Honorary Consul Pintado supports FCCVI interim elections

Honorary Consul Felix Pintado of the Philippine Consulate of Victoria has thrown his support towards an immediate resolution to the leadership crisis within the Filipino Community Council of Victoria, Inc (FCCVI).

The Philippine Times today received a letter signed by Honorary Consul Felix Pintado intended for attendees of the early interim election of the FCCVI on Sunday, 31 March 2019.

“Your attendance here today in support of this election is critical,” Pintado said in the letter.

The letter states:

MESSAGE OF SUPPORT
from the Honorary Consul of the Philippines, Felix Pintado, for the early interim election of the Filipino Community Council of Victoria Inc (FCCVI) on Sunday 31st of March 2019

To the Australian-Filipino community gathered for the early interim election of the Filipino Community Council of Victoria Inc (FCCVI) on Sunday, 31st of March 2019.

Maraming maraming salamat po, sa inyong lahat, for your commitment to achieving a resolution to the stand-off between factions within the FCCVI which have plagued our community for far too long.

The Philippine Consulate in Melbourne, Victoria commends the efforts of the Convenors of the Independent Election Committee who are conducting this early election to ensure probity.

The members of this Committee have shown their unwavering commitment toward the good of the Filipino community without any personal reward other than the knowledge that they are helping their kababayan to find a way.

Today’s election is no longer a matter of taking sides. That time has passed. Now is the time to come together to find a sustainable way forward in the best way possible – by making your vote count in a democratic election that will determine the future of the FCCVI.

Your attendance here today in support of this election is critical. It is a shining example to the wider Filipino-Australian community and other supporters and stakeholders of FCCVI that you are capable of solving this challenge by yourselves with the means available to you.

In the spirit of bayanihan, I encourage you to participate fully in carrying the FCCVI on the shoulder of your vote into a better future.

What is at stake here is much more than egos and pride. Without a legitimate outcome from this election, the whole Filipino community in Victoria stands to lose approximately 300,000 dollars in government funding for aged care services provided by FCCVI to the elderly in their homes. These funds have already been frozen and will be withdrawn by the government if there is no agreed outcome.

For this reason and as a follow-up to this election, an invitation has been extended to those who are in conflict with each other to attend a meeting with the convenors of the Independent Election Committee and the Philippine Honorary Consul this coming Wednesday to help in the resolution of this matter and to request a deferment from the government. The election outcome today will help to pave that way forward.

I urge you all to work together as kababayan to find that way ahead and to honour this process with your vote. I also pray with you that the Lord continues to preserve the Filipino-Australian community in Victoria by cementing it with unity and love and adorning it with peace and harmony.