  By JOHN L. SHINN III LAZT Founder & Editor The Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern Calif. never seem to learn from its many past mistakes LOS ANGELES --- This year, like several years in the past, I have not received any flyer from the Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern California in regards to the organization's Fiesta Pilar celebrations this month. Bueno pa el grupo de Florida, Northern California, Vancouver, Arizona, Las Vegas, Toronto, Canada y Zamboanga City---ta imbia de ila press release para anuncia el fetcha de ila celebracion del fiesta. I don't even know who the president of this organization is at present because the officers don't seem to care to inform our community through press releases which is the norm for any organization with a new set of officers. There seem to be a more "sinister" motive of trying to keep our community from being informed about what's going on with the club. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE |
 OCT. 12, 2010: LAZT starts 'full' investIgation of Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern California & the Club's Finances By The LAZT Investigative Team LOS ANGELES --- While most Zamboangueño groups in the U.S., Canada and else- where in the world were celebrating Fiesta Pilar, John (Boboy) Shinn III, founder & editor of L.A. Zamboanga Times---which is based in Los Angeles---said he will start an "exhaustive and thorough" investigation of the Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern California (ZHCSC), the oldest and largest Zamboangueño organization outside Zamboanga City. The organization --- founded in 1972 in honor of Zamboanga City's patron saint, the Nuestra Señora del PIlar --- has been foundering over the last decade due to mismanagement and it's failure to attract new members, among other things. Shinn said he does not know how long the investigation will last, but added that he expects past and present officers of the club to cooperate and to make club documents and financial records available to him or any of his staff during the investigation. "I don't anticipate any problems," Shinn said. He said he received an e-mail from Karen Santos, wife of Rollie Santos, around 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 8. Santos was elected president of the organization in December last year and was sworn in last May 29 during the club's annual picnic which was held in Carson, Calif. "Karen said that Rollie was in Zamboanga City," Shinn said. L.A. Zamboanga Times had put out an "Open Letter" in its Oct. 4 edition after receiving numerous inquiries from Los Angeles-area Zamboangueños as to the date and venue of this year's Fiesta Pilar celebrations in L.A. He added that he even e-mailed Jun Ilustrisimo a copy of the letter (click here). Shinn said L.A. Zamboanga Times never received any flyer or e-mail from the club regarding this year's fiesta activities in L.A. He said he was mystified that none of the club's officers --- even the club's past presidents --- bothered to notify L.A. Zamboanga Times that Santos was out of the country. "And these individuals were aware of our "Open Letter," Shinn said. Shinn said he found it highly unusual that Jun Ilustrisimo, former club presi- dent who maintains the club's website on his "personal" Internet account, had enough time to update the the club's page (at exactly 10:12 p.m., Oct. 8, Friday) to include the list of the new set of officers. Shinn wrote an article four days earlier on Oct. 4 revealing that the club's website still listed Randy Dagalea as president and that the list of the newly-elected officers were not even posted yet. "Anyone who visits the ZHCSC page is given the impression that Randy Daga- lea was still the club's president----that is 10 months after Rollie Santos was elected and five (5) months after Rollie Santos was inducted," Shinn pointed out. He also noted that in the past Ilustrisimo was usually "very punctual" in updating the club's site. Whenever the club has a function, Shinn said, photos taken by Jun Ilustrisimo at the party are usually already posted on the organization's webpage within a day or two.
"Jun Ilustrisimo found time to
update the organization's web- page (per
my estimate, it took Jun at least 30 minutes to finishthe updates) to include the list of new officers (2010-2012 term) after my article came out on Oct. 4. But Jun couldn't find time to e-mail L.A. Zamboanga Times to share with us information on the club's activites for the Fiesta in L.A.," Shinn said. "What he (Jun) did was really sad especially when I come to think that as past president of the club --- and currently still an "active" officer --- Jun would be the first one to sacrifice his time (it only takes 3 minutes to write a short e-mail and send it) to inform the Zamboangueño com- munity in Los Angeles about the Fiesta Pilar celebrations," Shinn said. "But his actions tells us that Jun Ilustrisimo didn't really care about informing the people in our community about the Fiesta Pilar celebrations here in L.A," Shinn said. "What was Jun's real motive in withholding the club's Fiesta Pilar info from L.A. Zamboanga Times and our people in the community?" Shinn posed the question. "I hope Jun has a very good and convincing explanation for what he did." NEXT
WEEK: WHAT REALLY IS JUN ILUSTRISIMO'S ROLE IN THE
ZAMBOANGA
