Volume 8, Issue No. 18
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@aol.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . .
Our latest as of Wednesday, October 14, 2026
~ Three Filipino newspapers in the Greater Toronto Area are in the limelight for varying reasons. One shines while the situation is bleak for the two others caught in a web of falsehoods victimizing writers and a businesswoman. One is gone, the other is on the verge of extinction as it is unable, as of this writing, to compensate the casualty of its calumny.
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COMMUNITY JOURNALISM IN TORONTO
One Paper Makes Strides,
Another Vanishes, Still Another Sinks
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor
Filipino Web Magazine and Filipino Web Channel
"Some lies should be left to wither and die. Others demand a response." - Billy Ball
TORONTO - One Filipino newspaper traverses the challenges and continues to make strides on its incredible 51st year and beyond.
In stark contrast, another, after three-and-a-half decade of partisan existence, vanished in dishonour on the heels of a scandal that drags the federal Canada Heritage and the national ethnic press.
Still another, earlier on the path to maturity, is right on the verge of abject humiliation, sinking to the gutter for habitual slandering.
Briefly, those are the stories of three Filipino tabloids that for years are part of the socio-cultural-political landscape of the ethnic community in the Greater Toronto Area.
ATIN ITO
Shining brightly at the top is Atin Ito, the monthly created by the late Eddie Lee and his fraternity brothers in Upsilon Sigma Phi which, incidentally, according to Wikipedia, "is the oldest (founded in 1918) student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines."
This month, Atin Ito celebrated its golden year of service to the community - admittedly a historic landmark for a venture that began as a mimeographed newsletter produced by passionate volunteers with little or no formal background in journalism except for one.
To survive 50 years of struggle amidst an unchartered future speaks well of the people behind the tabloid and their staunch commitment to serve the community. It's the paper to trust, if only for its dependability.
An incompetent competitor and self-named editor had tried to diminish that rare accomplishment by blowing its own horn.
BALITA
Tess Cusipag, who professed to want, and I quote her exact words, "a quiet life away from controversy" but continued to wade into issues she didn't fully understand, had posted on social media: "Balita is now the only remaining newspaper in the community, out of 24 before the pandemic and after, Balita was the only one left . . . "
That second quote (in italics) is a lie. Proof exists it's a lie; three other papers - Atin Ito, LM Confidential and Taliba - are very much around. So when I called attention to it in July, she deleted it entirely. She had to.
(Related story:
The falsehood is on her face. Atin Ito was marking its 50th year, the only Filipino paper that has reached that remarkable moment in the history of community journalism in Toronto.
Ostensibly, she realized she was courting a backlash. Later, perhaps in self-reproach, she posted: "Am so thankful to the organizers of the 50th anniversary gala of Atin ito (sic) for acknowledging my late husband Ruben Cusipag and his contribution to the start of the newspaper publication."
That was an indirect admission of guilt without an apology. Well, she even attended the gala and declared in a defensive post that her "friendship with his (Eddie Lee's) widow, Marita is still solid."
Ms. Cusipag and her Balita had the sole distinction of being held liable for three defamation suits. Two other lawsuits had been dismissed as some of the litigants had passed away.
The latest, brought by businesswoman Liwayway Miranda, had been adjudicated by the Superior Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in which she was ordered to pay at least $350,000 in damages and costs.
Related stories:
As of last month, Ms. Miranda's lawyers had resorted to garnishment proceedings to recover the court-ordered monetary damages, including attorney and court fees from her.
THE PHILIPPINE REPORTER
Meanwhile, the left-leaning The Philippine Reporter (TPR) seemed to have completely disappeared from the radar. Its print edition is gone and its online presence has also vanished.
Perhaps it was just a matter of time before TPR and its conjugal editors Hermie Garcia and Mila A. Garcia removed themselves out of the limelight in the most inauspicious way after artist and journalist Michelle Chermaine Ramos disclosed what they did to her and to another writer.
(Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJc42WrFRQ).
In her complaint to the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) and Canadian Heritage in June 2023, Ms. Ramos detailed the lies and deceptions by the Garcia couple to conceal their activities concerning reporters' salaries working for the government-funded Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) which TPR, among others, were implementing.
Full story:
From that time on and up to this writing, both NEPMCC and Canadian Heritage have not shown any action addressing Ms. Ramos' complaint.
However, there were signs inside NEPMCC that indicated it was chastising the Garcia couple, including a statement by one of its top officials stating their acts were "technically criminal."
The latest overt move in NEPMCC was the absence from the roll of attendees to its membership meetings in June, July, and August the names of Hermie Garcia, Mila A. Garcia and their underlings, namely, Veronica Cusi, Lui Queano, and Rick Esguerra.
Related story:
That could mean that as of May, they were already expelled, ousted, or dismissed from NEPMCC which is funded by Canadian Heritage to administer taxpayers' money for LJI. Officials are silent on the issue.
TPR's downfall is its own undoing. Its editors had not been forthright. The same is true with Balita. In the middle of the debasement, however, Atin Ito persists and glows like a beacon. (Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved).
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