Filipino Web Magazine

Monday, 16 January 2023

Worst Ordeal Gives Rise to a Rare Friendship

Volume 4, Issue No. 38

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, January 16, 2023

~ True friends, those who will stand by you through good and bad times, are a rarity. If they come into your life, keep them like the precious gifts that they are. In an extraordinary show of emotion, this Filipino businesswoman broke down teary-eyed during an interview while paying tribute to friends who remain loyal and supportive throughout her worst ordeal in Toronto.

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A TEST OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP
Caring Friends Are Invaluable Gift

They Stick Around in Good and Bad Times

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter." - Chinese proverb

TORONTO - "Ang tawag ko sa kanila tunay na kaibigan".

Since I heard those words spoken by a tearful Filipino businesswoman at the tail-end of a television interview some time ago, the deep and full meaning continues to haunt me. It's so profound, to say the least.

"I call them true friends" is how it translates into English, but its true spirit - the subtle nuance of an inner feeling baring itself - is best expressed in Tagalog.

Those words resonate with me personally. My own particular experience in the United States and Canada for the past 30 years echoes that sentiment. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/04/friendships-in-filipino-community.html).

Admittedly, I have a handful of friends, trusted friends I will keep forever, for the very same reasons stated in that interview. Having good friends, to me, is like being wedded to a loved one - through thick and thin, for better or worse, in sickness and in health . . .

It was Lily Miranda aka Lily Hammer, the businessperson, unloading herself before the camera to an unseen and unnamed interviewer at the studio of Filipino TV in the northeastern city of Markham, Ontario. (Video at: https://www.facebook.com/filipinotvcanada/videos/2850581778306924/).

I actually had several interviews with her in a coffee shop by herself, and with friends in restaurants, but having a conversation in a public setting was not quite useful in prompting her to talk, revealing herself, as she did in the relative privacy of a workshop. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JSfIOTN0uk).

She was recounting her ordeal as a newly-arrived caregiver in 2009, then as an astute entrepreneur managing her own workforce management company, and, as the firm grew to become a major labor supplier in Ontario, her unexpected brush with the law.

The encounter with law enforcement authorities, virtually the Government of Canada, was full of ironies. She began fighting for her life and dignity while dispensing the same in equal measure to hundreds of folks seeking economic opportunities far better than their near-poverty status in the Philippines and elsewhere.

Some of those people were the same ones that betrayed her. A driver-turned-community organizer sabotaged her and the company. A member of a left-leaning organization in Toronto had tried to corrupt her. An admitted fraudster colluded with disgruntled workers (runaways they are called) who fabricated false testimonies. A paralegal acting lawyer-like without saying she had been stripped of her license. There are more.

They, including the federal Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). were all trying to prove - unsuccessfully - that Lily had engaged in human trafficking, illegal recruitment of workers, and misrepresentation. None of those was true. (Related story at: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/12/11/human-trafficking-charges-dropped-against-migrant-worker-recruiter.html).

Unable to show the allegations beyond doubt for lack of evidence, Crown prosecutors decided to give up. In a complete reversal of their positions, they moved to drop the cases against Lily at a Superior Court hearing on December 11, 2019. (Video and full story at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QprwiFQiLjs).

Dropping the charges means wiping the slate clean for Lily. Clean as a whistle, as the saying goes. However, it did not end her ordeal, as it should be. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/12/scavenging-dumpsters-is-not-way-to-look.html).

A Toronto tabloid is trying to whip up a frenzy with renewed attacks on her. Instead of letting sleeping dogs lie, the fortnightly rag went wild with an offensive disguised as a warning against scammers.

I believe it was a regurgitation of an old story that failed to gain traction. Wanting in cold, hard facts, the paper was driven by hate, envy, and jealousy, and corrupted by an "elite" gang of scammers that condemned Lily's alleged infractions.

Yet all this time since December 2019, the truth is out there for everybody to see, read, and watch. Newspapers, radio, television, and social media outlets had a field day reporting the news of what amounted to an acquittal.

The mainstream Toronto Star bannered the dismissal of her case in its GTA section. And so did a number of regional newspapers in Ontario. The Filipino Web Channel covered the court proceedings and published its own articles and video stories. CityNews was there. The same with the Inquirer, a Manila-based paper. So what's the beef?

"I thank God for helping me overcome the worst and biggest challenge of my life," says Lily towards the end of the interview. Then as tears roll down her cheek, she breaks down. "I look so strong but deep inside, I'm still human."

She tried to regain her composure, and in between sobs, she thanked her employer, a dozen or so friends here and in Manila, and the many mushroom pickers who believed in her innocence and hung on, offering help any way they can.

Friday, 13 January 2023

In Multi-Cultural Toronto, Jose Rizal Is Not Widely Known

Volume 4, Issue No. 37

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Friday, January 13, 2023

~ Not all Filipinos, let alone non-Filipinos, in multi-cultural, multi-racial Toronto know who Jose Rizal was, his origins, where he was put to death by musketry, and who his executioners were. None of these essential facts merited a mention in a historical marker attached recently to his bust in this city's Earl Bales Park. We do not know why. The Manila-based National Historical Commission which donated the marker was of no help in clarifying things. And neither were the so-called Rizal "knights".

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BUST AT EARL BALES PARK
Who Executed Jose Rizal, Where?

A Marker Omits Crucial Details of His Death

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” - George Orwell

TORONTO - From grade school to adulthood, the fact is drilled into our heads - that the nationalist, writer, and physician Jose Rizal is the Philippines' foremost national hero, not Andres Bonifacio, and neither Emilio Aguinaldo.

Rizal, the romanticist, had inspired the revolution that Bonifacio, the feisty plebeian, and Aguinaldo, the military tactician, had pursued to the end. It is their revolutionary zeal - the latter two, I mean - that appeals strongly to me. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baMKwePlzPo).

But it was Rizal who was martyred at age 35, and that reality had elevated him later on to god-like status in the country's annals. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak87ArSXQPk).

The culprit responsible for Rizal's death by firing squad was the Spanish colonial government, one of the unsparing tentacles of the Spanish Empire which had colonized the islands for over three centuries.

The task of carrying out Rizal's execution on the morning of December 30, 1896, in Bagumbayan, now the Luneta or Rizal Park in Manila, fell on a contingent of Filipino and Spanish soldiers. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvgIudvTEGA).

Contrary to what is softly stated in the historical marker at the foot of his bust on Earl Bales Park that Rizal "was charged with inciting dissent", the historical record shows he was convicted by a Spanish court martial and sentenced to die by musketry for rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy against Spain.

None of these essential facts is mentioned in the marker. If the purpose is to inform or promote the Philippines in Canada as a country worthy of respect, then that marker is an abject failure.

A reference to the basics would help educate Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike in a segment of Philippine history. Remember that Spain was not the country's sole colonizer, there was the United States too for half a century, and briefly, the Japanese.

Filipinos revolted against Spain leading to the declaration of Philippine independence on June 12, 1898. It was short-lived as the US took possession of the islands, triggering the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), and the eventual colonization by the US. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itOUkyevgSY).

History tells us that the Philipines had its independence two times; one, by the proclamation of its sovereign people in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898, freeing the country from Spain's imperial rule; and two, by "gaining" it from exploitative US colonizers on July 4, 1946.

These historical antecedents, I believe, should have been enough to rectify what I see as distortions in the historical marker at Rizal's bust in Earl Bales Park. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gquI4L1gmMQ).

A marker is not just a fancy tombstone, it is essentially a record of the life and times of the person being honored, in this case, Jose Rizal. Add to that, the people who persecuted and prosecuted him during a crucial juncture in Philippine history.

The marker as it now stands misses the significance of a people's struggle. It merely tells a brief, incomplete, and without context, an inaccurate narrative of what Rizal once was. The date and location of his birth are omitted just as his executioners are not mentioned.

Is this an attempt to play down the many atrocities committed by the Spaniards against Filipinos during the years they held sway over the islands?

The National Historical Commission in Manila, which donated the historical marker, did not respond to a request for comment.

Similarly, a Toronto official of the Knights of Rizal, supposedly the patriotic and cultural organization "created to honor and uphold the ideals" of Rizal, also did not reply to questions about the marker. (Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved).

Tuesday, 10 January 2023

There's a Good Promise in Filipino Town

Volume 4, Issue No. 36

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Tuesday, January 10, 2023

~ Let's start afresh. The New Year should mean new beginnings. And the way to move on is to get rid of what pains us and paints us bad. If that meant purging ourselves of the troublesome festival called Taste of Manila (ToM), so be it. The infighting, the accusations, the fakery, the stealing, the alleged scams - let's cleanse them out of our consciousness. Prior to ToM, there was Filipino Town of FilTown in what's now referred to as Little Manila. There were idealists and real community leaders in Filipino Town. Let's get them back for the sake of our community.

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BACK TO FILIPINO TOWN
We Should Get Rid of Taste of Manila

Instead of Watching the Spectacle of a Fight

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Everywhere the same madness: people fighting and crying out for their own destruction". - Marty Rubin

TORONTO - The ongoing legal skirmish for the right to hold the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival in August should give us pause and reflect on its viability as an authentic representation of the Filipino community.

The wranglings may already be suggestive of the disposition of the people who customarily embark on a practice many Filipinos are familiar with - the so-called crab mentality.

Wikipedia defines it perfectly, thus: "Crab mentality, also known as crab theory, crabs in a bucket mentality, or the crab-bucket effect, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase 'if I can't have it, neither can you'. The metaphor is derived from anecdotal claims about the behavior of crabs when they are trapped in a bucket".

At the core of the dispute is the self-promoted founder of ToM, Rolly Mangante, alias "kabise," the former driver of the Philippine Consulate, who had contracted an inexperienced not-for-profit (NFP) org called SPARC (Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community), to conduct this year's festival.

His conduct appears violative of an earlier agreement, this time with IEC (International Entertainment Company), also a newbie org, which has an existing three-year contract, court filings by its officials Cecille Araneta and Ramon Datol claimed.

IEC has asked the Superior Court to stop Mangante and SPARC led by Danilo "Sani" Baluyot from proceeding with the planned ToM 2023. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-avarice-of-festival-organizers.html).

A SPARC functionary who goes by the pseudonym Marites Tolits has announced that: "The matter is in our lawyer's hands. We refute all allegations against SPARC. None of the claims or allegations in the Statement of Claim have been proven in court and no injunctions have been granted against any party concerned".

Mangante's change of heart was dictated by a slightly higher offer from SPARC to the tune of $100,000 versus IEC's $85,000 paid directly to him to stage the festival, according to sources familiar with the matter. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ap92btLM8).

Repeated attempts to get Mangante to clarify the issues have been for naught.

However, in an "official public statement" recently posted on Facebook, it states that, and I quote verbatim, " "Taste of Manila Productions ( Who Operates as "The Taste of Manila") and founder, Mr. Rolando Mangante, are aware of the recent allegations brought forth by International Entertainment Company. All allegations are denied, and we will vigorously defend this matter"."

Shall we all bear witness to this unfolding drama over a petty sum coveted by an insatiable lust for money? Shall we continue to exhibit Filipinos' crab mentality?

One alternative for the Filipino community is to drop ToM altogether. What has it accomplished other than lining up some people's pockets? Forget it as a feast. Consign it to oblivion. Let the protagonists fight among themselves. Let them bleed dry. By kicking it off our collective consciousness, we start fresh.

Now that brings me to the time prior to ToM. In December 2013, a good eight months before ToM came into existence, a group of Filipino entrepreneurs staked a claim to a North York area from the junction of Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave. and named it Filipino Town or FilTown. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrrv4kSqJDE).

There was no Little Manila yet. This hub evolved only from ToM's first staging in August 2014 when Philippine Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan christened, though informally, the Bathurst-Wilson area as Little Manila. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZa99xeGW0).

Since then, Little Manila has morphed into some kind of Potemkin village and a battleground for egos and unfulfilled aspirations, an arena for conflicting personal interests, and an outlet for fraudsters and pseudo-role players.

Far from its stated mission to serve the community, ToM has developed into a showcase for hideous scammers and shameless tricksters, and name-droppers.

With all the legal and financial troubles looming ahead, the time has come to put an end to the pain and sorrow that ToM and its handlers have brought to the community.

Maybe the idealists behind Filipino Town or FilTown should reassemble starting this year, or the next, for us to regain our dignity as a people. If ToM has displayed the worst in us, maybe FilTown or its organizers like Deo Moreno could redeem the pride we're fast losing. (Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved).

Sunday, 1 January 2023

A Wish for Happiness and More Blessings This 2023

From Romar Media Canada and all its online affiliates. including The Filipino Web Channel, Currents & Breaking News, and Filipino Web Entertainment Channel, we wish our readers, subscribers, patrons, supporters, friends, family, and the whole community the blessings of a Happy and Prosperous 2023.

Monday, 26 December 2022

Taste of Manila Scored for False Representation

Volume 4, Issue No. 35

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Monday, December 26, 2022

~ The bad things some people are willing to do are unraveling piece by piece in the very core of the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival. Not quite settled yet post-pandemic, ToM's supposed point man in the Philippine capital - its alleged "chief PR & political affairs" - is denouncing ToM organizers for using his name and picture to underline his purported "appointment" without his consent. This is not surprising as ToM has also stolen film footage to market the festival.

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STEALING FOOTAGE IS NOT ENOUGH
'Chief PR' Condemns ToM's Stunt

'They're Using Me,' Says Man in Manila

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"The outside doesn't always match the inside". - Rebekah Crane

TORONTO - Stealing film footage did not seem enough for several individuals connected with the Taste of Manila (ToM) festival; they had to resort to something else just as egregious.

In order to look good, and keep the appearance of being outstanding, organizers have put out a website documenting their thievery on a scale unparalleled in community associations. Perhaps the realization that it was unlawful has not dawned on them.

Or, maybe they were banking on the possibility that nobody would care to look into it with such a minute scrutiny as the one this journalist and some friends are undertaking to flush out the culprits.

ToM's supposed point man in the Philippine capital Manila, identified on the website as Michael Salvador, has complained against his inclusion in the online portal.

Apparently, he had not been advised, nor his consent sought, to the use of his photo, name, and designation as "chief PR & political affairs".

"Dapat tangalin nila yan kasi di ko naman alam yan at masama pa ako sa kaso," he writes in Tagalog on a Facebook post. (They should remove it because I might be dragged into the case).

"Wala silang consent sa akin," he explains when informed of his alleged "appointment" as ToM's "chief PR & political affairs". (They have no consent from me).

"No, I did not know this. They are using my name," Salvador tells a friend in Toronto who had notified him about the developments in ToM.

The "case" Salvador had adverted to is the petition for injunction the International Entertainment Company (IEC) of Cecille Araneta and Ramon Datol has filed in Superior Court against ToM alleged founder Rolly Mangante, ToM, and new partner SPARC (Society of Philippine Artists, Recreation and Community).

The IEC is asking the court to stop SPARC from staging the ToM festival in August 2023 allegedly because of Mangante's breaching of his three-year contract with IEC.

The suit followed the signing of an agreement between Mangante and SPARC to undertake next year's ToM. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/12/volume-4-issue-no.html).

SPARC is headed by Danilo Baluyot and realtor Rose Ami aka Rosemarie Ami-Seaborn, the self-identified online troll who hides behind the pseudonym Marites Tolits. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-avarice-of-festival-organizers.html).

At least three organizations appear to be complicit in ToM's questionable activities, namely, the Taste of Manila Production (TMP) of Mangante and family; the Philippine Events Services Ontario (PESO) of Philip Beloso, Pepito Torralba (no relation to the renown Torralba couple Ramon of Hotdog fame and wife Teresa), and Jerome Peralta; and the IEC of Araneta, Datol, and Dannasol Luna.

Under those purported not-for-profit organizations are what may be referred to as sub-contractors. One example is the digital outfit called "Lunatronix Studios" and its principals all surnamed Luna who, we are told, are brothers of fake "reporter" Dannasol Luna.

There's also the so-called TOMz Radio, some of whose corporate officers and members of the creative team are the same people belonging to IEC like Araneta, Datol, Mangante, and Ian Santillan, and Grace "JuGee" Pammit.

In her LinkedIn profile, Pammit said she was a "former entertainment/lifestyle writer" for the Philippine Courier, Datol's now-defunct entertainment tabloid. She said that she was also a "co-host" of an obscure radio program by Datol.

This bolsters my belief that she's the partially-identified "Grace" who authored the largely concocted "The History of the Taste of Manila" on ToM's website. (Full story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-revisionist-within-taste-of-manila.html).

The ToM street festival dominated the Filipino community's summer events from August 2014 to 2019. The pandemic effectively ended its six-year run.

The alleged not-for-profit PESO led by Philip Beloso and Pepito Torralba had revived it through virtual presentations in 2020 and 2021. In August 2022, another not-for-profit, the IEC of Araneta and Datol, staged its version of ToM in contract with Mangante.

ToM appears to be the central figure in the interlocking interests of several individuals who are either officers or members of at least three organizations whose coming into existence is questionable. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

Saturday, 24 December 2022

A Revisionist Within Taste of Manila Festival

Volume 4, Issue No. 34

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Saturday, December 24, 2022

~ The Filipino community is not wanting in role players, actors, pretenders, and so forth, and there are willing if unseeing enablers who take delight in promoting them regardless of the wrongs being committed. A purported historical account of the Taste of Manila street festival appears to be tailored to burnish an image soiled by alleged corruption and mismanagement.

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REVISING THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
Distortions, Factual Omissions at Taste of Manila

An Enabler Glorifies the Act and the Actor

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"What you allow is what will continue". - Unknown

TORONTO - The official website of Taste of Manila Inc. (https://www.thetasteofmanila.com/) has published a purported historical account of the street festival since it began in August 2014 in a North York hub now referred to, unofficially, as Little Manila, which is no more than a one-kilometer stretch of Bathurst St. from its junction at Wilson Ave.

The acknowledged author of that article is a certain Grace who, I surmise is Grace Pammit alias Grace Pammit-Luna, the "executive administrator" of Taste of Manila Production, the alliance that counts for its officers Rolly Mangante, Cecille Araneta, Ramon Datol, Danna Luna, among others. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTnX700_a8).

This is the group, along with PESO (Philippine Events Services Ontario) led by the trio of Philip Beloso, Pepito Torralba, and Jerome Peralta responsible for the Taste of Manila (ToM) virtual presentations of 2020 and 2021 which stole video footage from The Filipino Web Channel. (Video art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXqjO8AWUJ4).

I have no idea who Grace is. Incidentally, what is the relation of Grace Pammit-Luna with the fake "reporter" Danna Luna, and the other two persons in ToM both surnamed Luna, and the so-called digital outfit called "Lunatronix"?

Grace is probably a newly-emerged babe in the woods still trying to find her footing in such a nefarious neighborhood as Little Manila as to lend her partial name to an article that not only lacks depth and background but also authenticity.

She wants to shine, obviously, but why is she too timid to be recognized for her work, if indeed it is hers? Why not own it? I would venture some guesses.

Unless she was physically present covering ToM from beginning to end, her account had to rely on what people with certain preconceived biases had told her. Her article is the best evidence of this.

I was there, so I knew . . . everything, the whole ToM anatomy. And because I was there from its birthing as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and what have you, I have all the reasons to challenge Grace's retelling of what went on inside and outside of ToM.

If Grace aspires to be a writer, she's starting off on the wrong foot. (Shades of Danna Luna?). Why? Because she distorts the story, manipulates the facts, and substitutes fact with fiction to accommodate her circle of friends in ToM.

This is just as worse as plagiarism. I believe she knew, that's why she shies away from fully identifying herself. She knew what she did was wrong. Her article is unacceptable and people reading it should be cautioned.

One gross distortion she knowingly made cries out for its unfairness. It's a put-down for one of the top financial backers. Perhaps, if she could only bury all the videos, photos, and stories of ToM 2017, I believe she would have done it already.

In the 2017 segment of her article, Grace fails, perhaps deliberately, to mention A&L Hammer Workforce Management owned by the husband and wife Al and Lily Hammer, as one of the major sponsors along with TELUS, Trureal Inc. Ford Canada, and TD Canada Trust.

That omission - not citing A&L Hammer Workforce Management as part of the historical record - has focused public attention on the seemingly growing corruption in ToM, and possibly in some not-for-profit organizations chosen by Mangante as his partners.

In Grace's account, Mangante quite succeeded in portraying himself as a true believer in promoting the Filipino community. But that's one side of the coin; the other side is almost incredible to be given serious thought.

Without checking the truthfulness of her "facts," she now installs herself as a willing and unseeing accessory in hiding the truth and in propping Mangante up. She doesn't know the circumstances. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/01/3-in-1-who-is-amba-congen-consul-of.html).

Before A&L was sweet-talked into a sponsorship at a cost of $40,000-plus paid personally to Mangante in the 2017 ToM, Mangante was in its employ as a driver, the same job he had held for years prior to his retirement at the Philippine Consulate.

He had applied at A&L and was taken in, partly out of pity, drawing a salary of $500 a week transporting workers to mushroom farms in Ontario. And for his personal use, a four-door Mercedes Benz sedan was made available by the company with a corresponding gas allowance, plus an iPhone.

An arrangement like that would be perfect for anyone in dire need of a job. But not for Mangante. He had something else in mind once he got an idea from workers on how they were recruited from the Philippines to work on farms.

In 2018, months after the 2017 ToM festival, Mangante was dismissed from his job at A&L. "He was an 'ingrato'," an ingrate who spied on the inner workings of the company, according to those who knew him.

Knowledgeable sources who did not wish to be identified for this story claimed Mangante had been bad-mouthing the owners and had tipped off the authorities for what he had thought, wrongly, of illegal recruitment of workers. (Full story and video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QprwiFQiLjs).

Once he was let go, he began to connive with his friends and shady characters in Little Manila to usurp A&L's contract with mushroom farm owners in the province.

At one point, he went to a farm owner, asking to be the one to supply the farm with workers recruited by his partners who had taken an interest in labor recruitment in Ontario following Mangante's clandestine information-gathering.

The owner balked at Mangante, telling him he was an "asshole" for even suggesting getting rid of A&L, his reliable partner for years, according to sources familiar with the incident.

He also tried to sabotage the gala evening A&L held in April 2018 to honor workers, friends, patrons, and guests from the Philippines. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ny66JOCaGg).

Federal, provincial, and city officials who had grown close to Mangante through the street festival had been secretly told not to attend the gala ostensibly because border agents were supposed to raid it for some perceived immigration violations, sources explained. The event went on undisturbed.

But Mangante's revenge did not end there. He continues to portray himself as a victim and surrounds himself with enablers. And in the case of Grace, perhaps unwittingly? (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).

Tuesday, 20 December 2022

Scavenging Dumpsters Is Not A Way to Look for Stories

Volume 4, Issue No. 33

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Tuesday, December 20, 2022

~ The obvious lack of material to report on has led a newspaper publisher to scrounge the dumpster where she found stuff, long discarded, and salvaged it for renewed public consumption. The practice is definitely a no-no in journalism unless new and substantive facts are unearthed to change the narrative. In this instance, it's hatred that's fueling the act.

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BALITA ARTICLE SALVAGED FROM DUMPSTER
Reopening Old Wounds or Just Lazy?

Disguised as a Warning, But It Is Not

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"The evil that men do lives on the front pages of greedy newspapers, but the good is oft interred apathetically inside". - Brooks Atkinson

TORONTO - Nothing is more pathetic than in this latest diatribe by a local tabloid publisher and "editor" who regurgitated ancient stories about two friends she hated and continues to hate, and in the process, promote her and her pals' selfish interests.

Garbage, even when recycled, is still garbage. Putting lipstick on a pig does not transform the animal; it may disguise it, but it's still a pig. And that is what this process is all about - recycling refuse long spurn by the authorities for lacking fundamentals of evidence.

The animosity remains inflamed, possibly stoked by friends who, like her, are driven by profound resentment and envy. There's a gang of real-life scammers who call themselves elite and sheltered, figuratively, in her own backyard.

Having been a writer and associate editor of Balita from 2012 to June 2019, I feel a sense of responsibility to tell unsuspecting readers that what they read in that paper is not necessarily gospel truth. Information from there should be taken with a grain of salt.

The latest issue of Balita (Dec. 16-31, 2022) carried an article on its website written by Tess Cusipag titled "BEWARE . . . Toronto scammers abound around us". Glancing at it, I thought I read it before.

In any case, it piqued my interest. I would not be scooped if something like this comes up. I knew I would be the first one to know from my small army of sources in the community and out.

From reading the headline, I thought she had finally mustered the courage to expose those elite scammers - her friends - in her own backyard. Was this a sign she finally freed herself and Balita from the evil clutches of this group?

Tess Cusipag became the publisher of Balita upon the death in 2013 of husband Ruben Cusipag, who, unlike her, was a respected journalist in the Philippines. He had moved to Canada, founded the tabloid in 1978 as an anti-martial law newspaper, and was its first editor.

Unschooled, untrained, and inexperienced in the basics of journalism, she just plodded head-on and made herself editor as well. Publishers are usually the financiers behind publications. Editors, however, are a different breed. They must have at least a working understanding of newspaper publishing, which is essentially journalism.

In Balita's case, Tess Cusipag is both publisher and editor. The first one is okay, there's no question she has the money to fund it; the second is questionable because of an awful lack of credentials.

So, it is understandable if Balita founders from time to time. The editor in her fails her, or rather the newspaper, and to a large extent, the readers and news consumers who patronize it for the usual rumors and photos of the latest socials.

Having given her the benefit of the doubt, I still could not fathom why she would re-engage in what potentially could be an expensive defamation lawsuit . . . if the offended party so desires.

Her latest caper is the article about her warning against scammers. It's ironic. She didn't have to look far; they're there watching with delight as she wages a fight - ala Don Quixote - against the windmills of her mind.

In that article, she again points an accusing finger at what seems to be her all-time favorite piñatas - Naomi Ong and Lily Hammer. (I don't want to be dragged into this evolving controversy by repeating Tess Cusipag's assertions here. So, instead, I advise readers to visit the story at: https://www.balita.ca/beware-toronto-scammers-abound-around-us/).

What's interesting is that Tess Cusipag again quotes what she describes as a "paralegal, soon to be a practicing lawyer Jun Saludares" who made disparaging remarks against Lily Hammer.

"Saludares," says Tess Cusipag, "won several of the court cases against Liwayway and they are just waiting for courts to open to collect judgements" (sic).

She continues: "Saludares is one of the defamation victims of Lily Hammer together with Chito Collantes of CWSS and Balita newspaper".

While she oozes with pride defending Saludares and Collantes, she forgets to mention that Saludares (full name is Dominador De la Saludares) was cited by the Law Society of Ontario for "professional misconduct", "facilitating fraud", "failing to comply with client verification", and "acting outside scope".

The summary released on January 21, 2019, from the Law Society reads: '"The Paralegal (meaning Saludares) entered an agreed statement of facts and admitted that he committed professional misconduct as alleged when he accepted a retainer to collect a purported debt of over $500,000 in circumstances where he ought to have known that the client was engaged in fraud – Joint penalty submission for three-month suspension and $5,000 in costs with two years to pay accepted as reasonable – Although there had been significant neglect of duty and a substantial fraud in the amount of $434,764, the respondent was a new licensee, remorseful and had immediately reported the matter to police upon realizing the cheques were fraudulent and fully co-operated with the Law Society."

(The full report is at: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onlst/doc/2019/2019onlsth12/2019onlsth12.html

Incidentally, a "Dominador Saludares" recently posted on LinkedIn a photocopy of an "Affidavit for Taking the Oath for Call" indicating that the person is now a barrister and solicitor in Ontario. He swore an oath to King Charles III, which means the swearing-in was fairly recent as Prince Charles became king only in September.

If this is the same Jun Saludares aka Dominador De la Saludares, well, congratulations! It also shows how outdated Balita is.

Shall we fault Tess Cusipag for her blatant ignorance? Was she deliberately covering for him?

(Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2019/12/defending-truth-has-its-downside.html)

She also mentions "Chito Collantes of CWSS". I'm glad that she dropped the title "Dr." that he usually adds to his name. "Dr." could mean doctor of medicine of which he is definitely not, or an acronym for "dick restriction" which I leave to readers to decide.

Collantes, who runs a recruitment agency in Toronto, is the alleged founder of a dubious gang called Elite Crusaders supposedly on the lookout for scam artists and wrongdoers in the community. It disappeared as quickly as it popped out in February 2020.

The latest but recycled article Tess Cusipag has republished appears intended to reopen old wounds. Watch out, you don't want to relive the past and its pains. There's a better way to look for stories, not scavenge from the garbage bins. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).