HERMOSA CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA? WHY WAS JUN TRYING TO WITH- HOLD INFORMATION FROM L.A. ZAMBOANGA TIMES---AND OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT THE CLUB'S FIESTA PILAR CELEBRATION? HOW COME THE ZHCSC IS STILL USING JUN'S HOME ADDRESS AS ITS "OFFICIAL" ADDRESS? HOW COME THE CLUB'S WEBSITE IS USING JUN'S PERSONAL INTERNET ACCOUNT? AND, WHY ARE PICTURES OF THE CLUB'S FUNCTIONS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC FOR VIEWING? In the next installment of our investigation of the Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern California (ZHCSC), maybe, we can answer some of the questions we have posted above.. In fairness to Jun Ilustrisimo, we are him to give his side of the story and we will give him all the space he needs to explain his actions and answers to the questions we posted above. |
| MORE QUESTIONS FOR JUN ILUSTRISIMO By The LAZT Investigative Team (1) WHAT REALLY IS YOUR "ROLE" IN THE ZAMBOANGA HERMO- SA CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA? (2) WHY WERE YOU TRYING TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION FROM L.A. ZAMBOANGA TIMES---AND OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT THE CLUB'S FIESTA PILAR CELEBRATION IN L.A.? (3) HOW COME THE ZHCSC IS STILL USING YOUR HOME ADDRESS AS ITS "OFFI- CIAL" MAILING ADDRESS? (4) HOW COME YOU'RE "HOSTING" THE ORGANIZATION'S WEBSITE ON YOUR PERSONAL INTERNET ACCOUNT? WHO PAYS FOR IT? CAN'T THE ORGANIZATION AFFORD TO HAVE IT'S OWN INTERNET HOSTING SITE? (5) WHY ARE PICTURES OF THE CLUB'S FUNCTIONS NOT AVAILABLE TO CLUB MEMBERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC FOR VIEWING UNLESS THEY HAVE A "PASSWORD" FROM YOU? NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: In the next installment of our investigation of the Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern California (ZHCSC), maybe, we can answer some of the questions we have posted above. TO JUN ILUSTRISIMO: In fairness to you, we are inviting you to give your side of the story and we will give you all the space you need to explain your actions and to answer the questions above. TO OUR READERS: I encourage our readers to "participate" in this issue by e-mailing us their questions which will be answered either by Jun himself or our investigative team. Of course, we will keep your identities anonymous. |
| NEXT WEEK The writer of the e-mail we received from Zamboanga City (below) wrote something many in our community are probably not aware: that JUAN (JUN) ILUSTRISIMO, JR. is still running the affairs and decisions of the Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern California as if he was still president of the organization----almost 9 years after his two-year term ended. You don't have to be a
rocket scientist
to figure it out. We know
nothing about rocket science --- but we were able to put the puzzle together and we didn't even have to fly to
outerspace to find the answers.
|
| ZAMBOANGA HERMOSA CLUB OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA PROBE UPDATES as of Oct. 19, 2010 @ 7:18 a.m. By the LAZT Investigative Team This week we'll be looking into allegations and rumors that JUN ILUSTRISIMO is meddling in many, if not all, of the club's decision- making and voting process. One source we contacted said, Jun heads a "clique"---the only one within the club. "Jun can influence the outcome of a vote simply because the group he leads outnumber those in the opposition 8 to 5," the source said. The dissenters among the club's officers were identified as Betty Johnson Moscal, Jackie Araneta (she has moved to Las Vegas), Monette Dato, Bong Buenaventura and Boy Smoyer. Jun's "clique" is reportedly composed of Cionie Cruz, who is chairman of the club's powerful Budget, Ways & Means committee, Jun's wife Claire Lucero- Ilustrisimo who is "corresponding secretary" or whatever that means since Erika Budai Smoyer is listed as "recording secretary," Jun's sister-in-law Lourdes Ilus- trisimo who is PRO (and ONE VOTE in the club's decision-making process). Newly-elected treaausrer Joie Azurin does not belong to Jun's clique, the source pointed out, but is expected to join if she does not maintain her "inde- pendence" and allow herself to be influenced or persuaded by Jun and his followers. Jun's reported "constant meddling" in the club's affairs prompted several officers not to seek re-election, one club source told L.A. Zamboanga Times. So far, we have identified only Monet Dato and Bong Buenaventura as two former club officers who did not seek re-election last December when the club's elections were held. L.A. Zamboanga Times tried unsuccessfully to contact both Dato and Buena- ventura for comment. A check of the list of officers for the 2010-2012 term on the club's webpage, Jun is listed as the club's 2nd vice-president and chairman of the "scholarships" committee. Both posts were held by Bong Buenaventura. Besides that, Jun is also listed as one of the "permanent directors" along with other past presidents of the club. Now, why did Bong Buenaventura quit his "scholarship" chairman post and why didn't he seek re-election since he could have been a sure winner already having served four (4) past presidents? We don't know until we hear from Bong. Did Jun engineer a diabolical plot to ease out Bong Buenaventura so he can grab the vacated posts? The 2nd vice-president, the post which Buenventura held is in charged of the "scholarships" the club has in Zamboanga City, Is it possible that Jun was interested in Bong's position as 2nd-vice president ---the other 2nd vice-president is Felix Maico and Jun reportedly has no control over Maico---so he could have total control of the scholarship funds? Was Jun the reason behind Dato and Buenaventura's decision not to seek re-election last December? TO BE CONTINUED..... CHECK OUR INITIAL FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS HERE |
 The "Contact Us" page of Zamboanga Hermosa Club of Southern California (ZHCSC) still listed Juan (Jun) Ilustrisimo's home address in Anaheim, California as the orga- nization's "official" mailing address, while Jun's personal e-mail address is listed as the group's "official" e-mail address. "There are over 400 Filipino-American organizations in the greater Los Angeles area and I've never seen even one of them use a former club president's home address as the "official" organization mailing address," Shinn said. "It's very unprofessional. It will reflect rather very poorly on the club's image especially since the club has money and can afford to pay the yearly fee to rent a post office box."  These two screen grabs (see photo above) from the website of the club shows a time and date stamp which gives us the approximate date and time Jun made the changes at 10:12 p.m. on October 8---ten (10) months after ROLLIE SANTOS was elected presi- dent of the club and five (5) months after SANTOS was inducted. Before the changes were made, people visiting the club's website were given the impession---included us here at LAZT---that RANDY DAGALEA was still the president of the club. L.A. Zamboanga Times founder & editor John BOBOY Shinn III noted: "Jun was usually 'very punctual' in updating the club's website. Whenever the club has a function, Shinn said, photos taken by Jun Ilustrisimo at the party are usually already posted on the organization's webpage within a day or two. "Why it took Jun that long to post the list of the new set officers is what we want to find out," Shinn said. |
UPDATES as of Oct. 20, 2010 @ 1:50 p.m. By the LAZT Investigative Team
What we have uncovered in our
investigations, so far, tells usthat Jun Ilustrisimo has slowly "destroyed" the "UNITY" of the organization---especially among its officers----by creating his own "CLIQUE" within the organzation. What Jun Ilustrisimo has done makes a total "mockery" out of the "voting process" of the club---for what use will the club's officers be---when Jun can just as easily override them during the voting process among the officers? Jun's actions and behavior is self-serving as it only serves his interest---and not the club's. Jun's presence----because of his past actions---is a HUGE "dividing" force for the club. Instead of being the "unifying" force for the organization ---JUN ILUSTRISIMO HAS NOW BECOME A PART OF THE CLUB'S "PROBLEMS" --- NOT THE "SOLUTION." To us here at LAZT, this all means that each time Jun wins a vote---among club officers----he wins a vote for himself and his "clique." While those officers who oppose Jun try to muster enough votes to pass an "agenda" that would benefit the club---since they have no "personal agendas" at stake--- Jun can easily outvote them with his "clique" in place. So, each time Jun wins a vote he is one step closer of achieiving his "personal agenda" which is TOTAL CONTROL of the club! WHY THE PASSWORD REQUIREMENT? IS JUN A TOTAL "CONTROL FREAK?" Even Jun's requirement of a "password" to view club's pictures of past events only shows us the VERY CONTROLLING NATURE of his character. Every new visitor to the ZHCSC "webpage"---which is stored on Jun's "personal" Inter- net account at PBase.com---will have to e-mail Jun for a "password" in order to get access to the ZHCSC webpages to view the pictures.
elected ZHCSC officers headed by ROLLIE SANTOS. The sooner it is acted upon the better for the club's future. (1) The organization should rent a post office box (cost: $20-$60 a year) and use it as the "official" mailing address of the organization. Regardless on who is president of the club, the post office box should remain the "official" mailing address of the club. The club should have never allowed Jun Ilustrisimo to use his "home address" as its "official" mailing address, in the first place---although this practice started before his term. None of the over 400 Filpino-American organizations in Los Angeles has ever done this as it is viewed as being "inappropriate" and "conflict of interest." (2) We recommend the club register its own "domain name" at the cost of $10 a year. This way the club will have an "official e-mail" adddress bearing the club's name. Or open a FREE account with Google Mail as the club's temporary e-mail address while the domain name issue is being resolved by the officers. The club should also ask Jun to stop using his "personal e-mail address" as the club's "official e-mail address." (3) The club should hire an independent "webmaster" to design then main- tain the club's "website." As it is now, the club only has a "webpage" on Jun Ilustrisimo's "personal website." The new ZHCSC "website" should be PASS- WORD-FREE so any visitor to the club's website can "enter" and "view" its con- tents. (4) Jun Ilustrisimo should STOP using "ZHCSC" as his "username" on his PBase.com "personal" account. Jun shoud be reminded the club owns that name and initial---not him. Jun was "never authorized"---nor did he seek proper permission--- to use "ZHCSC" as his username on his PBase.com "personal" Internet account.  |