PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE/The Filipino Web Channel - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 8
/ 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, March 27, 2011
~ The last decade registered the most number of Asians in the United States, posting a 43 percent increase over a 10-year period. From 10.2 million in 2000, Asians - that include Filipinos - now count to 14.7 million which, officials said, gained the most in the share of the total US population, according to an official White House announcement released Friday.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LEAPFROGGING BY 43 PERCENT
Asian Population in US Jumps to 14.7 Million
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
TORONTO - The Asian population in the United States leapfrogged by 43 percent to 14.7 million in the last decade ending last year, the White House Media Affairs Office disclosed Friday.
"The nation's Asian population became the fastest growing race over the past decade," said the White House, quoting figures released by the US Census Bureau and furnished the Philippine Village Voice and The Filipino Web Channel.
In 2000, Asians comprised only 10.2 million of US population of over 281 million. A decade later, the number has grown to 14.7 million, "gaining the most in the share of the total population, growing from 4 percent to about 5 percent".
“We must come together and understand what these changes in our country’s demographics mean for public policy,” said Kiran Ahuja, director of the White House Initiative on Asian and Pacific Islanders, who noted the importance of understanding the needs of this growing population.
“We see increasing numbers of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders representing influential positions, but many pockets of this community are in great need of basic protections and services.
Most people in the 2010 Census reported only one race, according to the Census Bureau. Of these individuals, about 14.7 million people – or about 5 percent of all respondents – identified their race as Asian alone.
The smallest major race group was Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (0.5 million), which represented 0.2 percent of the total population.
(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. 8, March 27, 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/ .
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Big Leap to Online Journalism
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE/The Filipino Web Channel - Redefining Community News
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 7
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 Tuesday, March 15, 2011
~ It's been only nine and four. Yes, nine months for The Gotcha Journalist Channel (Currents & Breaking News) and four months for The Filipino Web Channel since they were launched. Both are video outlets for my news coverages in Toronto and elsewhere. Early this month, the two channels achieved some kind of milestones when at least four of my news videos made it to the video list of the dominant internet portal America Online (AOL). There's the story of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and the two young Filipino talents who sang Canada's national anthem during a big event in the Toronto suburb of Brampton. Being in the AOL Video index for everyone to see may not be earth-shaking news but it certainly gives one bragging rights, for it's one indication of breaking through the mainstream.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BRAGGING RIGHTS
The Inexorable Leap to Online Journalism and Video-Making
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
TORONTO - In November last year, or exactly four months to this day, I created The Filipino Web Channel in an attempt to diversify my practice of journalism.
Through these many years, my medium has mostly been print and wire, and on occasions, broadcast, via ABS-CBN's Balitang America in California.
The dawning of the digital revolution towards the end of the millennium and the beginning of another necessitated the inexorable leap to online journalism.
Print still appeals to me except that the costs and infrastructure to carry it out have become financially prohibitive. Besides, I do not have the means to start the paper from scratch again.
I had intended to continue publishing my flagship paper in San Diego, California - the Philippine Village Voice - in Toronto but the local community is saturated with about a dozen identical-looking tabloids in cutthroat rivalry over a shrinking revenue-making pie, thus triggering a buyer's market in advertising.
I could still find a niche for my paper despite that huge number and compete head-on. Mine would simply stay out of the repetitive coverage of the same events by the same people and focus on the nitty-gritty of community news.
I had that thought for a while. Then one day in November, I decided I needed one dedicated channel for purely Filipino-oriented stories. That's when The Filipino Web Channel was born.
(To see launching videos, click the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT74cbxq6ak&feature=fvwrel and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLYca354w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ).
My other outlet - The Gotcha Journalist Channel for Currents & Breaking News - was designed for mainstream reporting, though in some instances, it also covered community events.
Delineating the roles of each was important for my perspective. Just as significant is to pinpoint the market of potential viewers on which to direct the stories.
The treatment of news differs in The Filipino Web Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/FilipinoWebChannel ) and in The Gotcha Journalist Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGotchaJournalist ) though it would seem they're treading on the same path.
Early this month, my coverage paid off handsomely in terms of the number of viewers.
Although it's far from the dizzying heights reached by the video of Filipino singing talent Maria Aragon (performing Lady Gaga's Born This Way at home), my coverage of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney also zoomed past ordinary expectations.
Entitled "Jason Kenney - Canada's 'King of Multiculturalism'," the video promptly registered viewers in the four digits (as of this writing, a total of 2,249) and landing on You Tube's "hot spots", meaning grabbing full attention above the average. That's a hit in my estimation, considering that my videos average less than a thousand viewers over a certain period of time.
But it isn't that video milestone that I'm most happy about. Rather, it's the breakthrough that that particular news video has achieved, which is that the giant and dominant internet portal, America Online (AOL), has snared it and is now listed among its popularly-viewed videos.
In fact, at least four of my videos from my two channels are in included in the AOL video index, including: http://video.aol.ca/video-detail/canadas-visible-minorities-proclaim-jason-kenney-king-of-multiculturalism/2012460451/?icid=VIDURVNWS07
The significance of this milestones is in what it does not say categorically -- that is, that my videos have managed to penetrate the mainstream media. That's something to crow about. And I am humbled by it.
Since I began The Filipino Web Channel in November, I've uploaded a total of 42 videos. Channel viewers are nearing the thousand mark while upload viewers totaled at least 10,337 as of this writing.
On the other hand, The Gotcha Journalist Channel, which I launched in mid-June last year and has 72 videos already, is attracting its own set of followers. It has notched a total of 1,401 channel viewers and 23,825 upload viewers.
In the years that I published three modest community newspapers in San Diego, I've never felt such a huge impact as the news videos have created in only a few months.
It must be because of the instant availability of the videos and the fact that the news stories are brought fresh at the click of a button. That can't be said of newspapers or magazines which must use extensive colors to bring some life into them.
Still, whatever the medium - print, broadcast, online - good old journalism by committed journalists is here to stay. No, not the so-called "churnalism" or "envelopmental journalism" by the "pinabili-ng-suka" types (also referred to as PNS practitioners).
(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. 7, March 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/ .
Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 7
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 Tuesday, March 15, 2011
~ It's been only nine and four. Yes, nine months for The Gotcha Journalist Channel (Currents & Breaking News) and four months for The Filipino Web Channel since they were launched. Both are video outlets for my news coverages in Toronto and elsewhere. Early this month, the two channels achieved some kind of milestones when at least four of my news videos made it to the video list of the dominant internet portal America Online (AOL). There's the story of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and the two young Filipino talents who sang Canada's national anthem during a big event in the Toronto suburb of Brampton. Being in the AOL Video index for everyone to see may not be earth-shaking news but it certainly gives one bragging rights, for it's one indication of breaking through the mainstream.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BRAGGING RIGHTS
The Inexorable Leap to Online Journalism and Video-Making
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
TORONTO - In November last year, or exactly four months to this day, I created The Filipino Web Channel in an attempt to diversify my practice of journalism.
Through these many years, my medium has mostly been print and wire, and on occasions, broadcast, via ABS-CBN's Balitang America in California.
The dawning of the digital revolution towards the end of the millennium and the beginning of another necessitated the inexorable leap to online journalism.
Print still appeals to me except that the costs and infrastructure to carry it out have become financially prohibitive. Besides, I do not have the means to start the paper from scratch again.
I had intended to continue publishing my flagship paper in San Diego, California - the Philippine Village Voice - in Toronto but the local community is saturated with about a dozen identical-looking tabloids in cutthroat rivalry over a shrinking revenue-making pie, thus triggering a buyer's market in advertising.
I could still find a niche for my paper despite that huge number and compete head-on. Mine would simply stay out of the repetitive coverage of the same events by the same people and focus on the nitty-gritty of community news.
I had that thought for a while. Then one day in November, I decided I needed one dedicated channel for purely Filipino-oriented stories. That's when The Filipino Web Channel was born.
(To see launching videos, click the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT74cbxq6ak&feature=fvwrel and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLYca354w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ).
My other outlet - The Gotcha Journalist Channel for Currents & Breaking News - was designed for mainstream reporting, though in some instances, it also covered community events.
Delineating the roles of each was important for my perspective. Just as significant is to pinpoint the market of potential viewers on which to direct the stories.
The treatment of news differs in The Filipino Web Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/FilipinoWebChannel ) and in The Gotcha Journalist Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGotchaJournalist ) though it would seem they're treading on the same path.
Early this month, my coverage paid off handsomely in terms of the number of viewers.
Although it's far from the dizzying heights reached by the video of Filipino singing talent Maria Aragon (performing Lady Gaga's Born This Way at home), my coverage of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney also zoomed past ordinary expectations.
Entitled "Jason Kenney - Canada's 'King of Multiculturalism'," the video promptly registered viewers in the four digits (as of this writing, a total of 2,249) and landing on You Tube's "hot spots", meaning grabbing full attention above the average. That's a hit in my estimation, considering that my videos average less than a thousand viewers over a certain period of time.
In fact, at least four of my videos from my two channels are in included in the AOL video index, including: http://video.aol.ca/video-detail/canadas-visible-minorities-proclaim-jason-kenney-king-of-multiculturalism/2012460451/?icid=VIDURVNWS07
The significance of this milestones is in what it does not say categorically -- that is, that my videos have managed to penetrate the mainstream media. That's something to crow about. And I am humbled by it.
Since I began The Filipino Web Channel in November, I've uploaded a total of 42 videos. Channel viewers are nearing the thousand mark while upload viewers totaled at least 10,337 as of this writing.
On the other hand, The Gotcha Journalist Channel, which I launched in mid-June last year and has 72 videos already, is attracting its own set of followers. It has notched a total of 1,401 channel viewers and 23,825 upload viewers.
In the years that I published three modest community newspapers in San Diego, I've never felt such a huge impact as the news videos have created in only a few months.
It must be because of the instant availability of the videos and the fact that the news stories are brought fresh at the click of a button. That can't be said of newspapers or magazines which must use extensive colors to bring some life into them.
Still, whatever the medium - print, broadcast, online - good old journalism by committed journalists is here to stay. No, not the so-called "churnalism" or "envelopmental journalism" by the "pinabili-ng-suka" types (also referred to as PNS practitioners).
(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. 7, March 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/ .
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Perils of Investigative Journalism
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE VOICE/The Filipino Web Channel - Redefining Community News Currents & Breaking News
Volume 5, Issue No. 6
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 Thursday, March 10, 2011
~ The lawyer of the publicly "private citizen" Melinda Rustia renews the warning of a lawsuit if her published images were not removed promptly from The Filipino Web Channel's news videos. The latest threat is contained in a letter emailed yesterday (Wednesday, March 9) and demanding compliance by 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday, March 10). The lawyer had earlier indicated his client's inclination to sue, which did not materialize as of the first deadline date of Feb. 25. Rustia had not denied she engaged in gossiping. What her lawyer contends is that my news videos carried what he calls "false and defamatory statements concerning Mrs. Rustia". He did not say what those were, however. What's clear is that she passed gossip via emails to her friends - an act that exposes this reporter to public ridicule. Here's the latest development.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THE PERILS OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Bullying, Physical Violence, Intimidation and Threats
of a Lawsuit Among Tactics to Force Media Censorship
Man is the most intelligent of the animals - and the most silly. — Diogenes
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
TORONTO - I was half-expecting kibitzer Melinda Rustia's lawyer, Ian A. McLaine, would still pursue her demand to remove her image in a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2AOE9-z-o&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ) I created a month ago and subsequently updated (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_cOWXq9qI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ) on Feb. 27.
I've not had this experience being asked, and threatened repeatedly, by someone hiding under the coattails of a lawyer to force compliance to a demand which some friends and readers thought was frivolous, silly, ludicrous -- call it any which way - and it boils down to hurt pride.
I had merely asked: "what's her (Melinda Rustia's) motive in passing gossips against this reporter?" Indeed, from someone I knew nothing about except when she had signed up as a subscriber to my videos, it's astonishing how she could treat me with such condescension.
Not knowing her from Eve, I rely on what McLaine says, to wit, that she's "an upstanding member of the Toronto Filipino community". Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea how McLaine came to that assertion, specially when juxtapose with what she had peddled to her friends.
He says that my question was "personally injurious" and "damaging to her reputation". He explains: "Under the laws of the Province of Ontario, such defamatory statements constitute libel for which Mrs. Rustia is entitled to monetary damages x x x ".
Compare the question to what she had written and mass-emailed, thus: "I don't know anything about Romy Marquez until I received the Breaking News yesterday from Rory . . . so I googled him and here is a compilation of interesting and hilarious comments about him. Some are personal and below the belt . . . TAKE A BREAK guys and Enjoy! NAKAKATAWA TALAGA!" (sic).
I don't see the need to republish the substantive contents of her mass email; to do so would dignify them. Suffice it to say that the mere act of passing them to others without verifying the truth and accuracy constitutes rumour-mongering. She was spreading lies and taking delight in doing so and cajoling others to feel the same way she does, as in "nakakatawa talaga".
I doubt if Melinda Rustia was being honest and truthful in saying she harvested from Google the questionable comments against me. The controversy in San Diego, California that spawned the vicious lies had been triggered by a series of exposes I did. It died down after the authors with phony names were unmasked.
I know a few individuals -- the PNS-types, or the pinabili-ng-suka-pag-balik-journalist-na -- who were responsible for authoring and disseminating the canard. What Melinda Rustia had spread belonged to this category. I don't know if she's PNS, stupid or naive but it's quite obvious she's too gullible to fall victim to such fraud. I believe she was fed the lies and gulped them.
This evolving story versus Melinda Rustia is so full of ironies. And here's why.
She's supposedly a founding member of the social press club yet she apparently prefers censorship over an unrestrained discussion of issues. She's supposedly "upstanding" yet she engages in reprehensible gossiping. She's supposedly a "private citizen" yet one sees her name and images all over print and websites.
In my long experience as an investigative journalist in San Diego, California, it was inevitable to bump into spurious community leaders with more brawn than brain.
I'm beginning to think -- and I say this based on my own knowledge -- that Toronto's Filipino community looks almost the same. But if it's that way, what the heck, be prepared to face the challenges.
That's how I approach this job as a journalist. Bullying, intimidation, hints of violence and threats of lawsuits are routinely slapped on the journalists who set out to uphold the virtues of journalism that they no longer quiver in fear.
The very task of journalism perforce a certain amount of digging . . . for dirt, for the hidden trail, for the secrets, for skeletons in closets, for masks needing unraveling. The danger approximates the importance of the story. Where one is truly committed to finding the truth, all the risks would be worth taking.
Investigative journalism is not something for the weak of heart; that kind of journalist must have the gumption to absorb and repel the kind of stinking kitchen sink thrown his way . . . and survive!
I have not yet engaged in investigative journalism in Toronto the way I did it in San Diego, my home for 16 years before I moved temporarily to Canada a year ago. But the challenges are there, e.g., the non-profit organizations, the private foundations and the many money-raising community organizations.
But I digress.
Comes now Mr. McLaine. After his first letter demanding removal of her picture came and went on Feb. 25 with a hint of a possible lawsuit if not complied with on that very same day, he emails a letter dated March 9 reiterating the same demand.
He writes, and I quote: "The actions you have taken to disregard our demands and to further defame Mrs. Rustia are clearly malicious and wholly indefensible. Accordingly, you have exposed yourself to additional liability from which you cannot be shielded by invoking a 'journalism' defence."
Further, he says: " x x x Please notify the undersigned in writing before 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time on March 10, 2011 that you are in full compliance with our demands. Failure to do so will result in the initiation of legal proceedings seeking significant monetary damages along with any other remedies, injunctive or otherwise, to which Mrs. Rustia is entitled".
I see a dramatic change in McLaine's warning. His first letter dated Feb. 25, 2011stated that "we will have no choice but to initiate legal proceedings seeking monetary damages . . . " The latest letter dated March 9, 2011 was upgraded, thus: " x x x will result in the initiation of legal proceedings seeking significant monetary damages x x x ".
Note the word "significant" inserted between "seeking" and "monetary" in the March letter. That's quite signficant too.
(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. 6, March 10, 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
Volume 5, Issue No. 6
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 Thursday, March 10, 2011
~ The lawyer of the publicly "private citizen" Melinda Rustia renews the warning of a lawsuit if her published images were not removed promptly from The Filipino Web Channel's news videos. The latest threat is contained in a letter emailed yesterday (Wednesday, March 9) and demanding compliance by 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday, March 10). The lawyer had earlier indicated his client's inclination to sue, which did not materialize as of the first deadline date of Feb. 25. Rustia had not denied she engaged in gossiping. What her lawyer contends is that my news videos carried what he calls "false and defamatory statements concerning Mrs. Rustia". He did not say what those were, however. What's clear is that she passed gossip via emails to her friends - an act that exposes this reporter to public ridicule. Here's the latest development.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THE PERILS OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Bullying, Physical Violence, Intimidation and Threats
of a Lawsuit Among Tactics to Force Media Censorship
Man is the most intelligent of the animals - and the most silly. — Diogenes
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
TORONTO - I was half-expecting kibitzer Melinda Rustia's lawyer, Ian A. McLaine, would still pursue her demand to remove her image in a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2AOE9-z-o&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ) I created a month ago and subsequently updated (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of_cOWXq9qI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ) on Feb. 27.
I've not had this experience being asked, and threatened repeatedly, by someone hiding under the coattails of a lawyer to force compliance to a demand which some friends and readers thought was frivolous, silly, ludicrous -- call it any which way - and it boils down to hurt pride.
I had merely asked: "what's her (Melinda Rustia's) motive in passing gossips against this reporter?" Indeed, from someone I knew nothing about except when she had signed up as a subscriber to my videos, it's astonishing how she could treat me with such condescension.
Not knowing her from Eve, I rely on what McLaine says, to wit, that she's "an upstanding member of the Toronto Filipino community". Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea how McLaine came to that assertion, specially when juxtapose with what she had peddled to her friends.
He says that my question was "personally injurious" and "damaging to her reputation". He explains: "Under the laws of the Province of Ontario, such defamatory statements constitute libel for which Mrs. Rustia is entitled to monetary damages x x x ".
Compare the question to what she had written and mass-emailed, thus: "I don't know anything about Romy Marquez until I received the Breaking News yesterday from Rory . . . so I googled him and here is a compilation of interesting and hilarious comments about him. Some are personal and below the belt . . . TAKE A BREAK guys and Enjoy! NAKAKATAWA TALAGA!" (sic).
I don't see the need to republish the substantive contents of her mass email; to do so would dignify them. Suffice it to say that the mere act of passing them to others without verifying the truth and accuracy constitutes rumour-mongering. She was spreading lies and taking delight in doing so and cajoling others to feel the same way she does, as in "nakakatawa talaga".
I doubt if Melinda Rustia was being honest and truthful in saying she harvested from Google the questionable comments against me. The controversy in San Diego, California that spawned the vicious lies had been triggered by a series of exposes I did. It died down after the authors with phony names were unmasked.
I know a few individuals -- the PNS-types, or the pinabili-ng-suka-pag-balik-journalist-na -- who were responsible for authoring and disseminating the canard. What Melinda Rustia had spread belonged to this category. I don't know if she's PNS, stupid or naive but it's quite obvious she's too gullible to fall victim to such fraud. I believe she was fed the lies and gulped them.
This evolving story versus Melinda Rustia is so full of ironies. And here's why.
She's supposedly a founding member of the social press club yet she apparently prefers censorship over an unrestrained discussion of issues. She's supposedly "upstanding" yet she engages in reprehensible gossiping. She's supposedly a "private citizen" yet one sees her name and images all over print and websites.
In my long experience as an investigative journalist in San Diego, California, it was inevitable to bump into spurious community leaders with more brawn than brain.
I'm beginning to think -- and I say this based on my own knowledge -- that Toronto's Filipino community looks almost the same. But if it's that way, what the heck, be prepared to face the challenges.
That's how I approach this job as a journalist. Bullying, intimidation, hints of violence and threats of lawsuits are routinely slapped on the journalists who set out to uphold the virtues of journalism that they no longer quiver in fear.
The very task of journalism perforce a certain amount of digging . . . for dirt, for the hidden trail, for the secrets, for skeletons in closets, for masks needing unraveling. The danger approximates the importance of the story. Where one is truly committed to finding the truth, all the risks would be worth taking.
Investigative journalism is not something for the weak of heart; that kind of journalist must have the gumption to absorb and repel the kind of stinking kitchen sink thrown his way . . . and survive!
I have not yet engaged in investigative journalism in Toronto the way I did it in San Diego, my home for 16 years before I moved temporarily to Canada a year ago. But the challenges are there, e.g., the non-profit organizations, the private foundations and the many money-raising community organizations.
But I digress.
Comes now Mr. McLaine. After his first letter demanding removal of her picture came and went on Feb. 25 with a hint of a possible lawsuit if not complied with on that very same day, he emails a letter dated March 9 reiterating the same demand.
He writes, and I quote: "The actions you have taken to disregard our demands and to further defame Mrs. Rustia are clearly malicious and wholly indefensible. Accordingly, you have exposed yourself to additional liability from which you cannot be shielded by invoking a 'journalism' defence."
Further, he says: " x x x Please notify the undersigned in writing before 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time on March 10, 2011 that you are in full compliance with our demands. Failure to do so will result in the initiation of legal proceedings seeking significant monetary damages along with any other remedies, injunctive or otherwise, to which Mrs. Rustia is entitled".
I see a dramatic change in McLaine's warning. His first letter dated Feb. 25, 2011stated that "we will have no choice but to initiate legal proceedings seeking monetary damages . . . " The latest letter dated March 9, 2011 was upgraded, thus: " x x x will result in the initiation of legal proceedings seeking significant monetary damages x x x ".
Note the word "significant" inserted between "seeking" and "monetary" in the March letter. That's quite signficant too.
(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. 6, March 10, 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
Friday, February 25, 2011
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.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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/ .
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.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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/ .
Sunday, January 30, 2011
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!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 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.
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.
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.
"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.
"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.
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/ .
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!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 |
| 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 |
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 |
"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 |
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/ .
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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
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.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 |
| 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
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