Thursday, 25 July 2024

'The Raffle Ticket Fiasco' by Fiesta Extravaganza in Brampton

Volume 6, Issue No. 4
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 Thursday, July 25, 2024 

"Na denggoy tayo at ang publiko" (roughly translates to "we and the public were fooled") Filipino seniors grumbled, and are now up in arms for what they believe was an illegal fundraising campaign through sale of lottery tickets by a group behind the purported "most celebrated Filipino cultural event in Canada." Just six years in the making, the Fiesta Extravaganza claims it's now in nine cities in five provinces. The claim can not be independently confirmed. 

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FIESTA EXTRAVAGANZA IN BRAMPTON

PHL Seniors Allege Scandal in Raffle Tickets
City Urged to Investigate After Complaint Is Filed



By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel



"If the words don't add up, it's usually because the truth wasn't included in the equation. - Unknown



TORONTO - Filipino seniors in a western suburb have filed with the authorities a complaint alleging an "illegal" fundraising through the sale of raffle tickets in a community festival billed as Fiesta Extravaganza (FE) in Brampton.

Though the event had already ended in mid July, the Filipino Seniors of Mississauga (FSM), a social club of 143 members, has demanded an investigation, and wrote letters to Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and Councillor Rowena Santos urging them "to protect public interest."

"A raffle that should not have been started at all in the first place without first obtaining a permit and license to do so," is how FSM president Rene Sevilla describes it. 

He contends FE organizers are not entitled to monetary proceeds since they are "public money obtained from an irregular sale of tickets."

FE had caused to raise money through the sale of raffle tickets at $2 apiece. The activity appeared to be unauthorized and allegedly violated local laws in Brampton.

Ticket holders could potentially win the grand prize of $1,500; $750 second prize; and $250 third price. Consolation prices are awarded to six holders consisting of two days and three nights in a resort in Mariveles, Bataan.

One of the winners said she did not accept her declared prize because "it's another sales tactic" from the resort to give free accommodation in exchange for a full-day mandatory seminar.

Contacted for comment, podcaster Von Canton, FE president, admitted some mistakes. "We acknowledge there was some oversight in obtaining a raffle permit. Our intent was not to launch a large fundraising effort, as the raffle was only promoted internally within our organization." 

But FE indeed went through with the fundraising but mocked the amount of money raised. "If $972 is a large amount, so be it," he said.

He explained: "We relied on our patrons and supporters to raise funds, given that the Brampton Fiesta Extravaganza received no funding from the City of Brampton or other government agencies."

Later, he corrected this statement. He said: "We only sell to friends, families and members. No sponsors and major supporters involved. You can ignore my typo from the previous email."

Days ago, Canton had posted on Facebook the names of nine "winners" ostensibly to counteract growing doubts in the disposition of raffle prizes. He didn't answer questions about the prizes and when they were handed to winners.

My own suspicion that there was something amiss got immediate confirmation when I checked the timeline. As of this writing on Wednesday, July 24 at 4:30 p.m. Facebook says the list of raffle winners was posted at 12:36 p.m. the day before, Tuesday.


That corresponds with the time I began questioning him about the raffle, which started at 7:35 p.m. on Monday, July 22. It took him several hours to answer back, at 2:05 p.m., the next day, Tuesday, July 23, saying that "the allegation that there were no winners is incorrect" and referred to his Facebook post to show what's true.

He also took exception to my characterization based on the complaint. "The terms 'Rip-off,' 'Victimized,' or 'wrong-doing' do not apply to our organization's values and integrity," he asserted. "We have never been involved in such practices since our founding in 2018."

Canton boasts of leading the "most celebrated Filipino cultural event in Canada" - seven this year and last year, in Toronto, Vaughan, Niagara, Montreal, Hamilton, all in Ontario; Miramichi in New Brunswick; and Surrey in British Columbia.

His tall claim could not be independently verified. Besides, he did not say what "most celebrated" meant. Actual physical attendance seemed to disprove it as the presence of warm bodies was scanty.

However, there are possibilities, e.g. it could mean lavish social media hype on Facebook, heavy advertising for the benefit of corporate sponsors, etc.

"We are now in our ninth city across five provinces in seven years. We are not a perfect organization, but if there are things we need to rectify for improvement, we will do so," he stressed.

Canton provided an update on the raffle and the distribution of proceeds, as follows:

Raffle Proceeds Breakdown:

  • Total Ticket Sales (Gross): $4,044
  • Cash Prizes: $2,500
  • Net Proceeds: $1,544

Sales from the Seniors Group:

  • Total Sales: $2,860
  • Commission (20%): $572
  • This commission will be transferred to their organization this week as part of our agreement for their efforts.

Summary:

  • Net Proceeds After Commission: $972
  • These funds will be directed to the event organizer to support the celebration.
In his roundabout way, Canton admitted several lapses, mostly involving money. Told that this story will be published with or without his comment, he said: 
"If the organizer or parties involved made a mistake, then let them find a solution to rectify it rather than making it a big story, plain and simple." 

Indeed, this one is a big story. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

Sunday, 14 July 2024

Assassination Attempt: Trump's Violent Rhetoric Found Him

Volume 6, Issue No. 2
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 Sunday, July 14, 2024 

~ Donald J. Trump, the convicted felon and presumptive Republican Party nominee, has survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13. Authorities said the alleged gunman, a 20-year-old white male, was killed by Secret Service agents. Trump's incendiary rhetoric has found its victim - Trump himself.

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ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN PENNSYLVANIA

Donald Trump Reaps What He Sows
 Secret Service Agents Killed the Alleged Gunman 




By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel



"If your actions were to boomerang back on you instantly, would you still act the same?" - Alexandra Katehakis



TORONTO - Donald Trump's endless use of incendiary rhetoric has found its latest victim - him.

It's unfortunate and ironical that the gunman, according to multiple news reports quoting law enforcement authorities, was a 20-year-old Republican from the same Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Trump was six minutes into his campaign speech in Butler, Pennsylvania when the first shots rang out. Pop, pop, pop, pop. The presumptive Republican nominee felt his right ear, ducked while Secret Service agents leapt to shield him from further harm.

More shots were heard. Pop, pop, pop, pop. 

Authorities said agents were returning fire once the shooter was located on the rooftop of a building about 140 yards (128 meters) from where Trump stood. "Clear," somebody yelled. The assassin was dead, his head gushing blood.

The 78-year-old Trump, a convicted felon, said in a post on his Truth Social account that he "felt the bullet ripping through (his) skin," adding "it pierced the upper part of my right ear." 

"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin," he said. "Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening," he explained.

In most of his engagements, Trump laces his speech with attacks on President Biden and the Democrats, on black and brown people, on innocent immigrants whom he characterized as rapists, terrorists, crazies from mental asylum, etc. 

It didn't matter that they were all lies, and that he had no proof of his accusations. They are his usual punching bags - that's all that mattered to him. Unsurprisingly, his acolytes in the Republican Party, especially those in the halls of Congress, echo the same lies.

I don't feel much sympathy for Trump. 

However, I'm grateful he survived the assassination attempt, but only to the extent that it would hopefully be a lesson . . . for him to stop lying, for him to man up for his many transgressions, for him to stop blaming others for his failures, for him to end preaching the politics of hate. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

Friday, 12 July 2024

E-Magazine Spotlights Both Goodness and Chicaneries

Volume 6, Issue No. 1
OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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 Friday, July 12, 2024 

~ The community has a huge appetite for stories that are uplifting and inspiring about people and what they do. And just as true, readers peruse articles exposing wrongdoing even as they loathe the misdeed and the individuals committing it. The electronic journal Filipino Web Magazine continues the task it has vowed to fulfill as it enters its sixth year of public service. 

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TRUTH SEEKER. TRUTH TELLER

E-Magazine Thrives On Stories of Goodness
 Chicaneries Also Hug the Media Spotlight




By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel



"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated." - Maya Angelou


TORONTO - The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, says a Chinese proverb attributed to Lao Tzu. 

And so it was for me as I emerged from the ashes of a stupid word war to embark on a journalistic odyssey leading to the founding of an e-zine - the Filipino Web Magazine (FWM) - my metaphoric soapbox to ventilate personal and professional comments and concerns that impact the Filipino community.

That "single step" I took was five years ago this month, and as FWM enters its sixth year today, the "thousand miles" have turned into thousands of readers leafing through hundreds of articles about their community and its role players.

"Truth Seeker. Truth Teller" is the slogan I coined for FWM as guide in practicing investigative journalism, the genre I'm most comfortable with despite constant threats to life and limb from hostile sources.

FWM came about in July 2019, the result of senseless bickering with my principal who, for lack of educated things to do, kept on spreading the canard about a younger woman she envied who was on the road to success in business.

The septuagenarian begrudged her rapid rise, and her expanding network of business contacts, friends and backers appeared to have upended a competing enterprise (her secret lover's, it is claimed) she supported through and through.

