FREEDOM CLIMB 2011
The event, FREEDOM CLIMB 2011, organized in June 2011 by the Alliance of Filipino Mountaineers, Inc., was by far, the most ambitious and the biggest effort to unite mountaineers in the country for a common goal. It aimed at making the observation/celebration of our national independence a memorable one by setting a record to be recognized by the Guinness World Records as the event with the most number of climbers scaling different mountains in different localities in the country simultaneously.
And we have made a record, indeed.
But the results were not just impressive, with data provided by climb leaders around the country which summed participants to have reached 6,700 actual summiteers; they were also catastrophic for the Alliance as unseen and unanticipated issues, concerns, problems have taken their shape and began hounding the leaders, organizers and other concerned parties of FC2011.
And bombs were dropped upon the Alliance, one by one, each with different degrees of impact and appetite for destruction. The Alliance, with its leaders and member-organizations, were caught in a situation that is almost impossible to bear. With steadfast resolve, the Alliance maintained its firm commitment to be of service to the mountaineering community by facing the issues and concerns head on.
What really happened?
Since its inception, FC2011 was perceived to become a phenomenal success by its organizers. The Alliance has partnered with Boy Brightboy Multimedia Corporation (BBMC) thru its Ms.CLAVEL sneaker magazine as represented by Mr. Edgar Bansale, the Operations Manager of BBMC. Mr. Bansale was too eager to handle the event as he has realized its commercial value as attested to by the gains the Freedom Climb franchise had in 2009 and 2010. The Alliance, in a way, has been lured to the promises made by Mr. Bansale as he bragged that his outfit will make the FC franchise a legend on its own.
Efforts to unite the community for the event were something the Alliance has reckoned through the grapevine. We have dealt with people and institutions/entities to make the event something to watch out for and something that is worth their every nickel and dime, and we have made the FC2011 franchise stand as THE EVENT, from every bolt and nut, with much passion and commitment because we believed in the supposed pledge of Mr. Bansale and his group.
Teams were organized and deployed to the regions, specifically in the Visayas and Mindanao. Our fraternal organizations in these regions were very excited and were raring to go on their participation and commitment for the event. It was a sight to behold; mountaineers with different affiliations and orientations working together and standing on common grounds.
In the midst of these, the Alliance has been battling to forge an official agreement with Mr. Bansale’s group by way of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Negotiations were made for the purpose but were systematically delayed and denied by Mr. Bansale. And for the record, no MOA has ever been forged by the parties concerned.
Given the circumstances, the Alliance still persevered and pursued to meet the goals of FC2011, as we believe, as we always have, in the ability of fellow mountaineers to cope up and still meet the requirements of the event.
The biggest nightmare to date is the logistical requirements for the participants. Ideally, all paid participants can easily avail of the supposed freebies included in the registration. But this is not true to some registered climbers both in the National Capital Region and in the regions outside NCR. While it is true that they represent a small, seemingly insignificant portion of the total registered participants on a statistical viewpoint, the Alliance view this shortcoming as significant and was not supposed to happen. No participant should be denied of his right to the items they paid for, may he be vocal or not in his claim. To be candid, we have declared that we have learned from our previous mistakes. But we were wrong.
We sincerely apologize for these shortcomings. These items were supposed to be handed to all claiming parties. But due to reasons beyond the Alliance’s control, we miserably failed to deliver what is due to the community. But let this fact be known: Mr. Bansale and his team at Boy Brightboy/Ms.CLAVEL magazine were supposed to reproduce all our arrears and immediately distribute the same to concerned parties. Shirts, bagtags, ballers, ID’s, certificates, FC magazines, flaglets, and other items were supposed to be delivered immediately after the event but Mr. Bansale, who incidentally has exclusive access to the finances of the event as payments were channelled thru his personal bank account and that of Boy Brightboy Multimedia Corporation’s account, was nowhere to be found. The Alliance desperately tried to contact him, and for reasons we cannot fathom, he was gone.
We tried to solve these problems silently within the framework of the organization. We have exerted extra efforts to be in touch with Mr. Bansale and BBMC/Ms.CLAVEL and his staff, albeit unsuccessful. We tried to visit their office at PUP Sta. Mesa but we were denied entry by security personnel on-duty, claiming that they were instructed to tell visitors with FC2011 on their agenda that the facility is done with the event and is now under the exclusive use of a private firm. The Alliance has decided to send Mr. Bansale a demand letter for the turn-over of the finances and logistics of the FC 2011 which was delivered thru registered mail, e-mail, personal delivery and thru courier services. Again, he declined to deal with us.
While working for the resolution of concerns on logistics, the Alliance has dealt with the Guinness World Records (GWR) regarding our claim for the most number of participants climbing simultaneously (different locations) within a 24-hour period. For the information of the community, Mr. Bansale is the officially recognized party by the GWR on this claim as he was tasked to make the necessary arrangements with them. Questions on the validity of such claim have dominated social networking sites, specifically Facebook, hinting that everything was a total hoax. Please be informed that we are sincere in our intention and would not do such acts to claim something at the expense of the mountaineering community. We have made a separate inquiry on our claim and GWR has instructed the Alliance to wait for another 4 to 6 weeks (which is almost 2 weeks from now) for the validation of our claim. We were instructed to provide all the necessary information should GWR would demand for it and were informed that they will ask for the professional opinion of a third party, should they require one. We will announce the official results the soonest they are released by GWR.
As to the tree-planting component of the event, the FC 2011 organizers have made a deal with the DENR to be a partner of the latter’s Green Philippines Program wherein climbers will plant trees to areas which will be identified by the DENR. Note that during the climb/event, most areas were never given priority by the DENR for reforestation purposes as the destinations were not included in the list of the agency. But rest assured that the Alliance is committed to the program which has a long-term implementation period and we have made this official thru an agreement with the agency.
At present, a more aggressive effort is being undertaken by the Alliance to systematically solve the problems identified.
We have consulted with lawyer-friends on the possibility of a lawsuit against the parties concerned. We have been working side-by-side with certain groups in the regions outside NCR and have been successful in settling their claims. Little by little, step by step, problems on logistics shall be settled ultimately.
Organizationally, the Alliance's Board of Directors has placed our President, Mr. Jade Rance Acidre, on official leave of absence from his duties in order to give way to an investigation of his possible misdemeanor in connection with the said problems event. The same body has elected Prof. Edwin D. Padrilanan as its Acting President.
We shall pursue this and let this be known by the community: WE WILL NEVER STOP UNTIL JUSTICE IS SERVED. The Alliance is committed to its core principle of serving the mountaineering community in any way it can and be at the forefront on this effort. We are requesting for your utmost understanding and consideration, and if possible, help us deal with these concerns in any way favorable to the stakeholders.
Source: FIMO
No comments:
Post a Comment