Volume 4, Issue No. 3
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, July 13, 2022
~ The slogan "tuloy ang saya" adopted by Taste of Manila (ToM) organizers appears to materialize only in cyberspace and not on terra firma. Since its announcement in April, nothing concrete has come out of their proposal to stage ToM in August. A few days later, in May, city authorities warned them to "cease and desist" in using Toronto's corporate logo in its posters, flyers, and website as it would appear it is supporting the venture when the truth is that the city "is not providing financial support to the Taste of Manila." The city's latest list of events and festivals this summer does not carry ToM. In contrast, another festival, the FUN Philippines Toronto Street Festival on July 23-24, is among the 48 events included in the listing.
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IT'S NOT ON THE CITY'S LIST OF EVENTS
Taste of Manila Fest Only in Cyberspace?
Only FUN Philippines Toronto Street Festival on July 23-24 Appears
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“Festivals are there to teach us that life is a celebration. Each festival teaches us to bring positivity, joy and happiness in our thoughts which reflects in our lives.” ―
To be sure that my sight does not fail me, I've gone over the list at least five times. I also took photos of those in that list so they would be memorialized in my files. And based on the list, ToM isn't a reality as of this writing, a dream that might have fizzled out already.
Not content with this, I began a search for ToM. And every time it returned, the response was the same: "Sorry, no events match your search. Please try again". Well, I did to no avail.
In cyberspace. mainly Facebook, where fakes abound, ToM carries on with its mission to attract gullible supporters who may not be familiar with its workings and the current state it is in. There's a lack of basic information about its organizers, officials, corporate sponsors, etc. And to think ToM is supposedly for the community!
This dearth of particulars shows that ToM is there only to make an empty boast. Its "tuloy ang saya" slogan may just be for a few proponents. Well, to stretch it a little bit, it could also be "tuloy ang saya ng ating bulsa" or "tuloy ang saya dahil sa Trio Los Bobos Plus One".
The city calendar lines up all events this summer and so far, only one festivity made it to the list. That Filipino event is FUN Philippines Toronto Street Festival which is happening on the weekend of July 23-24 at the junction of Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave., the core of what is called Little Manila in North York.
FUN Philippines is being undertaken by the Philippine Legacy & Cultural Alliance (PLACA), the Ontario registered non-for-profit behind the last live ToM in August 2019. It had two community initiatives to its name, namely, the All for One virtual event in 2020 and 2021, and the documentary series Making It in Canada.
Some recognition is afforded by Toronto Public Health by making FUN Philippines a partner to provide pop-up COVID-19 clinics across the city this July. "Bringing COVID-19 vaccines to fun summer events is one part of Team Toronto's ongoing efforts to provide COVID-19 vaccination opportunities in places where residents live, work and play," the city has announced.
For his part, Toronto Mayor John Tory said: "COVID-19 vaccination remains the best protection for you, your family and friends. That is why Team Toronto is making vaccines available at festivals and locations across the city, making it easier for people to get the dose they need throughout the summer.”
I can only speculate why ToM is very much a castle in the air. Its newly-popped organizer is supposedly an NFP called International Entertainment Company, the joint collaboration of a Cecille Araneta of jeepney-is-Philippine-national-car fame and Mon "Mondee" Datol, a podcaster who talks incessantly about the latest gossip in town. (Videos at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd02DO503DU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTnX700_a8).
Together they contracted with self-described ToM founder Rolly "Kabise" Mangante and his underlings, among them Dannasol "Lovely" Luna, a bogus "international reporter," to stage ToM, according to flyers and posters, on August 20-21 in the same Little Manila area. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_398v7dDQhQ).
I have referred to the quartet as The Trio Los Bobos Plus One, the trio being Datol, Mangante, and Luna, who had spewed a great deal of garbage to the point that the Atin Ito tabloid which had unwittingly published it promptly deleted the allegation from its website. I have images taken and text copied before it was junked just in case I decide to take legal action. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/06/little-manila-no-country-for-stupids.html).
All these animus would not have happened had the quartet been honest with what they did - stealing images and videos from my Filipino Web Channel. A simple admission of wrongdoing and an apology would have sufficed. Legally and morally, stealing is reprehensible, but I was willing to take no offense.
Well, nothing of the sort happened, much to my chagrin. If they were willing to engage in hostility, and have indicated it without any doubt, who am I to bend my personal and professional principles for their delectation? That means the swords have been unsheathed.
From the very beginning of ToM in 2014 to its final staging in 2019, I had been its staunch supporter. Like many of us in Canada, I believe in advancing the cause of Filipinos and elevating their status from the general mockery heaped on us. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZa99xeGW0).
So it's a mistake to think that I am unsympathetic to the holding of ToM. Of course, no! On the other hand, I'm truly antagonistic toward the people who stole from me and that, incidentally, are the same people who now undertake to have ToM.
Mondee the promdi has said that I should not be writing about them being "media colleagues", suggesting I should accord them with some respect and forget the transgression. He wants respect yet he continues to be disrespectful. Stealing is a form of disrespect.
I detest being called his media colleague. No way Mondee, you're out of my league, to say it bluntly. And neither is Dannasol Luna! (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).
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