Volume 5, Issue No. 2
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Friday, July 14, 2023
~ The driver-turned-alleged-founder of Taste of Manila (ToM) festival is drawing the ire of potential vendors and shop owners for his overbearing manner of soliciting support for the event that is very much uncertain to happen in August. His teammate, a troll who hides under a gossipy alias, takes to her Facebook fandom to spread disinformation. The legal tussle between two competing organizers has not been resolved, meaning the festival is practically frozen despite claims to the contrary.
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ARE THE 'ARTISTS' IN S.P.A.R.C. SCAM ARTISTS?
Disinformation and the Uncertain Fate of ToM
Are ToM Organizers Mulcting Store Owners?
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"Facebook is where hypocrisy, falseness, double standards, rumors and depression meet up for coffee". - Unknown
TORONTO - Her Facebook postings would make a lie of the official listing by the City of Toronto of the events and festivals in the city in August.
Put another way, the City of Toronto is making a liar of the poster - the troll dubbed as Marites Tolits alias Rose Ami alias Rosemarie Ami-Seaborn, the self-professed "ultimate mortgage advisor" who also claimed to be an "independent, unbiased, expert".
Between the city and Rose Ami, I'll put my trust on the former, particularly in disseminating information to the public. We taxpayers shoulder the costs of operating and maintaining city facilities, thus it owes us to tell the truth that we can rely on.
Rose Ami, on the other hand, serves herself and the organization she belongs to, which is the Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community, the newly-invented non-profit to fit the acronym SPARC.
I wonder who the "artists" are in SPARC. Did somebody say "scam artists"? I doubt if there are scam artists in SPARC but it can speak for itself. Is Rolly Mangante alias kabise, also a self-proclaimed founder of Taste of Manila (ToM), a "scam artist"?
But take heed from this advice by the Financial and Consumer Services Commission: "Scam artists are great actors. They may pretend to be anything from a financial professional to a relative x x x They may have a nice website or work out of fancy offices . . . Scam artists will do and say anything to trick you".
Based on the City of Toronto listing, Rose Ami is spreading disinformation, which the dictionary defines as "false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth".
I keep asking myself: why does Rose Ami not use her real name instead of the fictional Marites Tolits in posting information about ToM on Facebook? Does it mean she really knew she was spreading fake information and did not want to implicate her professional persona?
"The City of Toronto," according to Rose Ami disguised as Marites Tolits, "grants permit to events two to three weeks prior to the event just in case some of the city by-laws and ordinances would change. Now you know!"
(Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/11/our-troll-neighbors-marites-tolits-and.html).
Where she got the purported rule is unknown; it's unattributed, unsourced. The information is apparently directed to her followers on Facebook and to others who have no idea of the goings-on in the lead up to ToM.
Previously she also wrote, and I quote her: "Tuloy na tuloy na ang Taste of Manila 2023! Sa mga nagsasabing hindi tuloy - please lang po kung sino man ang source nyo ng maling balita, pakisabi tuloy na tuloy . . . "
Tuloy ba o siguradong HINDI matutuloy? Sino paniwalaan namin, ang City o ang chismosang Marites Tolits? That's the typical questions being asked by my readers.
The so-called dates for ToM on August 19 and 20 is not listed at all. For Saturday, Aug. 19, there are 46 events and festivals and none of ToM. For Sunday, Aug. 20, the list has 36 events, and again, none of ToM.
As I write this article today, Thursday, July 13, and the Aug. 19-20 dates, there's a gap of more than four weeks, yet ToM is nowhere to be found. The combined 82 events have been in the list for weeks prior to their holding.
There's only one conclusion to be derived from that. And that is, ToM is far from happening. Add to that the lawsuit between two opposing parties, and one may conclude ToM is gone, ToM is a goner.
(Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/05/iec-or-sparc-which-one-is-legit-to.html).
How ToM landed on the lap of SPARC is a story of betrayal and deceit and sparked a lawsuit and counter lawsuit between Mangante and his new SPARC team consisting of Rose Ami and Danilo Baluyot, and Mangante's old team at International Entertainment Company (IEC) composed of Cecille Araneta and others. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ap92btLM8).
It's SPARC versus IEC, thanks to Mangante whose ambition to make tons of money triggered what I refer to in previous articles as the battle for the cash cow, which is what ToM is. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/05/taste-of-manila-fight-for-cash-cow.html).
Meanwhile, as the legal fight goes on between SPARC and IEC, shop owners in Little Manila have complained to this reporter about the high-handed ways Mangante and a "fat woman" were pressuring them to donate foodstuff allegedly for volunteers.
In more than one instance, Mangante threatened to fence off the on-site establishments along Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave. if they did not come up with the solicited donations. One storeowner dared him to do it. Another said he would sue if he persisted.
Mangante, who was not immediately available for comment, has been going the rounds of Little Manila seeking food contributions when he is not even sure ToM would be held as announced.
Mangante was among the individuals who had stolen video footage of earlier ToM festivals from The Filipino Web Channel. The manipulated items released by ToM on its website featured his wife, Nieves Mangante whose image was spliced into the original film.
With all the considerations about Rose Ami and Rolly Mangante, the question begging to be asked is: are they "scam artists"? Are they the "artists" in SPARC? (Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved).
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