The quarrel had blown my way even as I had no role in it. Worse of all, the unfounded insinuation of a clandestine affair went unabated, fanned no less by the older woman on the throes of losing her composure.

That was the final straw. I had endured repeated smears while in her employ, and this one, something so wrong and malicious coming out of the horse's mouth, I was not inclined to dismiss with a mere shrug.

Thus the inevitability of a head-on conflict presented itself. In June 2019. I was let go for standing up against her rumor-mongering. It's that same conduct that had landed her in jail.

My reputation as a journalist, including international stints as a foreign correspondent, was very much at stake in that scenario and I was not going to let an imbecilic rant ruin my career. No way.

A few weeks later or in July 2019, I ushered myself into electronic publishing with the first issue of Filipino Web Magazine on the Blogspot platform. Thus was born Volume1, Issue no. 1 (Writing a Column a Quarter of a Century On) to begin a new chapter in community journalism.

I thought then that rather than grouch about the loss of a miserly-paying writing job with a fancy but meaningless title attached to it, I'd explore new avenues for intellectual growth.

My forced departure from the tabloid had freed me from mental atrophy and degeneration. I probably would have been unhinged by now had I stayed on under the control of a semiliterate head. 

That was a blessing, my leaving. More than anything else, it has enriched me, not in the form of money, but in intangibles.

That realization came as soon as I stepped out of its orbit and found my moorings again as a journalist in the matrix of a foreign correspondent reared to report the truth objectively without fear or favor.

To be sure, it's been a wonderful new journey from that time on, and one that's not without challenges; challenges, shall I say, that only serve to strengthen my resolve.

FWM complements my YouTube vlogs (The Filipino Web Channel, Currents & Breaking News, Filipino Web Entertainment, Eats and Restos Channel) under the umbrella of my eponymous news organization Romar Media Canada which I put up in April 2011. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42YXRLqaQYA).

With almost 300 articles (analysis, commentaries, news, opinions) published since then and read by thousands of readers, FWM now enters its sixth year.

How FWM performed in years past is truly inspirational and decisive. As its main writer and editor, I'm glad that FWM has reached that point of being a trustworthy, reliable, honest and exacting news source.

I'm not being facetious in saying that. The metrics won't lie. For example, while readers appreciate the finer things in life, they also abhor wrongdoing.

Such is the case with our creative community. People love the positive vibes, especially the stories that celebrate goodness and triumph over adversity. 

My articles about the Philippine Artists Group (PAG's Art Exhibit: A Celebration of Filipino Genius) and journalist and artist Michelle Chermaine Ramos (Valentine's Day Feature: Love Takes Flight) occupy the top slots in FWM based on the number of readers.

Interestingly, readers are also repulsed to see people being victimized by their own kind, thus the stories about the couple and their tabloid (Lies, Deceptions by The Philippine Reporter Exposed) and (Money Scandal Prods Ethnic Press to Tighten Up) land as prominently in the list of top stories.

A show of respect to mark the passage of time, people and their achievements, and events that define them, has garnered a following to be in the top roster too. There are others, but their readership is not as robust as the ones here.

Stories in this category include:

This latest article is now in FWM as Volume 6, No. 1., signaling the start of a new cycle in reporting. 

As we continue the journey, we hope to open more eyes, cause the community to have an open mind, and enhance a better understanding of what a Truth Seeker and Truth Teller does. (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

Monday, 8 July 2024

Gov't Officials Meet Ethnic Media Amidst Money Scandal in LJI

 Volume 5, Issue No. 40

OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of Romar Media Canada, 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, July 8, 2024 

~ The recent meeting between ranking federal officials and the ethnic press leads us to believe that it was the offshoot of a money scandal involving a bony Filipino tabloid and its editors who, until it was exposed by one of its writers, had almost succeeded in swindling two members of its staff of their money. Where that meeting took place, what transpired, and how they addressed the issues were not disclosed. 

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DISCUSSION OVER THE FEDERALLY-FUNDED L.J.I.

Canadian Heritage Holds Meeting with Ethnic Press
 Money Scandal Casts a Shadow Over Media Integrity



By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel


"Crime. once exposed, has no refuge but in audacity." - Tacitus


TORONTO - Ranking federal officials have met with the general membership of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) in a discussion that presumably involved further funding the government's Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) targeting underserved communities.

A six-member delegation from Canadian Heritage had been invited "to make their presentation" during the association's "hybrid meeting via Zoom and in person" on June 10, NEPMCC president Thomas Saras has announced. No details were disclosed.

