Filipino Web Magazine

Saturday, 30 May 2026

From 'Technically Criminal' to 'Garbage'

Volume 7, Issue No. 52

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 Saturday, May 30, 2026

~ Less than 24 hours ago, a top official of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada launched into a tirade, attacking reportage on documented wrongdoing by editors of a Filipino tabloid which implicated Canadian Heritage, the federal government agency funding Local Journalism Initiative. The official renewed threats to file a lawsuit.

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ACCORDING TO ETHNIC PRESS OFFICIAL

Wrongdoing Was 'Technically Criminal' - Now It's 'Garbage'

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"It's not the initial mistake which causes lasting damage (in politics); it's the cover-up." — The Telegraph

TORONTO - She was ranting and raving, renewed threats of a lawsuit, and uttered frightening words to force me out of Nathan Phillips Square while covering Toronto Newcomer Day 2026.

Maria Saras Voutsinas, executive and managing director of National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC), was clearly angry upon seeing me approached the booth she was manning with Ricky Castellvi, one of 20 vice presidents of the non-profit org, and an unidentified lady.

I was going around the plaza taking pictures and videos of the event that started at noon yesterday (Friday, May 29). From looking at the event map, I learned the NEPMCC had a booth along with other media and entertainment groups.

Once Ricky saw me, he greeted and offered a handshake while Maria watched from her chair inside the sweltering heat of the cubicle. It didn't take long for her to explode.

"What you're writing is garbage," Maria screamed. "It's all garbage, garbage!" she repeated, her rage evident in her face that had turned red.

She was referring to a series of articles I wrote about the discovery of a fraudulent scheme the spouses Hermie Garcia and Mila A. Garcia, editors of the now-defunct The Philippine Reporter (TPR), had foisted on two of its writers - Michelle Chermaine Ramos and one intern from Edmonton, Alberta - which also implicated Canadian Heritage, the federal agency funding Local Journalism Initiative (LJI).

"If it's garbage, why are you reacting like that?" I responded.

That infuriated her more, the bullying coming out of her mouth in torrents. Now, she issued two threats; one, she would ask her lawyer to sue me; and two, she asked Ricky to call security to physically remove me from the area.

"This is a public place. I'm not doing anything against you. Why would you kick me out?" I answered her back, defiantly, telling her to bring it on.

At one point, Maria also vented her ire on Ricky, saying it was him who supplied me with inside information about the goings-on in NEPMCC.

"Ricky had nothing to do with it," I told her. "My source for my stories is your website!"

At this juncture, Ricky pleaded with me to just walk away to de-escalate the situation. There's strong suspicion within NEPMCC that because he is Filipino, he's the person leaking secret information which formed part of my stories.

What Maria now calls "garbage" are my reportage on the lies and deception by the Garcia couple involving an undetermined amount of money intended for salaries of two writers who, in addition to their regular job at the paper, reported for the government-funded Local Journalism Initiative (LJI).

Ms. Ramos and the Edmonton writer had complained to NEPMCC about excessive delays in receiving their LJI salaries from TPR, one of the media-implementors of LJI being overseen by NEPMCC.

In response to Ms. Ramos' inquiries, the NEPMCC through Maria explained that there should not have been delays because the full amount of their LJI salaries had been released ahead of time to Hermie Garcia.

That's when the lies and deception surfaced.

Ms. Ramos told Maria that Hermie Garcia had been telling her that the federal government funder (that's Canadian Heritage), in particular a "grant guy," had been freezing LJI monies, and if ever they're released, they came in trickles.

Informed of this, Maria clarified that there is no grant guy as Hermie Garcia was claiming. Besides, the monies for LJI salaries had long been given out by NEPMCC to media participating in the program, including TPR.

Evidently, Hermie Garcia was promoting the appearance that Canadian Heritage and NEPMCC are in cahoots in freezing the salaries of Ms. Ramos and the intern. He emphasized he had nothing to do with the delays and laid the blame on a non-existent grant guy.

Maria appeared so pissed that she described to Ms. Ramos that the conduct of the Garcia couple were, in her own words, "technically criminal." That's an implied admission of wrongdoing.

Which brings us to Maria's unexpected outbursts on Friday by issuing new threats and calling my reportage based on Ms. Ramos' complaint as "garbage."

Friday, 29 May 2026

A Meaningful Visit to Toronto Star Newsroom

Volume 7, Issue No. 51

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Friday, May 29, 2026

~ A visit to Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper, was a kind of throwback to the recent past, rekindling memories of old-fashioned newspaper publishing. Last week, something uncommon happened - an opportunity to talk with the paper's editor-in-chief. The visit had been fruitful if only for that, and for the knowledge gained exploring the paper's cavernous newsroom.

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INCLUDES INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITOR

A Meaningful Visit to

Toronto Star Newsroom

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"The nerds have taken over the newsrooms." — Phillip Knightley

TORONTO - Not since I left a well-paying job as a foreign correspondent in the mid-1990s and moved to the United States had I set foot again in the newsroom of a mainstream newspaper as this one at Toronto Star on Saturday, May 23.

That experience was meaningful in many ways for me. I started community journalism in California in my parents' one-car garage my brother had converted into a decent office. There, I wrote my stories, did cut-and-paste on a broadsheet dummy, and brought it over to an out of town printer.

From that refurbished structure emanated three English-language community newspapers I founded, created and edited for years, namely, the broadsheet Diario Veritas, and the tabloids Philippine Village Voice, and The District Times.

Last week as I was going over the event map of Doors Open, I noticed 22 new sites added to the more than 100 buildings and guided tours free for public viewing consistent with the theme "The World in City" that celebrates Toronto's architecture, communities, and stories.

The new additions, including the Toronto Star, "highlight spaces and communities central to Toronto’s early beginnings and showcase the city’s evolution," according to the City of Toronto, the event organizer.

As a journalist, it's the Star on 8 Spadina Ave. that I was most interested in. My impulse was to see where and how a topnotch paper gets done daily using digital tools by an army of experienced editors, writers, artists, photographers, and geeks.

The last time I interacted with these kinds of nerdy individuals was in the mid-eighties in Hamburg, Germany where I worked and trained as a foreign correspondent for dpa (Deutsche Presse-Agentur), the German news agency, which was setting up a bureau in Manila in anticipation of a catastrophic turning point in the Philippines.

Years later, I had a short discussion with one of the editors during a social visit in its Berlin bureau. Some of my editorial bosses and colleagues have retired, I was told as I recited their names one by one.

Videos about Berlin:

1. DPA: World News Coverage at its Finest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik0AXXyPXaE

2. Hitler's Bunker in Berlin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYOe0cKgN9Y

3. Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGxIkEzeYD8

4. Brandenburg Gate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9EvFeMDY7c

5. Holocaust Memorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXUv6gpBm6o

The Star's cavernous newsroom on the tenth floor of The Well, the 38-story office and residential building, has a commanding view of Lake Ontario and the streets that border it in downtown Toronto.

The newsroom looked very much like dpa's in Hamburg and Berlin. I assume most mainstream papers have the same appearance - a bank of computers on a row of desks, huge television sets nailed on the wall, glass rooms for editorial meetings, a lounge for relaxation, etc.

"It's impressive," I told one of the volunteers who ushered visitors to the work area. Having been accustomed to old-fashioned gadgets such as typewriters, teletype machines, satellite phones and the like, the sight at Toronto Star was transformative.

Indeed, from how I began in California years ago to Toronto now, the difference is almost incomprehensible. My work routine has vastly changed to cope with the digital revolution. These days, I labour for hours writing articles on a desktop computer and two laptops on an L-shaped table within the confines of a bedroom that doubles as a library.

The Star newsroom was a pleasant reminder of the rigorous and glorious days being a foreign correspondent for the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, and later, for the German news agency.

Those moments are incomparable to the present situation where my reporting is published on social media platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, blogspot, LinkedIn, and Bluesky.

The big surprise of that day's visit was meeting the paper's editor-in-chief, the affable Nicole MacIntyre who, before yielding to a brief interview, gave us the nod to explore and see for ourselves what's in the newsroom.

(Video of the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxw_9hbNLwk).

She was very welcoming; in fact, she spent precious moments to answer questions about the paper, which was remarkable in itself, given that some editors are unapproachable, particularly in dealing with ethnic media.

In talking with Ms. MacIntyre, I felt the respect. I felt treated like an equal despite the discernible accent some of us disdain.

She says: "We care about social justice, we care about democracy, we care about a united Canada, we care about workers, making sure that people get courageous and are treated well . . . the Star has always been a paper that has fought for the underdogs . . ."

Friday, 22 May 2026

FEATURE: Philippine Mango Inspires Global Fashion Empire

Volume 7, Issue No. 50

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Friday, May 22, 2026

~ The story that a son of the founder of Mango, the Barcelona-based global fashion empire, has been arrested on Tuesday in connection with his father's death in December 2024 prompted this article owing to the brand's affinity with the Philippine national fruit. Carabao mango, mangga, Manila mango, or whichever one fancies, apparently contributed to the evolution of the popular clothing brand.

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THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL FRUIT

Philippine Mango Inspires

Global Fashion Empire

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Look at the magnificence of sunshine to feel the sweetness of Mango!” ― Jerlin Flower

TORONTO - More than three decades ago (that's 1995), the Philippines' national fruit gets global recognition after the Guinness World Records - "the ultimate authority on record-breaking achievements" - named it as "the world's sweetest mango."

Known in the homeland as mangga, and internationally as Philippine mango (aka carabao mango and Manila mango), the kidney-shaped produce is packed with nutrients and is widely popular for its succulence.

“Distinguished by its signature richness and unmatched sweetness, the Philippine mango is more than a tropical icon," says Consul General Kristine Leilani R. Salle.

Mango was the "featured ingredient" at the re-launch last month of gastrodiplomacy, a project of the Philippine Embassy and Consulates General in Canada, through the annual Filipino Restaurant Month in April across the country.

"Mango is our national fruit, a symbol of home and pride that we carry as Filipinos," she states. "It is a cornerstone of the country’s export industry, with its smooth, fiberless flesh making it ideal for value-added processing across multiple food and beverage formats.”

Ten years prior to the Guinness verdict, a foreign visitor to the Philippines named Isak Andic had a taste of the fruit, and fell in love with it, according to published reports, which also said that he immigrated to Catalonia, Spain in 1953 from Istanbul, Turkiye where he was born.

The story goes that "During a trip to the Philippines, Isak tasted a mango for the first time. He loved the fruit’s color, its vibrancy, and the sense of freshness it brought to mind.

"It became the perfect symbol for what the (Andic) brothers wanted their brand to represent: energy, accessibility, and global appeal," the story further says. The account is unverified by this reporter.

Thus, out of that moment evolved Mango, the global fashion house Isak Andic founded in 1984 in Barcelona, Catalonia's capital and largest city.