Volume 5, Issue No. 7
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Friday, August 18, 2023
~ Two organizations hustled by a former driver are in "a collaboration" to stage what amounts to a dog and pony show in Toronto's Little Manila hub. The trio stands to reap tons of money in their venture, perhaps not so much to the benefit of the community.
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TALES OF TASTE OF MANILA
Little Manila's Dog and Pony Show
One Org Dumps the Other, Is That Collaboration?
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference". - Tom Brokaw
TORONTO - My eyes and ears in Facebook who's doing some sleuthing for me as I don't have an account there has sent a screen shot of what appears to be the latest update by the troll Marites Tolits aka Rose Ami aka Rosemarie Ami-Seaborn.
In her post, she writes: "This event (referring to Taste of Manila or ToM) is organized by SPARC Canada - Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community . . . "
She repeated that line at least twice, obviously shutting down the other party to a settlement, Cecille Araneta's International Entertainment Company (IEC), which previously held a three-year contract to stage ToM starting last year.
Though Ami's Facebook postings should be treated with a grain of salt (some of them are outright lies, probably the reason she hides behind Marites Tolits), her assertion that ToM "is organized by SPARC" flies in the face of a reported agreement with IEC to co-manage ToM.
She dumps IEC like a rotten "main dish" one overzealous bakery owner had described a competing festival. Meanwhile, Araneta and her team don't lift a finger, apparently content at being relegated to a secondary if not insignificant role.
(Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/07/organizers-smooth-things-out-for-taste.html).
I am not a fan of either SPARC or IEC or their associates or the self-proclaimed founder of ToM, Rolly Mangante alias kabise, who had the audacity to steal the ToM idea from the Philippine consulate where he had worked as a driver.
His teammates in IEC (before they parted ways) pointed to him and the fake "international reporter" Danasol Luna as responsible for filching video footages of ToM from The Filipino Web Channel and manipulated and spliced them with photos of his wife Nieves Mangante and Cecille Araneta, among others. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_398v7dDQhQ).
Because of greed or whatever, Mangante had caused the rift between IEC and newcomer SPARC. He apparently rescinded his contract with IEC and signed SPARC up to mount ToM starting this year, thus triggering a three-way lawsuit.
Mangante, according to informants, had been shopping for an individual or organization to be his ToM licensee even if he had IEC already.
He had approached four - a bakery, a restaurant, a real estate firm and a hastily-formed org that turned up to be SPARC. The first three declined owing to the substantial cash Mangante wanted. SPARC agreed to put up with it, informants said.
The legal entanglements were apparently settled among themselves, with IEC agreeing to take in a percentage of the profits to be realized from ToM as a co-organizer.
My sources said IEC, facing mounting financial problems, did not pursue its case aggressively as it should have since it has in its possession a valid three-year contract to stage ToM.
The prospect of not seeing ToM loomed large. Unless the legal problems were resolved, city authorities were not inclined to grant any permit, according to knowledgeable sources.
That was the key point. None of the parties would like to see a potential windfall slipping from their hands. Money, huge amounts of money, are in the offing.
And so it came to pass that a settlement - "a collaboration between SPARC and IEC" as described by SPARC's Sani Baluyot - was entered into. (Full story: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/07/organizers-smooth-things-out-for-taste.html).
The big winner in this case is Mangante who stands to reap the fruits of his stolen cash cow. His past and present enablers will also gain their share.
What benefit will the community derive from their venture? Nothing, if I may answer my own question. We'll be lulled again by what essentially is a dog and pony show in Little Manila. (Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved).
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