The Philippine-Canadian Centre: The Adventure of a Community's Dream
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| The dream started taking shape as early Filipino immigrants in Winnipeg voiced their desire for a Filipino centre in social gatherings
and at meetings of their organizations. In the early 70s, the Philippine Association of Manitoba (PAM), at a board meeting held in a
bowling hall, agreed to reserve, at the end of each fiscal year, all its funds in excess of $200 as a build-up fund for a Philippine Centre.
The dream crystallized, however, at the 1977 Filipino Provincial Conference. One of the resolutions approved in the Assembly, which
came out of a committee chaired by Mr. Rod Cantiveros, called for the creation of a Philippine Centre. In the early 80s, then PAM
President Resty Taruc started the legwork by applying for government funds. The application bore fruit; financial help was received
from the Core Area Initiative and the Manitoba Ministry of Culture, Heritage, and Citizenship. The first Philippine Centre, on 88 Juno St.,
in Winnipeg, was acquired by the Philippine Association of Manitoba (PAM) and inaugurated on June 8, 1984, under the presidency of
Mr. Cris Aglugub (now MLA for Maples). Not long thereafter, a more ambitious dream soon emerged. It became increasingly obvious to
the community that the unexpectedly rapid growth of the Filipino population called for a bigger facility. Thus they started to aspire for a
more spacious building that will not only accommodate and respond to their needs more fully, but also reflect their size and prominence
in the city. It is no surprise that, a couple of years before the 1980s ended, Mr. Aglugub, Mr. Jing Aspirin, and Ms. Jean Guiang
proposed to some City councillors, particularly Mr. Mike O'Shaughnessy, that land be made available to the Filipino community. By
1988, City Hall had given an indication that, indeed, land was available upon application. In February 1989, PAM President Jean
Guiang and The Dynasty Group started working together. Subsequently a community meeting, attended by Mr. Chris Lorenc and
Dynasty Group President Allan Borodkin, was called for consultation. In September of the same year, PAM and Dynasty entered into
an agreement, which included an understanding that Dynasty would develop a Philippine Cultural Centre with a library, a Community
Services Building (on an adjacent lot to be obtained by Dynasty), and a Seniors' Housing Project. By 1991, the idea of having a
housing project was shelved as a future project and the intent to have a library in the Centre was dropped because City Hall did not
want an ethnic affiliation for its public libraries. Also, instead of directly acquiring land from the City, Dynasty would lease a part of the
land that PAM would obtain from City Hall; this parcel would be the lot for the Community Services Building, which would house a
library. However, the City could not wait for the Centre development, and it unilaterally built a public library on the lot. Unfortunately,
what would have been a 5-plus acres of land for the community was nearly halved.
In 1994 the City awarded a 2.96 acre lot to PAM on a yearly lease of $1 for fifty years, renewable twice for a 10-year period each
time. The award included the stipulation that PAM should start construction of its centre three years after obtaining zoning approval. The
award brought excitement to the community, and a fundraising picnic was held on the land on Keewatin on October 1, 1994. |
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| However, the cost of the proposed development was into the millions of dollars, and the problem of raising funds within the
time allowed for the start of construction by the City was obvious. PAM clearly wanted the development of the land that was
already awarded to the organization for the Filipino community. Yet the huge financial undertaking could not be shouldered by
PAM alone and it had to be endorsed to the community as a whole. Thus at its emergency meeting of December 2, 1994 the
PAM Board of Directors, led by President John Gano, exercised forward-looking wisdom in passing a resolution that the
undertaking of the Philippine Cultural Centre Project be endorsed to the community. The endorsement would initially be thru
the Philippine Cultural Centre Fundraising Committee, chaired by the Philipppine Honourary Consul-General, Dr. Roland
Guzman. Eventually the task would be passed on to the Philippine Foundation of Manitoba, which Dr. Guzman and some
Filipino leaders were organizing to raise funds for programs intended for the Filipino community. Two days later (December 4,
1994), the resolution was presented to the community at a meeting called for the purpose. |
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| Following the formation of the Philippine Foundation of Manitoba, with Dr. Guzman as President and Dr. Romulo Magsino
as Executive Vice-President, Foundation and PAM representatives met with the Dynasty group to discuss the Philippine
Cultural Centre development. It was made clear by the representatives that they saw some problems in Dynasty's
development fee. The Dynasty Group, on the other hand, maintained its claim as developer of the Centre and, at the same
time, offered to surrender its claim in exchange for payment of previous services rendered to PAM. |
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Settling the issue proved to be a major distraction for a few years. Nonetheless, the community moved on. In 1996, PAM's
Philippine Centre Ad Hoc Committee called for a public consultation meeting to determine what plans and steps were needed
to pursue the Centre Project. The community meeting concluded that a study was needed to determine the comparative merits
of different alternatives. In accordance with the resolution from PAM presented to the community in 1994, the Philippine
Foundation of Manitoba was called upon by the community to work with PAM on a six-member (3 from the Foundations; 3
from PAM) Joint Committee on Feasibility Study for the Philippine Centre Project. The Foundation and PAM agreed to appoint
a seventh person, Mr. Resty Taruc, as Chair.
Even as the Joint Committee started its work, the community expressed its unwavering aspiration through a community
meeting early in 1997, where passionate calls for the construction of a Philippine centre clearly overwhelmed any doubts
about the community's capacity. Later that year, the Joint Committee on a Feasibility Study endorsed the technical report of
Doane Raymond Management Consultants, which recommended the development of the site on Keewatin, against the
purchase of an old building or renovation of the Centre on Juno. With this report, the burning desire of the Filipino community
for a new Philippine Centre could no longer be denied.
