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Saturday, 22 August 2009 17:56 |
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Dear Dr. Joy, Sir Martin, Romy and Comrades:
1.0 Yes, we at the Media Breakfast Club and the hundred or so Filipino-American associations that work with us, join you, Dr. Joy and the good people of the NaFFAA, the NANAY and other similar public-benefit entities in seeking a common ground.
1.1 Before I started writing the nasty articles about the perceived financial scandals in the NaFFAA, I tried to be diplomatic. I wrote even in the style of the Redeemer and published A Parable of the Golden Pond in the now-defunct www.yimby.com and in the www.bobby.reyes.com. We then reprinted it in the www.mabuhayradio.com where it is published. You would be familiar with the characters in the parable, Spencer and Mac.
URL: http://www.mabuhayradio.com/columns/parables/192-a-parable-of-the-golden-pond.html#yvComment192
But then the true-to-life Spencer and Mac probably just laughed at my efforts and so I just followed the Tagalog dictum, "Kung hindi mo makuha sa santong dasalan, di (kunin mo) sa santong paspasan." And the rest is history.
2.0 But you all must understand the role of the Filipino-American Fourth Estate. We, trained journalists, are not meant to write mere praise releases. We go to great extent in seeking the truth and writing about it -- no matter who gets hurt. The alleged financial improprieties in the NaFFAA are not just the only subject or topics of our investigative reports.
2.1 Romy Marquez has been writing about the missing $27,000 funds of the COPAO of San Diego, CA, which incidentally happened under the watch of Mrs. Aurora Cudal, who was at the same time the regional chairperson of the NaFFAA chapter in San Diego. He has written about Filipino-American scam artists in the healthcare industry (as more-than a hundred Fil-Am healthcare workers have gone to jail for Medicare fraud in Southern CA alone during the last 10 years). You can read about Mr. Marquez's writings in his column, http://www.mabuhayradio.com/columns/san-diego-happenings.html
2.2 If you visit the www.mabuhayradio.com, you will see our reports not only about the corruption in the Gloria Arroyo Dispensation but also in our communities in the United States. Among the stories that we have published:
Two Filipino Americans Accused of Real-Estate Investment Scam
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/real-estate/3616-two-filipino-americans-accused-of-real-estate-investment-scam.html
Filipino-American Educator Arrested for Sex Crimes
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/miscellanews/4092-filipino-american-educator-arrested-on-sex-crimes.html
2.2.1 Whether we like it or not, the mainstream press will write about scams and scalawags and scoundrels -- whether they be Filipino or of whatever color, creed or nationality. The claim that Romy Marquez and Company and our publication often display dirty Filipino and Filipino-American linen in public is fallacious.
2.2.2 For whether Mr. Marquez or for that matter any Filipino-American writer likes it or not, often the mainstream media beat the Filipino-American press in reporting the "dirty linen" of our people. In fact, it would be better for our image if our own people will report to the authorities the alleged scams or crimes committed by our fellow Filipinos, as this will prove that Filipinos did not bring to them a "culture of corruption" when they migrated to the United States.
A.) In fact, the mainstream Mercury News of San Jose has been regularly publishing developments in the Ben Menor cases. But to our credit, we sometimes beat the Mercury News in reporting about the Menorgate, such as this report:
"Today, Ben Menor pleaded guilty (no contest) to one count of felony (False Statement of Operations- Fraud) and accepted to pay restitution of $32,000 for using City of San Jose funds to pay a full-time worker to take care of his mom and dad at his home. He also agreed to pay another restitution of $16,000 for using agency funds to bankroll the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) convention in San Jose, California, in August 2002. (Editor's Note: The MabuhayRadio.com beats the San Jose Mercury News by one hour and 23 minutes in reporting the Menor 'no-contest' plea.)"
To read Tito A. Cortez's report, please go to this hyperlink: http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate/2853-ben-menor-pleads-guilty-no-contest-to-one-count-of-felony.html
So, it is up to the NaFFAA national and regional leaders to choose between "santong dasalan" or "santong paspasan." We, working journalists, can react and/or address either strategy.
Mabuhay,
Lolo Bobby M. Reyes
Editor
www.mabuhayradio.com
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