Filipino Seniors Told: Go to Police in Brampton Raffles Case

Volume 6, Issue No. 19

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 Tuesday, December 3, 2024 

~ Filipino seniors were disappointed to learn on Monday, Dec. 2 that their complaint against the conduct of an unlicensed raffle by an entertainment troupe run by a podcaster has been sidestepped even as the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which claimed no jurisdiction, urged them to go to the police.

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FIESTA EXTRAVAGANZA'S UNLICENSED RAFFLE

Ontario Claims No Jurisdiction

Case Brought by Filipino Seniors Endorsed to Police

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.” - Beverly Sills

TORONTO - A customer service official of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said that the complaint by Filipino seniors against an unlicensed raffle by a group of entertainment promoters "falls outside the purview" of the agency.

The opinion handed down on Monday, Dec. 2, by a person named "Wendy," however, redirected the Filipino Seniors of Mississauga (FSM) to the regional police in Brampton, which was where Canada Fiesta Extravaganza (or FE) had conducted the lottery in mid-July.

FSM president Rene Sevilla had previously lodged a complaint with Brampton city authorities who agreed with him that FE's raffle through the sale of tickets was not legally authorized as it had no license to do so.

A city official had stated in early August that "Unlicensed raffles are contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada and, as such, constitute illegal gaming."

FE organizer Von Canton, a podcaster given to loud boasts, euphemistically admitted the illicit activity earlier on, characterizing the lack of a license to conduct it as an "oversight".

He did not respond to a new request for comment. Previously he said: "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." 

For its part, AGCO's Wendy told FSM's Sevilla in an email: "Please note that this matter falls outside the purview of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission. As a result, your complaint will be closed." 

Other than signing for "AGCO customer service," Wendy did not identify who she was, or what position she holds, or if she's a person in authority to issue policy on behalf of the agency.

The AGCO (or Wendy's) decision is a drawback for FSM which has 143 members in the Toronto suburbs of Mississauga and Brampton - adjoining cities which have significant Filipino population.

Sevilla said he was expecting "a better answer" after a review by AGCO that took almost three months than what Wendy had sent to him. 

"You do not even have a clue on the nature of the complaint filed," he said, adding "my apologies to say this, I am quite disappointed in what I am being informed in your response e-mail."

The gaming body practically skirted the complaint and did not answer Sevilla's questions, among them: 

1. Now that the organizers were able to generate or collect funds through a selling of raffle tickets without the required license from the regulating City office or AGCO, what happens to the generated funds?

2. Do the organizers (FE) have a right to the funds raised through an activity not properly licensed to conduct such a sale of raffle tickets?

3. What now is the protection of the public from such schemes? 

AGCO's rebuff of their complaint has left Sevilla and his group with no other option but go to the police. 

He does not seem inclined to follow the two advisories by Brampton and AGCO and just leave it like that - "a learning experience for all of us."

"I believe," he says in an email to this reporter, "what we have on our end will fall short of the more rigid requirements of providing supporting proofs, evidences, materials and documented testimonies to make a compelling case." 

Sevilla's full statement:

"We tried but it's not enough for us to move further. I guess, it is a learning experience for all of us to be more vigilant and aware on future raffle undertakings being done by organizations and those within the community. We should always look after the best interest of our members, as well as that of our community.

"If anything we achieved out of this exercise is we were able to raise a level of awareness within our associations and community. We attained a level of consciousness not to fall into the same scheme of things." (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).