Tuesday, 07 September 2004
To the Board of Trustees
FELINE FANCIERS OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.
SJG Centre
Don Pedro Street corner Kalayaan Avenue
Makati City
Dear Trustees,
This is to formally request that our cat, Majesticats’ Gorgeous Posing, with FFPI Registration No. 01-00028-1111 C, be issued a Certified Partial Pedigree.
We have previously requested the Board for her pedigree via a personal communication with then President, Mrs. Rhodora “Pandit” Zamora, and were informed that she will have to consult the other Board members if our request will be allowed.
Mrs. Zamora informed us through a telephone conversation that our request cannot be granted, since our cat, Gorgeous Posing, is a Class-C cat, and it is club policy that only Class A cats are to be issued certified pedigrees. May I remind this august body that even international cat associations such as the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) to which the FFPI, we were informed, is affiliated, or is still seeking affiliation, The International Cat Association (TICA), the Traditional Cat Association (TCA), and other international cat associations issue three-generation pedigrees. If the FFPI, though independent from the aforementioned clubs and associations has a different position on issuing certified pedigrees of less-than-five generations, then we are formally requesting for an explanation of such. Has the trustees executed a formal resolution properly notarized by a notary public in its previous meetings that would say that this is the position of the club? Because frankly, no Implementing Rules and Regulations of how the club’s system called Listing (as indicated in the FFPI brochure that were given to us, when we were recruited to become members of the club) had ever been issued to us.
It has reached us through the “grapevine” that the reason why the club does not issue pedigrees for cats with less than 5-generations of recorded ancestry is because the current officers doubt the purity of the breeds of the cats registered with the club. If this is so, I would also like an explanation for such, as we personally submitted all our non-pedigreed cats for inspection when we registered them with the club. If it is the trustees’ position that all cats with less than five generation of documented ancestry are not purebred, then it is our opinion that this whole system of listing is not done in good faith since we all hold cats of doubtful purity, even if the officers of the FFPI has issued Certificates of Ownership to these cats, with both the club President and Secretary certifying the cats’ breeds.
Our cat, Gorgeous Posing’s FFPI-issued Certificate of Ownership issued on January 15, 2004, indicates that subject cat is a Red-White Persian, certifying the fact that she is indeed recognized as a Persian cat. Nowhere in the said certificate was it indicated as a disclaimer of any form, that the Club has reservations as to the cat being a specimen of the Persian breed which is of doubtful purity. If the club indeed doubts the purity of the cats duly registered with it, then would it be safe to assume that the Certificates of Ownership we hold that were issued to us by this club are not worth anything at all and do not signify that we own purebred cats? Does it mean that the effort put in by the breeder from whom we acquired our cat in making sure that her non-pedigree queen is mated with pedigree males so that her offspring go up the “pedigree ladder” were all done in vain? In the same manner, are our efforts in making sure that our non-ped queens be mated ONLY with ped males, acts of futility?
We urge you to explain and educate us, as well as the other members who were, like us, told that this system the club calls Listing is the answer so that our beloved cats will be put on equal footing with pedigree cats, because the club is currently sending us the wrong signal.
If this is not true, then we don’t see why our demand that our cat be issued her certified partial record of ancestry should not be granted, because we underwent all the procedures we were told to do in the proper documentation of our cat. We believe that we are not only entitled to this document, but it is also our legal right to be provided with such document. I have consulted with a lawyer friend and I have been advised that we can test the legality of my claim in court, if it is not resolved amicably.
Another very important thing here is we believe that there may be a confusion in what a pedigree is. Every dictionary we consult all give us the same definition: a pedigree is a record of ancestry, and no dictionary would identify the word pedigree with the pureness or purity of a breed, so in the final analysis, we don’t see why any doubt of a purity in the recorded breed of a registered cat with the FFPI will in any way hinder the club to issue a Certified pedigree, partial or full, when all it is asked to provide is a record of a specific cat’s ancestry, and not a certificate of its pureness-purity, or non-pureness-non-purity. Forgive us for our boldness, but we believe we can confidently say that no one in the Philippines can even dare certify that a specific cat is pure or not for sheer lack of expertise, unless any one or all the club’s trustees dare challenge our claim.
We believe that we have explained our side thoroughly in this letter, and the ball is now on your side. We still believe that the club exists truly “…to promote the interest of owners, fanciers and breeders of cats” as indicated in the FFPI brochure, and will appreciate the fact that our request does not in any way violate any of the principles that the FFPI upholds.
We consider this matter very urgent, and we hope that you will treat this with the same passion as we, and we urge you to revert to us within 72 hours for an official position, or we would take it that you do not consider this matter urgent, and so we will have to find ways and means to protect ours and our cats’ interests.
Thank you.
AngelPurr Bengals and Persians
By:
JOHN S. SUAREZ |
FELICISIMO P. CHIENG |
Monday, 13 September 2004
To the Board of Trustees
FELINE FANCIERS OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.
SJG Centre
Don Pedro Street corner Kalayaan Avenue
Makati City
Trustees,
This refers to the letter we faxed your office on September 07, 2004, which has remained unanswered six days later, when I specifically asked that a reply be given within 72 hours.
For your information, your treasurer, Teresita Tong sent us a message and asked us to contact her, not as a Board Member, but “Ate Tess”. She asked us “can we sit and tok one on one?”, (reference: her text message sent 09/09/2004; 07:12:34pm.).
We concurred and called her in her home and we had a long telephone conversation. We, on one line, and she on the other. We were not made aware if she was with anyone else, who could have heard or witnessed what we talked about.
Let me just summarize what we talked about:
Mrs. Tong, Trustees: It is not the decision of the Board to delay or move the elections, even if you unanimously decide for it, because that would constitute an amendment to the club’s By-Laws, and Article IX, Section 1 clearly states that “THESE BY-LAWS, OR ANY PROVISION THEREOF, MAY BE AMENDED OR REPEALED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF THE MEMBERS AND BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF THE TRUSTEES AT ANY REGULAR OR SPECIAL MEETING DULY HELD FOR THE PURPOSE.” A Board resolution, even though by the board en banc, clearly has no power to amend any of the provisions of the By-Laws, especially on something so important as the election of officers who shall ably lead the club to meet its goals. This is clearly a gross violation of the officers and we demand an explanation. We repeat; no formal explanation was given to us members why this is so, not to this very day. You are bound by the nature of your election to your offices, to explain to the members what is going on. We do not wish to be the ones to remind this board, but our conscience will rise supreme over any form of “pakikisama”. The officers of this club cannot act as if they own the club. You are not above the members, as you were placed there to serve the club and its members.
The officers have announced the holding of the 2004 elections during the Fun Match hosted by Animal Scene in November, 2003, and at the Christmas Party in December, 2003, the undersigned being present in both occasions.
We are taking this opportunity to submit to you what we believe are violations of the Board to what the Club stands for, to wit:
Violations to the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws
of the Feline Fanciers of the Philippines, Inc:
Since December, 2003, the following gross violations to the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws had been committed to the club and its members:
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
BY-LAWS
This is our ultimatum: If we do not receive a formal reply within 48 hours on each and every count in this correspondence, then we will be compelled to bring this out to the public.
We will not accept anything less than a formal written reply. Not a phone call, not a meeting; because the officers we have talked to seem to have a habit of saying that some of the things they said were misunderstood, or that statements said by them were taken to mean differently than what they said or intended to mean.
I am not so sure with these officers, but we have a good command of both the English and Filipino languages. Because of these experience of these officers not being able to remember what they say, we require that all be put on paper.
Thank you.
AngelPurr Bengals and Persians
By:
JOHN S. SUAREZ |
FELICISIMO P. CHIENG |
A transcript of text messages exchanged between me(JOHN) and Teresita Tong
Wednesday, September 22, 2004, p.m.
“The issue on pedigree was already taken up with u by Pandit and Carolyn. The club stands firm on the issuance of certified pedigree only to the 4th generation of litter of an enlisted cat. Our conversation was my personal stand.”
-Teresita Tong
09/22/2004 / 09:12:47pm
“But u told us that you have the authority to issue certified pedigrees even tho partial, and had we talked to u directly rather than with Carol or even Pandit, then d certified pedigrees would have been issued at once. U told me this which you repeated to Philip. At any rate, if that is the decision of your board then give us a formal written reply, as our experience is that none of your word individually has any value. Pls give us ur board’s official reply in 24 hrs. Our letters are already rotting in your offices. Be respectful of others if you want to be respected back, and be a person of ur word. Cc: carolyn chuasoto, rhodora zamora.”
-John Suarez
09/22/2004 / 09:36:29pm
“I told u, u could have asked me then I could ask Carolyn to make a partial pedigree but not a certified pedigree. Who are you to question me of respect for people and question my being? U don’t know me John. I have good intention for everyone when I talked to you but it seems you have misread me along the line. I am deeply hurt that I wish I have nothing more to do with you.”
-Teresita Tong
09/22/2004 / 10:14:44pm
“U wouldn’t be questioned without cause. Neway, u didn’t say it then, the way u txtd now. At any r8, nothing u say is of any value to me anymore. Just have ur board reply our letters. It’s at the very least, d decent thing for u to do. Besides, it only hurts when it’s true, n didn’t u hear me the last time? I dnt want to be associated with the likes of u and ur lot. Imagine, suggesting that I breed my bengals with my persians just to see what the kittens will look like? The horrors! Just in case selective amnesia kicks in again, it happend sa megamall during the Garfield show n before that on the fone. And I challenge u to deny it in public.”
Note: cc’d the following people: Carolyn Chuasoto, Rhodora Zamora and Mariano Zamora
-John Suarez
09/22/2004 / 10:30:21pm
“I’m giving u n ur board 24hrs to officially and 4maly reply to our letters, or the letters ur board chose to ignore will go public. cc: Carolyn, rhodora, mariano.”
-John Suarez
09/22/2004 / 11:35:52pm