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SPECIAL REPORT: Too many pay-to-cash disbursements (3rd in a series)
By Marivir R. Montebon & Cristina DC Pastor The 2013-2015 general ledgers contain items that are blatantly questionable, according to financial professionals who reviewed them. Some of these are: 1. In 2013, a staggering expenditure of unspecified materials and supplies worth $36,665.44 was reported; In 2014, unspecified materials and supplies reached $44,529.41; In 2015, it […]
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SPECIAL REPORT: Where’s the money, PIDCI? (2nd in a series)
By Marivir R. Montebon & Cristina DC Pastor Despite its accountability and transparency issues, PIDCI has continued to make it appear to potential sponsors who advertise in the souvenir program that their donations would be tax-exempt. In May 2018, a month before the 120th Philippine Independence Day celebration, its advertising form carried a note that […]
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SPECIAL REPORT: The anatomy of missing PIDCI funds (1st in a series)
By Cristina DC Pastor & Marivir Montebon It began innocently enough. In the mid-winter of 2017, then President Prospero Lim of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) went to the bank to check on the organization’s account. It was learned he needed some cash so he could pay the deposit to the Astoria World […]
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In Manhattan, a coming-out party for Mindanao fashion
By Lindy Rosales Arise Mindanao was a flashy, jazzy fashion show, a welcome break from NYC’s hot and humid week, with frequent interruptions of rain showers. Models wearing designs inspired by the Blaan, Tboli and Maguindanao tribes from Southern Mindanao enlivened the Philippine Center’s Kalayaan Hall as they did the runway walk. The show featured […]
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Pulitzer and Nobel prize winners among this year’s TOFA honorees
By Cristina DC Pastor A Pulitzer Prize winner and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient are among this year’s distinguished The Outstanding Filipinos in America (TOFA) honorees. Mariel Padilla (Youth category) contributed to The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pulitzer-Prize winning project, “Seven Days of Heroin,” about the drug epidemic in the Midwest. Vivian Talambiras-Cruz (Community Service) was part […]
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Manny Pacquiao looms large as Jersey City and GenSan become sister cities
By Cristina DC Pastor Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said he was looking forward to visiting General Santos City because he wanted to meet Senator Manny Pacquiao. The audience reacted with delight. It was a flippant comment remarked during the August 14 signing ceremony of the Sister Cities agreement between Jersey City and GenSan, but […]
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Young Filipinos learn lessons on identity, giving back through Diskubre Tour
Filipinos born abroad traveled to the Baguio-Banaue area where they participated in historical tours, food trips, nature excursions, and livelihood immersion. The July 7 to 17 Diskubre Tour, organized by the Philippine Consulate General in New York (PCGNY) and the Philippine Department of Tourism New York (PDOTNY), seeks to promote a deeper appreciation of the […]
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Jersey City and General Santos to promote commerce, culture as sister cities
By Cristina DC Pastor What do Jersey City in the U.S. and General Santos City in the Philippines have in common? Aside from both being highly urbanized cities, not much. In our search for some kind of a connection, we find out that J.C. is the birthplace of basketball great Shaquille O’Neal, and GenSan is […]
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When younger sisters turn out better than you
By Tricia J. Capistrano “You have to set a good example,” my mom used to tell me. “Whatever you do, your sisters will follow.” I am the oldest of four girls. We are all grown up now. I am 44. Carla, the youngest, is 34. I don’t know if my sisters cared about what I […]