January 19, 1998 is a momentous date in the history of the Philippine-Canadian Centre. On this day, a large community
meeting held at the old Philippine Centre on Juno formed the Philippine Cultural Centre Commission (PCCC) charged with the
task of raising funds and constructing a new Philippine Centre. Mr. Resty Taruc and Dr. Romulo Magsino were elected Chair
and Vice-Chair, together with many active community leaders. |
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As they say, the rest is history, recent as it may be. To formalize its existence as a legal body, PCCC formulated its
Constitution through the effort of its Constitution Committee chaired by the late Mr. Ric Medina. Under this Constitution, the
designation of PCCC Chair and Vice-Chair became President and Vice-President, respectively. Also, under a new name, that
is, the Philippine-Canadian Centre of Manitoba, it also applied for, and obtained, incorporation under the laws of the Province
of Manitoba. Subsequently, it succeeded in securing its number as a charitable organization to ensure that donors could have
tax deduction for their donations. At the same time, PCCM assisted PAM financially in settling its case with The Dynasty Group.
Also, it negotiated with PAM the transfer of the lease of land to PCCM. Following several discussions, PCCM and PAM agreed
on the transfer, provided that PAM will have an office in the Centre during the entire duration of the lease. Also, it was agreed
that PAM would donate the proceeds from the sale of the Philippine Centre on Juno, upon completion of the sale process.
Under Mr. Lito Taruc's presidency, PAM fulfilled these conditions.
The most challenging task was, unexpectedly, raising funds for the Philippine-Canadian Centre. The Fundraising Cabinet,
chaired and co-chaired by Dr. Roland Guzman and Dr. Ed Malabanan (PCCM Treasurer; later succeeded by Mr. Marcel
Joaquin), and supported by the Fundraising Coordinator, Mr. Fausto Yadao, three special fundraising coordinators (Ms.
Linda Natividad Cantiveros, Mrs. Joy Laud Lazo, and Dr. Neil Parado), and Honourary Fundraising Cabinet Chair Dr. Bill
Norrie, spearheaded the fundraising campaign for the Center. Supported initially by CKJS Radio 810 AM and the Filipino
Journal and later by the Philippine Times and more recently by Ang Peryodiko, calls for support were sent to the community
and various organizations, some of which responded early. The Quezon Province Association of Manitoba was the first to
fundraise for PCCM. Individuals also started making donations; for example Mrs. Gloria Asban, with her personal donation of
$10,000, led her group of Super 7 winners in donating an additional $30,000. The Winnipeg Foundation and The Thomas
Sill Foundation proved to be strong supporters and business enterprises gave donations in various forms. For instance,
Vickar Community Chevrolet Oldsmobile's program of donating to PCCM $100 per car sold to a Filipino customer has brought
more than $17,000 to PCCM.
Enlisting government support was indispensable. For this purpose, Mr. Resty Taruc, Dr. Magsino, Dr. Guzman and Mr.
Fausto Yadao (then PCCM Executive Director and Fundraising Coordinator) led the PCCM delegations at several meetings
with the Provincial Government in the person of former Minister Becky Barrett, who lobbied strongly for the approval of
PCCM's request for funding from the Provincial and Federal Governments. She also gave precious advice to PCCM
concerning the rationale and financial figures to be presented to government at various stages. At these meetings they
obtained support from Mr. Cris Aglugub, who was Ms. Barrett's Legislative Secretary; Mr. Bob Luna, Ms. Barrett's
Administrative Secretary, and Mr. Les Crisostomo, a long-time community leader. Dr. Magsino also made a presentation at the
Office of Mr. Ron Duhamel, then Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (for Western Economic Diversification). |
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Finally on June 11, 2001, then Secretary of State (for Asia-Pacific) Dr. Rey Pagtakhan (who had lobbied Minister Duhamel
about PCCM's application), and Ms. Barrett formally announced the grant of $600,000 for the Philippine-Canadian Centre of
Manitoba. Further funding came from the City Hall in the form of the Winnipeg Development Agreement and in the form of
grants from the Community Incentives Program. Councillors Mike O'Shaughnessy, Harvey Smith, Jenny Gerbasi, and Garth
Steek gave grants from their C. I. P. allocations. Further grants were given by our new Filipino Councillor, Mr. Mike
Pagtakhan, and Mr. Harry Lazarenko. Needless to say, the City's support in the form of land lease for $1 a year for 50 years,
with renewal options, initially established the foundation for PCCM's capacity to construct the Centre.
Ready with substantial funds, PCCM was finally able to make its decision to construct. Subsequently it advertised the Centre
Project for bidding purposes; eventually Gaboury Prefontaine Perry Architects (GPPA) won the competition for architectural
services. With GPPA's assistance, the competition for construction manager was also advertised; subsequently Man-Shield
Construction was chosen. In May 2003, before the construction could get started, Mr. Taruc had to leave the Board in order
to join his wife and take permanent residence in Vancouver. Dr. Magsino was appointed by the Board to assume the
presidency.
Those who have built their own homes know that home construction is a difficult, frustrating process. So it was with the
Centre construction. Unexpected requirements and unanticipated complications intruded into the situation and took time to
resolve. Discussion about the inclusion of lease spaces to ensure future income from occupants and changes in the Centre
design to take into account the Board decision on this matter also involved some delay. However, community consultations and
support, the professionalism of both Gaboury, Prefontaine, Perry Architects and Man-Shield Construction, the financial
underpinning of Entegra Credit Union and hard work on the part of the PCCM Board of Directors, the Fundraising Cabinet,
and the PCCM Building Committee (particularly Mr. Russell Lavitt) have ensured the completion of the Centre.
The Philippine-Canadian Centre will have a prominent place in the illustrious history of the Filipino community in Manitoba.
Its inauguration and blessing is already a landmark in that history. |
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