Volume 4, Issue No. 32
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Monday, December 19, 2022
~ Former friends who were together in stealing video footage and then used and manipulated the contents to promote the Taste of Manila festival are now in an expensive legal fight with one of the parties seeking damages to the tune of $1.5 million. If there's anything that's immediately noticeable in this skirmish, it is their avarice. While they disparage each other, they forgot that they once connived to purloin intellectual property, an act they neither apologize for nor acknowledged nor compensated. The suit they filed in court is deeply insulting.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I.E.C. v TASTE OF MANILA AND S.P.A.R.C.
The Insult Behind a $1.5-Million Claim
They Forgot They Were Together in the Steal
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends".
- John Churton Collins
TORONTO - Comes now the press release that says this group is seeking monetary reward to the tune of $1.5 million from another group because of the latter's fault.
I was stunned the first time I heard it. The amount being sought gives an idea - absent raw or audited financial statements - of how profitable holding the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival had become.
The number is supplied by the International Entertainment Company (IEC) in its statement of claim filed in Superior Court against Rolly Mangante alias "kabise", the self-declared founder of ToM; and his newfound partners in SPARC (Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community) headed by Danilo Baluyot and realtor Rose Ami aka Rosemarie Ami-Seaborn aka Marites Tolits, the roving troll of Little Manila.
One possible outcome of IEC's suit is a revelation this reporter has been seeking from TOM but never materialized, which is financial accountability from all ToM festivals from 2014 to 2019, and from its virtual presentations in 2020 and 2021.
Besides, Mangante and ToM had promised to engage in projects to benefit the community in their application for not-for-profit (NFP) status. Where are these projects? Did they actually implement them? Or were they just smokescreens?
The lawsuit is an opportunity to know many things about ToM and Mangante's ghostly web of companies ranging from Taste of Manila Production, Taste of Manila, Inc., etc., and the sudden proliferation of NFP organizations such as PCCC (Philippine Cultural Community Centre), PLACA (Philippine Legacy and Cultural Alliance), PESO (Philippine Events Services Ontario), IEC (International Entertainment Company, and lately SPARC (Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community).
The urge to join the fun in this merry-go-round is quite irresistible. However, none of the people behind these orgs has considered my suggestion to have another NFP like Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Pinoy sa Ontario-Toronto and I understand why. It's probably because of the resulting acronym - SUPOT - which is not quite macho, to begin with. Imagine being asked: SUPOT ka ba? It's embarrassing, especially for the menfolk.
But seriously, why was ToM bankrupted in 2018? Was Mangante and his retinue honest with city authorities who rescued it from its downfall? Did Mangante lie about the true state of affairs in ToM enough to convince Mayor John Tory to waive or lower some fees?
IEC and Mangante had been good friends shortly before SPARC entered the picture. So close were they because of a common aspiration, and that is, to reap the pecuniary gifts from their joint venture to hold ToM in August 2022, which they did.
For two years at least, Mangante and his changing partners, namely, PESO under its president, Philip Beloso; and IEC led by Cecille Araneta and Mon Datol - raided my video files, stole content, and manipulated them to fit their narrative.
I have exhausted all friendly possibilities to right the instances of wrongdoing they did, and as of this writing, I still have to hear from them.
Now their friendship has gone sour. IEC is suing Mangante, ToM and its new partner SPARC while the three parties are also preparing their own legal action.
Just goes to show how fragile friendships rooted in money and conflicting egos can be. The case is a classic nip-in-the-bud story by a once-friendly group against another. It's not farfetched that they end up bitter enemies eyeing each other's throats.
A statement from IEC issued Monday (Dec. 12, 2022) claimed that "Rolly Mangante deceived IEC when it misrepresented Taste of Manila Inc. as a corporation duly organized by law . . . "
That's quite serious if found true. Not only was IEC duped, but the government was also defrauded.
"The truth," the press statement signed by Datol said, "is that the corporation Mr. Mangante incorporated is legally named as 501225 Ontario Inc. and registered in law with a trade name of Taste of Manila Production."
So, IEC has put a price on its head - a staggering $1.5-million "for breach of contract and punitive and damages" (sic) allegedly by ToM, Mangante and SPARC.
To visualize how big that sum of money is, is deeply insulting to me.
They can well negotiate, they could settle, they could let bygone be bygones, they could kiss each other's ass again and makeup, they could do anything, and be friends again.
What about the video content they stole from The Filipino Web Channel? I had refused to hail IEC, ToM, Mangante and his blind followers to court for what clearly is a copyright violation even as I knew some people made good money.
I demanded an apology and an admission that they filched materials from me, doctored them to promote Mangante's wife Nieves and IEC's Cecille Araneta, and to endear themselves to politicians like James Pasternak, Mayor Tory, MP Marco Mendicino, and a host of other Liberal MPs.
Need I go to court to force them to admit guilt, apologize, and pay up? (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).
No comments:
Post a Comment