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MetroVanIndependent.com
August 2015
Opinion
Is the Reyfort Media Group trying to use a ghost association for the coming elections?
all organizations and media and let
everyone know your intentions to form a
“United” organization that would represent
everyone. Doesn’t that make sense?
Continued from page 1
>>
Due to Fortaleza’s unsubstantiated
accusations in this latest article
(Publisher Hit for Undermining Efforts
to Unite Community) and questionable
journalism I am forced to defend myself
publicly.
THIS IS HOW IT ALL STARTED
I wrote an article in the July Metrovan
INDEPENDENT News titled “Are Filipino
Associations Ready to Unite?” I wrote
this article because I was informed
by members of the community about
the recent formation of an Association
called the UNITED FILIPINO CANADIAN
ASSOCIATIONS OF BC (UFCABC).
Joel Castillo is the president, Rey
Fortaleza is the Vice President and Janice
Lozano is the Secretary. Joel Castillo
claimed in a TV interview that they are “the
conglomerate or the umbrella of different
associations in BC”. I started to look into
how this association came into existence.
I contacted Narima Dela Cruz from the
Surrey SPIDS Association, Alvin Relleve of
the Barangay North Van and MV-PACES
(North Van) and Carlito Pradas president of
the Filipino Association of BC (FABC) which
has been together for 58 years. I asked
each one of them if they had been invited
to join this new UFCABC. All replied that
they were never contacted or given notice
of the formation of the UFCABC.
I then contacted Joel Castillo by
email on June 30/2015 and asked him
14 questions about this organization.
Joel initially agreed to a meeting then
cancelled by email. Joel never did answer
any of my 14 questions sent on June
3 0/2015. You can view my article at www.
metrovanindependent.com to see what I
wrote about the UFCABC and see if their
follow up article makes any sense.
However, Joel Castillo did manage
to make the time to get together with his
pal and Vice President of UFCABC Rey
Fortaleza and do an interview for the
Philippine Asian News PNT. To no surprise,
I was featured on the front page with the
title “PUBLISHER HIT FOR UNDERMINING
EFFORTS TO UNITE COMMUNITY” along
with a picture of Joel Castillo and Deputy
Consul Anton Mandap together in a picture
where Mandap had a thumbs up as if he
approved of this article.
I emailed Rey For taleza on July
27/2015 and Joel Castillo on July 29/2015
to ask them numerous relevant questions
concerning what was in his PNT article. I
asked them to show me the evidence they
had to back up their questionable and
confusing statements. As of press time
neither of them answered anything and
failed to show any evidence to support
anything that they wrote or stated.
MY COMMENTS ON THE PNT
ARTICLE “PUBLISHER HIT FOR
UNDERMINING EFFORTS TO UNITE
COMMUNITY”
“PUBLISHER HIT FOR UNDERMINING
EFFORTS TO UNITE COMMUNITY” (PNT
front page quote)
This title is misleading and potentially
harmful to me and my reputation. It
states as a fact that I have been “HIT
for undermining efforts to unite the
community." The article title should be
reporting on the fact that someone else
Rey Fortaleza's confusing July 2014 PNT front page headline.
These are some of the questions I
asked Joel Castillo. When and how was
this group formed? What is the mission
of this group? Which community groups,
associations, societies or leaders did
you invite to join this group and how was
that decided? Are there any associations,
societies that weren’t invited, informed and
why?
Why did the organization of your group
have to be done so fast hereby leaving out
all the other groups? What was the rush?
Joel Castillo had no answers for any of
these questions.
THIS IS WHERE THEY REALLY TRY
TO CONFUSE THINGS
Rey Fortaleza's confusing June 2015 PNT front page headline with Deputy Consul Anton Mandap giving
the thumbs up and appearing to approve the article.
already hit me for “undermining efforts to
Unite Community.” Whereas the article
itself is the one doing the hitting.
I simply asked the same questions
that other leaders wanted to know. I never
got any answers and now they say I’m
“undermining efforts to unite community”
just because I ask questions that they won’t
answer? I asked Rey Fortaleza and Joel
Castillo the following questions. How was
Steve Marshall “HIT FOR UNDERMINING
EFFORTS TO UNITE THE COMMUNITY”,
How and by whom was Steve Marshall
“Hit”? How did Steve Marshall “Undermine
Efforts to Unite the Community”? They had
no answers or responses and could not
show any evidence to support this front
page title in the PNT newspaper.
“Marshall claimed that Castillo became
involved in the formation of UFCABC in
early 2015 because he lost in the election
for the presidency of another organization,
the Filipino Association of BC (FABC),
two years earlier or in 2013.” (Quote PNT
paragraph #2)
This is a statement made by the PNT.
I wrote “This has been a discussion in BC
that likely started over 50 years ago. There
seems to be a pattern that Filipinos get
together and form a Society then at some
point a Presidential candidate loses then
starts his own new group to be President.
Later in that new group the same thing
can happen splitting into another group.” I
did not mention Joel Castillo. I was talking
about the history of Filipino Societies for the
last 50 years. Then on the 8th paragraph
I wrote “Now in 2015, 2 years after Joel
Castillo lost to Carlito Pradas in a bid to
be president of the Filipino Association
of BC, Castillo became involved in a new
association: the United Filipino-Canadian
Associations of BC.” I just stated a fact.
I asked Rey Fortaleza and Joel Castillo
Where did Steve Marshall specifically
claim that Joel Castillo became involved
in the formation of UFCABC because he
lost in the election for presidency two years
earlier in another organization?
They had no answer or response to
support what they said or wrote. Castillo
stated he thinks what I said was “hurtful
and demeaning to his person and integrity”.
NOTE TO JOEL CASTILLO: You are
the president of this new controversial
UFCABC group. It is your job to answer
tough questions in a timely manner so stop
the whining and take care of business.
HOW DID THE UFCABC ACTUALLY
GET STARTED?
This is most confusing issue. I asked
Joel Castillo last month, but he still refuses
to answer. Why would he not answer this
question? What is he hiding?
I wrote “How did the Pista ng Bayan
Society which normally organizes the yearly
Slocan Park Philippine Independence
day event and Gala night turn into a
self-titled UNITED FILIPINO-CANADIAN
ASSOCIATIONS IN BC? This happened
without telling all the associations that they
are claiming to represent?”
The Philippine Consulate wrote a letter
dated Dec 22/2014 that invited all the
community leaders to meet on January
16/2015 so the Consulate can step down as
the co-chair of the Pista ng Bayan Society
and create a calendar of activities to
commemorate the 117th Anniversary of the
Proclamation of Philippine Independence
Day. The Consulate’s letter was very clear
what the January 16/2015 meeting would
be about and nowhere was anything written
about forming the UFCABC.
The formation of the UFCABC somehow
happened after the January 16/2015
meeting at other meetings throughout the
following months.
NOTE TO THE UFCABC: After the January
16/2015 meeting was the time to contact
The PNT newspaper article stated:
“Everybody was given the chance to join
and volunteer,” Castillo said. “All heads
of recognized Filipino associations were
given due notice and an opportunity to
serve as volunteer or member…. “Neither
of them cannot now question the legitimacy
of the proceedings because they were
given due notice and ample opportunity
to participate,” Castillo said.
NOTE TO PRESIDENT JOEL CASTILLO
and VICE PRESIDENT RAY FORTALEZA
of the UFCABC: This “chance to join and
volunteer” was specifically only for the
original intentions of the Consulate that I
detailed before. This was NOT for anything
to do with this controversial UFCABC that
you and your group came up with at a later
date. Both of your comments in the PNT
article are very misleading and you refuse
to send me any information to back up your
statements.
NOTE TO REY FORTALEZA PUBLISHER
OF PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS (PNT):
Ray Fortaleza, why can’t you provide any
evidence to back up this ridiculous article?
You broke a lot of ethical rules according
to the Canadian Association of Journalists.
Firstly, you did not ask me for my side of the
story which is a golden rule if you are going
to write or name me in your newspaper.
Secondly, you did not verify the statements
you made with facts. Thirdly, you can’t even
answer any of my questions regarding this
article or give any evidence to support
it. Fourthly, you failed to reveal you are a
biased journalist because you are the Vice
President of the UFCABC.
THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME WE
MADE THE FRONT PAGE OF THE
PNT NEWS BY REY FORTALEZA
The first time my wife Luisa Marshall
was front page in the PNT newspaper
was last July 2014 with the huge title
BUSTED: “BOMBA NEWS”. Rey Fortaleza
put a picture that included Bert Morelos,
Reeve Ryan, Luisa Marshall and Amado
Lugtu. The article took up the front page
and the entire 2 center pages of the PNT
newspaper. The first reaction of readers
was what did Luisa Marshall do? This
entire article had nothing to do with Luisa
Marshall. What was it really about?
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