Fugitive Runs for Seat in Philippine Senate

Volume 6, Issue No. 34

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Saturday, March 1, 2025 

~ The self-ordained "Appointed Son of God" or ASOG, has come down from his heavenly perch and is now running for senator in the Philippines in the May 12, 2025 general elections. His disciples are campaigning for him here in Toronto. I encountered one at a mall yesterday, Friday, Feb. 28, who tried to convince me to vote for him. I explained that ASOG Apollo C. Quiboloy is on the "most wanted" list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for human trafficking, among other criminal charges. By the way, who appointed him? 

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EVEN AS HE'S WANTED BY THE F.B.I.

 'Appointed Son of God' Runs for Senate Seat

Disciples of Apollo Quiboloy Are Campaigning in Toronto 

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth." - Aesop

TORONTO - As I was leaving after a hearty meal at Lawrence Allen Centre's food court, a Filipino woman in her late 30s or early 40s approached me at the table this Friday (Feb. 28) afternoon with a bagful of flyers and proffered one.

"Pilipino ka kuya?" she asked. "Of course, I am" I responded. "Iboto niyo eto," she said, meaning the man in the flyer. "Kandidato para maging senador," she added.

I looked without accepting it, and lo and behold, the smiling, fully-groomed image was that of Apollo C. Quiboloy, who's running for a Senate seat in the May 12, 2025 general election in the Philippines.

"Wanted ng FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) yan," I told her as a matter of fact. "Kuya, fake news yun, huwag kang maniwala dun," she stated, insisting that Quiboloy, 75 years old this April 25, was a victim of disinformation.

"Alam mo ba, maniac yang Quiboloy na yan, marami ng nabiktima yan, kaya nga wanted ng FBI," I explained, hoping she would stop campaigning in Toronto malls where many Filipinos congregate.

"Kuya, na-dismiss na yun," she asserted, expressing her full support and belief in his innocence. Still I tried to convince her, boasting a little that I'm a journalist with some deep knowledge about him.

(Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9o7oJDmSHI).

This woman kept an eye on Filipinos having their meal and was hopping from table to table distributing Quiboloy's flyers. I observed that most of the people refused to accept the flyers, and some who did just threw them away after she left. 

Anyway, as soon as I got home, I double-checked with the FBI. She could be right. She might have new information that I didn't know. 

I reasoned that Quiboloy would not have the nerve to run for one of the highest public offices in the Philippines if criminal cases against him in the U.S. hang over his head.

Were it not for his dubious claim that he is the "Appointed Son of God," and a pastor of the so-called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Quiboloy would not be mistaken for anything other than a sweet-talking scam artist, a commoner. 

Manila media reports say he is one of the "richest and influential" religious leaders in the Philippines. Fact or fiction, Quiboloy reportedly commands a big following, particularly in the Southern Philippine city of Davao, the bailiwick of the Duterte family, where he was born of parents from Pampanga.

His close affinity with the Duterte patriarch, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, was probably the reason he got a berth in Team Duterte's PDP-Laban senatorial ticket.

Quiboloy's questionable background may not suit well with voters even as the team is quite a powerhouse with the likes of Senators Bato de la Rosa and Bong Go, and Representative Rodante Marcoleta.

What makes Quiboloy extraordinary despite the god-like image he tries hard to cultivate is that he remains in the FBI's "Most Wanted" list along with his women cohorts, namely, Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag.

It was three years ago when the three of them - Quiboloy, Dandan, and Panilag - landed on that list. They're still there as of this writing today, Feb. 28. 

(Full article at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/02/fbi-issues-arrest-warrant-for-appointed.html).

Here's what the FBI says (italics mine for emphasis):

"Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the founder of a Philippines-based church, is wanted for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders. 

"Members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the United States year-round.

 

"Furthermore, it is alleged that females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or 'pastorals,' for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called 'night duty'.” 

"Quiboloy was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling, and on November 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest."

This FBI statement would hopefully convince Quiboloy's apostles in Toronto to rethink about supporting their candidate. (More info available at: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/human-trafficking/apollo-carreon-quiboloy (Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved).

Illegal Fence May Have Soured Support for Taste of Manila

Volume 6, Issue No. 33

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Friday, February 14, 2025 

~ One Member of Parliament calls it "a problem" - a reference to the steel fence installed "illegally," some say, blocking access to five storefronts as a way of punishing vendors who had refused to cough up money for organizers of Taste of Manila (ToM) festival last year. Another MP didn't list the event in his calendar, perhaps an indication of the souring of relations and a withdrawal of support. Contrary to popular belief, ToM is a family business, not a community venture, supposedly owned and managed by Rolly Mangante alias Kabise and his family.

