Volume 1, Issue No. 27
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 Friday, January 31, 2020
~ For the very first time, I hear about a group that calls itself "Elite Crusaders". Three Toronto tabloids religiously propagate the name without identifying the people or organization acting on its behalf. Google search was not of any help either, which implied that it could be a fly-by-night venture, or that it was brought into the community to foster deceit.
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YOU BE THE JUDGE
Elite Scammers or Elite Crusaders?
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“Deceivers are the most hideous creatures in the world” ― Munia Khan
I refer to an article in Balita's Feb. 1-15, 2020 issue bylined by a "T. Cusipag" who presumably is Tess Cusipag, the paper's publisher and editor, headlined "IWAS SCAM, Elite Crusaders to help" on page 2.
A byline is an important component in journalism if only to highlight the credibility and newsworthiness of a story. For example, seeing the byline of reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in an article makes one confident that what they wrote was the product of assiduous investigation.
One knew they could be trusted with reporting the truth, as in their investigative reporting for the Washington Post of the Watergate scandal that culminated in the resignation of US President Richard Nixon in the early 70s. Theirs was the stuff of good journalism.
For journalists, having a byline is most coveted. A bylined article presupposes that it passed the smell test, meaning it complied with the basic hurdles of journalism, and is impeccably sourced, fully-researched, well-written, balanced, credible, authentic.
T. Cusipag's article was remiss in many counts; it's practically covering up the most salient parts of what went through during the recent IWAS SCAM forum where a Toronto Police detective, Constable Dana Clark, was reportedly the main speaker.
Given that T. Cusipag (why didn't she spell out her full name and title? was she afraid or distrustful of her own account?) is not a journalist, her lapses may be understandable. But she's the "editor" of Balita, supposedly, so her deficiencies are multiplied over.
She writes, and I quote verbatim: "There has been an enormous number of hopeless victims of different rackets known to man in our community that are (sic) crying out for justice because their hard earned savings were taken away from them fraudulently and they are hopeless of getting them back or to get justice".
I thought it was a regurgitation of a masturbated article by a copycat named Edwin Mercurio. Incidentally, where was this guy who was listed as "writer/court representative" in the IWAS SCAM poster? The original poster carried the name of one "Atty. Robert Christie" who apparently backed off as one of two invited speakers and replaced at the last minute by "Delano Europa Justice of the Peace".
T. Cusipag continues, and I quote verbatim again: "So this is when Elite Crusaders was born. A group of professionals organized to aid the helpless. Their mandate is to deal with the lowest and worst type of people, the scammers, swindlers and criminals preying on the vulnerable of our community and to guide the victims for obtaining justice".
I smell some fish here. If this "group of professionals" (really?) is working for a noble cause, why wouldn't the writer identify them and give us background information about the organization? Is it because some of its members are actually the elite scammers themselves?
I'm bothered by her claim that, and I quote: "Elite Crusaders also provide cheap accommodations for out of town victims x x x when they come to Toronto to file their complaints x x x . Elite Crusaders will provide you with a FREE lawyer so come out and one of the members will accompany you so you are not exploited even more . . . "
It sounds like a gratuitous solicitation, isn't it? Who is financing this group if indeed it can cater to complainants with accommodations and a free lawyer?
Now let's jump to the 10th paragraph of T. Cusipag's story, and I quote verbatim again: "Another speaker a well - known paralegal and who is aiming for the bar narrated that there is one immigration exploiters that he rates as the summa cum laude of all the scammers here in the community. This lady was able to recruit from all over the world".
Clearly, T. Cusipag is being disingenuous here. She conceals the identity of both the paralegal and the alleged scammer but she enables the paralegal to make the comment without accountability.
In the original and revised poster published online, the name of "Jun Saludares licence paralegal" appears with two others, including the copycat Edwin Mercurio, as "anti-scam advocates & resource people".
I assume this "Jun Saludares" is the same Dominador "Jun" Saludares who was suspended by the Law Society Tribunal in December 2018 for committing professional misconduct. I saw his face in a video about the January 26 event. (More info at: https://
The Tribunal's order reads: "Mr. Saludares committed professional misconduct by acting in circumstances where he ought to have known that he was being used to facilitate dishonesty, fraud, or illegal conduct, failing to comply with client verification requirements, and acting outside the scope of his P1 paralegal licence. His licence is suspended for three months, and he is ordered to pay $5,000 in costs to the Law Society".
Saludares represented the six Filipino temporary workers who had escaped from their employer and sought asylum in Canada. These workers were found to have lied in their testimony against Lily Hammer whose court cases were eventually dropped by the Crown for lack of evidence. (Full story and video at: https://
Obviously T. Cusipag did not mention anything about Saludares because she knew it would undermine his reputation especially that he is "aiming for the bar". Professional misconduct is such a bad appendage to anyone's name.
In the January 16-21, 2020 issue of Balita, a one-fourth page coloured ad on page 19 showed that IWAS SCAM forum had for media partners T. Cusipag's Balita, Pinoy News, CWSS, and Filipino Bulletin.
What's quite revealing here is CWSS, which is actually CWSS Immigration Services Inc., a regular advertiser of Balita, whose "president/CEO" is Chito Collantes aka Dr. Chito Collantes. My sources claimed Collantes is the founder of Elite Crusaders and one of the organizers of IWAS SCAM. In fact, he spoke there.
According to Lily Hammer, she did business with Collantes for two months in 2011 and invested $20,000 in his recruitment agency (is that CWSS?).
"On January 2012 when I came back to Toronto (from Florida where she met with her husband), all my money that I invested were gone," Ms. Hammer explains. "He used my name to get money from applicants. And used my money for his personal needs," she adds
It must be this business association that had prompted Tess Cusipag to say that Ms. Hammer "lived with him (Collantes) before" without offering any proof. Ms. Hammer firmly denies the allegation.
Ms. Cusipag is also Collantes' loyal protector. Once she wrote in defense of him: " . . . at least he is not fraud" when asked why he affixes "Dr." to his name.
Another organizer of Elite Crusaders is a suspected sexual predator. A very much married man, he allegedly tried to rape a woman blogger in a hotel room where they were supposed to have a business meeting.
At this point, I do not know if the copycat Edwin Mercurio is also one of the Elite Crusaders. It may not be a surprise if he is. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).
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