'Hands-Off Filipino Centre Toronto' Seems To Be the Norm

Volume 3, Issue No. 15

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 Wednesday, December 8, 2021 

~ The predicament the community is in requires the cooperation of the men and women who officiate the non-profit Filipino Centre Toronto. Without them loosening their grip on their heavily-guarded financial state, the community could not understand why support should continue when the organization withholds vital information from the general public. FCT's political backers in the Liberal caucus and the legally-impermissible Philippine diplomats in Ontario seem to be of no help in convincing the close-mouthed officers to practice the transparency and accountability they preach. 

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FILIPINO CENTRE TORONTO SETS AN EXAMPLE

Have We Become a Community of Deaf-Mutes?

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Speak the truth. Transparency breeds legitimacy."-  John C Maxwell

TORONTO - In two instances during the birthing process of what would become the multi-millionaire Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT), the Philippine government (PHL) made significant moves to bring it to life.

They are two separate, independent entities. While FCT carries "Filipino" in its corporate name, it is a Canadian non-profit. It simply means PHL or its agencies like the Philippine Consulate General Toronto has no jurisdiction over it because it is Canadian.

Notwithstanding the legal and diplomatic niceties, a Philippine ambassador to Canada and later a Philippine president unzipped their purses, took out $5,000 each, and gave the money to cash-strapped FCT.

The twin gestures seeded FCT sufficiently to convince the community to chip in their hard-earned resources for a cause they deemed worth supporting, i.e., to assist in funding FCT so it can buy a place that would house its programs and activities.

FCT's avowed goal, according to its website, is "to help Filipinos preserve their identity and individuality while at the same time making their presence felt in their new country". 

Indeed, Filipinos are "making their presence felt" in ways that seem to diminish our reputation as honest and reputable people, if and only if, we take FCT as our model. How FCT project that "identity" to the mainstream is problematic.

In December 2002 FCT acquired what its former president described as a "cockroach and mice-infested building" in downtown Toronto. No one probably knew that that characterization would later on be an appropriate basis for sizable money claims by the same person who had judged it and her partners.

A decade and a half later, that edifice was sold for $5.9 milion, and with that huge amount of moolah, it became FCT's rescuer from ruin. Ever heard of the adage "Where there is sugar, there are bound to be ants"? That's exactly the situation now at FCT.

More than a savior, the ill-fated clubhouse appeared to have morphed into a cash cow, a private treasury, an ATM if you will, by the stonefaced officers of FCT, namely, Mary Ann Juan, Efren de Villa, Theresa Lumanlan, Judith Gonzales, and Wendy Area, the president, chairman, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, respectively. Equally tightlipped are the dozen members of the board.

Soon after the money flooded FCT's new one-story digs in neighboring Scarborough, monetary claims materialized, and runaway spending and illegal payments to officers are alleged by members, concerned citizens, and whistleblowers. 

Related stories at the links below: 

1. https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/10/fct-opens-its-mouth-with-warning-to.html.

2. https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/11/is-third-party-audit-ongoing-at-fct.html

3. https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/09/writer-claims-fct-doctored-financial.html

4. https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/10/

5. https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/09/fct-officials-oppose-audit.html

If repeated efforts to let those officials talk and adhere to their pledge of transparency are exhausting, prying its vault open to see the whereabouts of the $5.9 million would be equally arduous, especially considering the not-too-subtle threat of a lawsuit hinted by FCT lawyers.

That leaves us with not much choice. The Philippine Consulate would not touch FCT nor the issues concerning to all. Understandably so because PHL is powerless in this regard. But . . .

It is my personal belief PHL or its representative in Toronto, Consul General Orontes Castro, could exercise some form of moral authority over FCT. Both institutions (PHL and FCT) serve the same constituency, namely,  Filipinos, Canadians of Filipino ancestry, and dual Filipino and Canadian citizens.

The seed monies provided to FCT by the then Philippine Ambassador to Canada, Francisco Benedicto, and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could be a basis for wielding such moral authority which, according to Wikipedia, "is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive, laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth".

I had sought the counsel of Consul General Castro three times, one in July, another in August, and still another in November. In his initial response to my questions, he stated that "the Philippine Consulate General does not have the legal standing or basis to raise questions on intra-corporate matters and corporate operation . . . "

Moreover, he explained: "As to the donation of former Philippine Ambassador Francisco Benedicto to the FCT, we could not find this on the records of the Consulate General". Be that as it may, the donation was so explicitly stated in the historical account of the now-deceased former FCT president Rosalinda C. Javier.

When confronted with existing records, Consul General Castro reiterated the consulate's earlier position that it "has no legal standing or basis to raise questions . . . " He emphasized that "The Philippine Consulate General's duty is primarily to unite and promote cooperation among the Filipino community in our jurisdiction, and to be generally neutral, impartial and balanced in our relations with the community".

Faced with that blank wall again, I thought it would be wise to get comments from members of the Liberal caucus who frequented FCT events to show full and unquestioning support to FCT. I asked: "Are you aware of the firestorm at the FCT necessitated by its refusal to bare open how it's handling its millions?"

In my crosshairs were MPs Gary Anandasangaree, Salma Zahid, Ahmed Hussen, Shaun Chen, Rechie Valdez, and Jean Yip, MPP Mitzie Hunter, and Toronto Mayor John Tory. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/11/why-is-fct-tongue-tied-about-its.html).

To this day, not one bothered to reply. Like the FCT, these federal, provincial, and city officials have turned mute. (Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved).