The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Monday, May 17, 2010 

T he robust Filipino media in Toronto took to their own polls on Saturday intent to make themselves visible in Canada's largest city. The well attended change-over was smooth. As he bowed out as president, journalist Tenny Soriano can lay claim to having instigated a proactive approach to what ethnic media can do in a city as big as Toronto. Soriano had transformed Filipino media from mere passive observer and chronicler of events. The new leadership promises to match, if not better, that legacy. 

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COMMENTARY

Eagle-Eyed Watchers in Toronto Press Election

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)

and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
 

T ORONTO - One might laugh at this but it's true. One might say it's unbelievable but then again it's true. I'm talking about the election on Saturday (May 15, 2010) of the new officers of the Philippine Press Club of Ontario.

PPCO houses Filipino media practitioners in one compact organization that has a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and three directors.

Its 50-plus members represent the journalists, editors, publishers, writers, photographers, videographers and all those associated with print, broadcast, digital and web media in the province of Ontario, whose capital, Toronto, is Canada's largest city.

In the Greater Toronto Area alone, there are at least 15 Filipino fortnightly and monthly newspapers and magazines catering to a booming market of an estimated 250,000 Filipinos. The number is bigger than in San Diego, California, where I published my own monthly newspaper, the Philippine Village Voice.

So with that robust media scene, it's not surprising that an election would be fully watched if not hotly contested. The presidency was a three-way fight. The positions of vice president, secretary and treasurer had two nominees each. Membership in the board of directors was contested by five.

What caught my interest was the number of eagle-eyed poll watchers. There were four looking over the shoulders of a five-member ad-hoc commission on elections as the counting started. Another watcher was on the floor, her eyes glued to the tally board.

For such a relatively small organization with such a few candidates and members voting, the number of poll watchers, to me personally, spoke of mutual distrust. It was as if one or the other party was poised to cheat, or that the volunteer tabulators would engage in miscount. But of course, I know that having poll watchers was part of the whole process.

E lections are always contentious. Everyone in that banquet hall in Quiapo Quiapo Restaurant in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough where the election took place knew that very well. In fact, the look of hostility was in the eyes of some candidates and supporters in the early hours of the day.

To the credit, however, of outgoing PPCO president Tenny Soriano, he defused the tension by asking the presidential contestants – Paul de la Cruz, Tony Sicat and Ricky Caluen – to come forward.

The three gentlemen gleefully obliged and then joined hands in a show of solidarity. For one fleeting moment captured by videos and still photos, unity was back where it proved to be elusive. At least on that Saturday in Quiapo Quiapo.

The new PPCO officers are: Paul de la Cruz, president; Rose Tijam, vice president; Risa Camal, secretary, and Mogi Mogado, treasurer. Members of the board of directors are Hermie Garcia, Nestor Arellano and Jess Cabrias. # # #

This Currents & Breaking News commentary was sent by Romeo P. Marquez, editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no.6, May 17, 2010