“If they want to bury me alive, mali kayo sa pagkat hIndi ninyo ako mailibing na buhay. Ang panginoon lang ang makagawa d’yan,”Avendano told Luisa Marshall of the TV program Simply the Best at last year’s general election. (Photo: Angelo Siglos, metrovanindependent.com)
Vancouver, B.C.
MLA Mable Elmore steps into controversy, calls meeting
Opinion
By Ted Alcuitas
Editor
ted@philippinecanadiannews.com
Three members of the Avendano family have resigned from the board of the Multicultural Helping House Society (MHHS), four days after the last board meeting on July 27, 2019.
According to a story in a local paper posted today, former president and CEO Tomas Avendano Sr., his brother Demetrio and son Benedicto left the board as of July 31.
Their resignations were contained in a filing with the B.C. Registries and Online Services by Helping House lawyer Martha Rans, the paper reported.
The sudden departure came on the heels of an on-going controversy that has plagued the government-funded immigrant services organization.
The controversy came to a head during the last board meeting on July 27, 2019 when allegations of impropriety in the running of the 23-year old organization was raised by no less than MLA Mable Elmore.
The same set of allegations were raised at last year’s MHHS general election in which Avendano was overwhelmingly re-elected.
“If they want to bury me alive, mali kayo sa pagkat hIndi ninyo ako mailibing na buhay. Ang panginoon lang ang makagawa d’yan,”Avendano told Luisa Marshall of the TV program Simply the Best at last year’s general election.
Although MHHS is not specifically known as a Filipino organization, it has been widely accepted that it is, despite its name.
The 90-year old Tomas Avendano, Sr., known as ‘Tatay Tom’, ( a monicker that is reserved for respected elders in the Filipino culture) is the architect of the organization which he founded in 1996.
Originally named as Filipino Canadian Support Services Society (FCSSS) it was reorganized as the Multicultural Helping House Society in 2001 to avail of government funding. Avendano has been its president and CEO ever since.
NDP MLA Mable Elmore (Vancouver-Kensington) has called the situation at the MHHS “a crisis”, according to an interview with The Georgia Straight today, August 15.
She has called for a public meeting this Saturday, August 17, at her constituency office at 6106 Fraser Street from 2 PM to 4 PM.
Elmore did not respond to our request for confirmation of her allegations made at the July 27, 2019 meeting.
Avendano declined to be interviewed by PCN.com.
PCN.com was not notified of Elmore’s meeting at the time of posting.