{"id":76,"date":"2008-06-08T15:08:17","date_gmt":"2008-06-08T05:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=76"},"modified":"2008-06-08T15:08:17","modified_gmt":"2008-06-08T05:08:17","slug":"more-shocking-news-about-mpc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=76","title":{"rendered":"More shocking news about MPC"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Benjie de Ubago<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was recently informed by a reliable source that the Multi-Purpose Centre was allegedly selling shares. The news sent shock waves to the system.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s summarize. In 2004, they called for a press conference at Parramatta Town Hall, informing us that they were planning to sell the Rooty Hill site. They provided four options but no decision as to which direction was to be taken. At this meeting, the group was also insistent that the MPC was started in 1991 to which I kept insisting that it must have been earlier than that as I had already . . .<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

included it in the 1989 edition of Filipin-Oz. After checking the names register, it would appear that it was first registered on 20 March 1989 and then another registration appeared on 3 July 1990. So I was correct!<\/p>\n

Then, FOR SALE signs appeared on the Rooty Hill site last year and after, mind you, after, the sale of the property, they advised they were moving to Schofields. \u201cBigger and better for the community\u201d \u2013 which makes us wonder why they never thought of it in the first place.<\/p>\n

Then they called for another press conference at the new Schofields site in November 2007. But weeks or only a month after, it became known that the sale of the Rooty Hill site had not gone through. Another discovery was that the Schofields area was also prone to flooding and it was unlikely that the Council would grant a building permit.<\/p>\n

And now, we are advised that the MPC is selling shares. They have also changed their name from Multi-Purpose Centre to the Philippine Australian Cultural Centre. However, none of these names mentioned, unless it is some other variation, are registered with the Office of Fair Trading.<\/p>\n

I immediately phoned Mr. Villon to confirm the news or rumor whichever the case may be. Unless another person sounded like him, the man who answered the phone surely had a voice identical to Manny Villon but he said that Mr. Villon was not home.<\/p>\n

I also phoned Luz Tiqui but she also was unavailable. Despite continuous attempts, and after leaving messages, no one \u2013 neither Mr. Villon nor Ms. Tiqui bothered to return my call. It was obvious that I was being given the run-around.<\/p>\n

After one more try, I managed to catch Mr. Villon and before he could even try to deny his identity, I jumped in \u201cwith Mang Manny.\u201d Trapped, he mumbled that as agreed upon by the Board, \u201cOnly Mr. Yunon is authorized to answer questions,\u201d said Villon. He said that even before I could ask or say anything.<\/p>\n

Such a reply, only confirms my suspicion of evasion. Now, if they have nothing to hide, what\u2019s so scary about answering questions? What is the problem with being courteous and returning a phone call.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ric de Vera (a board member) denies that there are any shares being sold but confirms that the MPC is now open for membership. After all, \u201cit does say shares are at $2.00 but the membership is set for $10.00.\u201d Furthermore, Mr. de Vera said, \u201cit is more like a monthly pledge.\u201d \u201cThey can give more if they want but the minimum is $10.00,\u201d he added. He also said that he was no longer as involved as it was \u201cmagulo\u201d. \u201cDelicadong masabit,\u201d Mr. de Vera added. He also claimed that his name had been added without his prior consent. \u201cWe are talking about two entities,\u201d said Mr. de Vera. One is the Philippine Australian Community Foundation whose members are the trustees and whose term of office is permanent. The other, is the Multi-Purpose Centre which has now been presumably converted to accommodate membership and a whole new set of officers.<\/p>\n

I did phone Mr. Yunon, who also confirms that no shares are being sold but yes, the name has been changed. \u201cWe intend to have other things there, so the name was no longer applicable,\u201d said Mr. Yunon. \u201cWe\u2019ll have a basketball covered court,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Another loyalist confirmed that the name had been changed but the individual has also since distanced himself from the group. \u201cIsa lang ako, eleven sila. Kahit anong sabihin ko, hindi naman nila papakingan,\u201d said the source. However, the individual was not aware of any shares being sold.<\/p>\n

So at this point, it is still unsure whether they mean shares or membership. Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) does stipulate companies share holdings at a minimum of $2.00 per share so for Mr. de Vera to even mention it, means that something is brewing. There must be some sort of a company registered. Now, if it\u2019s just an organization incorporated, then there would be no mention of shares and the organization can charge membership subject to what is stated in their constitution. So are they a club\/organization, a company, or a trust \u2013 who knows?<\/p>\n

Other information received includes the alleged proposed sale of a piece of the Schofields land to meet the maintenance costs. Apparently, the place had also been recently vandalized and it would allegedly cost $10,000 to fix.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a name? Big! A rose would still smell as sweet as a rose regardless of what you call it. Likewise, rubbish will always smell trash even if you paint it pink. So the MPC \u2013 call it by any other name \u2013 it\u2019s the same people running it \u2013 it\u2019s the same old MPC! If Mr. Villon or Ms. Tiqui cannot even respond to simple questions, why then should we respond to their call for cooperation, let alone help? Surely, the community deserves nothing less than the truth. Oh, and please don\u2019t give us that emotional patriotism crap! Their antics are really wearing thin! We can only hope that no one has fallen prey.<\/p>\n

?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Benjie de Ubago I was recently informed by a reliable source that the Multi-Purpose Centre was allegedly selling shares. The news sent shock waves to the system. Let\u2019s summarize. In 2004, they called for a press conference at Parramatta Town Hall, informing us that they were planning to sell the Rooty Hill site. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,49],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}