FBI Issues Arrest Warrant for the 'Appointed Son of God'

Volume 3, Issue No. 33

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 and beyond . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Monday, February 14, 2022 

~ Can Divine Providence intercede for an "appointed son" facing charges of sex trafficking of children. bulk cash smuggling, among others, in the United States? The answer is we don't know. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warrant of arrest for Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed "appointed son of God", whose face and personal information have been circulated in a WANTED BY THE FBI poster. The faces and metrics of two of his aides - Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag - are likewise plastered on posters and distributed in the U.S. and the Philippines. The trio now duplicates in the FBI listing the notorious feat by Filipino-American serial killer Andrew Phillip Cunanan who had been in the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives after murdering international fashion designer Gianni Versace in 1997.  

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WANTED BY THE F.B.I.

Apollo Quiboloy, the 'Appointed Son of God'

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“What is a 'false prophet'? Those who lie by attributing personal biases to divine source.” ― Leland Lewis

TORONTO - The long arm of the law appears to be catching up on a self-declared Filipino divinity - the so-called "appointed son of God" whose earthly name is Apollo Carreon Quiboloy - who reportedly commands a flock estimated to number over six million in about 200 countries.

Call me a skeptic but I keep wondering how God, in His infinite wisdom, would "appoint" (meaning designate) - not "anoint" (meaning make someone holy) - someone like Quiboloy and deputize him as His "son". 

"Only the Son," the preacher says, "has the Access to the father" (sic) and quotes John 14:6 thus, "I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man goes to the Father but by Me" to justify it.

Whatever his claim is, it looks like his "appointment" has not deterred the Federal Bureau of Investigation from chasing after the flamboyant televangelist to answer charges ranging from sex trafficking of children, marriage fraud, money laundering, visa fraud, bulk cash smuggling, conspiracy, and sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.

Philippine media are speculating that Quiboloy, one of the richest pastors in the country with a net worth estimated at between 50 to 100 million pesos, might be extradited to the U.S. to face his accusers. 

But Philippine Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara has said the U.S. State Department would have to request it from the Department of Foreign Affairs which would review and endorse it to the Justice Department before the extradition process would commence.

Reached for comment, Nicole Navas, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington told The Filipino Web Channel on Sunday, February 13, that "As a matter of policy, the U.S. Department of Justice generally does not comment on extradition-related matters until a defendant is in the United States.” 

Quiboloy's lawyers said in published reports that they were ready to defend the pastor in a legal battle that could take years to litigate.

Following the issuance of a federal warrant of arrest, the FBI has recently circulated a WANTED BY THE FBI poster containing personal information about Quiboloy who uses, according to the agency, two birth years - 1947 and 1950. The FBI is seeking public information about his whereabouts, although he is believed to be in the Philippines. 

He frequently appears on newscasts in SMNI or Sonshine Media Network International, the Makati City-based network he owns. Its website says the network has 17 radio stations nationwide with DZAR 1026 kHz Sonshine Radio Manila, Mega Manila as a flagship station, is also broadcasting worldwide through live stream.

The FBI has also released WANTED BY THE FBI posters of two of Quiboloy's trusted aides, namely, Teresita Tolibas Dandan, age 60; and Helen Panilag, age 57. Below is the full report of the FBI furnished The Filipino Web Channel:

APOLLO C. QUIBOLOY

Quiboloy is wanted for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders. 

Members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the U.S. year-round. 

It is alleged that females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals,” for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called “night duty.” 

Quiboloy was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling, and on November 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.

TERESITA TOLIBAS DANDAN 

Teresita Tolibas Dandan is wanted for her alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought members of a Philippines-based church to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders. 

Members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the U.S. year-round. 

Dandan allegedly played a central role in recruiting female victims, including minor victims, to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals” for church founder Apollo Carreon Quiboloy. The victims allegedly were required to prepare his meals, clean his residences, give him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy on a schedule determined by Dandan, Quiboloy, and others in what was referred to as “night duty.” 

Dandan is the alleged “international administrator” who was one of the top overseers of the church and the bogus charity operations in the United States. Dandan was indicted in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and promotional money laundering, and on November 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for her arrest. 

HELEN PANILAG

Helen Panilag is wanted for her alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members of a Philippines-based church to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders. 

Members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the U.S. year-round. 

Panilag is the alleged one-time top church administrator in the U.S. who oversaw the collection of financial data from church operations around the globe. Panilag was indicted for conspiracy by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, and on November 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for her arrest. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

The Romantic Adventure of Two Lovebirds

Volume 3, Issue No. 32

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 and beyond . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Friday, February 11, 2022 

~ Our guest writer from Seattle, Washington is literally oozing with love, lots of it, in fact, to move him to pen this wonderful missive to the one and only object of his affection. Years and the arrival of children have only sweetened and strengthened their relationship. We're running that letter here in observance of Valentine's Day on Monday, February 14. - Editor

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LOVE LETTER TO HIS DEAREST

Beloved Valentine

By CONRADO (SLUGGO) RIGOR JR. aka VALENTINO 

Guest Writer

My Dearest Valentine,

It is the Season of Love, my love. Commercial messages proclaim it everywhere -- in the malls, newspapers, billboards, on TV and -- even as I am shaving half-awake this lovely morning -- the radio wafts an unforgettable love song by Frankie that we had danced to long ago and far away.

And as I drift back…I am young and ferociously in love again to a fair and stunningly beautiful girl. I feel once more those silky smooth cheeks, the tender, dainty hands clutching mine, the magic scent of Blue Grass. Pure witchery!

How many decades have come and gone since then, my love? How many thousands of miles have we traveled together? Charm, romance and easy caring from you through the years bring forth only endearment and joy so that the twists and turns in life’s journey are not only made bearable but enchanting. 

Even after the children arrived, the astonishing part is that we have constantly been happy, more deeply in love, more contented with each passing year. Let me tell you that the best part of it all, one profound discovery I had long kept to myself, is that you are also my best friend.

One day, almost a quarter-of-a-century ago, with the children barely in their teens, we embarked on a major life-altering venture. The family pulled up its stakes and transplanted them half-way across the world to America. 

We knew from the start that this giant step would test us to the limit. And it did. My heart bled silently to have to see the transformation in you as you took care of the children, managed the household and still tackled a full-time job. At the end of each weekday, it pained me to see you flop down in bed exhausted. 

Gone were the housemaids and the nannies that you had grown up with back in the old homeland. Gone too were your once soft and dainty hands. America’s detergents, to our disappointment, were not kind to even gloved hands…washing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, the windowpanes, the car. 

And the cooking, grocery shopping, clothes in the hamper and the washer-dryer, the lawn, the endless chores that pummeled our patience and resolve in those early years. We cried now and then. But we had each other and the cheerfulness, the laughter and humor would never fade away. And we prayed a lot, remember? 

That was I think the time when faith kicked in to strengthen our family bonds even more. That was I think the time when I saw for myself what a marvelous, beautiful person I have been blessed with for a life partner. That was when it dawned on me how blessed and immensely lucky a bloke I really am.

Now that you’ve retired from a quasi-slavery job, I see that you have become even lovelier. And I know that like me you relish the added hours in a day that we spend happily together. 

One by one, the children are leaving our nest. They’re grown up now and are embarking on their own journeys. America, we learn, has a pattern of individualism and freedom that even traditionalist Filipino parents like us must accept. 

When we decided to live in America to become American citizens, we were determined to avoid culture shocks or nuances that would lull us into foolish acceptance. I must admit it was difficult balancing things in the beginning. 

But through it all, because of you, adjusting to America’s temperament and strange ways, the struggle to blend in, to strive, to contend with new horizons have been a piece of enseymada. 

Do you remember how we addressed the ‘why?’ of our coming to this great and benevolent land? It was genuine love for one another. Because we love our children so much we wanted them to have a better stab at life. 

But, believe me, it was agony to have to leave. You and I know how we sacrificed our own priorities for their future. For that, I love you even more. And our children, thank God, have never been happier seeing what love without barriers has made of us.

How many Valentine seasons have we spent together in America? I’ve stopped counting, my love. All I want to focus on is that wondrous feeling for you and how special you are to me not only on this Season of Love but for always. 

Not given to mushy stuff, I know you know how I may not openly demonstrate affection. But I struggle with myself this season to find the right words to tell you how good life has been with you as my wife. 

I write this letter convinced that the message I want conveyed will forever stay in your heart. Our journey together continues to be one magnificent, fun-filled, faith-laden romantic adventure.

Commercialized or not on this season of Valentine, Frankie says it all for love-struck dudes like me when he croons in his immortal lovey-dovey voice: “When somebody loves you, it’s no good unless he loves you -- all the way, all the way...”

Forever your amore,

Valentino*

 _____

*Valentino is Conrado (Sluggo) Rigor, Jr., a recently retired Executive Director of a 49-year old non-profit human services agency based in South Seattle. An ex-Information Attache and publisher of the Filipino-American Bulletin, Sluggo-Valentino is married to the former Marivic Friedlander, an AFP general's daughter. Both are army brats who met in the old Ft. Wm McKinley where they were neighbors. He is a thoroughbred (grade school through college) alumnus of U.P. and Marivic is a thoroughbred alumnae of  St. Theresa's College (STC-Manila). She also recently retired as curriculum assistant at the University of Washington. They have 5 grown-up children and have lived in Seattle since 1985. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

BBM-Sara Leads Campaign for Elective Posts in Philippines

Volume 3, Issue No. 31

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 and beyond . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Wednesday, February 9, 2022 

~ Ten candidates for president and nine for vice president have begun barnstorming for votes in the May 9, 2022, elections in the Philippines along with 64 aspirants for the 24-member Senate, and regional, city and municipal offices. Some candidates are believed to be running for the funds of it, implying financial motives. On Tuesday, February 8, the beginning of a three-month campaign period, the tandem of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and their senatorial bets officially launched their candidacies. 

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THREE-MONTH CAMPAIGN PERIOD BEGINS

BBM for President, Sara for Vice President

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Elections belong to the people.”- Abraham Lincoln

TORONTO - In a field of 10 candidates for president of the Philippines, one aspirant stands out - Ferdinand Marcos Jr., "Bongbong" or BBM, fondly to his legions of supporters - the inheritor of both adoration and scorn, and everything that goes with the name.

He is in tandem with Sara Z. Duterte, the current mayor of the City of Davao in Southern Philippines and the headstrong daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, who herself is competing with eight other hopefuls for votes for vice president.

BBM is called the "Tiger of the North" and Sara the "Eagle of Mindanao" - an allusion to the vote-rich regions of northern Philippines and Mindanao, the second-largest island (after Luzon where Manila is located) in the archipelago

Together, they make up the BBM-Sara UniTeam which, so far, appears to be poised to win by a landslide in the May 9, 2022, national elections for a six-year term based on surveys after surveys of voters regionwide and nationwide.

Their pre-poll showing could be attributed to their famous (or infamous) last names and their experience as local executives. 

BBM is the namesake of Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., the ousted president who ruled the country for 20 years, 14 under martial law. Critics called Sara the female version of the fiery Duterte, who, despite his curses and foul mouth, remains well-liked and whose approval rating hovers north of 70 percent.

Like the others, these two scions of popular families launched their first push at the Philippine Arena, reputed to be the world's largest indoor arena with a seating capacity of 55,000 in Bulacan, 30 kilometers north of Manila, on Tuesday, February 8, the beginning of a three-month campaign period for national and regional offices.

There, the UniTeam proclaimed their official candidates, including those running for the Senate. BBM and Sara spoke to a sea of green and red (their campaign colors) shirted crowd in and outside the arena. 

But it was BBM who I'm a little familiar with, having covered Malacanang Palace, the seat of power, as a foreign correspondent in the mid-70s, especially the turbulent years leading to the February 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled Marcos' reign, and on to Cory's Aquino's presidency.

Watching him speak, BBM really surprised me. He seems to have inherited his father's ability to connect with the masses and put them under his spell.

My sense then was that BBM's sister, Imee Marcos, was the logical choice to succeed the president given her early training and exposure to politics. But she fell in love with a married man, Tommy Manotoc who eventually divorced his wife, the beauty queen Aurora Pijuan, the 1970 Miss International, and married Imee. (Background story at: https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0107/010747.html).

It was the biggest scandal at that time as it crisscrossed individual loyalties, politics, and family relations. Manotoc's mother, Nena LaO, was a sister of then foreign secretary Raul Manglapus' wife Pacita LaO; and Conchita LaO, wife of Eugenio Lopez Jr., owner of the broadcast giant ABS-CBN. Manglapus and Lopez were both political enemies of Marcos. (Background story:  https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/sunday-life/2010/11/21/631544/imee-marcos-her-loves-martial-law-betrayal-and-life-after-edsa).

The Manotocs lived in San Lorenzo Village in Makati, their house just a few hundred meters from the Manila office of the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, the newspaper I worked for a number of years until I accepted an offer to put up the branch of the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the German news agency, and head it as Manila bureau chief. But I digress.

BBM's speech and the way he delivered it at the campaign kick-off reminded me of the late strongman. Now, I am of the opinion that he ultimately is the rightful heir of his father's political savvy. He could be a rabble-rouser just as well.

Aside from BBM, there are nine other aspirants for the presidency. However, four, including incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, are considered serious candidates. The joke is some candidates are running for the funds of it, implying financial motives.

Sara Duterte is among nine candidates for vice president that also includes Senators Vicente Sotto and Francisco Pangilinan. A total of 64 candidates are running for a seat in the 24-member Senate. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

A Grieving Widow's Love Vow

Volume 3, Issue No. 30

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 and beyond . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Monday, February 7, 2022 

~ The love month is here and so is the day set aside for all lovers worldwide. True, Valentine's Day has taken a commercial meaning but its deeper significance should not be taken for granted. A few days ago in New York City, a bereaved wife defined what love means to her. Losing her husband to a murderer's bullet, she bemoaned the experience and expressed in no uncertain terms what loving and losing was worth to her. 

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A DECLARATION OF ENDLESS LOVE 

'I Love You To The End of Time'

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.”
― Alfred Lord Tennyson

TORONTO - The words never left me since the widow of a slain New York City police officer expressed her anguish over the loss of her husband, Detective Jason Rivera, in Harlem on January 21.

He was responding to a 911 call for help with a fellow officer, Wilbert Mora, who was also fatally shot by a gunman who tried to escape but was gunned down by another officer and died days later.

"I love you to the end of time," Rivera's widow, Dominique Luzuriaga, vowed before hundreds of mourners that filled the St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan for his funeral on January 28. "I'm the loneliest without you," she sobbed, the pain evident in every word she intoned. (Video at: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nypd-officer-jason-rivera-to-be-mourned-at-st-patricks-funeral/3520566/).

That was a cathartic moment for her. She was like a dam that broke loose, her tearful tribute akin to the onrush of water, so full of emotions as she let go and accepted the reality of his departure and diffidently surrendered to a love lost.

The expressions of undying love, extraordinary in these times, struck me, and many others I'm sure, for one woman's deep commitment to the person she most trusted to spend a life with. The words are now seared into my consciousness.

Luzuriaga's sorrow would take time to heal but there's a sparkle that flows out of her heartbreaking remarks. That sparkle gives us hope. We all love to be loved, to be cared, and to be exalted in our humility.

"I love you to the end of time" sounds awkward In this age of instant love and lack of ardor. Yet the meaning, its pragmatic and romantic essence, is there for everyone to feel, except perhaps the lovelorn.

How fitting the language is, one unmistakably coming from the heart, as we celebrate what has evolved through centuries as Valentine's Day on February 14th. (More info at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day).

Rather than be consumed by grief, I'd rather look at her situation as a renewal of enduring affection - the very essence of February as the love month, particularly on this Valentine's Day.

To me, Luzuriaga is an inspiration. I commiserate with her loss but at the same time, I feel ennobled as a man by her declaration. 

Every man or woman ought to have someone to tell him or her "I love you to the end of time" and be forever blissful for it.

And may I end this brief essay with a quote from Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet and diplomat who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971: “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving  . . . " (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

Virtual Taste of Manila Fests Duped Officials, Talents

Volume 3, Issue No. 29

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 and beyond . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Tuesday, February 1, 2022 

~ Philippine and Canadian officials have been unwittingly sucked into endorsing virtual events presented last year and the year prior by two interrelated groups pushing for the revival of the once-successful-but-now-bankrupt Taste of Manila festival. The original organization behind it had been dissolved and replaced by another and another in rapid succession. The people fronting now are of dubious motives and interests. Perhaps a good reflection of their character is the video presentations they created - they contained stolen footage and images manipulated to serve their hidden agenda. 

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TORONTO'S VERSION OF THE ART OF THE STEAL 

Officials Suck In in Virtual Taste of Manila Fests 

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“It's always easier to take something than work for it.” ― Alexandra Bracken

TORONTO - The names are those of the powerful and influential people in governments of the Philippines and Canada, and of two dozen Filipino talents who shared their musical artistry.

Names like Francisco Noel R. Fernandez, Charge d'Affaires at the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa; Orontes V. Castro, Philippine Consul General in Toronto; Mrs. Demphna Du-Naga Assistant Secretary, Department of Trade;

Marco Mendicino and Salma Zahid, both Members of Parliament; Doug Ford, Ontario Premier; Roman Baber, Member of Provincial Parliament; Toronto Mayor John Tory; City Councillor James Pasternak.

They contributed their time and lent the prestige of their office in the making of a virtual Taste of Manila event in August 2020 without knowing they were endorsing what could be, or what may turn out to be, a potentially fraudulent business scheme.

"Virtual ToM" was repeated last year with the usual suspects on board. That it happened again appears to suggest the organizers made a decent amount of money from sponsorships and donations. We don't know really, and nobody's talking.

But what the invitees - those officials and talents - didn't know was that the presentation would not have been comprehensive without historical context, a gap easily filled in by film footage stolen, then manipulated and incorporated in what had been passed on as the 2020 version of a virtual Taste of Manila top-billed as "Super Saya".

ToM's significance was not in the last two (2020 and 2021) virtual stagings but in ToM's prior-to-COVID history from 2014 to 2019. That was the part the new organizers didn't have. So they stole them in broad daylight from my YouTube outlet The Filipino Web Channel. 

"Detestable" is a mild term to describe the steal by this bunch of pot-bellied men and women seeking new validation as exponents of wholesome community activities.

There's a clear attempt to shine, whatever it takes apparently, so they resort to dirty tactics, unaware that their every move is being watched by those who knew how they ply their trade. 

Call them what you may - purloiner, larcener, pilferer. thief, robber, crook, pirate, bandit, etc., they have one thing in common: they steal, and shamelessly at that.

Steal, says the dictionary, is the act of taking the property of another without right or permission. It's also defined as "to present or use someone else's words or ideas as one's own". 

The Criminal Code of Canada equates steal to theft. Steal means to commit theft. Theft is committed "when a person fraudulently and without colour of right takes, converts anything with intent to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it".

Twice in as many years, two groups whose officers are basically the same but sporting different names, have appropriated select footage of videos I had taken during my coverage of the yearly Taste of Manila (ToM) street festival beginning in 2014. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZeQk-wySXY).

Neither one nor the other sought permission to use the copyrighted material in their promotional effort to reboot ToM through virtual presentations in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and again last year. ToM's fate is practically doomed, its original crew has disbanded, and its funds, if ever there were any, have been depleted.

I was unaware that my ToM videos were being wantonly replicated and manipulated by the upstart Philippine Community Events and Services Ontario (very aptly abbreviated to PESO) in 2020, and by an unknown organization masquerading as, or is actually, Tomz Radio Toronto (TRT).

No luck in finding that out. Its email address that I have used to complain against their practice is perhaps a non-functioning decoration to impress and look legitimate. I say this after waiting for more than three weeks for a response from any responsible person in TRT. There's none as of this writing.

Note that some PESO officers are also officers of TRT.  There's an intermingling of interests ostensibly to achieve the unstated goal of raking in money from event sponsors. The death by coronavirus of the original ToM has displaced some people and threw a monkey wrench into their future plans.

The self-proclaimed founder of ToM, Rolly Mangante, a retired chauffeur of the Philippine Consulate Toronto, holds himself up either as CEO or marketing manager. (Related story at: https://www.balita.ca/taste-of-manila-goes-distasteful-one-street-festival-and-three-financial-reports/). 

The omnipresent Philip Beloso, most times a photo hugger and sometimes a photobomber, is PESO president. He is likewise with the trouble-ridden Filipino Centre Toronto, and occasionally, a garrulous emcee for some community events. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-PmytZ9wDE).

PESO's chief of staff is a certain Cecile Araneta, the plump lady whose image was spliced into my video with Mangante's chubby wife Nieves Mangante. At first glance, the women look identical, almost like twins. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_398v7dDQhQ). Araneta is also president and COO of TRT.

The tireless chatterbox Mon Datol of the harebrained "Anghel ng Tahanan" (or was it "Ilaw ng Kusina"?) fame is PESO's media director/executive adviser, and radio station manager of TRT. 

So what do these seemingly incestuous, intra-corporate relationships indicate? Who does one hold accountable for the blatant breach of law and ethics?

I believe supporters and sponsors of the virtual presentations should be made aware of the amount of duplicity the people of PESO and TRT are engaged in. Nobody wants to get entangled in suits or public outcries of deceitful practices.

PESO and TRT did not only victimize me and their sponsors, they also victimized Philippine diplomats, members of Canada's Parliament, members of the Ontario legislative assembly, Toronto City officials, and the talents who performed for the virtual presentation.

I don't think they would have acquiesced if they knew PESO and TRT and the people behind them do not represent Filipinos in Canada. If ever they do, they represent the worst kind. Though there are high-profile thieves in the Filipino community, their presence in several Filipino organizations does not in any way reflect on the entire Filipino diaspora.

Stealing is an act too serious to pass. Plagiarism is stealing as it involves copying words and images or co-opting someone else's ideas without citing the original work. "Plagiarism is wrong," says Wikipedia, "because it doesn't give credit where credit is due - to the person or entity that originally created the work". 

PESO and TRT should know. Or are they too dumb to know that? (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).