An open letter to the FACC

Dear members and officers of the FACC:

Susan is my name not Silence. 

As a former journalist, I've gotten used to the fact that people either like you or hate you for your work. I chose to believe that many have benefited from my work especially the voiceless.

I am an old-timer who experienced all sorts of “hate remarks”, threats and ad boycotts to my program during the course of my career.  I'm no troublemaker, I don't go looking for trouble. 

I settle things, I mediate but I don't back down from any fight I believe is worth pursuing. When I arrived here in the US, I didn't expect that I would also experience vicious attacks to my person since I believed that America is the land of the free and the home of the brave, where speaking out is not only allowed but encouraged as well.

We are all human beings who get hurt by whatever is spoken out or written against us. As a former journalist, I've been on the receiving end of attacks or “violent responses” from people who were hurt by what I wrote or spoke about them.

I know they got hurt and as a fellow human being I have feelings too but I won't let sentimentality and friendships get in the way of doing my work.

Right now, I am not happy when people or members of the organization would ramble because of an OPINION I wrote. “There are so many friendships and trusts that had been broken because of your current article. I hope that's nothing to be proud of,” was one such message I received. 

If anything I exercised my freedom of speech. Who was it who said “I would rather have a bad press than no press at all.” “Life would to be boring and boredom is a sin,” was one other saying I've learned about relating to freedom of expression.

To anyone reading this, I apologize if what I am posting today is long winded but I have to lay down my background first to help you understand where I'm coming from in light of the attacks against me. 

Trust me this is not Writing 101. Just read on. When I left the Philippines six years ago, I left both careers in journalism and teaching that touched a lot of colleagues back there.

One fellow practitioner is Maricel Casino-Rivera, a former broadcast journalist who is now City Information Officer of Cagayan de Oro City Hall. 

Her post in my own Facebook page reads thus: Hi ma'am San, so proud of you and of what you have become. We were together in the media years back but before I entered d media community, I have already known madame Susan Naelga P. Dennis as one of the fearless, independent and respected broadcasters in Cagayan de Oro City...she was a mentor to many budding journalists then.” 

“Anyone here who has been trained by Ma'am Susan would still remember how conscious she is of her integrity and credibility as a media person......even politicians, community leaders, high ranking officials in the military and law enforcment agencies regard her with respect that many journalists envy for it is something not easily earned.”

Okay, now let me proceed. Arriving in Charlotte, I looked for churches and libraries and then newspapers, since I used to work for one back home. I found some one page newsletters at the Food Lion and Harris Teeter until I finally found Asian Herald, a monthly publication. 

I finally met Dr. Nini who recommended me  to Asian Herald and I wrote for them for about a year until I stopped since I was maintaining a blog already.  

It was during the term of Florami Lao Cordero-Lee, past president of the Fil-American Community of the Carolinas (FACC) that I started writing about the events being held by the group and I branched out to writing about Fil-Americans in the North Carolina community and about issues and events concerning my home country and the US. 

I maintained a weekly column in Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro Publications and my blogs in Google (Blogger.com) and Bloghernetwork.com. I write for free though I do get a dime or two if anyone bothered to click on the Google Ads.

So my writing about the past activities of FACC and its current state of affairs is not new. I post my writings on the FACC group even if many of my friends are not members of FACC. 

Last night with some IT assistance I checked on the FACC page, a closed group composed of 688 members and seven administrators. They are all friends or acquaintances but I am surprised that there's no administrator from last year's board of directors or the newly installed interim BOD.   

Now on to current FACC issues which have turned me into a target of attacks. The December 5, 2015 election raised some issues which I am convinced should be written about so that FACC members may know about it. 

There were so many questions that came out after that any journalist with hard earned experience in the street would really love to do a follow-up. 

This second piece which is actually an “opinion” and is not, I would like to stress, a news story has sparked a firestorm of controversy of sorts in the FACC circle. 

Many or if not all of them are educated and they know the difference between a news story and an opinion. Writing my opinion doesn't necessarily mean I have to get your side because it is my opinion.  

I posted the second piece that I wrote on the FACC page after a long answer or comment from one of the FACC founding fathers, Wally Penilla. 

I happened to know that my post was deleted/taken out/removed because someone asked me that she could not find the post. I told her that it was there,  just scroll. She later told me that the “attachment is not available.”

