By Benjie de Ubago
Affiliates of the Philippine Community Council of NSW (PCC-NSW) will meet for a Special General Meeting on Sunday, 30 August, 2020 at 1:00pm at Marayong Community Hall, Marayong.
In compliance with the PCC-NSW constitution, the Special General Meeting has been convened by three of the affiliates: Philippine Australian Society for Seniors Citizens Inc. (PASSCI) (Jun Relunia), BICOL Inc (Demi Robinson) and Samar Association of Australia (Ethel Singzon) submitted the SGM on June 7, 2020. The meeting was convened by the selected affiliates as per their constitutional right after President, Alric Bulseco and PCC-NSW Board failed to respond to the original request for an SGM. After a month lapsed of no reply from the PCC Board, the notice for an SGM was again sent on July 10, 2020, this time directly to the affiliates.
The call for an SGM follows the original initiative of the nine of the former PCC-NSW Presidents who were genuinely concerned for PCC and who were trying to settle the unresolved election issues. This action comes after their emails/requests have fallen on deaf ears. The former presidents who are the majority members of the advisory committee (most of whom are also current affiliates) include: Manny Diel (1993), Kate Andres (1994-1997/2004/2016), Malyn Andres-Chun (2003), Neria Soliman (2005), Jimmy Lopez (2006), Ronaldo Villaver ()2009), Atoy Sayas (2012), Jun Relunia (2014) and Evelyn Beed (2015).
The Special General Meeting (SGM) puts back the power on the hands of the affiliates themselves and aims to resolve the issues that arose from the February 16, 2020 elections. Of utmost importance are: (1) the breach of the constitution – section 13. 4 – Which states that “only one representative from an association may sit on the Board.” Alric Bulseco and Serna Ladia both belong to the Australian Mindanao Multicultural Association (AusMin). Ladia represented AusMin from 2017, 2018 and 2019 (as the Immediate past president). Ladia however shifted representation after the elections in May 2020. (2) Nomination forms submitted did not comply with election rules, i.e. to be submitted by hand or by post. Some of the Directors were allowed to email their nominations much to the disadvantage of other nominees who complied with the rules. (3) The annual Financial Statement was not signed by the external Auditor. Other anomalies at the election include: Disenfranchisement of the Bicol Inc; the non acceptance of the signatory for the Nurses Association; no independent external election and grievance committees. To settle disputes, Bulseco remained the culprit, judge and jury.
People commonly ask why have the two opposing factions not sat down to discuss and resolve issues? Answer: Bulseco has not shown an ounce of remorse and has refused every request!
Initial requests for meetings and dialogues have been met with disdain from President Bulseco. Correspondence and requests for a sensible dialogue has been ignored, twisted, obstructed and blocked every step of the way with conniption fits to boot. Underhandedly, he went phoning and knocking on Presidents’ doors to ask them to support him until the end of his term.
Spreading disinformation re the SGM was another delaying tactic creating more confusion for the affiliates. According to Bulseco, the SGM is not sanctioned by the Board. However as per the constitution, all members of PCC are stakeholders and may request for a special general meeting at any time. In the guise of concern for the health and safety of affiliates, he issued emails to members advising them that the SGM was not sanctioned by the PCC current Board and they would not be covered by insurance. The real message however between the lines was – “do not attend the SGM.” Rather than clarify, and sit down to find a compromise, Bulseco was all out to ignore and incite. Bulseco’s actions alienate and are contrary to his statements of unity and harmony. Rather than being inclusive, his actions are exclusive, only for those who succumb and nod to his whims.
Blame it on the constitution and its loopholes or blame it on the bossanova – and whatever is Bulseco’s beat for the day. However, the reality is Bulseco and his cohorts interpret the rules according t their own agendas and how it benefits them.
Cr. Rey Manoto who was the returning officer at the 2020 elections and who has been appointed for the third consecutive year as the Constitution Amendment Committee (CAC) chairperson has jumped on the bandwagon in Bulseco’s defense. The 2020 CAC committee includes only half of the members from last year. The unwanted members from 2018 and 2019 were not even advised that they were not even included. Rules are simply subject to change according to Bulseco’s whims. Manoto has pleaded innocence on the selection of members. “Not my choice,” he says.
Spitting out numbers as per his own interpretation of the constitution, Manoto further stresses that “the principle of majority rule applies” and the “principle of integrity”. What integrity? He further claims that only the CAC has the mandate from the Board to make changes to the constitution. Furthermore he states: “Our pure intentions are very clear, but I do not know why I am being misunderstood.”
If decisions were made with the purest of intentions, why then were only a few informed? Why then are others not welcome to comment? Why refuse to conduct an SGM? Why not attend the SGM rather than boycott it?
Those sitting on the Board representing their respective associations are duty bound to represent their respective organizations and provide their members the correct information. After all they are not there to simply burn seats and parade themselves.
All care is being taken to ensure the safety of all attendees and all government and Council health regulations – wearing of masks and social distancing – are being adhered to on the day.
It is time for affiliates to find out the whole truth and voice out their opinions as stakeholders of PCC-NSW. Resolutions on the issues now rest on the hands of the affiliates themselves.
A community waits.
26/08/20
