It is interesting to note that this is happening again. A disgruntled group formed FAME (Filipino Australian Movement for Empowerment) after the infamous 2007 elections of the Philippine Community Council (PCC). There were only 88 associations present but 98 votes were counted. No valid explanation has ever been offered to media. When asked to shed light on what happened, not a single member of Comelec or any of the Returning Officers could justify the glaring irregularity.
Nagged by the Filipino media, then comelec chairman Manny Diel was compelled to rationalise the situation. To me, it was more of a white wash.
If I remember correctly, that was the time when the “Ilocano Republic” grew in numbers and votes were multiplied at least 5 times.
Now, another group is being formed by those who walked out. There seems to be a pattern. Pretty soon, every Filipino group will claim to be the umbrella organisation of Filipino associations.
A former Tourism Secretary who visited Sydney some years ago commented that whichever part of the globe he goes and wherever he finds 100 Filipinos, there would be at least 105 different Filipino organisations.
Personally, I am not at all impressed. In the past and even as of now, many Filipinos who took the lead in PCC hardly accomplished anything for the community. My impression is that many of these people merely wanted the title, the prestige and the photo session with high-ranking politicians. – ?