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TASTE OF MANILA

Is The Street Fest Losing Support?

The Event Is Not Listed in an MP's Calendar 

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Using coercion to drive charity is like using kidnapping to create love." - Stefan Molyneux

TORONTO - Perhaps I'm putting a lot of meaning to what may be an innocuous listing of community events in the 2025 calendar of Marco Mendicino, Member of Parliament for Eglinton-Lawrence.

This week I received a copy of his desk calendar, one of several from provincial and federal officials, including from Robin Martin, Member of Provincial Parliament for the same ward.

My representative on the municipal level is Michael Colle, the Toronto City Councillor, who also acts as Deputy Mayor for the northern parts of the city.

As a tax-paying resident of North York, Mendicino and Martin are my elected officials in the federal and provincial parliaments. Incidentally neither one is running for re-election in their respective districts.

Last year I called the attention of MPP Martin for a serious mistake in her 2024 calendar. I was unbelieving to find that the 28th of August 2024 was omitted in that calendar. Was it somebody in her staff not counting the days correctly, or the printer neglected to proofread the material?

Her 2025 calendar also reveals she doesn't care about her Filipino constituency. There's not a single Filipino event schedule whereas Armenian, Greek, Jewish, Irish, etc. holidays are duly noted. I was hoping to see Philippine Independence Day on June 12 in the list. No luck.

In contrast, MP Mendicino's calendar lists the very significant day, plus a couple of pictures of him with Filipino community leaders. Now, the big surprise is why the single most-celebrated event - the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival held close to his district - is shut out.

From Day 1 of ToM, Mendicino is an avid supporter of the festival. He had been responsible for the modest rise to fame of Rolly "kabise" Mangante, self-proclaimed ToM founder, calling him all the time as "Tito Rolly."

That moniker stuck and, of course, Mangante used it as capital to advance his personal interests, knowing it alludes to a close personal relationship with a responsible political figure.

Why then is ToM excluded from Mendicino's calendar for August 2025 when ToM is staged since it first started in 2014 in the same Little Manila hub that borders his district?

That same calendar shows three group pictures of Filipinos, notable of which are Agnes Miranda (in month of April), Tere Torralba (in December), and several Filipino women in costumes (in June).

Mangante, ToM, and its agent SPARC or Society of Philippine (con?) Artists, Recreation and Community are nowhere in any of the calendar's 14 pages. FUN Philippines Festival occupies the December page. What happen to ToM?

I suspect MP Mendicino is distancing himself from ToM and SPARC after they installed a steel fence blocking access to five commercial establishments facing Bathurst St., the main festival site.

Erecting the fence because the parties refused to pay up so-called donation money was an audacious shakedown. In the words of those affected, it was plain and simple extortion.

Neither ToM nor SPARC reacted to the video coverage and several articles since sevens months ago. Toronto Councillor James Pasternak also did not reply when sought for comment on Aug. 19, 2024.

Related videos:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLl_ud3-Xew

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btf2yoU4AaE

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8XMVd5dT4

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ap92btLM8

MP Ya'ara Saks whose York Centre district encompasses Little Manila, was the sole exception in this ToM controversy. 

She rebuked festival organizers, saying: "Local businesses should be able to serve their customers and clients without restrictions and without any barriers because these businesses are supposed to enhance the life within community and not create barriers."

(Full story and video:

1. https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2025/01/mp-yaara-saks-chides-taste-of-manila.html

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLl_ud3-Xew

The lingering question now is: will ToM and SPARC commit to uphold "diversity," one of their two buzzwords, instead of promoting antipathy over some amount of money?

Should a family business disguised as a community enterprise enjoy some form of government subsidy through the waiving of taxes and dues? (Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved).

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Tit-for-Tat: Trudeau Strikes Back, Levies 25% Tariffs on US Goods

Volume 6, Issue No. 32

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Sunday, February 2, 2025 

~ This should be an epic tit-for-tat as two countries sharing the world's longest international border levy each other's products with 25 percent tariffs. On Saturday night in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the imposition of tariffs on goods coming from the U.S. - a retaliatory response to what U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered against products from Canada.

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TIT-FOR-TAT 

Canada-U.S. Trade War Escalates

Justin Trudeau Bares 25% Tariffs on American Products 

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

TORONTO - Canada is imposing 25 percent tariffs on a wide range of goods from the United States worth $155 billion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Saturday, Feb. 1, in the capital Ottawa.

The tax is a direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump's order signed in Washington on the same day levying 25 percent tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico.

Canada and the U.S. are each other’s largest trade partners with nearly $3.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services crossing the border each day in 2023, according to the government. 

"Tonight I am announcing Canada will be responding to the US trade action with 25 percent tariffs against a $155 billion worth of American goods," Trudeau declared.

"This will include immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday followed by further tariffs on $125 billion worth of American products in 21 days time to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives like the American tariffs," he added. 

(Related video: 'We're Proud That We're Not Americans,' Canadian MP Tells Trump)

The government says the U.S. is the single greatest investor in Canada and Canada was the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States at the end of 2023. In addition, Canada is the single largest foreign supplier of energy to the United States.

Canada and the U.S. share the longest international border in the world at close to 9,000 kilometres. There are 13 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and one territory along that border. Most Canadians – 2 out of 3 – live within 100 kilometres of the border. (Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved).

MP Ya'ara Saks Chides Taste of Manila Festival

Volume 6, Issue No. 31

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Thursday, January 30, 2025 

~ No matter how politically-correct it was, MP Ya'ara Saks' statement on the past Taste of Manila festival could be construed as a rebuke to the men and women behind the organizations that mounted the street fest in August 2024. A 13-feet high steel barrier that denied access to business establishments is no welcome mat, yet it stood there undisturbed for two days, with nobody saying anything to condemn it. Fortunately, however, the minister's reaction is a refreshing sign that could lead to changes in community events policing. 

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M.P. YA'ARA SAKS' REACTION

Taste of Manila Gets a Rebuke

"Businesses Enhance Life, Not Create Barriers"

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

TORONTO - The reaction by MP Ya'ara Saks to merchants who refused to be victims of a shakedown by unnamed organizers of the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival should jolt the community to the real potential of their event being used for extortion.

Saks is the Liberal Member of Parliament for York Centre, and holds the portfolios of Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLl_ud3-Xew).

ToM, held yearly in her district's Little Manila hub, has morphed into a family business with a view of reaping profits, practically shredding its character and the promise of integrating the community instead of polarizing it. 

Now, ToM is supposedly owned and managed by its self-proclaimed founder, Rolly Mangante alias "kabise," his wife Nieves, the self-ordained "first lady," and their daughters. 

Mangante had worked as a driver at the Philippine Consulate where the idea of ToM was being crystallized during the term of the late Consul General Pedro Chan who had presented it to Toronto authorities led by then Police Chief Bill Blair. (Related story: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/09/was-number-of-tom-attendees-exaggerated.html).

To say now that ToM is for the community is to mislead the people who patronized it for the past 10 years, believing they're helping the needy who stand to benefit from projects Mangante had envisioned once ToM has stabilized and begins to earn money.

Alas, that promise is dead in the water while Mangante's business flourishes with the help and support of the local government and his chosen "managers" - first PCCC, second PLACA, third PESO, fourth IEC, and fifth and latest SPARC.

It was the Mangante-SPARC tandem that organized the August 2024 ToM. I have joked about SPARC (which stands for Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community) by inserting the word con before artists, so it'll read con artists.

One major point is that there's no artist in SPARC; it's a two-member team of Danilo "Sani" Baluyot and the chameleon-like Rose Ami, alias Rose To, alias Marites Tolits, alias Rosemarie Ami-Seaborn. 

Neither is an artist in the sense of how the dictionary defines it as "a person who creates art (such as sculpture, music, or writing) using conscious skill and creative imagination."

Con artists would appear appropriate considering what had happened on Aug. 17-18, 2024 when workers surreptitiously installed 13-feet high steel fence to block access to several onsite establishments facing Bathurst St., the main ToM festival site.

"Kailangan siguro nila . . . humihingi sila ng pera para buksan yung harap ko," complained Jonathan Mayor Pecpec, owner of a beauty salon that bears his name. (Roughly translated: "They ask money to dismantle the fence and open access). (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btf2yoU4AaE).

Erecting a steel fence to punish noncompliant merchants is no welcome mat, it's an intimidating barrier that goes against SPARC's purported mission, which is, and I quote, "to help and assist Filipino entrepreneurs."

I hesitate to believe that there are people within ToM and SPARC who are involved in fleecing vendors, as manifested so clearly by the steel barricade. That fence stood for two days as a monument to their greed. (Related story: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2024/12/for-some-money-tom-and-sparc-went-rogue.html).

The issues raised by business owners have been ignored by city and provincial authorities, and even by the police, except now that MP Saks, a federal official, has acknowledged what had transpired and called it "a problem" that could be resolved at the municipal level.

"Local businesses should be able to serve their customers and clients without restrictions and without any barriers," she said, "because these businesses are supposed to enhance the life within community and not create barriers."

Though it's a municipal issue, MP Saks' reaction should be the start of an initiative to discuss community events policing involving true representatives of the community, merchants, corporate entities, and not just leave the matter to a few men and women who, for all we know, are extortionists disguised as do-gooders.

"I would strongly encourage the local city councillor to work with the local businesses here to get it addressed because I don't think it's acceptable," MP Saks added. (Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved).

Trump Bares His Rendition of 'Manifest Destiny'

Volume 6, Issue No. 30

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 . . . . . .

 

Our latest as of Thursday, January 23, 2025 

~ William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president, was a prominent figure in Philippine history. For one, his name is synonymous with the Philippine Army as its national headquarters in Makati, the Ft. William McKinley, was branded after him in 1901. Early this week, President Trump mentioned him as part of his effort to restore American greatness. McKinley was an imperialist through and through, and during his tenure, he grabbed the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain and made them U.S. territories. Ft. McKinley faded into antiquity and replaced with a more politically-correct name, Fort Bonifacio, the vast military camp that has been transformed into a popular business and shopping centre called Bonifacio Global City. 

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DONALD TRUMP'S VERSION OF MANIFEST DESTINY

Aping the Imperialist William McKinley

Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines Came Under the US

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

TORONTO - One of the first acts by U.S. President Donald Trump was to sign an executive order "restoring names that honor American greatness," mentioning, among others, William McKinley, the 25th president.

Trump directed that Mount McKinley be reinstated as the name for Mt. Denali in Alaska, North America's highest peak, in recognition of McKinley's "historic legacy of protecting America's interests and generating enormous wealth for all Americans."

Indeed, the accolade maybe an allusion to what McKinley had done during his tenure when the U.S. grabbed Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines - then Spain's colonies - after the U.S. emerged victorious in the Spanish-American War of 1898, the same year in June when the Philippines declared independence. Later, the U.S. annexed Hawaii, becoming its 50th State.

McKinley is familiar to three generations (the silent generation, baby boomers, and generation X) in the Philippines. It was his name, Ft. William McKinley, that was given to the national headquarters of the Philippine Army in 1901during the Philippine-American War. 

In 1957, Ft. McKinley was renamed Fort Bonifacio after the father of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio who was a native of Taguig, then a town of the province of Tondo, now Manila.

Fort Bonifacio was among the military bases converted into business centers during the presidency of Corazon Aquino in 1992. Presently, the sprawling area is called Bonifacio Global City. But I digress. 

For the 1900 U.S. presidential election, McKinley, a Republican, campaigned on a platform of "imperialism, protectionism, and free silver" - the very same items Trump, also a Republican, restates as he begins his second term at the White House.

"McKinley is generally ranked as an above-average president," according to Wikipedia. "However, his take-over of the Philippines is often criticized as an act of imperialism."

In his inaugural address, Trump sounded "manifest destiny into the stars," again a reiteration of his imperial ambition to expand U.S. territory beyond its present borders. 

He has repeatedly referred to Canada as the "51st State" of the U.S. and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "Governor Trudeau." (Related story: Donald Trump's Expansionist Musings

Manifest Destiny was first used in 1845 by New York City journalist John Louis O’Sullivan who used the term in the context of America’s annexation of the Republic of Texas, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.

"Manifest Destiny represented the idea that it was America’s right — its destiny, in fact — to expand across all of North America," it explained. 

"Politicians and citizens in the United States called for the US to expand by claiming control of British territory. This included the Province of Canada (formerly Upper Canada and Lower Canada), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia."

Currently, Trumps seems obsessed with his own version of Manifest Destiny, making known his aspiration to acquire Greenland from Denmark, the Panama Canal, and Canada.

With Greenland and Canada in its fold - that's assuming it would happen - the US would be occupying the entirety of North America minus Mexico. It's a Trumpian dream that could turn very bloody. (Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved).