2008 in Retrospect

Not just for the sake of posterity but more so for the benefit of those who missed out on some copies of the Philippine Tribune, let us review some of the more significant events that happened during the past year. For each month, we present only a brief synopsis. Please contact us if you want more detailed information of any particular event.

• January 2008
  The Department of Immigration confirmed to Philippine Tribune that the entire family of Joel Cabides has been granted permanent residence in Australia. An exchange student from the Philippines, he was earlier reported to have sustained irreversible damage to his spine when asked to play a supervised game of basketball inside the campus of Royal Military College in Duntroon. Being completely paralysed from the neck down, he has been condemned for life in a wheelchair.
• February 2008
  Filipino Australian teenager Natalie Feist dies of dengue mosquito bite while on holiday with her family in the Philippines. Her mother, Rosa Feist is the sister of famous singer Pilita Corrales and her father, Ed Feist is the head of a large pharmaceutical company in the Philippines. In October, 2007, Apo Hiking Society Member Jim Paredes was reported to have survived dengue mosquito bite.
• March 2008
  Three Filipino boxers, here in Australia on temporary sport visas were reported missing or AWOL from their quarters in Sydney’s suburb of Liverpool. Journalist Jaime K. Pimentel reported that Walrito Paderna, Jason Oyao and Arnel Balicuatro were sought by Immigration authorities. All three boxers were staying in the Bohol Boxing Stable.
• April 2008
  Philippine Tribune announced possession of documents from the Blacktown City Council declaring the new MPC property in Schofields as “being in a high flood risk zone.” Editor Dino Crescini was earlier interviewed on Channel 31 by Pinoy TV Producer Al Noveloso about the Filipino Multi-Purpose Centre. Footages of the MPC in its original location in Rooty Hill were shown. In the same interview, MPC director Luz Tiqui blamed media for the growing lack of interest of the Filipino community in the MPC project.
• May 2008
  Journalist Jaime Pimentel writes about display of Filipino conflict during ANZAC Day Parade. “Until about 10 minutes before we marched, the APSL Inc. group and the APSL NSW group took formations at separate positions in the parade line-up. One group stood behind the Indonesian contingent and the other behind the Vietnamese contingent,” reported Mr. Pimentel.“At the end of the march, the group went their separate ways – one group turned left into Elizabeth Street and the other to the right.” He concluded.
• June 2008
  Widow seeks justice for slain husband. Juliet Arrogante and her son Renerio IV are in Sydney seeking as many signatures they could gather from Filipino Australians. Their objective is for the Australian government to intervene so that the criminal case lodged against the suspected killer of Fil-Aussie Renerio ‘Jun” Arrogante III would be heard in Manila instead of Daanbantayan in Cebu. With the powerful clout of the suspected mastermind, the Arrogante family is very much in doubt that justice will prevail if the court hearing will take place in Cebu.
• July 2008
  Filipina jailed for embezzlement of $1.7 million. Welda Bacolod, Conference Organiser of Swiss Otel was arrested and jailed for embezzlement of $1.7 million. For several years, she accepted reservations for special functions at the hotel but strictly on cash basis. The money went straight to her personal account and was used to finance the construction of a mansion in Moal Boal, Cebu. The NSW District Court Judge gave her a jail term of 5 years.
• August 2008
  PCC takes initiative to revamp MPC. Community leaders meet; agree to take action to finally resolve the Filipino Multi-Purpose Centre issue. They drafted and signed a letter addressed to Fr. Renato Paras and Fr. Raning Creta, asking the two priests to convene a special general meeting of the Philippine Australian Community Foundation, Inc. (PACFI). Fr. Paras is the original Settlor of the Trust Deed that created the PACFI while Fr. Creta is the incumbent Chaplain of the Filipino Community.
• September 2008
  Defamation case filed against Philippine Tribune. Two members of APSL Inc. filed a court suit of defamation against Philippine Tribune and its editor Dino Crescini. The Statement of Claim was personally delivered by one of the plaintiffs, Cresencio Pilao. The other plaintiff is Arturo Sayas, owner of Zignal Travel in Blactown. The case emanates from an editorial (“A True Officer and a Gentleman”) that appeared in Philippine Tribune on September 2007.
• October 2008
  Jess Diaz, first Filipino in Blacktown Council. Diaz became the first Filipino ever to be elected in the Labor-dominated council of the City of Blacktown. Diaz ran under the banner of the Liberal Party.
• November 2008
  Former Philippine Air Force pilot launches book on history of aviation in the Philippines. Tony Dedal, a fighter pilot in the Philippine Air Force’s 5th Fighter Wing during the 1950s, narrates a history that began with the first exhibition flights in the Philippines by American aviator James “Bud” Mars in February 1911. Dedal’s Wings Over the Philippines relates the rise of the first commercial airlines in the country, such as the Philippine Air Taxi Company (PATCO) in 1930. Tony Dedal flew the now vintage fighter plane Mustang.
• December 2008
  MPC unable to pay loan on time. When Philippine Tribune talked with Ms. Tess Lopez, she declared that the $300,000 owed to her by the Filipino Multi-Purpose Centre has not yet been paid. Her money was supposed to have been returned on September 28, 2008. She said that attempts to contact the managers of MPC proved futile until she finally caught up with MPC solicitor ED Yunon.