FCCVI now in worst crisis

The Filipino Community Council of Victoria (FCCVI) is once again experiencing a management crisis, the worst in its 31 years of operation.

The non-political, non-stock, non-profit group has an in-fighting since last year and it has now escalated to confusing and complicated situations:

• there are two Presidents (Marithes Dumapias and Marlon De Leon);
• there are two invitations for the FCCVI annual Independence Day celebration this June;
• there are two online petitions (petition supporting Marithes’ group and petition in support of Marlon’s group) questioning the legitimacy of each group;
• there are two addresses on the FCCVI letterhead (Droop Street c/o Marlon and Cowper Street c/o Marithes); and
• there are two elections (Group of Marithes to hold election of officers on 31 March 2019, while Marlon’s group held the election last 10 March).

Current FCCVI Officers – Marlon’s Group

Current FCCVI Officers – Marithes’s Group

And not surprisingly the officers of each group and their respective supporters and members are berating each other on social media, in meetings and even in emails.

Now that the crisis is getting out of hand the community wants to know:

1. Which group is the legitimate one?
2. Who holds the current bank account? Why did Westpac close the previous bank account?
3. Who holds the key of the FCCVI office?
4. Are the services of FCCVI still ongoing like the program for the elderlies?
5. When will the two groups sit down and sort out the FCCVI crisis?

If this crisis continues, the FCCVI funding from the Australian government might be affected. Annually, FCCVI receives nearly $1 million from the Australian government. Is it the hunger for power, money or the divisive nature of Filipinos that keeps ripping FCCVI apart? 

When will we see the end of this drama and witness a more functioning FCCVI with lesser drama?

Any suggestion on how the Filipino-Australian community can assist both groups in solving the FCCVI problems?