04
THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 2 | November 2014
NEWS
Kapitbahayan AGM and elections
The Kapitbahayan Cooperative Ltd (KCL) held at its
Canley Vale site its annual general meeting and elections last month which saw
the reelection of Pablo Lee as
board chairman.
Lee, a long-time treasurer
of the coop, was a bank man-
ager from Davao City and is
also a treasurer of the Maharlika Sydney Motorcycle Club.
Most of the incumbent
board members were reelected but assumed new management positions. Marie de
Luna, a new director assumes
the role of treasurer while
Jean Javillonar takes over
as secretary; Dodong Capulong becomes tenancy officer, Joe Caballero stays as internal auditor while founding president Ruben Amores
stays as the property manager
in charge of coop assets and
repair and maintenance.
KCL experiments on
ideal grass-root democratic, coop and social practices
to raise the social capital and
promote participative community living. Mature residents are allowed to vote and
contribute to the planning,
management and decision-
making, using members’
sweat equity to expand its
housing assets like the Canley Vale affordable housing
project.
It is also actively involved in the multicultural
community development initiatives through the Alliance
of Philippine Community
Organisations Inc (APCO),
helping other groups to organise coops like Sedgwick
Housing, Burmese Karen, and other ethnic groups.
KCL collects socialised rents
based on family gross incomes and rent assistance.
STAND UP, SIGN UP!
Campaign to Abolish the Pork Barrel System
FILIPINOS in Australia are joining a massive
campaign to support the ‘Act Abolishing the
Pork Barrel System’ – also called the People’s
Initiative Bill.
LAST month, Pinoys signed up the petition calling to abolish the pork barrel after Sunday services at the St. Aidan’s Parish in Rooty Hill,
home to thousands of Filipino-Australians. The
campaign for signatures was led by Migrante
Australia after a Mass celebrated by Fr. Domingo Barawid