Volume 4, Issue No. 13
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, August 22, 2022
~ From conception to implementation, the stolen ideas, images, and videos helped organizers succeed in having their post-pandemic Taste of Manila 2022 (ppToM2022) roll out this past weekend. This latest version of the festival is nothing more than a copy of the historical Taste of Manila of 2014-2019 (ToM 2014-2019) which lies dead and buried in our collective consciousness. The only notable change is the purported not-for-profit organization behind it, which is peopled by impudent individuals of different personal and financial interests.
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REVIVING THE HISTORICAL TASTE OF MANILA
Stolen Ideas and Images Propel 2022 ToM
Organizers Succeeded in Luring the Community to the Festival
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"The consequences of an act affect the probability of its occurring again". - B.F. Skinner
Of course, organizers would be hard-pressed to give credit - thieves rarely admit wrongdoing even if caught in the act - but the substantive content of their promotional videos played an important role in attracting crowds who were less concerned with the behind-the-scene events than in celebrating a summer outing.
Regardless of their refusal to accept responsibility for stealing images, or even acknowledge their mistakes and apologize for them, their deed is already cast in digital stone and can be viewed anytime, anywhere through my flagship online news outlet The Filipino Web Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/FilipinoWebChannel#g/u).
The 26 articles I've written since January for my blog (https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/) are equally set in stone, available to anyone, who might be interested in finding out why I'm raising hell against what was done by a gang so brazen it defies all manner of respect and basic courtesy.
Stealing and then deflecting the act to defend it is unacceptable, such as this moronic rant by Mondee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd02DO503DUstarting at 2:05 mark) who is a co-partner of a Cecille Araneta in the so-called International Entertainment Company. (Related story and video at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/06/whats-in-name-is-araneta-araneta.html and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTnX700_a8).
They may choose to ignore the issues I raised and attack me with their vicious lies, fine, but I will not give up exposing their real intent, their true selves, and their agenda that may call for ripping off the community. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_398v7dDQhQ).
I may not have a direct hand in helping promote the historical ToM, but I'm certain my unremunerative coverage through countless articles and videos was the linchpin crucial to ToM's success in the six years of its pre-pandemic existence. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/04/international-journalist-in-taste-of.html).
Their two-day fest marking the post-pandemic Taste of Manila 2022 (ppToM 2022) is over. My fight isn't.
By now, they must be counting nickels and dimes, and sharing the loot among themselves, thanks to unsuspecting patrons who trooped to Little Manila and spent every hard-earned dollar to enjoy this new season of community gathering.
I certainly have doubts about how they will give back to the community and account for what they gain, or share, the fruits of a festival whose come-ons were stolen from my coverage. Is that blood money on their hands? There's a saying that stolen fruit is the sweetest. Is this it? (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/05/is-iec-legit-nfp-org.html).
A sizable crowd may have been enticed to spend their time and money in ways reminiscent of previous ToMs, that's alright. And given the political atmosphere of the moment, it was also inevitable that politicians of all colors and stripes showed up and rendered their usual blah blah blah.
In fact, the tradpols sat with officials at the head of rows of chairs on the stage, indicating the order of importance, while the less-significant role players stayed at the back and at the periphery but still up there in full view of spectators below.
The sight reprised the historical ToM like it was a reminder that it's back again from its old habit of catering to those who wield power and to those who pretend to exercise some form of influence over the community.
I wrote once that Filipinos seem to content themselves with being themselves, their presence recognize only during events that guarantee the widest public exposure for politicians. In general, Filipinos like to be pandered to; they feel taller in stature than they actually are.
One example is the self-declared founder of ToM, Rolly Mangante, alias "Kabise", the former driver at the Philippine Consulate. He almost felt like a saint, zooming to high heavens, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called him "Tito Rolly" at one of the early episodes of ToM. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcs34cnA2bs).
I had to take down that video when I found out that he had been capitalizing on it even in Manila where he was trying to enlist financial support from corporations and politicians, including then-President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Manny Pacquiao.
The "Tito Rolly" reference opened doors for "Kabise" as it gave him reason to project a sense of proximity to power, enough to convince unknowing institutions and politicians to endorse and help ToM.
It's the same gambit employed in ppToM 2022. And they, meaning "Kabise" and his partners, were quite successful! (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).
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