Little Manila: No Country for Stupids and Thieves

Volume 3, Issue No. 66

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, June 29, 2022 

~ I've long adopted the idiom “suffer fools gladly” in my journalism practice. It means, as explained by the dictionary in this sentence, thus: A person who does not “suffer fools gladly” is one who does not tolerate stupidity in others. But stupidity coupled with misplaced daring (as in the act of stealing) is inexcusable and deserves censure. Stealing is wrong. In olden times, it is punishable by death.

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WHY BEAT A DEAD HORSE? 

Stealing Shouldn't Go Unpunished

'Not suffer fools gladly' is a good template for journalists

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“It's always easier to take something than work for it...” ― Alexandra Bracken

TORONTO - A friend once asked: "why beat a dead horse?" in relation to the series of articles I wrote about this newly-emerged outfit that had filched copyrighted images from videos I created for my YouTube channel.

That friend sounded tired reading the stories involving Mon Datol alias Mondee and his gang, including Cecille Araneta, Rolly "Kabise" Mangante, and Dannasol Luna alias Lovely who are part of the purported not-for-profit International Entertainment Company (IEC) in various capacities.

The hint was obvious: that I should now stop writing about them mainly because it's a dead issue. Not for me though. To stop is to condone their wrongdoing. To keep quiet is to indulge their excesses.

In any circumstance, I will not be a victim. Nor would I allow anyone to victimize me, or abuse me in any shape or form. Through the years as a journalist, I've adopted this idiom as a simple guide: "not suffer fools gladly".

In any language, stealing is stealing, an act punishable in law by fine or jail time, or both, or at its most extreme, by death as in the olden times. Remember the biblical account of two thieves who were crucified with Jesus Christ?

The property taken from me may look petty, after all, they're only film footage, which means intangible. But they are the intellectual fruits of my work as a multimedia journalist. To see an incompetent bunch steal and walk away just like that is deeply insulting.

And to add injury, the stolen footage was manipulated and spliced with the images of Kabise's wife, Nieves Mangante, and Cecille Araneta. Like her husband, Nieves was so enamored with the description "first lady of ToM" affixed to her name by a local writer in a moment of drunken stupor. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_398v7dDQhQ).

Let it go, says another friend, reasoning that the steal committed is a done deal and they're poised to pursue their ambitious goal to stage the festival in August regardless of the bad press. "No way," I replied.

Another friend told me that I'm unnecessarily raising their profile for the reason many entertainers believe in - that it's publicity whether good or bad. This is especially helpful for those trying hard to put their names out in the public sphere.

I'd say there's some truth to that. True-to-life examples are plenty, most of them based on experience. 

Prior to the first Taste of Manila (ToM) festival in 2014, Mangante or Kabise was a driver at the Philippine Consulate. His daily face-to-face interaction with Filipino diplomats had lulled him into believing he was a diplomat himself.

Lowly as his position may be, he had used that physical proximity to great advantage. I mean for his advantage. And it paid off.

At a top-level meeting years ago, for example, between Consul General Pedro Chan and Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair about the possibility of holding a ToM fest, Mangante seated himself in the room like he was also one of the discussants. (Related videos at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJtOXyRqRmw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDnJ7AVaDik).

My FREE (meaning without charge) coverage of ToM online (20 stories in my blog alone since August 2019), excluding those in some newspapers, and videos (at least seventy-seven videos) elevated Mangante to heights he never dreamed would happen in his job as a driver. Overnight, he was transformed from obscurity to celebrity!

A similar thing happened to Dannasol Luna alias Lovely Luna who, before the steal of my videos, was a little-known sexpot waiting for the day she would be in the limelight. It didn't matter that she passed herself off as a radio host, a podcaster, and an "international journalist", she was relatively off the radar. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/04/international-journalist-in-taste-of.html).

She arguably rose to fame because of my coverage and the expository articles involving her despite lapses in the most fundamental rules of grammar. Well, I really don't know if journalism failed her, or if she's the one who failed journalism, assuming she's really serious going into it. The truth is, she needs to study and understand what journalism is. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-goofy-bunch-of-tom-characters.html).

Then there's Cecille Araneta (Nieves Mangante's look-alike) whose popularity shot up once she declared in a video interview (not mine) that the jeepney, which was repurposed from the American jeep after the Second World War, is the "national car" of the Philippines. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTnX700_a8).

That embarrassing historical blunder fortified my personal belief that she's no more than just another wannabe craving for attention at all costs. Of the many Spanish-descended Aranetas of the Philippines, Cecille seems to be the only one who looks Chinese, which leads me to inquire about her origins.

I am told unofficially by my sources that the surname Araneta was adopted when she was asked to choose from a list in place of a Chinese name during an immigration process. I have tried to verify this claim but as of this writing, the Araneta family has not responded to my request for information. She herself has not said anything to clear doubts. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/06/whats-in-name-is-araneta-araneta.html).

Her long-time business partner is Mon Datol, alias Mondee, the stubby podcaster who talks like a promdi (the Tagalog slang for "from the province"). Prior to his benighted declaration on copyrights, he was just a talking head occupying a small room glorified as a "studio" in Little Manila. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd02DO503DU).

His joint venture with Araneta was a beauty pageant, the so-called "Anghel ng Tahanan" that targeted Filipino caregivers. Its past stagings in a now-shutdown nightclub had attracted a lot of non-Filipinos looking for sexual relationships with gullible and vulnerable Filipino women.

For reasons that may not be immediately obvious, I've previously referred to Mangante, Luna and Datol as The Trio Los Bobos. With Cecille Araneta's fumbling in a video interview about the jeepney, I updated the label to The Trio Los Bobos Plus One.

Should ToM become a reality in August, watch how this quartet will perform. I think their names and faces will be up there on the signboard, like this: "Tuloy ang Saya with The Trio Los Bobos Plus One". Come one, come all for this never-ending fun! (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

Filipinos' Summer of Feasts

Volume 3, Issue No. 65

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, June 27, 2022 

~ The battle lines are drawn in this seething rivalry over who will get the most traction in winning eyeballs and warm bodies, and consequently, a lot of moola from street festivals in the Greater Toronto Area this summer. Freed from forced seclusion due to the pandemic, Filipinos are charmed to spend time and money with family, friends, and neighbors while dining, dancing, entertaining, talking, and connecting with each other again. 

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TORONTO'S LITTLE MANILA 

A Battleground for Eyeballs and Warm Bodies

This Summer Chitchat, Dine, Dance, Sing, Relax, and Be Merry

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“If today is not your day,
then be happy
for this day shall never return.
And if today is your day,
then be happy now
for this day shall never return.”
― Kamand Kojouri

TORONTO - This is not about winning hearts and minds, the strategy that emerged during the bloody Vietnam war from the mid-'60s to the mid-'70s.

On the ground here, it is an intense competition; on social media, it is a shouting match. One side, lacking the experience, deliberately resorts to disinformation. The other, proud of its track record, adheres to high ethical standards.

The unfriendly struggle is for the eyeballs and warm bodies that could make or unmake them. And the battleground is a busy traffic corridor in Toronto's North York district - the hub unofficially christened Little Manila.

The area, politically Ward 6 represented by Councillor James Pasternak in the Toronto City Council, is no more than a few blocks of stores, restaurants, offices, condos, and private residences stretching one kilometer along Bathurst St. from its junction at Wilson Ave. 

By immigrant status and by place of birth, Filipinos top the lists, according to the 2016 census. Down the line are Italians, Russians, Ukrainians, Israelis, Vietnamese, Jamaicans, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, etc. 

So it's no wonder the clamor for turf, or a sliver of space of their own, had long been asked. As a concession to the staging of the first Taste of Manila (ToM) festival in August 2014, city authorities acquiesced to the unofficial declaration by Philippine Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan of the birth of Little Manila. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZa99xeGW0).

In this summer of 2022, Little Manila becomes a battleground of sorts for the same people who had preached and celebrated a show of Filipino unity nine years earlier. What went wrong?

The original ToM had gone from good to bad to worst and finally to its final staging in August 2019 under the auspices of the Philippine Legacy & Cultural Alliance (PLACA), the new organization that took over from previous managers. 

In the five years since 2014, ToM had been run in quick succession by the Philippine Cultural Community Centre (PCCC), then by Philippine Community Events & Services Ontario (PESO), then by the "International Taste of Manila Inc." which probably metamorphosed into International Entertainment Company (IEC), the purported not-for-profit headed by Cecille Araneta, known for declaring jeepney as the "national car" of the Philippines. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTnX700_a8).

The replacement of one organization with another and another and another appears to be a reflection of the lack of skills of ToM's self-declared founder, Rolly Mangante, alias "Kabise", who had actually stolen the idea from the Philippine Consulate where he had worked as a driver. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcs34cnA2bs).

"Kabise" had the audacity to register ToM under his name. That gives him the authority to hawk ToM to whoever would take it, and still remain as the top honcho. 

The latest taker was Araneta and her partners Mon Datol aka Mondee, alleged sportswriter; Dannasol Luna, nicknamed Lovely who pretends to be a "journalist"; and a few others who formed the International Entertainment Company (IEC).

The four - Kabise, Araneta, Mondee, and Luna - are the major characters fronting themselves as the new face of ToM. They're angling to stage ToM in August in Little Manila but are too secretive about ToM, its sponsors, and the celebrities they've convinced to perform if there are any. This could an indication of distrust.

If suspicion exists, it is because they generate it. For example, IEC which Mondee admits was established only in April this year, is claimed as a non-for-profit org. Canada Revenue Agency says if that is true, why is it not listed in the list of charities. Is IEC capable of mounting ToM? Who's funding IEC and its acolytes? Who's actually behind Kabise?

Until these basic questions are answered, ToM could not be happening at all. No sane individual or company would like to be identified with an alleged NFP that's practically anonymous. So the battle for Little Manila is already lost for them even before it could start.

The summer of feasts in the Filipino community could be enjoyed without ToM. There are alternatives in Mississauga, Vaughan, Hamilton, Niagara, and Montreal. But closer to home where the metaphorical fireworks would happen is at the battleground itself - Little Manila.

On the weekend of July 23 and 24, FUN Philippines Toronto Street Festival takes over the traditional gathering place for Filipino events under PLACA, which is reputed for its track record of holding flag-raising ceremonies at Mabuhay Park (Bathurst-Wilson Parkette), the Filipino Heritage Month celebration in Scarborough and the 2019 ToM. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la7FFScjnEQ).

PLACA promises "massive and exciting fun" as it showcases Filipino food, crafts, cultural installations, parades, regional festivals, street activities, and live entertainment. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

'Tuloy ang Sayad': A Prevaricator's Canard

Volume 3, Issue No. 64

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 Saturday, June 25, 2022 

~ The mental deficiency of an irate proponent of a street festival in Toronto is unfolding before our eyes yet he continues to spread his cockamamie tale about this journalist he's dying to compare himself with. Flattering it may sound but coming from him, it does not mean anything. To praise (basically to put lipstick on a pig), or be praised, is not the goal of our journalism. Though we may be vilified in the process, ours is to shine the light on the many hidden afflictions in the community being perpetrated by people of suspicious motives. 

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THE TRIO LOS BOBOS PLUS ONE

An Envious Mondee's Cockamamie Tale

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Those who can't match you will malign you.” ― Amit Kalantri

TORONTO - Mondee, that's Mon Datol, the sportswriter (daw) turned podcaster, howls like a dog on a leash and prattles as if a lollipop he was licking had been taken away from him.

He has lost it. I mean he just gave in to his emotions, seeking sympathy, wanting people to believe his lies, and failing. He looked wretched in his podcast apparently emanating from his room somewhere in the boondocks.

I patiently watched and listened carefully even though I knew there was no redeeming value in whatever he would say and has said, thus contributing one click to his small number of viewers.

I pity the guy not only because he looked pathetic but also because he was incapable of discussing something intelligent. I took a gamble anyway.

"Dito sa Toronto, tanungin mo ang maraming tao diyan," he cajoles. "Akala mo ba marami pang nagbabasa sa yo?" That's quite a statement from someone who shows his profound ignorance and detachment from actuality. 

The unthinking dude, however, did not realize that embedded in his tactless remark is the unwitting recognition of the obvious - that many people read me even before he contradicted himself.

If he had said, and this is my own: "Akala mo ba mayron pang nagbabasa sa yo?" as opposed to his: "Akala mo ba marami pang nagbabasa sa yo?" , the statement would have been clearer that nobody reads me anymore.

But Mondee admitted that many people read me, only that they might have been turned off because of what he claimed as 1) "palagi kang tira ng tira"; 2)"banat ka ng banat sa amin nuong araw pa", and 3) "walang humpay ang pagbira dito po sa amin, kasama na ko".

Ha ha ha. Kawawa naman ang gunggong! Parang iyak ng kabayo yan ha ha ha. O, tahan na baby damulag, eto na ulit ang candy.

It sounded like he was so envious . . . and bitter and resentful. Can we blame him? 

Well, through the lifetime of his now-defunct rag sheet, he probably never had a taste of being widely read not just in Canada but also in the Philippines and the United States. The doubts he has are limited to himself and his narrow-minded followers.

If Mondee had the mental facility to understand what a journalist does, he would not be as miserable as he is now. His lies are coming out of his big mouth, ears, and nose and I hate to interrupt while he is at it. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd02DO503DU&t=23s).

But for the record, and for the delectation of the thousands - and I mean thousands, plural - (a thousand is any number from 1,000 to 9,999) who are subscribed to me, plus a few million views (as of this writing: 6,844,274), Mondee and his cohorts would have every envious reason to denigrate this singular achievement.

They aren't just numbers, they are an indication of trust and confidence, is it not? I know the numbers are dizzying, hard to grasp for the likes of Mondee and his ilk whose podcast has pulled in less than 500 views in the more than one year it's been supposedly online. That's distressing.

I worked hard, and continue to do so, to reach that milestone. Whatever I write for print and online publications, and create (as in videos) are for the service of the community with no expectation of reward or anything. It is one reason why I'm raising hell against those who steal from me like Mondee's gang that appropriated my videos.

Mondee's uninformed assertion "Akala mo ba marami pang nagbabasa sa yo?" flies in his face. He tries to hoist himself while deflecting his own reality that nobody, except four or five of his gangmates, would ever waste time listening or watching him twist his mouth, and comes out with his usual chicken shit.

Not content with trying to demean, he goes personal again. Says he: "Hindi ko nga alam kung na-COVID-19 ka, nag-iba ang itsura mo, nagmukha kang matanda, wala kaming balita nuong dalawang taon na yan". 

I guess people had a big surprise to find me with a beard, a mustache, and a ponytail that I deliberately grew during the pandemic. I have not seen the barber groom me all those months. But that's not a concern to me.

Just goes to show how Mondee weaves fantastic tales when he himself has admitted he was "under house quarantine" when the pandemic hit. All the time he was in isolation gratifying himself ala-Jim Paredes, I was busy working, out in the field looking for stories to feed readers hungry for community news. 

He baselessly claims that in those two years of health restrictions, his group didn't know what was happening to me. Why me, you idiot? Well, he's not only a liar; his eyes and ears are impaired. 

In fact, during that period and despite the pandemic, I produced about 200 videos and wrote a little less than 200 articles (183 for my blog alone) for some newspapers in and outside Canada. Mondee and Dannasol Luna, the journalist-by-press-card-and-online-diploma, would have a hard time matching that output. Incompetent, lazy, pa-forma, what else can I say?

Two hundred articles is a walk in the park compared to the mandatory two-to-three stories/features/news analysis every day when I was writing for a world news agency. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik0AXXyPXaE).

How about Mondee? He could not even sustain his now-defunct tabloid with local stories. And Luna? Forget her, she's just a cutesy adjunct in Little Manila.

I had to mention all this, not to gloat but to belie all the allegations of Mondee and his gang of thieves. They can't think of anything but to destroy me, so Mondee resorts to another lie. 

He says in his usual promdi style of speaking: "Patuloy na tinitira at sinisiran ang Taste of Manila founding president Rolly Mangante dahil di na siya kinuhang media director ng ToM this year. Libo daw hinihingi ni Marquez sa ToM nuong mga nakaraang TOM festivals!" 

Hindi lang bobo, tsismoso pa ang gunggong! Mondee's baseless allegation that I had asked ToM for money and when refused started to attack Rolly "Kabise" Mangante, the driver who stole the idea of ToM and declared himself its founder, is quite bothersome even knowing it's a canard. 

He is dodging the root cause of all this firestorm - that his group The Trio Los Bobos Plus One, et al, stole from me the videos and photos I labored hard to produce at my own expense. Otherwise, I would not have had the reason to dig up their dirt. More skeletons are coming out of their closets.

I do not wish anyone ill, including those who make themselves my enemies, but clearly, Mondee's hallucinating and needs help. He is sick. His thinking is off the cliff. I believe his "house quarantine" is exacting a heavy toll on his empty skull. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

The Goofy Bunch of ToM Characters

Volume 3, Issue No. 63

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 Thursday, June 23, 2022 

~ The unraveling is happening as the day nears for the proposed staging of the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival. Organizers have been hyping the event, billing it "Tuloy ang Saya" (roughly "continue with the fun") but the fun seems to be concentrated on a handful of diehard supporters that make up the cheerleading squad. Questions remain unanswered as to the funding, the sponsors, the performers, and the real status of an alleged not-for-profit org undertaking the fest.

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WHY ARE THEY SO SECRETIVE?

 The Hypocrisy of Taste of Manila Organizers

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.”― George Orwell

TORONTO - It's one thing to be misinformed, another to be ill-informed, and still another to be ignorant.

Miserable is the man who is caught in those circumstances. The inability to understand simple facts can be corrected, stupidity can not. I can only commiserate with the man, whoever he is, in this situation.

For a journalist, it is unpardonable. For a pretend journalist, the hypocrisy offends us. Nowhere else can we find such a bunch except in the Filipino community. 

Talking endlessly and senselessly seems to have been transformed into a license to be called a broadcaster, podcaster, reporter, media person, press, socmed influencer, etcetera, etcetera. In truth, none of those qualifies as a journalist in the strictest sense of the word.

Having a so-called press card "bought" from some membership club does not make the holder a journalist. For example, Dannasol Luna, alias Lovely, has made a point of posting an identification card that says "Press Reporter Card" on Facebook.

Having a piece of paper that says "diploma" from an online education platform like what Luna has does not make her a journalist. It's the reportage and the published body of work that tell the world one is indeed a journalist.

Without those, everything is an empty claim, a boast that negates itself. Reading Luna's posting is illustrative, one because it murders the English language, and two, she lacks the facility to think and verbalize her thoughts. In other words, she's a simpleton. 

In my estimation, the only body of work she has is the childish posting on Facebook and the numerous selfies that validate her claim as a "reporter". It's embarrassing.

Then there's the talking head named Rolly Mangante, also known as "Kabise," the great pretender (apologies to The Platters) whose bloated ego transformed him overnight from driver to president and CEO of an alleged organization behind the planned Taste of Manila (ToM) festival.

Kabise loves to talk. He's more like a parrot that chatters on matters of which he has no knowledge and understanding. At work as a driver before he retired, he sometimes overdressed like he was shaming the real diplomats at the Philippine Consulate. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcs34cnA2bs).

And, of course, we have Mon Datol, the (tall order) dude who is short and stocky, fondly called Mondee by his blind followers. In the land of the hobbits, he is a giant at less than five feet. Make that giant of giants for the belly that looks like he's six months pregnant. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd02DO503DU).

Prior to their proposal to have ToM this year, they were nodding acquaintances. My limited contact expanded a little bit when the purported not-for-profit International Entertainment Company (IEC) owned by a Cecille O. Araneta fronted as the main organizer.

Because Mondee flaunted her name to imply affinity to the wealthy, Spanish-descended Araneta clan in the Philippines, I have asked to explain her origins. Is she really related by blood, or her last name is merely adoptive? Not to be intrusive but she looks more Chinese than Spanish. Well, I will ask Uncle Bernie.

In the words of the Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle, the kind of friendship I had with the Trio Los Bobos Plus One belongs to the category of friendship based on utility, which is distinguished from friendship based on pleasure, and friendship based on goodness.

The last category - friendship based on goodness - is rare in the Filipino community. Aristotle says it is "the perfect friendship". Rightly so because it doesn't take advantage, it doesn't exploit, it accepts regardless of station in life. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/04/friendships-in-filipino-community.html).

Between having these folks as friends (based on utility), I'd rather stay true to what I have endeavored to do since adulthood, i.e. a no-nonsense journalist committed to the ethical practice of journalism, fearful of nobody, and beholden to no one.

While they may be popular in their small circle, Luna, Mangante, Datol, and Araneta don't mean much, as far as I'm concerned. They're passive onlookers, bystanders, for the most part, waiting for an opportunity. ToM was the opportunity. (Related story: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/01/tom-undergoes-political-rehabilitation.html).

I focus on them only because, yes, ONLY BECAUSE, they're hyping themselves as the brand-new, uncorrupted organizers of a festival I had helped grow from beginning to end. I focus on them because I found out that they pirated footage from my videos and refused to admit it.

Mangante was a nonentity prior to Taste of Manila (ToM), the idea of which he stole from the Philippine Consulate. He was contented driving diplomats to and from appointments and out-of-town consular visits. That was his job.

Now, it needs to be told. ToM's success was in no small part due to people who volunteered to lend a hand, like Teresa and Mon Torralba, among others, whose own Filipinos Making Waves Festival had been a precursor to ToM's ascendancy as the top Filipino street fest in the city.

On the Torralbas, Mangante relied heavily. They have the brainpower, the expertise, the contacts. Kabise just didn't have the mind to do such a huge cultural event, let alone understand the complex ins and outs of management, documentation, and appearances before city authorities to secure the necessary permits.

I have yet to know why Araneta's IEC and her gang of pirates are so secretive about ToM except for the boring slogan "Tuloy ang Saya!". 

I humbly suggest that they add to the blurb "Tuloy ang Saya featuring the Tro Los Bobos (or Tatlong Itlog)" to make it more attractive, after all, many Filipinos go for that kind of fun. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

What's In A Name? Is Araneta Araneta?

Volume 3, Issue No. 62

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 Tuesday, June 21, 2022 

~ The podcaster is pissed, and so is his woman partner. Perhaps out of frustration, he delivers a scathing attack against the editor of The Filipino Web Channel but in the process, he hits unintended targets, those who may well be considered collateral damage. Is Mondee the promdi running berserk? Maybe. He has just issued a veiled threat in defense of his associate who, he implies, might be a wealthy matron we never knew about.

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IS CECILLE ARANETA A SCION OF THE ARANETAS?

 Mon Datol Shields ToM Colleague

In his usual rant, the podcaster issues a veiled threat

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“If people keep stepping on you, wear a pointy hat.”― Joyce Rachelle

TORONTO - The podcaster Mon Datol, alias Mondee the promdi, has unleashed a silly-sounding barrage of words and phrases that almost choked him to kingdom come.

He delivers them the same way a shotgun fires, discharging small shells which in his case, are pellets of poisonous rubbish intended to injure the unfortunate targets.

He shoots aimlessly from his wide mouth and hits the following: 1. Philip Beloso, 2. Pete Torralba, 3. Rolly Mangante, and 4. Tess Cusipag of Balita. Details of this story will come later in another article.

All the while he was doing it, he defends his partner, Cecille O. Araneta, famed for her statement that the jeepney is "the national car" of the Philippines and president of a purported not-for-profit International Entertainment Company (IEC) which Canada Revenue Agency says is not on its list of charities.

First off, Mondee alludes that she belongs to the clan that owns Araneta City in Cubao, Quezon City, where one can find what was once the world's largest covered stadium - the Araneta Coliseum. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTnX700_a8).

I have queried the owner, Progressive Development Corporation, if Mondee's insinuation that Cecille O. Araneta holds some kind of ownership, or is a part of a group that has proprietary rights over that landmark. As of this writing, there has not been any response.

Araneta Coliseum came up when Mondee mentioned it in his usual rant against this reporter for writing a series of articles questioning IEC and the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival that it is trying to organize this year. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd02DO503DU).

Mondee appeared irritated by the constant flow of articles. And so was Cecille O. Araneta, according to him. 

Says Mondee: "Hindi marunong kumampi yan (meaning Cecille O. Araneta) pero nagsabi nga sa akin na nabubwisit na siya sa sinasabi mong puro kasinungalingan".

The alleged "kasinungalingan" (lies) notwithstanding, nobody in IEC and ToM would go on the record and tell the truth. They muddy the issue with personal attacks, rumors, and fabrications. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/06/toronto-tabloid-quietly-hits-back-at.html).

Well, if Cecille O. Araneta's image had not been spliced into a video stolen by ToM from The Filipino Web Channel, there would have been no dispute in the first place. But she knew very well it was her face (and her friend's - Nieves Mangante) that was manipulated and plastered over people dancing in the street. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_398v7dDQhQ).

"Araneta yan x x x Pag hindi ka siguro tumigil Mr. Romeo P. Marquez, editor ng Filipino Web Channel, baka isuklob sa 'yo ni Cecille Araneta yung Araneta Coliseum sa Pilipinas," he said in his heavily-accented Tagalog typical in Nueva Ecija province in the Philippines.

There seems to be no exact English translation for isuklob. The closest meaning I could think of would be to encase, shut-in, box, or crate. In that sense, here's an example in a sentence: "Kung hindi ka ba naman gunggong, baka isuklob ko sa ulo mo ang kaldero ng lugaw at magkalaman naman yan".

Not that I'm frightened, or he scares me, but Mondee just issued a threat, a veiled threat. 

Isuklob could be fatal. If a structure as monumental as the Araneta Coliseum would be bowled over people, it's possible nobody would survive the impact. The very act of isuklob could inflict pain and serious injury, if not death. That's how menacing it is.

His statement is a rude display of worth, if true that Cecille O. Araneta is indeed an Araneta. It's likewise a statement of familial relationship with a wealthy family, if true again. Perhaps she can help us understand her provenance. If indeed she's up there in the food chain as Mondee implies, why does she associate herself with lowlives?

How knowledgeable is Mondee about her beyond being "mabait" and a business partner in the exploitive "Anghel ng Tahanan" beauty pageant that focuses on Filipino caregivers?

It also raises questions about the person carrying the name Araneta, a prominent clan heavily invested in a number of industries including real estate. Which of the Aranetas is she descended from? Is her name her real name or a stage name?

I have no interest in Cecille O. Araneta, or in her partnership with Mondee in IEC and "Anghel ng Tahanan". But when it became known that IEC is organizing ToM, her identity and her reported business activities have become a public concern.

Moreover, her cameo appearance in stolen footage only deepens my curiosity. Why would somebody moneyed like her allow her picture to be inserted in a stolen material to promote ToM? 

It's not so difficult to create a video if you knew how. I can teach her for free, just don't steal my videos. And if you do steal, give credit to the original source. And if you want to continue using the stolen material, pay up. Better still, acknowledge the misdeed and apologize. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).