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NEW YORK --- While everyone is busy organizing fund-raising events for the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI), something else seems to have been lost in translation in the midst of all this fanfare.
Remember last year's car raffle event organized by Aquila Legis together with 2004 PIDCI grand marshal Rudy Quiambao? You would have thought PIDCI had received its $5,000 share of the raffle proceeds by now. Not!
Almost nine months down the road, PIDCI has received nothing despite several follow-ups to Bing Fabricante, Aquila president. Nor has Quiambao done something to resolve this unfinished business.
As a grand marshal who brokered the raffle event with Fabricante, Quiambao cannot escape criticism from his responsibility and accountability to have the promised cash remitted to PIDCI. He can't simply shy away from this and wash his hands. He has to have an active role in ensuring that such funds are delivered to PIDCI account.
Also, as a project collaborator, Fabricante cannot be dodging that shared responsibility any longer. On his own, Fabricante has profited enough from doing business with PIDCI. If he was quick at collecting payment for the PIDCI journal which he printed, why can't he do the same in releasing what is due PIDCI? What seems to be the hiccup?
Something is lost in translation here. And the deeper it gets, the more it becomes more difficult to understand. It's like reading a small font, fine print clause embedded in a legal document. Which perhaps can only be interpreted by members of Aquila Legis, who on the other hand, may not be aware of what's going on with their involvement in this raffle deal?
On another note, why is it that whenever money matters come into play in PIDCI it takes a monumental effort to come up with a financial report? What is happening with the much awaited 2003 report, which I understand the result of its operations has kept 2004 afloat and is sustaining this year's activities as well?
We may not have to wait any longer. I understand director Sofia Abad will render a report of the 2003 Philippine Independence Celebration Committee (PICC) at a board meeting on Mar. 15. What new findings will she come up with this time? Or will this be a re-hash of Lolit Gillberg's report last year, which triggered a big controversy?
The big question is: Will this report be the audited version conducted by an external auditor? If it isn't, her objectivity might already have been compromised. As you will recall, Abad had a run-in with Nena Kaufman, 2003 overall chair, over accounting and perhaps, personal issues, which saw print in a local newspaper.
Will Abad's bias against Kaufman reflected in her report as well? That's possible and it wouldn't be easily lost in translation as I think Abad has an intense dislike of Kaufman.
Again, this leads me to wonder why Abad was given the task of reviewing (or is it auditing?) Kaufman's operations. Was this pre-planned by Nimia Lacebal, PIDCI president, who also was not fond of Kaufman calling her "Little President" during the time of Roger Alama, 2004 PIDCI president?
What's more, I was told that although copies of checks and bank statements were available, Lacebal directed Abad to get copies of these from Metropolitan Bank incurring unnecessary expenses to the tune of some $250. What was the motive behind this action?
Perhaps board members who went along with Lacebal's nomination of Abad to do this task were not aware of this background. If that was the case, will they accept Abad's report as fair and objective? Why can't they refer this to an independent auditor to get this done once and for all?
How about 2004's financial report? When will it be referred for audit and the results reported to the community? The problem though is that it might take another year or so before a report is rolled out. It might not even be the audited version just like 2003's or the previous years before that.
Anything that relates to accounting of public money seems lost in translation. It is always a monumental effort to have financial reports made available on a timely fashion.
PIDCI board members need to correct this problem and show the public that it can be done. Not lost in translation.
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com or visit Website at PinoyOnBoard.com
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