TTAAHHAANNAANNEEWWSS

FROM LIBRE TO GRANADA

Agnes Granada, coordinator of Migrant Action Trust

(MAT), has taken over as chair of the Tahanang Pilipino

Community Centre project effective January 2011 after

Bro Mel B Libre, Lead Servant of TawagAwit, stepped

down after serving for the past two years.

The turnover took place on January 25, 2011 at the MAT

Conference Room (Mt Roskill, Auckland) in the presence of

the trustees of Tahanang Pilipino Aotearoa Trust (TAPAT).

In his valedictory address, Bro Mel thanked the Board of

Trustees (BOT) in allowing him to contribute towards the

attainment of the long-cherished dream of constructing and

operating a Centre that Filipinos can call their own. He

made mention of

the activities during

his term: the Gathering of

Leaders, Mass of HOPE, (next page)

WHAT IS TAHANANG PILIPINO?

Tahanang Pilipino is a registered Trust in New

Zealand organized primarily to construct and

operate a Filipino Community Centre in

Auckland.

Tahanang Pilipino Aotearoa Trust (TAPAT)

was founded on November 23, 2007. The

primary project of TAPAT is to construct a

community centre in Auckland. This will serve

as a monument of the Filipino people in New

Zealand, and a functional venue for activities to

promote and develop the Filipino culture for the

benefit of the greater Aotearoa New Zealand

society.

Tahanang Pilipino Aotearoa Trust is a

Charitable Trust. Our principal office is located

at 190 Barrack Road, Mount Wellington,

Auckland 1060, New Zealand.

January 2011

Mayor John

Banks, Mayor

Andrew Williams

and Mel B Libre

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TTAAHHAANNAANNEEWWSS

January 2011

From Libre to Granada…continued

Bingo Socials, and the Mayors Forum prior to the Auckland

Super City election. He said that the most important

accomplishment so far is the drafting of the Business Plan, a

strategic document that will not only serve as guide to the

BOT, but also as part of the marketing portfolio to

prospective donors and other stakeholders.

Accepting the position, Granada said that she will give

priority of her time to pursue the project in earnest, and

asked the trustees to do as well. She immediately made a

presentation of her vision on how to pursue the project,

proposing specific action plans, enumerating measurable

goals and designating timetables.

For 2011, Granada listed the following goals: obtain support

of the community; secure site as promised by Mayor Len

Brown; convert support to $ contribution; develop building

structure; and finalize the business/management structures.

Granada said that if the project is to obtain support from the

Super City Council, it is imperative that the TAPAT

Business Plan be in harmony with the vision of the

Government. She concluded her presentation with the

statement, “If the job seems overwhelming, just consider it a

dot in comparison to the globe.”

TAPAT MISSION:

Our goal is to promote

and preserve the Filipino

culture and tradition

through the provision of a

community centre where

facilities and services are

available to the Filipino

community and other

groups in New Zealand.

“If the job seems

overwhelming, just

consider it a dot in

comparison to the globe.”

TTAAHHAANNAANNEEWWSS January 2011

WHAT TAPAT HAS DONE SO FAR

The story of Tahanang Pilipino continues to be written

and it is one whose characters are the countless Filipinos

living in Auckland, New Zealand. It is a story that

predates its registration as a trust under the Charitable

Trusts Act 1957.

For the past twenty-five years, Filipinos in Auckland

have dreamed of a Filipino Community Centre to

project the Filipinos presence in New Zealand and to

promote the Filipino culture. In 1997, Oscar and Miriam

Batucan, through the NZ-Filipino Sto Nino Devotees

Trust, engaged a private fundraiser, Lisa Wells

Fundraising from Christchurch to undertake a project

feasibility study to measure the strengths and viability of

the project.

In the first six months of 2007, consultations were made

among the different Filipino associations and the

consensus was for the Filipino Community Centre

project to be pursued. During the general assembly on

June 7, 2007, Filipino community leaders elected the

members of the steering committee with the mandate to

form a trust for the project. On November 23, 2007,

Tahanang Pilipino Aotearoa Trust (TAPAT) was

registered under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957.

(next page)

THE PURPOSES OF TAPAT:

1. To showcase admirable and

worthy Filipino customs

and traditions, handicrafts,

works of art and music,

especially to the younger

generation and other groups

unfamiliar with the Filipino

culture.

2. To be able to provide a

common and readily

accessible venue for

activities such as education,

skills training, religious

ceremonies, sports and

cultural events.

3. To develop the bayanihan

spirit and promote the

practice of active

participation towards the

common good.

4. To engage in fund-

generating activities to

support the completion of

the community centre and

its subsequent upkeep and

maintenance and help

achieve he purposes of the

trust.

Since the registration of TAPAT, the Board of Trustees met regularly to set up the

mechanism towards the attainment of the project. TAPAT has conducted activities to raise

public consciousness about the project, while at the same time drafted its Business Plan to

guide stakeholders and as a marketing tool for prospective donors. Here is the partial list of

accomplishments: Adoption of a logo designed by Jesse Enriquez; Recording of the original

composition, “Tahanang Pilipino”, as official anthem; Publication of TAHANANEWS,

official newsletter of TAPAT; Sense of Place Photo Competition/Exhibition; Gathering of

Leaders, Bingo Socials and Mayors’ Forum. A concept of the community centre was made by

Ramon Villarias, one of the designers of the world class Plantation Bay Resort in Mactan,

Cebu.

While the Board of Trustees can only do so much, the success of TAPAT is dependent on the

support of Filipinos in New Zealand.

Let’s build the Filipino Community Centre, let’s build our home in New Zealand. Be part of

this epic story.

TOGETHER, WE ARE BUILDING OUR HOME IN NEW ZEALAND

Tahanang Pilipino Aotearoa Trust Board of Trustees: Agnes Granada

Miriam Batucan

Fr Ruben Elago

Nida Gray

Mel B Libre

Dr Tony Noblejas

Dina McCarthy, Secretary

Cora Noblejas, Treasurer

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Mayor Len Brown pose with participants during the Mayors

Forum hosted by TAPAT