I went to the page and true enough, I saw that the “attachment is not available.” I also checked my own Facebook Profile page and my Straight from the Carolinas page to see if the blog was there. The post is still there until now. 

Now I am being accused of having deleted or removed my own post. Excuse me, I didn't remove or delete it. I don't care how they came out with that accusation, I am no IT expert.

That said, I can post my own blog and share it since it doesn't require that much expertise. Again I must stress that I did not remove or delete it. Why should I? I want the FACC members to know what is happening to them so they can form their own opinions too. 

They may not agree with my opinion but at least they can have one or two. Second point is that my piece is still posted in my Blogger.com blog. The link is not broken nor moved to another folder as suggested by an IT expert I knew.

But here is the kicker and it is sad for me to say it but I have to do it. 

Hours before my post was removed from the FACC Facebook page, a former FACC president requested me to just delete it because she is a member of the FACC Advisory Council which I described as “pathetic.”

She said she was hurt by the comment and explained that it was damaging to the FACC. It would drive away other Fil-Americans out of the group and discourage others from joining.

Much as I respect her sentiments, I told her I cannot do it. But I told them that I can follow it up by sitting down with them and letting whoever wants to answer the questions I raised about the FACC election.

I quote her verbatim: “Hi Susan, I know I've been so quiet and have not posted anything but I'm one of the advisory council that you're referring in your blog. We had the meeting and since this organization was founded by just a few and now became the advisory council and that includes me. I would like to ask you for the sake of the community to remove your posting, it will just damaging the integrity of FACC. ..thank you.”

She might have good intentions to resolve the issues but giving in to her request would run against everything I believed in as a journalist which is to expose the truth for the sake of public interest or in this case the interest of the whole FACC membership. 

Dare I say it, the request was tantamount to censorship which is anathema to my sensibilities as a former journalist and as a person. I had no idea what happened to my controversial post at the FACC page when I haven't experienced anything like it since I started blogging.

It is strange indeed. But now I am being schooled, lectured and told about putting the interests of a group of officials above anything else, even the truth. Please don't do that to me, don’t insult my intelligence.

Maria Weezorak's post at the FACC page explains what may have happened to the post and I am quoting it. “Post and link/attachment are totally different. Removing post and reporting a link are totally different. A post can be removed by the user and admin only (and FB of course).”

“Links and attachments are controlled by a user (person who posts it), by FB authority and by the blog/website host. But once it is reported as an offensive material and FB thinks it is a violation of Community Standards, then the "particular" link will be broken. Note: The original blog/or material will still be available at the original location.”

As someone familiar with online social media, I know what a post and a link are. But I don’t know how and why the link to my post was broken. I suspect that it is a diversionary tactic meant to cloud the election issues hounding the FACC leadership.

I want to use the right words in describing whoever made the decision to delete my post. "Good writing is the hardest form of thinking." It involves lucid, crystal clear thinking and conveying these thoughts into language that is both visible and resonant to the reader. 

 I want you, the reader, to feel what I write. My choice of the word “pathetic” means sad, deplorable, wanting. 

I used it to describe the current election troubles at the FACC. There is no malice or bad faith in my choice of words. I was not writing a praise release. Does it hurt because it is true? 

If it did, then too bad. According to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton there are no band-aids for hurt feelings. My answer to all these accusations and complaints against me for my controversial post and link: Quo Vadis, FACC.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Election troubles at the FACC

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

The Fil-American Community of the Carolinas (FACC) is growing through a rough patch amid the attempts by its advisory board to resolve the issues surrounding this “Jack N' Poy (the Filipino term for the rock, paper, scissors game to the unfamiliar)” routine done during its recent elections.

The FACC's Advisory Board is composed of its former presidents and was formed 25 years ago by the steering committee. The FACC's incorporation was approved in 1990 and since then had become a “vibrant community of engaged and caring individuals” according to 2003 FACC president Dr. Nini RB Bautista de Garcia.

The FACC Advisory Board recently posted on its Facebook group page which I would like to quote in toto:

“-Request that the new 2016 BOD (under Bobby Escobal) submit to the current Comelec (Steve Mirman) for immediate induction of new officers. Officers that have served in 2015 and are in the same position for 2016 will not be inducted. Only those officers who are new to the group and new to their position need to be inducted.

-Publication of the new resolution with the new set of 2016 BOD to all the Advisory Council and all the membership in the website, Facebook and blast e-mail the membership.

-Request an immediate BOD initial meeting in order to secure on-time reservations to venues.

OTHER PLANS FOR 2016 (can be administered by the Advisory Council , BOD or any volunteers)
- By-laws Amendments (Steve Mirman – Coordinator)
- Membership Records/Procedures Review (Coordinator to be determined)
- Website management/policy (Coordinator to be determined)
- Secretary-General appointment
Comelec Committee (Bert Rodriguez – Coordinator.”

This resolution simply means that there would be no general assembly as well for the 2015 Board of Directors to serve as 2016 officers. A friend told me there is nothing wrong with holdover officers as it happened when there were no persons interested in running the FACC. Not on this case. I respectfully disagree.

In this case it is really wrong since there was already an election that was held and invalidated. The principle of holdover can only be applied  before an election where the body would also decide on their interim officers.

Assuming that the FACC's 2015 Board of Directors agreed to extend their time then their mandate is from the advisory board and not from the assembly. And ideally in a democracy that is a no no because the officers will be beholden to the body that give them power. This is a case of giving power to the few and the elite.    

I’ve been reading the engagement of ideas on the issue since Ed Onia's first post and subsequent reactions  made by Tony Amor and Rogelio Lawsin which, to refresh the memory of those who forgot about or chose not to remember it was espoused on the principles of transparency, check and balance and independence. 

All three called for a general assembly, an act of participatory governance. Are the honorable members of the advisory board aware of this brazen, “animal-like” emasculation done by its members of the election process? 

Or are they aware of this but they refused to acknowledge that fact? It is pathetic indeed. Sad because we are here in our adoptive country that gave birth to democracy.   

Nowhere did the FACC board acknowledge the inputs of those people I’ve mentioned.What happened?Are those who gave inputs  “back seat drivers.” 

Not that these people need to be acknowledged but it is the essence of democracy that we learned from Philippine national heroes Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio that we take heed of the sentiments of those with a genuine sense of concern and commitment to the group. 

While many may argue that the FACC is not a government but I tell you that organizations like the FACC are tantamount to being basic units of governance and governance requires participatory democracy.

Participation is not a new element of governance that gained popularity in recent attempts. It is an attempt to include the ideas of the governed that can be used in case the leadership has failed to do its part in addressing the concerns of its constituents.

In a general membership meeting, there's a meeting of many minds that can produce ideas that can be used to shape future decisions.

The FACC Advisory Board failed to acknowledge the call for a general membership meeting in order to hear the views of all those interested responsible persons so they can decide to vote on the issue of selecting its leaders.

It is crystal clear that the FACC's Commission on Elections (Comelec) abdicated its responsibility to the Advisory Council which, by its own admission, does not have any governing power.

Or is it that the few elite (my apologies) still wants to pull the strings from behind the scenes?  

Cooperatives, government big and small, non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups here and abroad recognize the importance of participation in addition to transparency and check and balance.  

 I believe on the capacity of course of the advisory board otherwise they would not be there if they were not elected or volunteered for the positions because they believe they are capable of doing the tasks required of them.

But what is disturbing here is that among the other plans listed by the FACC's current leadership for this year 2016 is that the tasks of the advisory board “can now be handled by the Advisory Council, board of directors and any volunteer.”

Why give too much power to a group? Why not share it and the responsibilities that accompany it to others who are just, if not more, as committed to the group in the spirit of participatory governance? 

It is when the citizens or members participate that we can truly have an empowered organization. I won't be surprised when there would be members who would just fade away from FACC or join other organizations.  

The election issues in the FACC remains unresolved as far as I am concerned. 

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines and is now employed as teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.
Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

What's with the Jack N' Poy in the FACC elections?

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

The Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz once wrote that ”in a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.” 

Milosz, who became a US citizen in the 70s, continued talking about the issues on his native Poland and his vigilance helped awaken social awareness among his people. 

The recent invalidation of the election results of the Fil-American Community of the Carolinas (FACC) last December 5 by the FACC-Commission on Elections (Comelec) here at Charlotte, North Carolina and the events that happened earlier stirred up a hornet's nest that resulted in a fiery exchange between members and non-members at the group's Facebook page.

It all started with one post from Ed Onia. Nowhere did I see an outpouring of ideas and opinions of an event involving the FACC in recent time. It showed the passion of the Fil-American community for the FACC. 

The controversy stemmed from allowing two persons to play a game of Jack N' Poy—the Filipino equivalent of paper, rock and scissors—with the winner taking the presidency.  

The FACC-Comelec is the sole body entrusted with overseeing the elections and has the authority to resolve any election related issues. Anyone else trying to make a declaration that doesn't have its approval is guilty of usurpation of power.

Lest it be forgotten the FACC-Comelec's authority emanates from the supreme will of the members.

The by-laws are clear on this so what made the FACC-Comelec allow the two candidates to play Jack N' Poy when it is only allowed during a tie in election results? 

Why not allow those present in the meeting to agree to vote for the two candidates? The winner needs only seven votes. Or was it because there were members of the FACC-Comelec who doesn't want any secret balloting?

Dr. Tony Amor said that if the results of the December 5, 2015 elections are “still inconclusive to this day” and the parties involved cannot come to any reasonable agreement, then “the FACC Comelec should invalidate the aforementioned election results and call for a general meeting for the purpose of electing a new set of officers.” 

Amor posted his comment before the FACC-Comelec invalidated the result of the Jack N' Poy.

He also said it is “within the FACC-Comelec's authority to resolve any election matters as specified in the by-laws.”

“Duly registered members who are unable to attend the general election meeting should still be able to cast their ballots by mail-in paper proxy, email or on this FACC Facebook page,” he said.

The invalidation is also misleading because if the election of the president was invalidated, it also casts serious doubts on those elected to other positions. Is their election tainted or was there also Jack N' Poy involved?

I can only commiserate with the FACC-Comelec for this situation. I can only theorize that they were tired with dealing with it and that they've dealt with it more than once in the past few years. 

Familiarity can get boring sometimes. But by allowing this Jack N' Poy to happen, the FACC-Comelec gave its blessing to those who instigated this farce and opened the floodgates of outrage ventilated by the group's members and even non-members who care about the FACC. 

Did the FACC-Comelec abdicate its duty and allow the Jack N' Poy so they can buy peace within the group? Jack N' Poy, hale, hae hoy and poof, their job is done?

This could only worsen the situation and provoke and agitate those who put their faith in the group, believing that everything is okay and there's nothing to fix. 

Having allowed the two presidential candidates to agree among themselves in their presence, the FACC-Comelec only succeeds in cheapening the presidency and other posts in the group. 

Florami Lao Cordero-Lee, past FACC president, said the group is about transparencies and the members have to “know the truth.

“Someone is slithering like a snake somehow and is lying about everything, just to be a president,” Florami said. She did not elaborate who she was referring too.

The Jack N' Poy also sends the wrong signal that guidelines and by-laws can be by-passed simply because there were years that there were no candidates or volunteers to the positions. 

Or was it because nobody is watching, that they don’t even attend or take into consideration the sentiments of the members? That was a wrong move—my apologies because the FACC and its FACC-Comelec needs a “pistol shot of truth” to be awakened and reminded of their duties and mandate to their members.

That pistol shot or several pistol shots were the Facebook posts that commented and questioned that Jack N' Poy allowed by the FACC-Comelec.

Did the recent incident awaken a sleeping volcano of sentiment (resentment?) among the FACC members? That volcano was bound to erupt after years of neglect by the group and the abuse of power of the few.
   
Times are different now, times are changing. The group's constitution and its by-laws must be pragmatic and dynamic, it must be attuned to serve the future. 

Gone are the days of “tayo-tayo (us together)” and “ato ni (this is ours)”, when people are holding on to power ad infinitum as principles of transparency,check and balance and fixed terms of office are in place.

That those elected to office are reminded that a sword of Damocles is hanging over their heads lest they violate the terms of their tenure.

Events are easily reported due to social media and technology. No more secrets because even before secrets are revealed, they are already disclosed and tweeted to the public.

This Jack N' Poy is a litmus test on the FACC-Comelec's credibility and it can redeem itself from extinction by calling for a general membership meeting the soonest time possible.

Is the FACC beyond reform? Read the next blog on Straight from the Carolinas.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines and is now employed teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.
Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)