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PUBLISHER Kalatas Media
MANAGING EDITOR Maria Phillips
CONSULTING EDITOR Jaime K. Pimentel
CORRESPONDENTS Alfredo Roces
Violi Calvert
Mitchell Badelles
Michelle Baltazar
Marco Selorio
Marilie Bomediano
Joseph Orbase
COLUMNISTS Jim Paredes
Jessie Icao
Shiela Cabacungan
Hank Jongen
Dom Mella
Jerone Balagtas
Fe Watmore
ADVERTISING/CIRCULATION
Marilie Bomediano
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www.kalatas.com.au
Where do we go
from here?
MORE than 25 years ago, the Filipino
community in Sydney began a bold donation
campaign to build us a centre that would serve
many purposes for the use of us all.
Manny Villon and Luz Tiqui. Photo by Marilie Bomediano.
An anointed few that made up a board of trustees
were entrusted with the money and a policy-making
authority fashioned to last the lifetime of each
member.
In its wisdom, the trustees decided to act as
managers as well, leaving the thousands of a Filipino
community members to bear the burden of raising
funds without having a say in the way their centre was
going to be built and managed.
In quick time this board of trustees, for all intents
and purposes, became virtually a kingdom, with a king
calling the shots.
By JAIME K PIMENTEL
Consulting Editor
It wouldn’t have been a problem had the
community been rewarded with a multipurpose
centre for our use within 10 years.
But more than 25 years of dubious policy decisions
and a lack of management know-how later, the
custodians of our money and trust have handed us an
empty million-dollar shell for a multipurpose centre
that we cannot use because, for some baffling reason,
none of the trustees had bothered to note Blacktown
City’s zoning code would not allow use of this latest
acquisition for the multipurpose community centre
envisioned by our esteemed trustees.
The purchase was a large smash repair shop at 50
Forge Street in the middle of Blacktown’s industrial
area zoned for industry.
So now, one year ~ yes, one year ~ after
purchasing this empty million-dollar smash repair
shop for our multipurpose centre, the trustees file
a development application with Blacktown City
Council to suit their plans. And our precious money
will be used to pay for the cost of our trustees’ glaring
oversight.
Of course, if the DA were approved, it could mean
costly remodelling of the large smash repair shop to
suit our own needs before we can dance in it.
But can we afford remodelling costs?
Supposing the DA was not approved? Do the wise
members of the board of trustees have a plan B?
Where do we go from here, Manny Villon et al? n
AK NewsMagazine, Vol 8 No 1 | OCTOBER 2017
03