress. He did, gladly.


By their nature, newspapers had to fulfill a role. Most times they act as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and community guardians.


That's the reason, media or the press are collectively called the Fourth Estate. It's the unofficial eye watching over the three other estates - the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

Except for some, coverage of events is superficial.


In comparison, entertainers get wide coverage. Their every little story gets published in practically all the newspapers.


This is where the question of relevance comes up. Another is proximity. Are Manila stories more relevant than those happening in the Filipino community of Toronto?


A retired lawyer and blogger, Joe Rivera, makes a stinging comment. He writes: "It is not so much the quantity of newspapers but rather the mediocrity and reportage that these newspapers suffer from".


Rivera continues: "Improving the quality of our local newspapers can be a worthwhile project of the Filipino press association, as they can perform audits of these newspapers if they conform to accepted standards of professional journalism".


We ventured to get insights of publishers and editors.

Publishers and editors who were courteous enough to respond: from bottom, clockwise, columnist Tenny Soriano, Eddie Lee of Atin Ito, Rolly Cabrera of Taliba and Butch Galicia of Libreto.

Sadly, only four got back to us. Two reputed journalists, Tenny Soriano and Butch Galicia, promptly responded with their views. The rest simply ignored the questions and did not even bother, as a matter of courtesy, to acknowledge them.

Out of 15 Filipino newspapers, only four dared to speak -- Atin Ito's Eddie Lee, Libreto's Butch Galicia, Taliba's Rolly Cabrera and columnist Tenny Soriano.

Does that silence, or refusal to join the discussion, an apt indication of what Joe Rivera calls "mediocrity" that the papers suffer from?

(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 5, Issue no. 2, January 15, 2011. Email at: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com, 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 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

Twelve Stanzas for Peace - A Celebration of Friends and Friendships

THE FILIPINO WEB CHANNEL - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 1
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /


. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com ) and the 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, January 8, 2011
~ Better late than never. With that statement, we greet the arrival of the New Year and the New Decade eight days into it. We enter the fifth year of this service of providing news and information to Filipino communities everywhere, specifically those in the United States, Canada and the Philippines. As we kick off our coverage, we created a poem and an accompanying video about our friends who are currently engaged in a war. "No Country for Old Men" would seem a perfect title but, unlike in the novel and the movie adaptation, violence and mayhem from the not-so-old gentlemen come from the mouth.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


A LOCAL SEQUEL TO "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN"?
Twelve Stanzas for Peace - A Celebration of Friends and Friendships


By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association

TORONTO - Eight days into the New Year and into the new decade, we bear witness to a saga of some proportions between men who for quite a time now have discarded their gentle countenance in favor of spite and venom.

Their heated, and hated, exchanges, and subsequent attempts to pacify them by well-meaning friends, have inspired us to compose a few verses that we plan to turn into poetry.

We also created a video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3myEF-hauo&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Here then are the twelve stanzas for peace dedicated to Don Azarias of Chicago and Jesse Jose of Seattle; and to Bobby Reyes, Joseph Lariosa, Pareng Dido, Lourdes Ceballos, Ting Joven and Bart and Yoly Tubalinal.

The falling snow this Saturday (Jan. 8, 2011) was an inspiration to write Twelve Stanzas for Peace.

Twelve Stanzas for Peace
- A Celebration of Friends and Friendships


In the name of peace
let's not tease, please, please.

In the name of love
let's stop the blab, blab blab.

In the name of community
let's all aspire for unity.

In the name of our families
let's do our sacred homilies.

If fighting, fighting is our thing
No one's left to do the planting.

Foul mouths spew hate, insults and lies
Impacts all, friends, enemies and wise.

Weapons of war like knives, guns, bombs
Kill, maim and make us all hateful dumbs.

Nobody wants somebody's garbage
Dump, recycle them for cabbage.

New year, new decade, time to be new
Banish hate, be honest 'ven for few.

Friends we are, on earth, in cyberspace
Sharing good, bad, ugly thrown our face.

We all suffer in times of war
In times of peace we'll go far, far.

Waste not the time, waste not the day
We can frolic in fun, wait for that day.

(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 5, Issue no. 1, January 8, 2011. Email at: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com, 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 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

'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.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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