Why Is the Filipino Community Not Outraged?

Volume 1, Issue No. 11

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 Monday, November 11, 2019 

~ Public service has its limits. When people pay no heed to what is happening within their community, the effort to inform, enlighten and rouse its members from indifference triggers questions. Is advocating for the community already passé? Would the community rather commit to frivolous ventures that happen year in and year out and just turn a blind eye to the many improprieties around them?

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SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL

Toronto's Got Its Three Wise Monkeys

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"I'm tired of doing the impossible for the ungrateful. I now have more practical concerns". - Roman J. Israel, Esq.

TORONTO - The quote is from Roman J. Israel, Esq., the lawyer in the film of the same title played by Denzel Washington. I just saw it on Netflix.

I thought the line, and not exactly the movie's, fully articulates my own misgivings about the community.

Some people may not agree, and some may doubt too, but I've endeavoured to serve the community voluntarily the best way I know without expectation of anything.

I need not be a member of any organization, nor do I want to belong either, to pursue the goals I've set up for myself as a journalist. That gives me the freedom to voice out my advocacies without constraints.

My medium is totally different. I don't fund-raise. I don't solicit support. I lay down the bare facts and let people decide. In some cases, I just tell what the news is and interpret the unstated meaning.

 In the beginning, it was print (newspapers, magazines, etc.). At the onset of the digital age, I migrated to social media (Youtube, Vimeo, Tweet, blogs) - my preferred platforms now because of their immediacy. I'm still not convinced to do it on Facebook for many reasons.

I've shifted my attention from news and feature writing to investigative journalism and news analysis after hearing and uncovering corrupt and bogus initiatives by respected members of the community so-called and the organizations they represent and which tolerate them. 

I wish I could just stick to what most Filipino newspapers in Toronto do - and this is to stay nonchalant, post innumerable pictures of all manner of socials to fill up spaces, and ignore the many wrongdoings taking place around.

And this reminds me of the three wise monkeys of Japanese lore. The three monkeys, according to Wikipedia, are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

The three monkeys can be found in the Filipino community in different forms, shapes, and sizes. Either they're structured as individuals or organizations, or both.

I hold the personal belief that Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru inhabit the Filipino Centre Toronto, among several organizations. There are also Mizarus, Kikazarus, and Iwazarus dwelling in our community tabloids.

That situation appears to be the perfect recipe for the three monkeys to thrive. In that sense, ours is one impeccable community, a utopia where sinners are nowhere and everybody is a saint.

I expect to be criticized for singling out the Filipino Centre Toronto . . . for now. Fine with me. But there are others similarly situated.

Everyone knows, except perhaps its officers, that the wealthy (by $4-million) Filipino Centre Toronto is under siege by its own members who are rightfully demanding clarity from officials about its financial state. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZFXKzvQqYY).

The reassuring but hollow words of its chairman, Efren de Villa, have not dampened members' increasingly vociferous calls for transparency. 

In March 2019, he declared before federal, provincial and local officials and other guests that "we (FCT) are transparent, our finances are properly and we do that religiously . . . " It was nice to hear. In reality, however, those were empty soundbites designed to please the ear.

From that time on, or eight months later, looking through FCT financial statements and scrutinizing monetary outlays from three years ago remain in the realm of wishful thinking.

I truly can not fathom why the general membership of FCT is not outraged by such stonewalling by its leadership. I do not know why they would seem content in not being responded to by FCT officials. I do not know why the Filipino community appears indifferent.

The whistleblowers within FCT are tirelessly demanding transparency only to be given the cold shoulder. Why is that so?

Well, if I can venture a guess . . . Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru have found a comfortable home there. (Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved).