Pinoys search for new nominee after Fil-Can candidate ‘set aside’

Pinoys search for new nominee after Fil-Can candidate ‘set aside’

Angely Pacis whose cardidacy was ‘set aside’ by her party.

By Ysh Cabana
The Philippine Reporter

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario–The Filipino community’s hope of having first Filipino elected parliamentarian in Ontario legislature is surrounded with uncertainty in the run-up to the provincial elections.

Former Ontario Progressive Conservative candidate Angely Pacis is left “appalled” after party president Jag Badwal issued a statement on the party’s website on March 15 that the Provincial Nominations Committee (PNC) reopens the nominations in her riding, Mississauga Centre.

The PNC only stated that it reached a “unanimous decision.” Mississauga Center (Square One area) is one of three ridings where nominations were reopened.

“They did not give me any reasons nor a statement of grounds for the re-opening of my riding and the setting aside of my candidacy. There were no grounds, no notifications, I was totally blindsided,” said Pacis in an email correspondence with The Philippine Reporter.

Clemente Cabillan

Pacis, who won the nomination in February last year is one of a number of PC candidates whose campaign is dogged by claims of “flawed electoral processes.” According to one senior campaigner, Pacis is trying to find out and make inquiries on the whole process.

Asked if she will run again despite the PC dropping her, she said “I am considering my options. I am committed to fighting for our community, vis-a-vis immigration policies on both a provincial and federal level and for all Ontarians in the areas of health care, taxation, strong economic development and the environment.”

As the dust is yet to settle, some of Pacis’s supporters are seeking a replacement candidate.

Mississauga residents Gerry Villareal and Clemente Cabillan of the Fil-Can for MPP Search Committee, are casting the net to accept names for nominations from members of the Filipino community.

“It is important that the community be involved in this search and we want to follow democratic processes,” the group stated in a press release that also called for a community meeting on Sunday March 25 at Huron Park Center.
“We received information from a source which we believed to be credible that Ms. Pacis is no longer a member in good standing of the Party and will likely not be permitted by the PNC to run for nomination again. This is why we are searching for a new nominee in case the information turns out to be correct,“ added Villareal in an email.

Gerry Villareal

“First, we will focus on identifying one or more qualified Fil-Cans who are willing to throw their hats into the ring, with the help of members of the Filipino Community. Second, once we have a nominee or nominees endorsed by the community, we will submit their names to the PNC. Third, we will work to support the nominee approved by the PNC during the nomination process by registering voters from the riding and getting them to vote for him or her on nomination day. Fourth, should our Fil-Can nominee win the nomination, we will launch and implement a campaign plan designed to help our candidate win on election day,” added Villareal.

Apparently not if Pacis has more to say about it.

“Filipinos have a beautiful heritage which is already part of the Canadian narrative. Being elected is a different ball game. This is the forum where a Filipino Canadian can contribute directly to the shaping of Canadian norms, values and culture as it speaks through the law.” said Pacis.

“This where community concerns can be answered and problems resolved with the effect of helping the many and not just one single individual. And this is how I want to contribute to the community, to Ontario and to Canada— as a Parliamentarian—because that is what I meant to do and be,” she added.

In the meantime, The Philippine Reporter has received information from reliable sources that the campaign manager of Pacis had resigned long before the Ontario PC issued the announcement about the reopening of the nominations. Some of Pacis’s top campaign leaders in the Filipino community in Mississauga had also subsequently resigned for unexplained reasons.

Recently, a video has been circulating on social media of a heated exchange of words between Pacis and her husband on one side and early supporters on the other side, escalating into online discussions of alleged misconduct from either side. Witnesses of the incident said her former supporters did not pick up a fight with the couple during the incident.