Filipino Web Magazine

Wednesday, 10 September 2025

Who Benefitted from ToM 2025 - the Community or One Family?

Volume 7, Issue No. 13

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ 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 . . . .

Our latest as of Wednesday, September 10, 2025

~ The family-owned Taste of Manila (ToM) festival lives off the support of the community. It exists only because of this support. Its last staging in August this year, and the years before, presumably brought tons of money for its organizers. A promised community centre never materialized. And then, out of the pockets of Toronto taxpayers, the festival got an incredibly huge assistance amounting to $34,000. Why?

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WHAT'S THE BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY?

How Did Taste of Manila Get $34K from the City

Taxpayers' Money Helped the Festival

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Secrecy destroys accountability." - Ralph Nader

TORONTO - "I understand your frustration," says an official in response to efforts to bring to public attention the financial status of the family-owned Taste of Manila (ToM) festival and why and how it received so much public money from the City of Toronto.

Nearly a month after its 2025 staging, nothing has been heard of again from ToM nor from its purported founder Rolly "kabise" Mangante and its garrulous, four-dimensional propagandist belonging to a dubious three-member "artists" group.

". . . (The) information you are seeking will need to be submitted through the City's Freedom of Information process," the official explained. There's a caveat, however, and it says: "we cannot guarantee the records would be released through this process as per usual."

That was what disappointed me as a taxpayer. As a journalist, I do understand, having gone through the same procedure in attempting to shine the light on the many secrets organizations like ToM resort to to conceal their standing.

"How do we even know if Taste of Manila (ToM) deserved such monetary grant from the City without understanding their financial situation?" I wrote back. Well, the answer would come in a month's time, hopefully.

My belief is that the moment the people behind ToM accepted taxpayers' money in the form of a grant from the City of Toronto, they open themselves up to public scrutiny. Their privacy is no longer private.

Thirty-four thousand dollars is the amount of money allocated to ToM this year. Divide that by 12 months and one gets $2,883, a pretty sizable sum of an income for a struggling family.

But the City, I believe, is not subsidizing the family of Mangante, a former driver and the self-declared ToM founder, so he, his wife Nieves, and daughter Jacqueline - all ToM directors - could throw themselves a party and enjoy the fruits of our labour (emphasis on the pronoun our).

The grant, drawn from people's money entrusted to our elected officials, was intended to help the festival so the Filipino community and other revelers could have a micro taste of what Manila, the Philippine capital, is - pickpockets, scam artists, bullies and all.

Buyers Want ToM, the Cash Cow, Says Official

Volume 7, Issue No. 3 OPINION/COMMENTARY / News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobod y / . . . . . A communi...

But how do we know the festival needed assistance when its financial situation is kept secret from us, the taxpayers who, through their political leaders, doled out such a huge sum for an event with no redeeming value?

City authorities said in response to inquiries by The Filipino Web Channel that recipients of funds from the Special Events Stabilization Initiative (SESI) "are required to submit a final report that includes invoices and receipts for all purchases made using SESI funds."

We may finally see how ToM and SPARC operate, assuming they would not dillydally in complying with the requirement. We may also see how Mangante's family and their partners SPARC are compensated from ToM revenues.

We may also see how the community, and broadly the North York district where ToM is held, benefitted from two days of entertainment dished out by imported and domestic talents and non-talents.

With $34,000 given to them for the August 2025 festival, why did they pressure some vendors to "donate" in-kind items such as food for this year's ToM?

Remember that in August 2024, ToM had erected a 13-foot high steel fence to punish onsite establishments that refused pay grease money.

ToM Organizers Install a Monument to Their Greed - a Steel Fence

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

To have qualified for the grant, ToM must have convinced City authorities that it needed help. The condition was that ToM and its organizers are compelled "to submit a full budget, including all revenue sources, for both the current and most recent complete year’s festival."

While he has declared that ToM would be transparent, Mangante evaded any question about ToM's earnings. (Related video: The Unredeemed Promise of Taste of Manila; Is the Money Gone?).

The Unredeemed Promise of Taste of Manila; Is the Money Gone?

On the premise that Taste of Manila received taxpayers' dollars, aren't we supposed to know how our taxes are allocated to community events? ToM is family-owned and so why would the City subsidize it? I thought we're all for transparency, especially in the management of public funds.

Tuesday, 2 September 2025

ToM Scheme a Boon to Resto It Had Earlier Blocked

Volume 7, Issue No. 12

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Tuesday, September 2, 2025

~ Some business owners had complained the Taste of Manila (ToM), being family-owned, should not benefit from taxpayers' dollars in holding its festival like the one it had two weeks ago in Toronto's North York district. "If they want to organize events like this, make sure the organizers have money, and they should NOT depend on taxpayer's money," they said. ToM had been successful in spawning misconduct among its officials and revelers alike.

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ALL ABOUT TASTE OF MANILA 2025

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A Threat, A Pickpocket, A Miscalculation

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon the wrongs." - Joe Biden

TORONTO - Some taxpayers are shocked to learn that the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival operating as a family-owned business had been awarded with so much public money without even disclosing its financial circumstance.

Indeed, such a reaction is reasonable. Why should taxpayers foot part of the bill of an event that seems to evade accountability?

ToM had ended its latest staging two weeks ago in North York's Little Manila hub with a bad taste in the mouth following social media postings that pickpockets had descended in the area. (The posts have not been independently verified).

Previously, its organizers had fenced off establishments that had rejected demands for grease money euphemistically called "donations." This year, they toned down their solicitation, instead asking for boxes of food from the same stores. No steel barriers were erected. Still, it boiled down to extortion.

Since ToM's completion, nothing has been heard of from either its purported founder Rolly "kabise" Mangante and his family, and his contractual partners, the so-called artists in SPARC.

Even the gossipy and hyperbolic troll behind social media postings for ToM had quieted down, presumably exhausted by incessant bulletins calling attention to herself, her business and to ToM.

What has ToM accomplished for the community to deserve the $34,000 grant from the City of Toronto? I doubt if anyone in ToM would venture to answer that question. How much return on investment does the City expect from ToM with its hands on $34K?

A Toronto resident, speaking on behalf of local taxpayers, wrote:

"If our hard-earned money will just go to this kind of ridiculous event, that is not fair! If my taxes will go to food banks, shelters, help families who are struggling in life . . . go ahead and I will be happy to help these people. If they want to organize events like this Taste of Manila, make sure the organizers have money, and they should NOT depend on taxpayer's money."

Despite promises of transparency echoed by Mangante, nothing has ever come out to address the issue. It becomes crucial now in the wake of persistent reports Mangante was intent on selling his claim of proprietary rights to ToM for at least half-a-million dollars.

(Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8XMVd5dT4).

The $34,000 grant (that's taxpayers' money) given by the City to ToM easily outmatched financial support extended to other Filipino community events in recent years.

For example, the Mabuhay Philippines Festival (MPF), the flagship outreach by the 28-year-old Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC), got $15,000 in 2024, and reduced by more than half to $6,098 this year.

There's no explanation why the City lowered its initiative for MPF, which is a community endeavor by over 30 organizations under the umbrella of PIDC. In comparison, ToM is a family-owned business run by Rolly "kabise" Mangante, its alleged founder, and his wife Nieves and daughter Jacqueline.

So the question pops up. Did the City favour ToM the private entity over the non-profit MPF of PIDC? Something smells here, and it's bad.

In their programming, ToM does not differ from MPF. What one sees in ToM can also be seen in MPF. Their entertainment fare usually consists of importing comedians who peddle toilet humour, and other talents from the Philippines at great costs.

Meanwhile, Tom organizers appeared to have miscalculated the public pulse so that every attempt to punish non-compliant vendors had backfired.

The mistake proved to be a big boon to one particular restaurant, Pho Duong, the Vietnamese eatery at the corner of Bathurst St. and a service road leading to the No Frills supermarket parking area.

Taste of Manila Scheme a Boon to Vietnamese Resto in Little Manila

What should have been passed off as another diner in Little Manila got so much public attention and free publicity on social media, thanks to the ToM signage erected at the entranceway to the resto.

My thought is that the "artists" in SPARC and ToM had wanted to block off the establishments again in such a way it wouldn't be noticed by installing a "friendly" barrier, thus the ToM signage.

Well, the scheme flopped. Revelers, visitors, beauty queens and their families took time out to pose for souvenir photos in front of the signage, which had on the background the Pho Duong restaurant.

Some instant paparazzi tried to skip the resto by framing their pictures within the ToM signage but in so doing, the faces of those being photographed are enlarged, practically obstructing the signage which was actually the reason for having photos taken there.

Friday, 29 August 2025

Frank Cruzet's Art Program Enriches Life and Outlook

Volume 7, Issue No. 11

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Friday, August 29, 2025

~ They're the late bloomers of the baby boomer generation. Rather than wither in their homes worrying about the setting sun in their lives, artist Frank Cruzet is giving them the impetus to escape boredom. Brush, canvas, paint, and water colour are his tools to wean them away from morbid thoughts. And by far, he succeeds in getting several dozens of our folks to engage in creative thinking and paint. Remember what Vincent Van Gogh said: "The only time I feel alive is when I'm painting."

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FRANK CRUZET'S SENIORS ART PROGRAM

Creativity Helps Delay Advancing Years

Painting Enriches Life and Improves Outlook

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“The discipline of creation, be it to paint, compose, write, is an effort towards wholeness.” ― Madeleine L'Engle

TORONTO - A bit of a stretch it may sound, but Frank Cruzet, the cop-turned-artist, capitalizes on his past experience physically arresting wrongdoers; this time, however, he's arresting a mind condition that affects folks in their sunset years.

"Therapeutic" he calls his inexpensive weekly outreach to divert boredom into creativity by challenging boomers - those born in 1946 through 1964, so called because of a spike in births after the Second World War.

Frank himself is a self-taught painter who conquered the art world, particularly in Toronto, with his oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings that had been exhibited outside Canada and displayed in art shows by the Philippine Artists Group where he is a member.

Some works have garnered awards like the 20x24 Victoria Park Harbour painting which bested 32 artists and won first prize in the Belleville Plein Air Competition conducted by the Quinte Art Council in 2022.

Frank holds court at Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT) in Scarborough every Wednesday teaching dozens of his protégés (he calls them students) the basics of painting, styles, techniques, and mixing colours.

He sighs a feeling of accomplishment and pride that none of his students - 70 at the latest count - shows any signs of Alzheimer's, a common form of dementia.