All honourable men? All except one, or maybe another two who do not deserve the post. But in this editorial, let me concentrate on one poor excuse of a person who thinks his virility is dependent on the number of girlfriends that he has had. On top of that, he on several occasions has interpreted the Philippine Community Council (PCC) constitution wrongly and in accordance with what suits him and his cohorts. The sad thing is that the majority of board members believed him, especially those who have not bothered to read the constitution.
During the next PCC Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections, this ‘honourable’ man will undoubtedly be a candidate again for the position of Vice President-External. To ensure that he would still be in the board of PCC, he will also have his name posted as a candidate for director. And of course, days and hours before the elections, he will call again his affiliate friends to attend the AGM to ensure the desired number of votes for his re-election. He is good in this political exercise. He is good in lobbying.
During an Ateneo AGM which I attended a few years ago, I had an on-the-spot debate with a past AAA president about the continued membership of Ateneo Alumni Australia (AAA) in PCC. I stated that it was clear in the Ateneo constitution that the association is apolitical. This avid supporter of Alric Bulseco argued that Ateneo must remain in PCC so that we would have a voice if we wanted something from the government. Isn’t that very shallow reasoning coming from a lawyer? I could almost hear government officials laughing at the PCC board. They always ask for money in the form of government grants. But AAA has always been capable of raising funds. The association could stand alone through the support of its members in the Filipino community.
Duty to express and expose(2)
As a practising journalist, I have a duty to expose erring members of the community — that means naming and shaming persons who present themselves as volunteers but only for self-glorification.
One such ‘volunteer’ had the nerve to send a ‘poison’ letter asking advertisers of Philippine Sentinel to stop supporting this paper. The letter did not carry the name of the sender. It was unsigned and had no return address—truly the marks of a COWARD who is hiding under the cloak of ‘Concerned Citizens of the Filipino Community.’
He was not smart enough to realize that original letters would be ignored and personally delivered by the recipients to the editorial staff of this paper. His fingerprints on the letter and envelope are now being examined by forensic experts. We have a pretty good idea of his identity. Once we have positively identified him, this poor excuse for a human being will be exposed, named and shamed. He might even be arrested in accordance with Australian laws.
During a meeting with these ‘honourable men and women’ that was held in mid-January, Ms Benjie de Ubago gave emphasis to the fact that members of the so-called ‘peak body’ of the Philippine Community must possess integrity and good moral character. . . at the very least. They all agreed . . . initially. They were all stupefied when Ms de Ubago declared that her intellectual property was stolen by some PCC members. It was finally agreed that PCC would send a written apology to de Ubago.
As of press time, no letter of apology has been received. Well, it took the PCC president more than one month to retrieve from the PCC mailbox a registered mail sent by this editor and another two months to send an answer.
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”(3)
(1) Mark Anthony’s Oration over the dead body of Caesar by William Shakespeare
(2) The Truth about Journalism by the late Letty Magsanoc Jimenez
(3) Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations