OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Friday, January 20, 2023
~ A change of tact, yes. But it's still the same old, same old. The facade had a little bit of improvisation, well, for appearances' sake. A token gesture it is. Not much illumination on keeping millions in Filipino Centre Toronto's vault, and how its officials are spending them. No enlightenment either on why FCT continues to dodge legitimate issues raised by whistleblowers and concerned members. There are more questions than what the annual report answers.
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FILIPINO CENTRE TORONTO CHANGES TACT
FCT's Annual Report: Rich or Poor?
To Understand Its Contents, Get An Expert
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
“Your transparency is just another of your disguises, isn't it? You doubt your value. Don't run from who you are." - Napz Cherub Pellazo
TORONTO - Filipino Centre Toronto appears to show uncharacteristic goodwill in releasing this week its 2022 annual report detailing, without explanation, its current state, its assets, revenues, and expenditures for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Made available to the local press without being asked or prodded - a big change in itself - it gives the impression that FCT is opening up on the most important piece of information any company or corporation, public or private, usually keeps in lock and key, and hidden from public scrutiny, which was what FCT had done in the past.
Times must have changed through the years from 2017 when widespread clamor rose to a peak for FCT to disclose particulars of the $5.9-million hard cash it realized from the sale of its old edifice, which had dwindled down by at least $678,000 paid out to previously-unknown claimants.
But wait, hold on, not too fast with the compliments. For us to decipher the figures in the report, one needs expert eyes, a deep understanding of accounting, and a working knowledge of how FCT operates as a non-profit organization endowed by government grants.
For many people, including myself, the numbers in the report are without meaning unless given full context. Of what use is a financial statement if the table of numbers blurs understanding?
To interpret each entry, one has to rely on pundits who, I suppose, FCT consults with, or employs, either to clarify or, more likely, to obfuscate things. Confounding problematic issues have given rise to whistleblowers who persist to this day.
Bared dry and devoid of clarification, the release of the annual report is, to me, merely a public relations gimmick, a clear attempt to look transparent to rehabilitate FCT's unfavorable image.
I asked Tony San Juan, the retired teacher and now a practicing publicist tasked to disseminate the report who in FCT, in his judgment, would be responsive to questions.
He gave me three names - Efren de Villa, chairman; Mary Ann San Juan (no relation to Tony San Juan), president; and a certain Sophia Arellano, apparently a newcomer who now belongs to FCT's inner circle. (Video and story at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZFXKzvQqYY).
Arellano is one of the newbies (there are several on the board) in FCT who carries the portentous title of "marketing coordinator". I still have to interact with her to see if she has not been sworn yet to the code of omertà, which I believe is the bible of choice in FCT.
Since the tandem of de Villa and San Juan took over FCT leadership, the two officials are uncommunicative in practically everything about FCT, especially if it concerns money. I joked that they must have permanently zipped their mouths except when eating. (Related video and story at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5YUCP0xqlQ).
For instance, I want to know how FCT ended up paying a total of $108,503.59 (could be higher) for "professional fees" for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and up to October 2022, which is presumably the cutoff date of the report for that year.
One other question I am seeking an answer to is the amount spent by FCT for "office expenses" totaling $118,252.80 for the same four-year period stated in the report. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2019/09/clear-filipino-centre-torontos-finances.html).
Perhaps Arellano's coming presages a transformation with the way FCT looks beyond its one-story office building in Scarborough, and the public image it wants to cultivate, i.e. to be more reactive and forthcoming to please the grant givers.
Relative to that, FCT received a huge grant of $125,064 in 2019 but disbursed $3,400.59 more for an expenditure of $124,464.59 to secure grant monies. Spend more to earn less, is that it? my practical mind asks.
The press release about the 2022 annual report put out by Tony San Juan upon request by Arellano appears to be part of a new thrust starting this year. That is an indication that FCT is embarking on a press and public relations campaign to furbish FCT in the eyes of the media and the public.
Think about it. What has a "marketing coordinator" got to do with FCT's financial situation other than to project it's in the pink of health? Or is it? (Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved).
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