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NEW YORK --- There was no rest this past weekend; it was just too much to bear. Not because winter was still fighting it out to stay around a little longer and spring was just about to launch itself but because something else concerned me.
Although I decided to free my mind of all this hoopla that is going on from coast to coast, the aftershocks of the news that hit the streets this weekend kept my phone off the hook and almost filled my e-mail box. This got me going again. As an involved player, I simply cannot detach myself from what is turning out to be a March madness syndrome.
No, I’m not talking about the collegiate basketball games in the NCAA but the lawsuits and counter-lawsuits, which will be played out in a court of law if the parties involved do not see eye to eye to settle their feud out of court.
In New York, the news cascaded like a snow avalanche: Nena Kaufman, former Philippine Independence Celebration Committee (PICC) overall chair, filed a lawsuit against three of her former buddies. Lolita Gillberg, Philip Carreon and Nanette Wright were charged in the complaint and Kaufman asked for punitive damages of a million dollars from each one of them including the costs and disbursements of the lawsuit.
Wow! If Kaufman wins her lawsuit, that would be three million dollars added to her coffers, which she may disburse for her Philippine Hearts and Hope Foundation charity work. Her top priority might be replacing the service van with a real ambulance, which she donated to her hometown in San Agustin, Surigao del Sur.
And perhaps her Friends Indeed group, of which she is a charter member, need not plan any more fund-raising activities for Dr. Linda Pelayo, 2005 grand marshal. Neither would PIDCI president Nimia Lacebal worry about funding PIDCI's activities this year. [By the way, has Friends Indeed given to PIDCI the supposedly $20,000 it had raised last February 11? What's causing the hold-up?]
Of course that’s all wishful thinking. And anyone who believes this case could be over by June 2005 must be dreaming. You and I know that in any lawsuit, it could take months of deliberation before a verdict is reached. And if each defendant files a counter-lawsuit, it could escalate into a full-blown legal battle and involve a great deal of money in the process.
Not only that. It could also lead to uncovering skeletons in the closets, which either party may have been hiding all this time. To what extent and how comfortable will each party be in responding to questions that may come out as a result of their lawsuits? Unless each one is prepared to face the music, this is something they should really think about before pursuing further action.
It seems odd that claimants are asking punitive damages to the tune of one to ten million dollars. I think it's just plain intimidation, which lawyers are accustomed to doing in order to create fear in the minds of their opposition. As I previously wrote, it is the battle of the minds that is at play here. Like in a poker game, whoever gets intimidated first, folds his cards.
In San Jose, Calif., the news came down like lightning and thunder threatening to cast a big storm in the prairie. Northside Community Center’s (NCC) Chief Executive Officer Ben Menor filed a lawsuit last Friday, Mar. 18, in the Santa Clara County Superior Court, accusing former staff and board members of the NCC of libel.
The defendants, who have called themselves as Citizens Rebelling Against Bogus Spending (CRABS), had earlier accused Menor of mismanagement and misusing taxpayer's money. According to the Mercury News, the CRABS made their allegations known to city leaders for more than a year.
The news item said that when the CRABS produced detailed documentation that backed up their claim of financial malfeasance, "the city launched a full audit of the agency that runs the center, Filipino American Community Development Council." One report included copies of financial records and board minutes.
Mercury News reported that Menor's critics accused him, among other allegations, of "using city provided funding to set up a program benefited his parents, underreporting the amount of money he raised, giving himself a $14,000 bonus and allowing paid staffers to assist in political fundraising."
Menor reportedly denied all of the allegations contained in several memoranda written by his critics.
As you will recall, Menor was host of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) conference held in San Jose. Some critics also alleged that there might have been an improper recording of monies intended for the NaFFAA event.
Whether this allegation would come up or not in the city auditor's report is anybody's guess. Deputy City Manager of San Jose Jim Holgersson was quoted as saying that the audit report will be released in a week or two.
Menor is listed as an adviser of the Philippine American Friendship Committee (PAFCOM), based in Jersey City. Apparently, he was appointed by Ludy Corrales, NaFFAA treasurer, during her term as overall chair.
Based on this account, I see similarities between the two stories. First, it's about public money, how it is spent and reported not only to funding agencies but to the general public. And second, what are the rights of whistle-blowers and how are they protected?
For example, in the case of New York, Lolita Gillberg, a seasoned auditor, produced an audit report which found "probable fraud" and omissions that may have been committed during the term of Kaufman as 2003 PICC overall chair. She may have resigned her post as auditor but as a board member the following year, wasn't it her fiduciary responsibility to pursue her preliminary audit findings?
The problem is, when one is not accustomed to responding to audit reports, the party in question may find the language of the audit as subjective and harsh, or worst, judgmental and accusatory. Hurt feelings are the common outcome and the need to even the score is a common reaction.
Similarly, in the case of San Jose, Menor's accusers were all previously involved in the NCC as staff or board members. Again, the complaint also concerns the fiduciary responsibility of board members in public benefit corporations. Is this not a case concerning the right of whistle-blowers?
This March madness syndrome is driving everybody to the hilt. Will these lawsuits and counter lawsuits hold water? What lessons can be learned? How can we hold community leaders transparent and accountable in their actions now and in the future?
If it happens in the west, it can also happen in the east. Where will this March madness lead to?
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com
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