Volume 3, Issue No. 28
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 and beyond . . . . . .
Our latest as of Friday, January 28, 2022
~ Domestic and foreign interests in the activities of Filipino Centre Toronto are growing bigger by the day, that's what the daily monitoring shows. In the blog analytics provided by Google, readership of FCT articles posted on my blog Filipino Web Magazine continues to spike, an indication of renewed public concern here at home and in the United States, the Philippines, and some countries in Europe and the Middle East.
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THE PROOF IS IN THE METRICS
Interest in Filipino Centre Toronto Grows Big
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.” ―
TORONTO - Hope springs eternal in the human breast, wrote the 18th century English poet and satirist Alexander Pope. In current usage, that line has since been shortened to "hope springs eternal".
Inspirational it is, so full of positivity to move me to believe again and scoff at what I was earlier poised to accept, that it is futile to continue writing about the non-profit Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT) when the community itself didn't care much whether it is screwed repeatedly.
The eureka moment came while I was reviewing the analytics of my articles about the multimillionaire organization and its officers in my blog (https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/) I created in July 2019 upon losing access to a local print media.
The blog is the expanded public service to complement the socmed outlets under the umbrella of my eponymous multimedia network, Romar Media Canada, namely, The Filipino Web Channel, Currents & Breaking News, Filipino Web Entertainment, Eats and Restos Channel, Journo Travels Channel, among others.
What a blessing, I said to myself, that I had forfeited that ability to communicate via print, the medium I've been used to and honed in since the start of a journalism career decades back. A blessing in disguise, no doubt. Frankly, I'm grateful it happened. I gained a thousand more times what I lost in newspaper readership.
With the blog, I could reach countless readers I never imagined was possible if writing for a neighborhood publication. A computer or any of the electronics gadgets available, such as iPad, iPhone, and the like, guarantees a quick path to the blog.
That situation is unlikely to take place with a newspaper that depends on the number of copies it prints, on the reliability of the people distributing it, on the outlets to where it is supplied, on geographical boundaries, and on the weather. Some outlets, especially supermarkets and restaurants, make practical use of it as a wrapper.
In this context, a newspaper's reach is limited. If print copies are confined to, say 1,000, that does not equate to the number of readers. Once the paper is out there, nobody counts who picks and reads it. The assumption is that once copies are gone, they're kept and read, which is wrong because outlets like grocers find them a helpful utility. But I digress a little bit here.
The big surprise that greeted me in analyzing the Google analytics of my blog is the metrics. My readers have spiked by the hundreds and their focus is the nineteen (19) stories I wrote about FCT during the three-year period 2019 to 2021.
As heartwarming as it is, I also feel some kind of deliverance from what I had thought was an ineffectual journalism undertaking advocating for truth, transparency, and accountability among community organizations.
There's a growing interest in what's going on in FCT, that's what the metrics indicate. And the big bulks of my readers are in the United States, Canada, the Philippines, and some countries in Europe and the Middle East.
Coming close to the FCT articles are my writeups about the now-defunct Periodico tabloid (which I edited once only), the articles about the Taste of Manila street festival, my accounts of a work experience in a local tabloid, and the coronavirus situation in Toronto.
It seems uncertain a few months ago that only a dozen or two concerned individuals were committed to finding out the truth in FCT. The numerous articles have articulated members' interests and anxieties and what they feel is the non-profit's unreasonable stonewalling.
All they want is to be informed of the whereabouts of huge amounts of money left from the $5.9 million sale of its old building. It's that simple. But why are the FCT officers having difficulty disclosing it? Why keep the community in the dark?
The stillness is unfathomable and asinine, if I may say so. Could their eternal silence be associated with the fate of millions of dollars in their hands?
FCT appears to have attained an unparalleled record in keeping off eagle-eyed members, whistleblowers, and some media entities from accessing information about its status as a bankrupt non-profit that struck it rich.
So rich, in fact, that its officers are probably drowning in both the smell and crisp texture of money stashed in banks or in some subterranean vaults in FCT's $1.9-million digs in suburban Scarborough.
Its public declaration of being accountable and transparent rings hollow. FCT officers who mouth this line are merely pandering to supporters and benefactors who want to hear buzzwords that make them smile and unzip their pockets. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZFXKzvQqYY).
FCT may argue that it has complied with demands with the release in mid-November of "a qualified audit report" for the years 2016, 2017, and 2018 that was circulated to members. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/12/major-deficiencies-plague-filipino.html).
Why this is happening may be partly blamed on a host of factors that allow the non-profit organization to evade accountability and transparency being sought by concerned members and whistleblowers.
The spate of negative news FCT is drawing in these months does not seem to affect the officers at all. They appear to relish being silent. And most of the local media does not seem to care either. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dWabOiCwhU)
There is danger in there. When the press or media abandons its traditional role as public guardian - the reason it's called the fourth estate - abuse tends to follow.
Such a situation should not be tolerated for so long, that's my view as a journalist. In healthy societies and active communities, the media plays a critical role. To suppress media is to deny the public's right to know. That denial enables those in positions of responsibility to abuse power and to hide their nefarious activities. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5YUCP0xqlQ).
I am tempted to say that there's very little understanding in FCT of the work of journalists, perhaps due in part to its long exposure to the entertainment press that abounds in local publications.
I mean no offense but people in that sub-group are more into - I say this again for the nth time - putting lipstick on a pig. Or said another way, put a "ring of gold in a swine's snout". It means the same basically. However one tries to prettify it, it's still a pig.
Just to be clear, I don't mean to imply FCT officers are pigs. It's not their fault that the entertainment press treats them like luminaries whose concern revolves around public fiestas, galas, and socials.
Proof of this is easily seen on pages upon pages of Filipino tabloids. One rag sheet even keeps track of FCT's planned activities as soon as health protocols are lifted.
If this is the kind of news coverage we see all the time, journalism suffers, and consequently, the public suffers. But let's not give in so easily. Hope springs eternal. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).
