I wrote a letter thanking Judith Borras for the hard work she did for the Fil-Am Association and was not recognized in a program the Fil-Am hosted. In Saturday’s paper I was attacked and accused by Bayani Casimiro of slinging mud on a very prestigious Fil-Am Association and Belen Trost, and having a case of sour grapes. Bayani also accused Judith and me of mismanaging the Fil-Am and that we were the cause of financial distress in this organization. Casimiro’s letter was not only untrue; it was extremely slanderous of Judith and me.

First, I did not attack Belen Trost. I was simply identifying my letter to hers, as she was the author of the letter I was referring to. I hold the highest regard for Belen and her work in the Fil-Am.

Knowing that Judith had lost almost $70,000 in personal income the two years she was president of Fil-Am as a result of her dedication to bringing the Fil-Am back to life, I felt was worthy of a thank you. For Judith, being the agent for selling the money wasting property was not a crime. It is not even close to being a conflict of interest. The sale was voted on and approved by the board of directors and, as vice president, I was the representative for Fil-Am in the sale. The decision to sell the property was because the property was useless to the Fil-Am, as building code would not allow the building of a clubhouse. Selling the property was the only logical and finically right thing to do.

Second, Bayani Casimiro is not a real person, but a fictional name. It is too bad when people have to hide behind an alias to slander good meaning people. I guess the truth really hurt this person. I wonder what that person was thinking when they related the word “prestigious” when referring to Fil-Am. Hiding behind an alias would seem to be more cowardly than prestigious.

I hope that Nida Paggao, president of Fil-Am and wife of our city councilman, will disassociate Fil-Am from the coward who wrote that extremely slanderous letter. I also hope that the editor of this newspaper, in the future, will use better discretion by screening and editing this scandalous garbage before printing it.

George W. Pardington

Oak Harbor