August 17, 2014. Mt. Druitt. What was originally planned to be an ‘ugnayan‘ (connection with the Filipino community) turned out to be more of an ‘ungguyan’ (monkey business). This is an eyewitness account by the author.
As soon as I entered the HUB, I was handed a copy of the Treasurer’s Report by the girlfriend of a member of the board of the Philippine Community Council (PCC). I was surprised because the woman had no business being there in the first place. She is a non-resident and is merely here on a short-term tourist visa. Immediately, I became suspicious that the copy given to me was a sanitized copy of the original.
After browsing through it, I noticed that the report was very tame compared to the original report that was allegedly presented to the PCC board during their meeting prior to the ‘ugnayan’. A subsequent verification with the PCC treasurer confirmed that it was the same copy.
The mishandling of the ‘PADER’ (Philippine Australian Disaster Emergency Relief) account was supposedly highlighted in the accompanying financial statements. It was noted however, that only the trained eyes of a certified practicing accountant would notice any anomaly.
Any new administration is expected to conduct a due diligence or audit of the past administration to ensure that it starts with a clean slate. I have no doubt that the new treasurer, as a principled practising accountant spent long hours in performing such audit. It is suggested that a detailed audit report be made in layman’s terms. Media should have access to that report.
Re-admission of Ateneo Alumni Australia (AAA) into PCC
As a bona fide alumnus of Ateneo de Manila University, I inquired about the re-admission of AAA into PCC. It should be recalled that AAA withdrew its membership from PCC during last year’s AGM. Incumbent president Jun Relunia confirmed that the board has accepted AAA’s application for membership. My query was followed by who is the current AAA representative in PCC. Relunia’s answer was a firm “Nobody” until the next PCC AGM on February 8, 2015. Ergo, Bulseco cannot change his representation in the PCC board midstream until the next AGM.
Former PADER committee member booed
It happened after I left but according to Sol Lapalma, she was “subjected to bullying by the incumbent members of the board” when she brought up the topic about PADER. She was booed in unison! Mr. Jun Relunia eventually accepted responsibility for the unbecoming behaviour of the PCC board and emailed a public apology to Lapalma. His apology was followed by Mr. Alex del Prado, a board member. As of press time, it is sad that nobody else did, especially the unprincipled man who started it all. Reports positively identified the leader of the booing, who shouted that Lapalma was out of order. He is an alleged trouble maker in PCC.
I was still around when they reported a complete overhaul of the PADER committee. All the previous members were virtually sacked as a result of the formation of a 4-man PADER Foundation team. It is my humble opinion that this should not have been done for the sake of continuity. The former PADER members worked hard for 3 consecutive years to solicit and establish funds for disaster victims in the Philippines. I am not aware of any misdeed committed by them. It was some members of the past PCC board who violated rules by withdrawing PADER funds for purposes other than those specified by the Office of Liquor and Gaming and Racing (OLGR).
Those responsible for violating OLGR rules should be sacked or have the decency to resign as members of the board. In the Japanese parliament, the honourable thing to do is to commit seppuku or harakiri.
What were they trying to hide?
It was reported to Philippine Sentinel that during the 13th August PCC board meeting, Bulseco asked PCC president Jun Relunia for an assurance that the PADER issue would not be brought up during the Ugnayan forum. Former treasurer Mildred Banan seconded by saying that “the matter is already closed.” PCC secretary Darrell Swadling followed up by saying: “It is illegal to keep raising issues which has already been settled. This was settled in the AGM then it can’t be brought up anymore.”
I now ask Bulseco, Banan and Swadling what they are trying to hide and what is so “illegal” about bringing up the PADER issue? I personally brought it up during the Ugnayan. Does that make me a criminal? The misdeeds of the past PCC administration will continue to haunt those responsible until they finally quit their post, be sacked or commit harakiri! — by Dino Crescini