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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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One door closes, another one opens.
That's how we could describe the administration of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy. He recently took his oath office on July 1 signaling the end of a seven-month term he inherited and the beginning of a new, four-year term.
In his seven-month tenure in office, we saw how Mayor Healy worked hard and pressed on to fulfill the election promises he made in so short a time, unmindful of what his critics would say. Despite political squabbles and internal problems, he made sure he and his team delivered what matters most to his constituents.
Hence, we saw measures to keep Jersey City streets and businesses safe from youth gang and criminal activities. We also witnessed his continuing efforts to extend his hand to unite all those with differing agenda towards a common goal that should serve the interest of the 240,000 residents of the city.
"I'm here to work with people not to fight with people," he said in his inauguration speech. That message is a promise in itself and a challenge to others who may be opposed to his policies and programs following Hudson County Executive Tom De Gise's remarks about "having the ability to debate without being contentious."
Mayor Healy also echoed his now famous theme of "don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal," a discipline, he said, which every public official must observe. In his speech, he emphasized this point as his honor code which he lives by and expected his staff and the city council to abide by the same code.
Even if the mayor had laid down a vision of his administration but the city council does not work in partner with him, his ideas would remain as they are – ideas. But with the election of Mariano Vega, Jr. as council president, perhaps Vega would be able to open the doors to collaboration instead of competition among council members.
As council president, Vega is expected to have a free-play of ideas, not to prolong meetings or affect work efficiency, but to thoroughly discuss and consider what is best for Jersey City. If the goals of the mayor and the city council are aligned with each other, it becomes a full partnership which benefits not only one Ward but the whole city as well.
It is too early to say what results this new open door -- which the mayor and the city council have gotten into – will bring to Jersey City residents. We only know they have work to do before this door closes and another one opens.
In the meantime, we offer our congratulations and support to Mayor Healy, Council President Vega and members of the city council. Indeed, this is a new partnership and a new beginning. (RJR)
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NEW YORK --- Nimia Lacebal, president of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI), may have agreed too soon to have the Leyte Dance Group perform at the Fashion Institute Technology auditorium. Without board approval and a budget to back up her decision, public money – which amounts to about $10,000 – has been spent at this time.
This project’s raid of the PIDCI treasury is not over yet, invoices continue to pour in and remain unpaid due to lack of funds. What really happened behind the scenes? Was this project pushed to its fulfillment and by whom? That’s the $10,000 question some PIDCI directors and the public want to know.
As I recall, one of the reasons PIDCI was incorporated was to have its own identity as a community-driven organization, independent of and free from the influence of the consulate. In fact, at a recent town hall meeting, Consul Edgar Badajos emphasized that point when asked if the consulate had any role in expelling the Philippine Forum members from the parade.
Badajos’s statement may be true since there is no direct evidence linking the consulate’s role in it but that isn’t the case with the Leyte Dance Group. Someone had a direct hand in convincing Lacebal, PIDCI fund-raising committee chair Mila Mendez, and promoter Hector Magno, to hold the event.
In a conversation with Mendez on June 26, she said that some monies from the project have been already deposited to PIDCI’s account. However, after verifying with the PIDCI treasurer the following Tuesday, her bank record shows there was none.
Who would have the funds collected from the sale of tickets and pledges made by donors and patrons? $10,000 is a bug chunk of money diverted to this project which drained PIDCI’s treasury. And if it’s not recovered or replaced, not only would the organization undergo financial strain to pay its creditors but the president could be charged with misuse of funds. That’s a big responsibility a president has in 501 (c) 3 organizations like PIDCI.
This makes me think that not only there is a web of lies going around; there is also a deliberate attempt to skirt transparency and accountability issues. If Lacebal and Mendez do not have a record of people that bought tickets including names of donors and patrons who then has it?
Would the offices of Consul General Cecilia Rebong, where apparently staff resources were used for the project, have it? If they have a record, would she, in the spirit of transparency and accountability, instruct her staff to release such documents to PIDCI?
As I talk to several people about this project, it is becoming crystal clear that the consul general played a great deal in it. If that wasn’t the case, she herself would have not called PIDCI treasurer, Dr. Baby Bleza, that evening after the show to release a $5,000 check to pay for the performance of the dance group.
And being the consul general who could exert not only influence but also put pressure better than the PIDCI president, a check was issued and delivered the following morning. Apparently, the treasurer had no other choice, even if funds were already at its low level.
At a meeting of committee chairs and board members on June 30, the consul general sat in. Although she did not participate in the deliberations, her mere presence in that room evoked a sense of intimidation and influence. Who invited her? What was her business in that meeting? Was she trying to pre-empt any discussion of the Leyte Dance project and say something about it if the subject came up? Whether the consul general's presence was subtly orchestrated or not, it was obviously inappropriate.
Sofia Abad’s fax message to the treasurer confirmed the connection of the consul general to this dance project. Abad would have not used the term: “Per the request of the consul general” if she was not instructed to facilitate payment to the performers.
As Lacebal’s trusted lieutenant in charge of budget and finance and a board member, she should have known PIDCI’s precarious financial condition, she should have exercised due diligence in the performance of her responsibilities. Instead of protecting public money and the best interests of the organization, Abad is perceived as someone trying hard to please the consul general.
Whatever motivations she had in following instructions, her action was a case of blind obedience and misplaced loyalty. However, if she was doing this on her own, it was simply a case of a lack of common sense.
According to New York Attorney General's instructions, board members must observe and exercise three important responsibilities: duty of loyalty, duty of due care and duty of obedience. Simply put, this means that in every action of a board member, the organization comes first and foremost.
That is why I was surprised to hear board member Angie Cruz implying she wouldn't pay her personal advertisement in the souvenir journal because Friends Indeed's ad was not in it. Of course, Cruz is a member of Friends Indeed but why would she even bring it up? Where is her duty of loyalty and duty of obedience to PIDCI?
People need to refresh their memory and understand the rationale behind the creation of PIDCI as an independent entity. It was necessary to cut the so-called umbilical cord that tied the consulate and the then-PIDC because of the misconceptions and perceptions their relationship created.
Today, both the consul general and some PIDCI board members are reviving the past and reconnecting the cord to the detriment of PIDCI as a distinct entity with a legal personality of its own.
And this is not a good sign of PIDCI's future and the community especially because of Lacebal's penchant for brown-nosing with the powers-that-be and the consul general is still reeling from the effects of criticisms about her $10,000 a month rent of her apartment in Trump World Tower.
As some folks say, not another $10,000.
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com or visit Website at PinoyOnBoard.com.
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