Volume 1, Issue No. 47
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, June 5, 2020
~ There's an epidemic of silence gripping the four-million-dollar rich Filipino Centre Toronto. The absolute stillness predates the current unconquered coronavirus pandemic by at least two years. Concerned individuals want to know why FCT suddenly turned quiet after the sale of its old building for $5.9 million, the acquisition of another structure for $1.9 million, and a resulting net of $4 million. "Hears the silence," writes the American writer Joyce Carol Oates, "like a heart that has ceased to beat". But FCT is not dead by coronavirus, it has been in hibernation for the past three years, or is it? "Quiet as a lady's fart," to quote Harold Adams.
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MELLOWED BY FOUR MILLION DOLLARS?
An Epidemic of Silence Grips Filipino Centre Toronto
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity.” ―
Before this incident, we were - and we're still are - sheltered-in-place because of coronavirus, which so far has claimed the lives of 883 out of 11,835 cases in Toronto; 2,357 out of 29,403 cases in the province of Ontario; and 7,636 out of 93,726 cases in entire Canada. The global total is 383,000 deaths out of 6.42 million cases.
The twin developments almost made us forget about what's happening in our Filipino community in the Greater Toronto Area. The coronavirus pandemic puts almost everything at a standstill. Business and work stoppages are the new normal. Our community organizations are in hiatus.
Nonetheless, concerned members of Filipino Centre Toronto would not be deterred from their demands for transparency and accountability in the financial affairs of the association which, as of March 16, 2020, has suspended all its services and activities due to COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
In April, the group published an Open Letter (Full text at: https://www.atinitonews.com/2020/05/an-open-letter-to-the-filipino-centre-toronto-fct-executive-officers-and-board-of-directors/) demanding a third-party independent audit of its finances for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 in hopes it would "objectively address lingering questions and effectively put outstanding concerns to rest.
"It is incumbent on the FCT Officers to fulfill its sworn duty of financial accountability and transparency. This is core to its governance responsibility," the Open Letter reads.
"The FCT membership and the community at large for some time now have been aware of questions and issues concerning the financial affairs of the FCT after the sale of its building property," it adds.
FCT members, originally 26 whistleblowers, have been asking for an audit, particularly in the light of the sale in January 2017 of its old building in downtown Toronto for $5.9 million. Since then, FCT spent $1.9-million to acquire a one-story edifice in Scarborough, its current office. The fate of the remaining $4 million is unclear.
Out of the $4 million, FCT has reportedly paid claimants a total of $678,000 (or $698,000). (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZFXKzvQqYY). The payout has not been confirmed by FCT nor any of its officials.
From what can be gleaned from the Open Letter, it appears the FCT has never enlisted an outside audit of its monetary resources. "Since its inception in 2002, and despite past legal cases involving its finances, FCT has yet to benefit from a Third-Party Independent Audit".
Efren de Villa and Mary Ann San Juan, chair and president, respectively, of FCT, did not respond to questions emailed to them on May 31, 2020. Likewise, Ms. Maria Corazon J. de Villa, the contact person for the concerned members, did not address a request for clarity in a separate email on May 6, 2020.
Past demands for an independent audit have been ignored, if not totally thwarted by officials. As of this latest Open Letter published in April 2020, the concerned members said, "no such audit has been conducted".
The concerned members explained: "The FCT Officers have merely arranged for a limited 'Review Engagement' which is NOT an official Third-Party Independent Audit as motioned for and approved in the October 2018 AGM (annual general meeting). Moreover, there have been no Financial Statements yet finalized for 2016, 2017 and 2018 for the members to review and approve".
Why FCT officials would not, or have refused to, shed light on the financial issues is mystifying. Its chair, Efren de Villa, has so proudly declared at the opening of its office that FCT is transparent and its finances are completed religiously.
There's a big difference, however, in what was said publicly to please the ears of patrons and listeners than what's being done behind closed doors. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2019/09/clear-filipino-centre-torontos-finances.html).
Soon after its old building was sold, monetary claimants have instantly surfaced, their names and amount of claims inexplicably hidden from public view. Documents obtained from sources within FCT, however, showed that in the aggregate, the money sought totaled $678,000.
The claimants were identified only by their initials, such as "Vicki", "RCJ", "Felino", "CRA", "Wendy" and "S and J Mechanicals" and the amounts paid, as follows: "Vicki" - $300,000; "RCJ" - $96,000; "Felino" - $122,000; "CRA" - $122,000; "Wendy" - $30,000; and "S and J Mechanicals" - $8,000.
The same secret documents indicated that "Vicki" is Dr. Victoria Santiago, a dentist, and a former FCT official; "RCJ" was Rosalinda Cerrudo-Javier, former FCT president who had succumbed in September 2018; "Felino" is Felino Javier, RCJ's husband; "CRA" is Canada Revenue Agency; and "Wendy" is Wendy Arena, a paid employee.
It's unclear if "S and J Mechanicals" is the same S & J Mechanical, which is a plumbing, heating and air conditioning company in Toronto.
"During the Annual General Meetings (AGM) and in multiple petition letters by concerned members, the FCT Officers have repeatedly been asked for complete disclosures and explanations regarding those disbursements," the Open Letter states.
The general membership has approved in October 2018 to let FCT undertake a "complete and objective evaluation of the accounting records, governance, and financial reporting". None of these has happened.
The Open Letter claimed "many members" of FCT want a "final closure" and to "start fresh" but only after the requested third party independent audit has taken place.
An audit, according to the Open Letter, would assure members that FCT’s finance is in line with proper and standard accounting practices; that FCT’s financial operations are in compliance with its constitution and bylaws; and that FCT is operating within the spirit and guidelines governing a non-profit corporation. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).
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