FCT Officials Oppose Audit

Volume 3, Issue No. 4

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@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Monday, September 20, 2021 

~ The audit demanded of Filipino Centre Toronto by concerned members and whistleblowers isn't about to take place soon as indicated in a published article that claimed the non-profit's top officials are very much against it. Reasons for such staunch opposition could be gleaned from the bombshell story by Toronto writer Cress Vasquez. One concerning aspect of his story is the obvious dragging of federal, provincial, and city officials who may be totally oblivious to internal political and monetary bickerings in the organization.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

MORE HONORED IN THE BREACH THAN IN THE OBSERVANCE

Filipino Centre Toronto's Transparency

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Openness, transparency are among the few weapons the citizenry has to protect itself from the powerful and the corrupt." - Michael Moore

TORONTO - For the past three years at least, the leadership of Filipino Centre Toronto has brushed off repeated demands by concerned members to follow through with its publicly stated policy of openness and accountability.

But from the time FCT chairman Efren de Villa declared "we are transparent" in August 2018, the adjective "transparent" has taken the opposite meaning. "Opaque" for one, "hidden" for another. (Video and full story at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZFXKzvQqYY).

The boisterous FCT president Mary Ann San Juan (remember her jubilant CASH mantra?) was of no help in tearing down the wall of silence built around FCT since it sold its old building for $5.9 million, bought a fixer-upper in Scarborough for $1.9 million, and stashed $4 million somewhere we don't know.

The rejoicing shown by San Juan, De Villa, and the FCT family has masked the underpinnings of revulsion among concerned officials - such as Rey Tolentino, Raffy Fabregas, Evelyn Pagkalinawan, Luna Vince, and Marilou Parcero - who hastily resigned from the organization soon after the sale was consummated and monetary claims had surfaced. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlXLIrR8l0U).

A recent article by community writer Cress Vasquez may be the key to FCT's stonewalling, belying the purported transparency proclaimed proudly by De Villa to an audience that consisted of Members of Parliament like Ahmed Hussen, Salma Zahid, Jean Yip, and Gary Anandasangaree; Member of Provincial Parliament Mitzie Hunter; Toronto Mayor John Tory; Toronto Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa; and other current and retired officials.

(Related stories at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/09/writer-claims-fct-doctored-financial.html and https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/07/fct-co-founder-resigns-but-vows-to.html).

Three items stand out in Vasquez's bombshell assertion published in some Toronto tabloids.

(See his original story at: https://www.atinitonews.com/2021/09/filipino-organization-hides-behind-toronto-mayor-john-tory-to-mask-taxable-salaries-678000-disbursements-omitted-in-financial-statements-lawyers-hired-to-intimidate-folks-who-ask-questions/).

One, the alleged "omission of large liabilities, payables, and taxable salaries in FCT’s financial statements, and the hiring of lawyers". Who omitted what? How much are they in dollar terms?

Two, monetary payments alleged to have been made to FCT officials - identified by Vasquez in his article as Efren de Villa, Frank Cruzet, and Philip Beloso - who are supposed to be volunteers. It's not clear if the FCT board knew of those outlays or if they are/were done on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. None of them has confirmed or denied the alleged payout.

Three, FCT officials, namely May Ann Juan, president; Efren de Villa, chairman; Theresa Lumanlan, vice president and chief financial officer; and Philip Beloso and Frank Cruzet, board members, are strongly opposed to an audit, according to Vasquez. The question that begs for an answer is "why"?

The audit demanded by concerned members and whistleblowers within FCT is critical in determining how the remaining $4 million proceeds from the building sale, and a grant of $100,000 in 2020, are being spent and how.

Recently, FCT put out $1 million ostensibly to refurbish its one-story quarters. If that is the case, then money left in the vault should be $3 million more or less.

Another important question that has not been satisfactorily answered is the $678,000 FCT paid to claimants who instantly surfaced after the old building in downtown Toronto was sold for $5.9 million in June 2017.

Vasquez, quoting from his reliable source, said Rosalinda C. Javier (now deceased), former FCT president, took over as treasurer in 2015 after which her husband, Felino Javier, "filed several vouchers for retroactive services in December 2016 to take advantage of the FCT’s impending sale on Jan. 31, 2017".

"The bulk of the $678,000 were for amounts owed to Linda Javier ($96,000) as Property Manager, Felino Javier ($122,000) as Maintenance Manager, although a cancelled check showed he was actually paid $131,457.04, Dr. Victoria Santiago-Liu ($300,000) for FCT loan repayments, and CRA ($124,000)," Vasquez wrote.

How much really went to Felino Javier, $122,000 or $131,457.04?

In fairness, San Juan has stated in December 2020 that "an audit would cost a lot more". She did not explain.

From what could be gathered, here's how the $678,000 was supposedly expended:

The claimants were nomenclatured and paid in this manner: "Vicki" - $300,000; "RCJ" - $96,000; "Felino" - $122,000; "CRA" - $122,000; "Wendy" - $30,000; and "S and J Mechanicals" - $8,000. There's a slight inconsistency in the CRA figure. Vasquez had it at $124,000; FCT documents showed a payment of $122,000. What is the correct amount?

Documents showed "Vicki" is Dr. Victoria Santiago, a dentist, and a former FCT official; "RCJ" was Rosalinda Cerrudo-Javier (deceased), former FCT president; "Felino" is Felino Javier, supposedly a volunteer handyman and husband of RCJ; "CRA" is Canada Revenue Agency; and "Wendy" is Wendy Arena, an FCT administrative assistant.

A controversial claim not found in Vasquez's story is the revelation last year by FCT member Maria CJ de Villa that legal expenses by FCT had risen spectacularly by 900 percent from $30,000 to $300,000.  

"How did it balloon to $300,000 right after the sale of the building?" Ms. De Villa asks. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/09/from-30000-to-300000-how-did-it-balloon.html).

In reaction to her being quoted, Ms. De Villa wrote to this reporter on Monday afternoon, September 20, 2021. She says:

"I just read your blog. I have to make a correction regarding the legal fees. I have never ever mention (sic) to you or to Vasquez any amount for legal fees jumping 900 percent from $30,000 to $300,000. I left FCT in October 2015, therefore I have no knowledge of this. 

"I don’t mind being quoted, if it was Felino’s payment of $131,457.04 because I saw the bank statement in Feb. 2018 along with Dr. Portugal. 

"I don’t know where the information about legal fees came from, but it was not from me," Ms. De Villa concluded. 

"We are transparent," proclaims Efren de Villa. That brings us to Shakespeare who says in Hamlet: " . . . it is a custom more honor'd in the breach than the observance". (Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved).

Writer Claims FCT 'Doctored' Financial Statements

Volume 3, Issue No. 3

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@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Friday, September 17, 2021 

~ Rather than give in to members' demand to come clean in their financial reporting, the non-profit Filipino Centre Toronto appears poised to spend more money on a lawsuit to stop the flood of critical stories highlighting its resistance to calls for transparency and accountability. A community writer is reporting a bombshell of an article that allegedly shows how FCT doctored its financial statements to hide salaries and income.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

FILIPINO TABLOID WARNED OF LIBEL SUIT

'Malpractices' Claimed at Filipino Centre Toronto

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"A lie is like a snowball, the longer it is rolled, the larger it is". - Martin Luther

TORONTO - Ranking officials of the non-profit Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT) allegedly "doctored" financial statements to the extent "there are unreported salaries, withholding taxes, and under-reported income."

The bombshell claim is contained in an article by community writer Cress Vasquez and published this week in a local tabloid. A digital copy was forwarded to this reporter by the writer himself.

Vasquez's assertions are based mostly on statements by sources and individuals he refused to identify and on documents he said he possessed but would not share.

Per his reporting, FCT and/or its president Mary Ann San Juan have initiated a libel suit against the Filipino tabloid Atin Ito for publishing a series of articles critical of FCT and its officials.

"San Juan is using (lawyer) Mark Donald to threaten the community paper, Atin Ito, with libel for highlighting accounting deficiencies at FCT," Vasquez wrote. 

(Background story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2019/08/eddie-lee-non-journalist-publishing.html).

The barrister apparently issued a "cease and desist order" on the newspaper. 

Reached separately for comment, neither San Juan nor Donald confirm the report as of this writing today, Friday, September 17, 2021. The publisher or editor at Atin Ito could not be reached either. 

Vasquez leads off his article with this statement: "When Toronto Mayor John Tory spoke at the inauguration of the Filipino Centre Toronto’s (FCT) new office in Scarborough, August 2019, little did he suspect that he was in the company of individuals behind the omission of large liabilities, payables, and taxable salaries in FCT’s financial statements, and the hiring of lawyers for reasons unknown". 

Asked who he was referring to in the highlighted phrase above, he responded: "the responsible person and the person accountable for the FCT balance sheet-can’t name". (Background video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dWabOiCwhU).

Queried again: "What led you to say they're 'behind' the alleged omissions?" He answered: "the person(s) who provided financial data in the financial statements that omitted the payables, salaries, etc". 

Though FCT is a non-profit and its officials are volunteers and are not supposed to be compensated, some officials are said to be paid $500 each. Vasquez said the practice is evident in canceled checks made out to Efren de Villa, FCT chairman; and Frank Cruzet and Philip Beloso, board members. 

(Additional story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2021/07/fct-co-founder-resigns-but-vows-to.html).

According to Vasquez, Felino Javier, the husband of (now deceased) Rosalinda C. Javier, former FCT president,

"filed several vouchers for retroactive services in December 2016 to take advantage of the FCT’s impending sale (of its building on Parliament St.) on Jan. 31, 2017".

 

FCT in fact paid Felino Javier $122,000 and Rosalinda C. Javier $96,000, among other claimants, soon after the downtown Toronto building was sold for $5.9 million. (Detailed story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/12/fcts-masterpiece-of-gobbledygook.html).

Vasquez claimed that the FCT's top officials have rejected an audit of the organization. Based on his conversation with an unidentified FCT board member, he wrote: "FCT officers (who) were strongly against the audit were San Juan, FCT Chairman Efren de Villa (no relation to other De Villas in this article), VP/CFO Lumanlan, Board Member Philip Beloso, and Board Member Frank Cruzet".  

Vasquez's article appears to put to task federal, provincial and local officials who had guested at an FCT event in August 2018 for their seeming lack of familiarity with the workings of FCT, its officials, and programs that are mostly supported by grants from government and NGOs.

These officials include Ahmed Hussen, Member of Parliament; Mitzie Hunter, Member of Provincial Parliament; John Tory, Mayor of Toronto. Photographed also at the same event were Jean Yip, Salma Zahid, and Gary Anandasangaree, all MPs; and other current and retired Toronto city officials. (Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved).

Dr. Connie Mariano: Filipino Physician of US Presidents

 Volume 3, Issue No. 2

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@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Monday, July 26, 2021 

~ Perhaps no other Filipino of stature had made such a big impact in the military and in the White House as this daughter of a Navy steward whose humility is unparalleled even as she rose to positions of trust and prominence. Dr. Connie Mariano moved with her parents and siblings to the US when she was a toddler, settled in San Diego, California, and from there, leapt to her fate as the guardian of health of three presidents of the United States. 

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

DR. CONNIE MARIANO, REAR ADMIRAL (Ret.)

The Guardian of Health of Three US Presidents

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.”― Abraham Lincoln

TORONTO - Call it serendipity, and it was exactly that, as I whizzed past yellowed and wrinkled copies of newspapers, magazines, and steno notebooks from the mid-90s and brought to Toronto in boxes since relocating from a 16-year sojourn in California eleven years ago.

They are my personal files, mostly transcript and collections representing some of my work as a community journalist in the United States approximating the beginning of my transition from being a foreign correspondent for two news agencies, one Japanese and the other German, a few years into Ferdinand Marcos' martial law rule.

Reporting as a member of the foreign press corps had somewhat unloosened journalists from the dreaded clutches of the Philippine strongman. The locals, however, were subjected to strict censorship, and worse, to jail time.

The venerable Teddy Benigno, bureau chief of Agence France-Presse (later press secretary of President Cory Aquino), had proposed an organization to protect Manila-based foreign journalists from intimidation and harassment by the Marcos dictatorship. That resulted in the establishment of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).

But the nature of the job was not much distinct. The fundamentals are the same, except that news presentation for global consumption is decidedly straightforward and comprehensive than for a domestic audience - that's where foreign reporting veers away from community journalism. 

Writing about, and for, the community was my means to declutter my mind from world affairs and Philippine national news that had impacted the world at large. Reporting for a variety of readers in foreign lands was an exhausting job, but it's the kind that occupied a foreign correspondent like myself every day for over a decade.

And so it was on to San Diego where I instantly landed a job as associate editor and then editor-in-chief, respectively, of two competing newspapers. My tenure in the latter capacity did not last very long as professional differences with my principals led me to found my own newspaper, Diario Veritas, which pioneered in local investigative reporting. Now on my own, I also did freelance writing.

While opening one of the brown boxes, a pleasant surprise greeted me: a pristine copy of the San Francisco-based Filipinas magazine dated November 2000 buried midway in the files of manuscripts and newspaper clippings.

On the cover was a large colored picture of Dr. Connie Mariano (born Eleanor Concepcion Mariano), looking elegant and authoritative in the full dress uniform of a United States Navy admiral, dignified, well-coiffed, and smiling a toothsome that radiated self-confidence.

The official photo complemented the cover story I wrote for that issue. Among others, it highlighted the many firsts this Sangley Point, Cavite-born, San Diego-raised Navy steward's daughter had historically achieved in the years following her parents' resettlement from a small town in Pampanga to the US. 

Based in Washington, DC as the White House physician, I felt so honored when she agreed to be interviewed during her scheduled visit to Los Angeles, which was a two-and-a-half-hour drive from my home office in San Diego. 

Unlike her formal portrait in the magazine, now at this first personal meeting she was wearing a fashionable pantsuit that evoked the prestige and influence of her eminent position. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Mariano).

After that interview, we ran across each other again during the convention of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) in Las Vegas, Nevada where I believed she was the guest speaker. I covered that event for my newspaper and for other news outlets in California, Arizona, and Chicago. (See collage).

Dr. Mariano's narrative - her rise in military rank and, inevitably, to fame - has elevated Filipinos in general. She always looked back notwithstanding the dizzying heights of success she has accomplished when all she had wanted was to be a good servant doctor.

My eyes became moist every time she acknowledged her roots, her parents and the family's humble beginnings, and the many Filipinos aboard ships and on land serving as stewards like her father to high Navy officials. Even now, I can feel the respect she bestowed on her compatriots, on the rank-and-file in the military, and on the masses generally.

Having been the physician to three US presidents  - George H. W. Bush (final year of his term), Bill Clinton (entire eight years), and George W. Bush (first year of term) - she was literally their guardian of health. In reality, she was taking care of a bigger official family that included their spouses and their children, and more. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician_to_the_President).

Dr. Mariano was appointed in 1992 as White House Physician, the first military woman in American history to be designated as such. President Bill Clinton raised her profile even more, naming her Director of the White House Medical Unit, which made her as its first woman director, and choosing her as his personal physician. She's also the first Filipino American in US history to become a rear admiral in the US Navy.

A good twenty years have passed since that cover story in Filipinas magazine. It came to light again once I learned that she has written a memoir in 2010 titled The White House Doctor - My Patients Were Presidents. 

I have been out of touch. In fact, I didn't know about that book until I was browsing Amazon and Indigo online and found a book with a familiar face on the cover and a name I knew I had interacted with before: Dr. Connie Mariano.

Now on a virtual face-to-face with her, the information triggered my search for the Filipinas magazine I knew I kept somewhere for posterity.

The year (2010) Dr. Mariano wrote her book was the same year I moved to Toronto from San Diego. When the first prints came out in June 2011, I was already fully engrossed with the good and bad news in Toronto, and almost forgetting contacts with friends and news sources in California.

So, ten years hence, but still current, I bought a copy online of Dr. Mariano's memoir. It's never too late to keep abreast of her through her book and be touched by her experience. She's done ourselves proud! (Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved).

Life's Early Lessons Provide Deep Grounding

As we embark on our third year with this blog, we're featuring real-life stories and experiences that keep us grounded. The commitment to serve the community with news - good and bad, but nonetheless enlightening - and news analyses to help in the understanding of issues remains firm and undiluted. We started this blog on July 1, 2019, and three years later, we're still very much at it. (https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2019/07/writing-column-quarter-of-century-on.html) 

***                              ***                              ***

Volume 3, Issue No. 1

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@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Monday, July 19, 2021 

~ The harder the struggle, the sweeter the results in overcoming the hurdles. That's an experience worth writing and sharing. Failure to fulfill youthful ambitions because of situations beyond one's control could be inspirational. It fuels hope and moves one to soldier on.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

PURSUING WORLDLY AMBITION - PART 1

Anecdotes From Many Years Ago

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Find a purpose to serve, not a lifestyle to live.” ― Criss Jami

TORONTO - Something I had never thought would come to be fulfilled was this youthful ambition to go places outside the birth country, literally and figuratively.

Many adolescent minds like mine have had the daring outlook that had seemed unrealistic - join the United States Navy and see the world! 

The conventional thinking was that it was a sure way to accomplish life goals. Besides, the pay, quite meager by today's standards, would lift a family's dire financial straits. 

That notion held so much truth. Families of my cousins in the Philippines felt a certain pride - and a few notches higher in social standing - as soon as their sons got accepted and shipped to San Diego, California for boot camp preparatory to their formal admission in the Navy.

The Navy was a way out of poverty, the key to a good life, and the initial step to fulfilling the American Dream for the entire family. 

I should know. Forbearance, tenacity, and sheer grit had paid off on most of my relatives and neighbors in our small community in Cavite and Quezon.

I was the first one in the family to try to enlist In the Navy, not to chase an ambiguous American Dream, but as a stepping stone to get higher education. A brother followed suit. Unfortunately, my vision was not that good to even qualify. That effectively ended my quest.

The military had a powerful appeal to me. To this day, brilliant military minds are my stimulants. The uniform impressed me. The hard work behind that uniform had a mythic quality that aroused my curiosity. I had wanted to be that person proudly wearing the uniform.

Once graduated from high school, I had trained my sight on getting a slot at the Philippine Military Academy, hoping to be an officer someday. But that too faded from view when the congressman in our Pasay City district said he had already filled up his quota. That crushed me a little.

One prerequisite in entering the academy at that time was a recommendation from your congressman. In my case, that congressman was Eddie Ilarde, the radio broadcaster who had been elected to Congress in his first foray into politics. 

Though frustrated, I did not give up entirely. In college, after the mandatory two-year basic ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) training, I took the advanced course for another two years. Completing the full four years had made me eligible to join the armed forces as an officer. 

My branch of service then was the paramilitary police force, the Philippine Constabulary, the forerunner of the Philippine National Police. I felt so thrilled to have conquered the hurdles. I was now a probationary second lieutenant. 

Soon after surviving the intense training in Camp John Wilhelm (renamed Camp General Guillermo Nakar in July 1978), my first assignment was as a detachment commander in a rebel-infested town in Bicol. The communist New People's Army was at its height recruiting people to its cause.

That was fine with me. When I was not on duty, I would slip incognito and visit my two uncles and the whole clan in Unisan and Lucena City, Quezon. In Unisan, my cousins would fete me with yellowfin tuna and lobster caught the night before in Tayabas Bay near Marinduque, and bottomless beer and lambanog (coconut wine).

Not long after, disillusionment began to creep in. My ideals as an officer and a gentleman were being eroded by what I had witnessed in the daily running of the detachment.

During one of those quiet evenings keeping watch, I opened up to a trusted member of our squad, a sergeant, about the very low pay. He expressed little sympathy, if at all. He told me not to worry about not being paid a decent salary. "There's always jueteng, sir! We'll get our weekly 'allowance'."

The so-called allowance was actually a bribe. Turn a blind eye and stay deaf to everything and you'd be rewarded with piles of money. That was what it was. 

It kept me thinking. If I was going to raise a family of my own, it would not be like this. The honor I had so coveted of being an officer and a gentleman, in this instance a Constabulary officer, would not be trampled upon, not by this ignoble means.

After completing my tour several months later, I left the Constabulary very much disillusioned by the experience. 

The prestige of being an officer, the regimented life guided by rules and convention, the constant danger of being attacked by communist rebels, the prospect of losing everything - well, they did not merit the sacrifice. (Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved).

FCT Co-Founder Resigns But Vows to Continue to Help

Volume 2, Issue No. 66

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@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Friday, July 9, 2021 

~ That the statement comes from a respected member of the community should be significant. Call it a wake-up call, but Dr. Victoria Santiago, a co-founder of Filipino Centre Toronto, minces no words when she says FCT should come clean. Indeed years have passed and FCT officials have fortified themselves, perhaps muted by their own fears, and stayed quiet despite repeated demands for an audit of its finances. Dr. Santiago has resigned from the organization but she remains committed to supporting its special projects.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

AS DR. VICTORIA SANTIAGO, CO-FOUNDER, QUITS

Filipino Centre Toronto Should Come Clean

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“One person with commitment accomplishes more than a thousand with an opinion.” ― Orrin Woodward

TORONTO - One of the renowned founders of a Filipino community organization in the Greater Toronto Area has left the group because, according to insiders, she had been rendered voiceless in the administration of FCT.

But Dr. Victoria Santiago, a family dentist who operates at least three dental clinics in the city, said she quit Filipino Centre Toronto, the non-profit she helped found 20 years ago, on personal grounds.

"My reason for my resignation was personal," she tells this reporter in response to questions about her reported leaving. "I’m going to work part-time in my chosen profession - in short, semi-retire," she adds.

Knowledgeable sources within the FCT claimed Dr. Santiago supported an independent audit of FCT finances following the 2017 sale of its old downtown building for $5.9 million and the acquisition of a fixer-upper one-story structure in Scarborough for $1.9 million.

"She is in favour of the audit, but one against 18 other members of the board she is not winning," sources explained. An audit would help clarify the current financial condition of FCT, particularly the status of the $4-million remainder of the sale. 

As this article was being finalized on Friday, July 9, 2021, Dr. Santiago reacted to a comment that FCT should come clean and that "to the best of my knowledge, an audit is happening". 

"Of course, FCT has to come clean because the public, including yours truly, have donated funds. But I don't think I can change that culture. I mean I cannot change that culture," she stresses.

An identical article in two Filipino tabloids said the audit could "clear up outstanding concerns and matters on its accounting practices and questions relating to accounts payable of $678,000 that the BOD (board of directors) only revealed to its members right after the 2017 sale of its building asset.

The leadership of FCT headed by Mary San Juan, president, and Efren de Villa, board chairman, appears lukewarm to repeated demands by both members and whistle-blowers for an audit. Whistleblowers claimed the FCT board still has to come out with financial statements covering the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

That five-year period covers the time - the year 2017 - when FCT sold its building on Parliament St. and made a significant amount of money. The following year, 2018, FCT bought its present home for $1.9 million.

All those years and earlier, except 2020, Dr. Santiago claimed she was effectively gone from FCT. 

"I’ve been out of the FCT board since 2013," she states, though she continued supporting the organization by participating in its gala parties, basketball tournaments, and other activities where she was the main sponsor.

"Being absent from the board meetings from 2013-2019 has created a big gap in continuity that made me wonder the credibility. So I decided to stay out," she clarifies.

In 2020, Dr. Santiago said she rescinded her earlier decision and got back again because FCT was in need of board members. "I obliged myself to rejoin," she says, thus breaking her promise to help "not as a board member".

She said her decision to stay out and help in special projects "should not be misconstrued as endorsement of everything about FCT. This is my way of giving back".

A "Vicki", who was later confirmed to be Dr. Victoria Santiago, was among six claimants identified only by their nicknames and initials, to whom FCT allegedly owed money totaling $678,000. Their monetary claims surfaced once FCT had completed the sale of its building for $5.9 million.

For her part, according to documents obtained by this reporter, FCT paid "Vicki" $300,000. The other claimants and the payment they received from FCT are: "RCJ" (Rosalinda Cerrudo-Javier, now deceased, former FCT president - $96,000; "Felino" (Felino Javier, husband of RCJ) - $122,000; "CRA" (Canada Revenue Agency) - $122,000; "Wendy" (Wendy Arena) - $30,000; and "S and J Mechanicals - $8,000.

The alleged payments have been at the center of controversy for years now. Both Mary San Juan, president, and Efren de Villa, board chairman, have not said anything on the issue. Even when reached for comment for this story, neither responded as of this writing.

Dr. Santiago's departure is "another blow to FCT's unsettled image," a published article by Maria CJ de Villa says. "Dr. Santiago was known to be a voice of reason and conscience in FCT governance and aims as a Board member to adequately address issues and champion the truth". (Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved).