Filipino Star - November 2010 Issue

2 The North American Filipino Star
Guest Editorial
And he calls himself editor-in-chief
As the leader of any journalistic
organization, the editor-in-chief is
depended upon for guidance. A
person in this position is expected to
set a good example for the rest of the
group. He is depended upon to guide
his staff with integrity and impart them
with high journalistic standards.
That is where F. C. Magallanes,
the editor-in-chief of the Filipino Forum,
has failed quite miserably. He has been
found guilty by the Quebec Press
Council for irresponsibility in
journalism and for breach of the
journalistic code of ethics. For many
other editors-in-chief who went though
similar regrettable lapse in judgment,
that experience should be enough
wake-up call for them to change their
ways for the better. Unfortunately, it
does not have that kind of positive
effect on Magallanes. He refuses to
learn from the lessons the Press
Council has tried to impress on his
mind on several occasions. If anything,
he has gotten worse and more
irresponsible than ever. In our opinion,
only a person with troubled mind
would allow that to happen without
even a tittle of remorse.
As an editor-in-chief, Magallanes
is supposed to be the vanguard and
herald of truth, not the first one to tell
outright lies and malign innocent
people or entities in the process. With
Magallanes, it is the other way around
as editions upon editions of his own
publication will bear witness to that
assumption. We do not just make this
up to make him look bad. He does not
need us to do that; he has been doing
it to himself, and all by himself.
In his latest editorial (September
16-October 15, 2010, Filipino Forum)
devoted to Mrs. Zenaida F. Kharroubi,
Gilmore College International
5450 Cote des Neiges
#511
(corner Edouard Montpetit)
Montreal, QC H3T 1Y6
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he asked, “Whatever happened to
responsibility in journalism?” We
wonder why he has directed that
question to Mrs. Kharroubi and not to
himself who should know all the
answers to that question already since
he is the one devoid of any sense of
responsibility in journalism. Not only
that, he even lectures us on a particular
rule of journalism. He wrote, “First rule
of journalism: get your facts straight.”
That is the height of hypocrisy since he
has always been the one who does not
get his facts straight. One
incontrovertible evidence that he does
not follow what he preaches is right
there in his article titled “FAMAS
proposes ban on adulterers”
appearing on the front page of the
aforementioned edition of the Filipino
Forum. The Filipino Association of
Montreal and Suburbs (FAMAS) has
never considered such a preposterous
proposal.
He has failed to ensure that the
content of his article is accurate, fair
and complete. He has also failed to
edit a Page 1 story that his article on
FAMAS alleged proposal is before
publication and other stories as
needed. He has failed to review
feedback or evaluations of that
particular article and other content and
take steps to avoid future mistakes,
and holds stories that are not ready for
publication.
And he calls himself editor-inchief.
If someone else outside of his
family or small circle of friends owned
the Filipino Forum, F. C. Magallanes
would never have been its editor-inchief,
not even a delivery boy.
Bernardo “Budz” Sarmiento
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Shinette Salcedo-Khoury was
once hailed by Fred Magallanes “the
next valued honorary consul.” She did
not pay attention to the warning of
friends who said: “The very people
who want you there will be the very
people who will bring you down.” It
was only when Magallanes began
calling her ineligible FAMAS director
that she had a grasp of what her
friends were getting at.
In June 2007, a letter of
recommendation with a petition of over
2,000 signatures recommending
Salcedo-Khoury as honorary consul
was submitted to Ambassador Jose
Brillantes, then Philippine Ambassador
to Canada. For months, she graced the
pages of the Filipino Forum,
sometimes in the headline – “Shinette
to be named consul”, other times
hailed as an active community leader.
The favored honorary-consul-to-be
was put on a pedestal, and lavished
with praise and impressive credentials.
Call her naive, call her stupid
and call her idealistic, Salcedo-Khoury
simply went about her ways according
to what her mind, her heart, her better
judgment and what the answer to her
prayers would guide her to regardless
of what others would suggest or expect
of her. She has not changed. She will
be the same person once valued to be
the next honorary consul.
Unfortunately, Salcedo-
Khoury's appointment did not
materialize. Her failed appointment
was due to misfortune of being backed
up by Magallanes who eventually
brought her down. Unknown to her,
Magallanes’ endorsement was a kiss of
death. And when it became obvious
that Ambassador Brillantes would not
appoint an honorary consul in
Montreal, Julita Parado asked her to
run for the directorship of FAMAS to
serve the community. It took about six
months for her to accept the offer. After
winning the election, Magallanes
began calling her ineligible vice
president of FAMAS. The truth was that
she met all the requirements to run.
Magallanes made an issue of Salcedo-
Khoury’s failure to pay her
membership fee in 2007 because all
the candidates he supported lost the
election.
nOVEMBER 2010
F. C. Magallanes: a serial character assassin
Shinette Salcedo-Khoury is one of his latest victims
By Bernardo “Budz” Sarmiento
5450 chemin de la Cote des Neiges
Suite 511
Montreal, Quebec H3T 1Y6
Al Abdon
Jerry Estrada
Columnists
Mark Flores
Advertising Representative
When Salcedo-Khoury , who
was once valued future honorary
consul, became an ineligible vice
president of FAMAS, she found out
Magallanes’ real character. Magallanes
has a pattern of building up people he
wants, then destroying them if they
refused to be manipulated or
controlled by him and his toadies.
Magallanes is a serial character
assassin.
In 2001, Magallanes endorsed
and promoted Benny Parial who he
wrote was the most qualified among
the FAMAS presidential candidates
that included Jay Jay Villanueva, Ding
Castillo and Mel Domingo. But when
Parial refused to be manipulated by
Magallanes, troubles began for Parial.
Magallanes wrote that FAMAS was
impoverished because Parial used the
money of FAMAS to hire a lawyer when
a case was filed against San Tino.
Magallanes' next victim was Tino who
ran for presidency in 2005. In the
beginning, Tino was Magallanes'
“Flavor of the Month.” He even
dismissed the propaganda that Tino
was just an orderly. But when Tino
refused to be controlled by
Magallanes, Tino was in trouble.
Magallanes mercilessly attacked Tino.
In the wake of his attack against Tino,
Magallanes was banned from the
Center. Magallanes then called Tino
bigot and fascist. He even wrote a story
on the front page of the Filipino Forum
that Tino was handcuffed by the police
for slapping his girlfriend.
In 2007, Magallanes wrote that
Albert Floresca, who won the FAMAS
election for presidency, got off to a
good start and was on his way to
achieve something great. But after a
year, he started writing negative stories
about Floresca. He said that the July
2005 Pista sa Nayon was the least
attended in its five-year history. In the
January-February issue of the Filipino
Forum, he wrote that Flor Rillo would
run for FAMAS president. It was
obvious he was favoring Rillo. Glowing
rave reviews kept coming from
Magallanes’ pen. He even wrote "Chris
Bautista is a possible candidate but he
lacks the support of Samahang
See Page 4 - Character Assassin
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The opinions expressed by the writers and columnists do no necessarily reflect that of
the management of the North American Filipino Star. and its editors.