News in The Six

Volume 1, Issue No. 10  OPINION/COMMENTARY     The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Tuesday, November 28,   2017   ~ On the day of a general meeting of the suddenly-rich Filipino Centre Toronto on Sunday (Nov. 26) afternoon, not a soul showed up at the cavernous hall in Toronto's eastern neighbourhood of Scarborough. It felt spooky to wait in an empty hall surrounded by chairs and tables wrapped in white linen. After patiently waiting for about an hour, a colleague and I left the chamber, disappointed that nobody was there to say the meeting had been canceled or postponed. An agenda filled with monetary payables was among those to be considered.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  NO QUORUM A SIGN OF PROTEST? A Ghost Meeting ...

Volume 1, Issue No. 9  OPINION/COMMENTARY       The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Tuesday, November 21,   2017   ~ A respected journalist in Manila alleges that the garbage issue Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was confronted with during the ASEAN summit in the Philippine capital a week ago had something odd in it. An Ontario-based company had shipped 106 container vans of hazardous waste to Manila in 2013-2014 under the pretext that it's recyclable plastics. Some had been used as landfill in Tarlac province but the bulk is rotting in ports reportedly in Subic and Manila. For that trash, Filipino nurses were accepted in Canada, journalist Jojo Robles says.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   NEWS FROM MANILA Cana...

Volume 1, Issue No. 8  OPINION/COMMENTARY     The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Saturday, November 18,   2017   ~ Monetary claims have surfaced as soon as the Filipino Centre Toronto sold its building for $5.9-million, triggering a mass resignation of officials and members. There have been changes in FCT's leadership which were unannounced for reasons that have not been clarified. A meeting has been called for Nov. 26. Among the items in the agenda is "authorizing the payment of remuneration to certain directors and/or officers x x x and reimbursement of expenses incurred by certain persons . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   Resignations Hit FCT After It Sold Its Building for $5.9-M By ROMEO P. MA...

Volume 1, Issue No. 6  O PINION/COMMENTARY  The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Friday, November 10,   2017   ~ A 12-page newsletter is the latest in Tobias Enverga's arsenal of gimmicks to raise his profile in the Filipino community. It came out as an insert in a tabloid known for its leftist sympathies and fake news. But it's all optics. Filipino Canadians know how to discern now. A member of the Senate or a celebrity? To be or not to be? At this juncture, we're saddled with both - one satiating himself with perks courtesy of taxpayers, and one taking advantage of those perks to make himself a celebrity that he can not be.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   FIVE YEARS PAST AND HE'S STILL AT IT Tobias Enverga's Campa...

Volume 1, Issue No. 5  OPINION/COMMENTARY   The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Sunday, November 5,   2017   ~ A media colleague in Manila, the embattled Maria Ressa of Rappler, on Thursday, Nov. 2, received in Washington, DC, the  W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award,  the National Democratic Institute's highest honor,  bestowed on an "individual or organization that has demonstrated a commitment to democracy and human rights". More than this recognition, however, is her affirmation of her continuing commitment to journalism. Her fearless advocacy is inspiring in these troubled times, particularly for a community periodical like  Balita,  Toronto's largest Filipino newspaper.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ...

Volume 1, Issue No. 4 -  OPINION/COMMENTARY The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Thursday, November 2,   2017   ~ The underground saboteurs known by their stinking alias BaBoy have uncharacteristically clammed up at a time when they should be screaming their heads off at the windfall that Tobias Enverga, a member of the Senate, received last week from the family of the editor and publisher of the community fortnightly  Balita.  Though the periodical is the largest Filipino newspaper in Greater Toronto Area, its financial standing does not compare with the mainstream.  Balita  lost fighting the defamation case Enverga filed and was ordered by the court to pay damages and costs amounting to a staggering $410,000.   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ...