T he “conspiracy of silence” in the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) appears to be now in the dustbin of history. A NaFFAA cofounder, Ernesto Gange of Philadelphia, PA, has come out in the open and he vows to spearhead a clean-up of the federation’s finances and management style. He is a former NaFFAA state chair for Pennsylvania and the first Filipino-American member of the Board of Trustees of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation.

In an exclusive telephone interview with Mr. Gange, who is called fondly by his peers in Pennsylvania as “Apo Ernie,” declared that he is fed up with the obvious disregard by the NaFFAA national executive officers (NEOs) of the tenets of accountability and transparency. Apo Ernie has never been a member of the NaFFAA National Board, although the NaFFAA cofounders frequently sought him out in the past for assistance as a veteran unregistered lobbyist in the United States Congress. Mr. Gange headed the Pearl S. Buck Foundation’s task force in the 1990s that fought for the “Amerasian children,” the offspring of American servicemen in the Asia.

Apo Ernie revealed also to this writer that he will be interviewed today by the staff of the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He is expected to reveal to the newspaper what he knows about the NaFFAA founders’ perennial problems with accountability and transparency. The Filipino Reporter intends to publish Mr. Gange’s revelations in this week’s edition that comes out on Friday, Sept. 18, 2009.

Mr. Gange also requested this writer to provide the Filipino Reporter with copies of Ben Menor’s Profit-and-Loss (P&L) Statement for the August 2002 NaFFAA national convention in San Jose, CA, and the 2001-2002 NaFFAA’s audited financial reports. One of this writer’s Deep Throats provided him with the so-called “Smoking Guns.”

The NaFFAA’s Turmoil in the Big Apple

P erhaps Mr. Gange will talk also about the present “NaFFAA Turmoil” in Region One (the NaFFAA region composed of its chapters in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New England states). The “turmoil” started when Region-One overall chair, Atty. J. T. Mallonga, proposed the creation of a five-person fact-finding committee that would investigate the now so-called “NaFFAAgate.” This writer promised to appear before the “Mallonga Committee” and testify and present pieces of documents proving the theft of NaFFAA funds by some of its NEOs.

It appeared that the NaFFAA NEOs sabotaged the Mallonga proposal by causing  the passage of a so-called manifesto that “cleared” the administration of now-beleaguered national chair Gregorio Macabenta and the past administrations of any wrong doing. The manifesto made the Mallonga proposal moot and academic. The NaFFAA National Board cleared the NEOs of any hint or tint of financial impropriety by not even  discussing the Mallonga proposal for a fact-finding investigation.

Then at least two members of the NaFFAA ruling clique, Communications Director Jon Melegrito and New Jersey-based National Treasurer Lourdes Corrales (who belongs also to Region One), apparently fed investigative reporter Romeo P. Marquez dossiers of the so-called “Smartgate” Scandal. The “Smartgate” hinted that Atty. Malloga’s NaFFAA chapter illegally received $50,000 from Smart Communications. Of course, Mr. Marquez will never reveal his sources of information. But NaFFAA officials in the Big Apple and the Tri-state area are talking about the coming clash between the NaFFAA ruling clique and the group of Atty. Mallonga. They suspect that Mr. Melegrito and Ms. Corrales used Mr. Marquez in casting doubts on the integrity of Atty. Mallonga and his fellow officers in the NaFFAA’s Region-One chapter.

To read Mr. Marquez’s exclusive reports on the “Smartgate,” please click on these hyperlinks:

NaFFAA's $50K Deal with Philippine Firm Raises Questions About Money Laundering

NaFFAA Co-Founder Disowns Threats; More Grant-Money 'Secrets' Turning Up

To read 10 other articles written by Mr. Marquez about the NaFFAAgate, the Menorgate and now the Smartgate, please go to this section,

 http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/naffaagate.html

The Filipino-American soap opera, “NaFFAA-ka Lungkot, Kuya Eddie,” continues . . . # # #