Volume 2, 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 Monday, October 12, 2020
~ Working in media must be so attractive to many people. Owning a tabloid, no matter how impertinent it is, must be an aphrodisiac for those seeking fame and glory even without the credentials to do so. So we end up with impostors who can not write on their own and have to steal content from online sources. Toronto's Filipino community should take notice; the media charlatans are all over the place.
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THE ART OF LYING BY PERIODICO
Media Impostors in the Filipino Community
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“Half of the people lie with their lips; the other half with their tears.” ―
TORONTO - Desperately clinging to stay afloat, the tabloid I had helped to fashion from scratch now reappears and shows a perfunctory sense of propriety by citing "unfortunate circumstances" that it did not specify in its gratuitous claim that I am being let go.
I was not mistaken when I highlighted it initially, and to this day I can proudly say I am right, in categorizing the recently-revived paper called Periodico and its online version as a spreader of lies and misinformation in both print and on social media.
As a journalist, I am alarmed by its entry into the world of community journalism. I know there are existing newspapers that are as guilty but Periodico, a newbie, takes the lead in stealing articles, publishing them without fact-checking, and passing them off as theirs.
Lack of funding had consigned the original Periodico to the past after only one run. It has just been resurrected early this month with an issue splashing my stories pilfered from my files.
I was editor-in-chief of its first and only release - the 24-page print edition in March - which I'm proud to declare was a model for how an ethnic tabloid can look and feel mainstream in appearance and substantive contents.
My association with Periodico had ended after that, and any claim to the contrary bespeaks of prevaricators who took over, this bunch of online pirates and a new breed of brazen media impostors who might succeed in their fabrication unless this clarification is made.
I take offense at the announcement online that "Periodico is officially terminating Mr. Marquez effective immediately". I know it's an insult to get back at me. For the record, however, there is no such thing. I had severed all ties with that paper a full seven months before that statement on its website.
No person in his right mind would continue to work for somebody so bankrupt yet whose ambition to become a media person is perhaps higher than the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building in Dubai at 829.8 meters, but possesses no bona fides, to begin with.
The covert owner supposedly, Naomi Ong, was not only incompetent, but she's also incapable of running or editing an English-language paper! The means to sustain it is absolutely nowhere. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7JWqL2AUDc).
Periodico's website speaks of an "Editorial Board" which apparently made the decision "ending" our ties, yet no one person is named to represent it. That's because, it's a sham board, a ghost that exists only in the hallucinatory dreams of Naomi Ong and her fun-loving gang who try to present the publication as legitimate.
Its internet site has no contact address, no phone numbers, no office address, and most importantly, no names of people to connect with for issues and concerns. What's the point of hiding from the public? Is there something about the so-called editorial board that could lead to criminal indictments? Just asking.
This lack of transparency is a big red flag for everyone, especially for those who might be persuaded to do business with them. I hope this article will serve as a warning.
"We have decided to cease our business transactions with Mr. Marquez due to unfortunate circumstances" goes the announcement as if it had the power and control over my person. It never had then, never ever now.
It continued: "We have tried the best we can to correct the problem but circumstances before us are unavoidable and prompted Periodico to completely sunder all ties with Romy Marquez".
The only problem I could think of and which could not be resolved promptly involved money. It's really hard to correct that problem when Periodico had none, has none whatsoever.
I wasn't going to work for charity for the sake of Naomi Ong and her gang. I reserve the goodness in my heart for people who are honorable regardless of their situation in life, people who are truly honest with their intentions, and not on those who obfuscate their true calling.
I had not known Naomi Ong, she who had asked me and begged to edit the paper for a paltry sum she offered which was much, much lower than I normally charged for professional help. The intervention of a friend sealed the deal, however. (Background: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/10/exposing-piracy-in-web.html).
Naomi Ong was far from impressive - intellectually and physically (she's petite, probably under five feet). I suppose she can charm men by feigning unworldly, basically, a greenhorn, which is what she is with newspaper matters. Just the same, she fakes being knowledgeable and can hardly write a clean copy.
In mid-August, she told me it was "time to resume circulation of Periodico" at the end of that month. Because of my own suspicions triggered by negative information supplied to me by alleged victims, I demanded to be paid in advance of the work that I will do.
"Can't," she replies. "We have other bills to pay in and outside our household". (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/10/tabloid-brags-about-being-sensation.html).
Well, I insisted on being paid first or I wasn't doing it. She answers, in her own words, "we will be ready paying you probably on the 3rd issue". Clearly, she wanted me to sacrifice for her own glory. WTF?
This exchange reminded me of the complaint forwarded to me by individuals who claimed being ripped off by a restaurant owner in London, Ontario. They told me the supposed restaurateur had pocketed their tips, borrowed their credit cards to buy supplies and did not pay back, and had not compensated them for their work.
Let me stress here that I had ceased working for Periodico a long time ago. Knowing that, it should just have stopped publishing my articles pirated from my online files.
I have no intention of ever working with them again. For to do so would be like consorting with people with questionable backgrounds. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).
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