The gathering came at a time when NEPMCC is apparently undergoing scrutiny following revelations that one of its members - The Philippine Reporter (TPR) and its editors, Hermie Garcia and Mila A. Garcia - had engaged in questionable conduct that adversely affected the reputation and integrity of both the federal agency and the NEPMCC.

That Canadian Heritage would send such a big contingent to dialogue with ethnic media underscores the importance it attaches to its community outreach, notably the LJI, which is one of several schemes under the Canada Periodical Fund that allocates grant money to qualified NEPMCC members. 

Launched in 2019 with a $50 million budget spread over five years, LJI was meant to serve communities underserved by media by essentially subsidizing their news coverage. Because of its wide reach through its members, the NEPMCC serves as LJI's implementing outlet

"The (media) industry and members of NEPMCC are struggling financially," Saras said, according to the minutes of the June 10 meeting published in the NEPMCC website only last week.

He also identified the members of the delegation, namely: France Fortier, Director, Periodical Publishing Policy and Programs; Karine Morin, Manager, Aid to Publishers, Canada Periodical Fund; Andrea Simms-Karp, Manager Collective Initiatives, LJI, CPF; Sridaya Srivastan, Policy Analyst Magazines Policy; Brigette Fontille, Program Officer, LJI, and Cynthia D’Amours, Senior Program Officer, LJI, SMJ.

"Following the (Heritage) presentation, the chair Dr. (Mohammad) Tajdolati opned (sic) the floor for questions and answers to members present in person and members attending all over Canada via Zoom," the minutes of the meeting said.

One of those who "asked relevant questions to the delegation" was Mila Garcia, wife of Hermie Garcia. The Garcias edit and manage the now-reduced 16-page TPR tabloid, which lately, has gone from fortnightly to monthly. 

TPR's frequency and physical appearance, worsened by dwindling advertising support, seem to confirm Saras' assertion that NEPMCC members are facing monetary problems. 

The financial crunch could also be a major reason in TPR's aborted attempt to stiff two of its staff members, which went on largely unknown for months until journalist Michelle Chermaine Ramos, a former TPR staffer, accidentally uncovered it.  (Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8FT2kEZfls).

In recounting the events leading up to her exposé last year, Ms. Ramos detailed how Hermie Garcia and Mila Garcia engaged in outright lies and deception, even blaming Canadian Heritage, for undue delays in compensating her and another writer for their work as LJI reporters.

Documented copies of her complaint have been filed with Canadian Heritage and the NEPMCC. Thirteen months later and up to this writing, neither of the two agencies nor the Garcias responded to the complaint. 

There is also no indication that the NEPMCC president and/or its board of directors censured the Garcias for their acts. Hermie Garcia is a member of the executive board as a senior VP. Mila Garcia is also a VP for humanitarian and immigration affairs.

Ms. Ramos had been informed by NEPMCC official Maria Voutsinas that Hermie Garcia was lying when he said that her salary as LJI reporter was being held back by Canadian Heritage for some cockamamie reasons.

In fact, the truth was that Hermie Garcia had been handed the money for salaries in one lump sum months prior to the start of the LJI program, Ms. Voutsinas said. 

Besides, she explained, Hermie Garcia's statement blaming a "grant guy" for the problem was his fabrication as there was no "grant guy" in the first place.

For a media organization as big and widespread as the NEPMCC, its uncharacteristic silence on Ms. Ramos' exposé is unnerving. 

Moreover, it appears to be enabling Hermie Garcia and Mila Garcia who both continue to hold positions in the organization.

As it stands now, TPR is perhaps experiencing difficulty recruiting writers to report under the LJI program, evidently a result of the recently unearthed scandal.

Based on the minutes, TPR is apparently trying to impress the NEPMCC that it still enjoys the community's trust by enlisting individuals who are essentially NPAs (non-performing assets, in contrast with the communist New People's Army the Garcias are perhaps most familiar with) in its staff who have no journalism credentials. Is TPR going down? (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).

N.B. To help readers understand the full story, here are links to related articles:

1. Lies, Deception by The Philippine Reporter Exposed:
2. Reputation of Ethnic Media Takes a Hit in Reporter's Complaint:
3. Did Rare Book Library Make a Mistake in Archiving TPR?:
4. A Black Propagandist in Our Midst:
5. Canadian Heritage Acts on Funding LJI:
6. Issues Affecting Ethnic Press Go Unaddressed: