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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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NEW JERSEY (Down the Shores) --- It's nice to be out of the city, away from the maddening crowd and enjoying the ocean breeze of the New Jersey shores. This Republican convention is driving everyone crazy with traffic jams and a horde of cops and demonstrators all over the place. I'm glad it will be over this Friday.
As you will recall, about a month before the convention was to open at the world-famous Madison Square Garden, the alert level was raised to a notch, next to the top, after authorities found information that terrorists cased several buildings in the area.
It turned out this was three years old. But that didn't stop the heavily armed policemen and soldiers from establishing their presence in strategic places in the city. That also did not prevent the First Lady, the governor of New York as well as the mayor from visiting the Citicorp building to assure us that everything was under control.
They had their security escorts with them. And the sooner they left, the faster our hearts beat with whatever may come afterwards, in the night or the next day.
But life must go on.
This is why I planned to spend my week somewhere else this week -- thinking that I was safe and secured (hopefully) indoors and out here in an oceanfront with my family. Which is where you could set your eyes to see as far as the horizon, see the flight of birds as if dancing freely in the blue sky, listen to the waves as it roars faintly to the beachhead, feel the cool breeze of the wind and enjoy the laughter of your child as she builds her sand castles.
But as the sun sets in the west fading slowly out of sight, I know we're back indoors watching the TV or reading the newspapers and magazines. Right in front of my eyes are news footages of people running away from bombsites, vehicles on fire, and soldiers holding on to their guns prepared to react.
Would all these bombings in Russia, Israel, Iraq and elsewhere stop, too, when this convention in New York is over? Is this a safer world as speakers have told us repeatedly? When right in our own neighborhood a
potential terrorist lurks in the shadows?
The world has definitely changed since 9/11. Still reeling from the pain and suffering and destruction in this city -- less than three miles from where I used to take my ride to work and home was the World Trade Center Twin Towers -- I am reminded once again, as its commemoration nears, that those towers are gone.
According to a new report released by the United Nations, al-Qaida spent less than $50,000 on each of its major attacks except on Sept. 11, and even that did not cost millions.
The report detailed just how little it cost to mount terror operations. For instance, it found that the attacks in Madrid, in which nearly 10 bombs planted on four commuter trains exploded simultaneously, killing 191 innocent people, was carried out at the cost of approximately $10,000. The terrorists used mining explosives and cell phones as detonators.
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Other findings of the monitoring team include:
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Last year's attacks in Istanbul, Turkey - four suicide truck bombings that killed 62 people -- cost less than $40,000.
The twin nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002 killed 202 people and cost less than $50,000.
The truck bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which killed 231 people, including 12 Americans, was accomplished for less than $60,000.
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"There is no prospect of an early end to attacks from al-Qaida associated terrorist," the report said. "They will continue to attack targets in both Muslims and non-Muslim states, choosing them according to the resources they have available and the opportunities that occur. While they will look for ways to attack high profile targets, soft targets will be equally vulnerable."
There were other significant findings mentioned in the report. But one item that affected me just as upsetting was the prospect of Al-Qaida expanding its group. According to the report, it is "a loose network of affiliated underground groups with common goals."
And the monitoring team's suggestion was that targeted nations "design effective measures against this threat." I wondered how this could be accomplished.
We have all these conventional weapons of war but if the new terrorists are using unconventional weapons, how safe are we?
I wanted to hear from these politicians how our country would prepare to combat these new terrorists. Not who flip-flopped or lied. Nor who was courageous and patriotic.
In the meantime, I still have my labor-day weekend to enjoy and roam in the beach with my loved ones. Sometimes, it really feels good to be away from politics and revel in the mystery and beauty of God's creation.
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com or visit Website at PinoyOnBoard.com.
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NaFFAA's fiduciary responsibility
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The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) is just not having an easy time of it lately.
After years of operating without presenting a public accounting of its finances and finally succumbing to public clamor, it released its first report at its national conference in San Jose, Calif. in 2002.
Two years later, as it heads to its 6th national conference in Chicago, Illinois on Sept. 10-12, 2004, the public and NaFFAA's critics are asking
questions about its second report for its 2002 operations.
The questions pertain to the details of consultants' fees amounting to some $132,000 that was not disclosed as well as an accounting of its San Diego chapter's fund raising for fire victims around that time.
In addition, the chair of the 2002 national conference is now under investigation by the San Jose City Auditors/District Attorney Major Frauds
Division for his possible role in an alleged illegal diversion of $190,000 of an account that he manages to a NaFFAA account.
In its response, NaFFAA said it would not release the consultant's names due to "privacy issues" but added that if the consultants agreed to have their names known, it would do so. NaFFAA also said that the
details of the financial report would be posted in its Website before the conference was held next week.
NaFFAA has reneged on its promise. It now said that the conference was the proper venue to answer all the questions about its report. This action echoed the same reasoning it had used prior to the San Jose event.
With regard to the fund raising activity of its San Diego chapter, NaFFAA simply referred that to its local organizers. And as for the ongoing investigation of its 2002 conference chair, there was no reaction.
As a national public benefit organization, it is incumbent upon NaFFAA to promptly open its books without the urging of its members or the community at large, which it represents. By doing that, the organization confirms its commitment to and respect for transparency and accountability. However, by overlooking its fiduciary responsibility, NaFFAA raises public doubt and causes its integrity to be questioned.
In the forefront of NaFFAA's critics is Bobby M. Reyes, a former member, who continues to find reason to expose what he believes are the organization's core leaders' indiscretions in the management of the federation. And these leaders, in self-defense of their own character and integrity, are understandably fighting back their critic with the same intensity as Reyes has.
In arguing his case, we do not see Reyes' grievances as aiming to discredit NaFFAA but rather we see it as his right to seek redress from the omissions of its leaders.
At the same time, we also do not condone Reyes' abruptness and coarse language in addressing his case to its leaders. However, we regard such behavior as his strategy to call attention to his cause when every possible 'courteous' or 'gentle' approach has failed.
We know that Reyes has offered the proverbial olive branch to NaFFAA's core leaders long before the situation has worsened but only to be rejected. NaFFAA may have had its reasons to snub Reyes but it can only blame itself why the situation has grown to a larger proportion.
This eye-for-an-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth stance will bring no end to a situation that could be resolved instead on a peace-table that has marked its presence in every great war in history. The leaders of NaFFAA must be more magnanimous and prove to the community that they can go beyond Reyes and its critics. And the same goes true with Reyes.
For at the end of the day, NaFFAA has a bigger stake to lose.
But first, it must be more prudent in the exercise of its fiduciary responsibility. Even with Reyes at their side, the public must be completely satisfied by NaFFAA's performance in promptly providing financial statements and in delivering its programs and projects.
We urge both Reyes and NaFFAA core leaders to meet and listen to each other's rhyme and reason to co-exist in the interest of the community. Although we realize that each side has hurt feelings for each other, the community would understand that they -- we -- have more work to do to empower the Filipino.
We can all be forgiving for it is in forgiving that we learn to accept our faults and become better persons to serve our community.
Now is the time.
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