By Maria CJ De Villa
The $678,000 worth of questionable payables from 2017 will now be the subject of a June 6, 2019 Special Membership Meeting.
The Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT) Board is expected to address the many unresolved issues arising from payables that include compensation payments to Directors and Officers of the Board.
It has become such a hot topic of conversation in the Filipino community, even beyond its Membership, as to when its Board will commit to hold a Special Membership Meeting and reveal the status or better the truth behind these controversial payables.
The FCT Board has been avoiding the issue for the last two years and frustrations have been running high.
After the sale of its old Parliament building last January 2017 for $5.9M, the FCT Board settled a good number of account payables. Some were standard accounts that members were already familiar with. Others ($678,000 in total including retroactive board directors’ salaries) took members by complete and total surprise.
It seems members have been unaware of certain payments to FCT officers. Right after the large infusion of cash from its building sale, certain payables suddenly surfaced that urgently needed to be paid. The membership has no prior knowledge of these payables; nor was there a note in the financials in prior years referring to these on-going payables. This was just too much for the members to accept.
In the inauguration of the Scarborough office, Mary Ann San Juan, FCT President and CEO bragged about purchasing the new office building in cash. This was followed by FCT Chairman Efren De Villa priding FCT of financial transparency when it comes to its accounting books and records.
How ironic it was as a backdrop to the wall of silence that the FCT members have been encountering with the FCT Board as it seeks the real story behind the $678,000 payables.
The first formal member petition dating back to Dec 20, 2018 for a Special General Meeting did not elicit any date commitment from the FCT Board despite the petition for a meeting being in compliance with the FCT bylaws. It had to take a second formal petition dated March 30, 2019 for the FCT Board to finally schedule a special meeting.
Even in the October 5, 2018 Annual General Meeting, the much awaited payables’ topic was suspiciously missing in the AGM agenda. It was quite notable during the meeting when the third party FCT accountant was asked about the details of the $678,000 IOU’s, the accountant pleaded no knowledge whatsoever further bewildering members as to what’s happening in terms of financial accountability.
This gave rise to a motion for an internal audit which was accepted by FCT President and CEO Mary Ann San Juan. However that was the last time members heard about the planned audit. Members have no clue whatsoever as to the status of the requested audit.
Below are the particular questions for the Board to respond to:
1. What were the significant payables to be settled with the funds from the sale of the FCT building, other that those pertaining to the cost of sale?
Please explain the particulars of the following:
Vicki $300,000
RCJ $96,000
Felino $122,000
CRA $122,000
Wendy $30,000
S and J $8,000
Mechanicals
2. Are these payables or expense claims valid, complete with supporting documents, and in compliance with the FCT Constitution or Bylaws? Will these supporting documents be produced?
Are these payables valid under Section 4 – Remuneration and Reimbursement, Article VII Funds and Finances of the FCT Bylaws, which states ‘Members and Officers of the Directors, Officers of the Executive Council, and members of the Filipino-Canadian Centre shall receive no remuneration from the organization for acting as such. They shall be reimbursed of reasonable expenses (s) incurred in the performance of duties’.
3. Do these payables require any authorization from the membership or any formal amendment of the current bylaws to allow their payment?
Has any bylaw amendment been passed by the membership to sanction these payables?
4. How far back in years do these payables go?
Are these payables retroactive to 5, 1,10, or moreyears? The Board needs to specify and explain thereason for their retroactivity.
5. Have these payables been reflected in the previous years’ financial statements (that were presented for approval during the previous years’ AGMs)?
In any of the prior years, have the Board ever identifiedor discussed with the membership all these payables? What Financial Statement has the Board presented to membership for approval that shows these payables?Why did these payables become known to the members only after the FCT building was sold?
6. Are these payables still outstanding now, or have they been paid partly or in full prior to or after the Sept 7, 2017 AGM, irrespective of any membership sanctions?
In the September 7, 2017 AGM, the Board presented these payables and was intending to pass a motion to amend the remuneration bylaw to authorize their payments. Considering that no further discussion has taken place with the members on this topic since then, have any cheques so far been issued in payments for either portions of if not the whole amount of these payables, and when?
7. Are Board Members, Officers and members being remunerated?
Subsequent to the September 7, 2017 AGM are there still Board members, Officers or members receiving any form of compensation or salaries, and why?
The clock has been ticking, the members have been waiting, the community has been watching, and the media have been asking. Two and half years is a long wait. The ever patient Membership deserves the truth and nothing but the truth on June 6, 2019.