Taste of Manila Fences Off Joints That Refuse to Dole Out Money

Volume 6, Issue No. 7

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 Wednesday, August 21, 2024 

~ It's hard to believe that organizers of the recently-concluded Taste of Manila (ToM) festival would dive into the gutter for a few bucks while saying at the same time that they're for "inclusivity and diversity." The buzzwords sounded pleasant to the ear, but they're not true. One salon owner decried the shakedown he experienced when the ToM people installed a tall steel fence blocking passage to five establishments that apparently refused to shell out some cash demanded by unidentified festival officials. 

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TEAMWORK BY TASTE OF MANILA ORGANIZERS

 Fence Erected to Punish Recalcitrant Vendors  

Filipino Salon Owner Reveals Shakedown 

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." -  Lord Acton

TORONTO - Call it what you may - a shakedown, a hustle, extortion, a rip-off - and the "artists" (really? or simply con artists) in the Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community (SPARC) had made good the threat to punish recalcitrant merchants.

That threat, aired a few years ago, physically materialized on Saturday, Aug. 17 and stayed through Sunday, Aug. 18 during the Taste of Manila (ToM) street festival in the form of a tall steel fence erected in front of several establishments facing the festival area.

Obviously, ToM organizers had failed to get compliance so they had to exact revenge by putting up the 13-14 ft. high barrier, which effectively barred customers from visiting the stores at a time when pedestrian traffic was highest at a portion of the north-south Bathurst St. temporarily converted into a huge shopping zone, entertainment centre, and alfresco eateries.

Years prior to ToM's recent staging under SPARC, ToM's so-called founder Rolly Mangante aka kabise, a retired driver at the Philippine Consulate, had wandered around the commercial hub popularly named Little Manila soliciting monetary support from storeowners.

(Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZa99xeGW0).

From its first edition in August 2014 through the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, ToM had chalked up unprecedented successes as a street fair. The number of attendees rose each year even as some vendors complained about not earning enough to have a profit as most of the revenues went to ToM for payment of stalls.

That phenomenon had impacted Mangante so much that he practically forgot his background as a chauffeur. He relished being jokingly called "amba" for ambassador and "congen" for consul general. 

Moreover, for one who was simply a car operator, he felt so powerful that he could summon federal, provincial and local politicians of all stripes to attend ToM, thus recasting the festival as a political forum, and boosting his reputation as a community organizer.

Once Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the rest of his Liberal caucus referred to him as "Tito Rolly" he sensed he was made, his head swelled bigger than the biggest watermelons on sale at No Frills or Food Basics. 

(Related story: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/01/3-in-1-who-is-amba-congen-consul-of.html).

He probably didn't realize that "tito" (or tio or tiyo) in Spanish and Tagalog is a deferential meaning "uncle" spoken to show respect for an elder. The feminine equivalent is "tita" (or tia or tiya) to mean auntie or aunt. Still, he felt  close to wielders of power.

Some vendors interviewed for this story claimed he had forewarned them about the possibility of being shut out of the shopping area that Bathurst St. would be converted into once the festival gets going.

Mangante's entreaties had been repeatedly refused and for a good and logical reason: shop owners had been onsite for many years, and they didn't have to set up a booth and pay ToM to sell their wares.

It didn't sound acceptable. And so, in the middle of the night when nobody was looking, a 13-foot high fence was erected in front of five business establishments some 150 meters away from where the ToM stage was set up at the junction of Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave.

Of the many store fronts in the festival venue, a whole structure occupied by five establishments was blocked off, hindering passage to and from the businesses.

Customers had to walk up to the ends of the fence just to go in and exit, effectively obstructing access that could be difficult and painful for customers with physical disabilities.

"The theme for this year's celebration," according to SPARC, "is 'A Festival for Everyone,' emphasizing inclusivity and diversity. This means that every nationality is not only welcome but encouraged to participate . . . "

Evidently, it's an empty blurb, devoid of meaning. Coming from SPARC, it's not surprising though. 

For months before staging ToM, its house propagandist using the pseudonym Marites Tolits (in reality, it's Rosemarie Ami-Seaborn alias Rose Ami alias Rose To) had been posting unreliable and exaggerated messages to draw attention to ToM.

(Related story: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/11/our-troll-neighbors-marites-tolits-and.html).

Well, she might have succeeded in winning sponsors and attracting more vendors, boosting the potential to earn money from what is essentially a cash cow that is ToM.

Greed, not community service, is at the heart of many community events. Mangante's ToM by SPARC is no exception. It likes to reap the bounties but care less about promises to do something for the community.

(Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd02DO503DU)

ToM was not Mangante's idea, not at all. He stole it from the Philippine Consulate where he worked for years as a driver. Undeterred and emboldened, he and his loyal acolytes even went to the extent of stealing video footages from my YouTube channel to promote himself, his wife, their close friends, and ToM, in that order.

So greed finally reared its ugly head this past weekend. Those who rebuffed ToM reaped the whirlwind in the shape and strength of steel installed in front of their establishments.

Business owner Jonathan Mayor Pecpec decried what ToM and SPARC did to his business and to the rest of his neighbours. His friends wondered why ToM and SPARC tried to cripple his business for some small cash. It was petty and senseless.

(Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btf2yoU4AaE)

SPARC's slogan "A Festival for Everyone" should have been changed to a festival for the pockets of ToM and SPARC. That's what it was! (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).