Rotary Club of Tagbilaran. The trial part 1. The Price to pay. Our masters' recipe
on how to punish a president.
By Evan Iliadis former Rotarian member of the
Rotary Club of Tagbilaran wrote: Rotary Club of Tagbilaran. The trial part 1.
Conflicts, misunderstandings, and rivalries naturally arise within any group working toward a common goal—be it a club, a church, or a fraternity. Often, these conflicts lead to excluding one party to preserve the unity of the group. Unfortunately, such exclusion is not always well-planned or justified. The last place one would expect this to occur is within Rotary International. Is this the first time it has happened? We cannot say for certain. One shouldn't rely on Rotary to disclose such information, nor on active Rotarians. It seems to be a secret.
Give me a glass of wine please!
At the center of this unusual story are I, Evan Iliadis, a former member of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran, and Derek Pyrah, who served as the chairman of the now-defunct Village Aide Program (VAP). Additionally, there are Dave and Baby Collins, who were the managers of VAP in the Philippines and also wanted to take control of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran. There are a few others to be introduced shortly.
As I mentioned on the previous page, I've received all kinds of emails, but I've never specifically addressed one that has come from both critics and supporters. They have been accusing me of covering up the activities of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran.
I claim that no one in the club was aware of the embezzlement involving Collins and Derek Pyrah concerning Matching Grants money and donations. One person stated, "Evan, I don’t know of a Rotary Club anywhere in the world that doesn’t include at least one accountant, a lawyer, and a few businessmen who are familiar with accounting and business practices. If you look at the classifications of the members in your club, they were all there."
Indeed, it was a very embarrassing remark. However, it comes from someone who has no understanding of how a typical club functions in the developing world, particularly in the Philippines. This topic may require a separate discussion, which I might provide in a future update or later on.
Interestingly, the most regrettable comment on this subject did not come from a Rotarian, but rather from an outsider who has been following the events from the beginning and is now closely monitoring the court proceedings. He seems confused about what is happening, who is involved, and what everyone wants—and why. Frankly, I have been somewhat disturbed by his remarks and questions directed at me. I feel compelled to address the situation honestly and openly, as I constantly strive to do.
Before
I respond to this individual and review the trial proceedings, I owe
you the update I promised a long time ago. To provide this update, we
need to revisit the 3860 District Conference 
held in Cebu in March 2008. At that conference, the jubilant District Governor Yumi Espina believed he had achieved so much during his tenure that he deserved to host a lavish party at district expense, combining elements of both Persepolis and Hollywood.
The "dream team" from Canada that he brought in for the event included a controversial Past District Governor who claimed to be “the personal envoy of the Rotary International president.” Additionally, there was a Rotary representative from the UN, along with two or three other Past Presidents and Past District Governors who had gained some recognition in their hometowns in Canada for bringing along a few used laptops — which were obsolete in Canada and discarded there before being sent to the Philippines. Of course, there was also a mix of local Rotarians and other guests in attendance.
The abundance of gourmet food and drinks, dancers, parades, men in military uniform forming a sword canopy for the introduction of the big shots, speeches, and crocodile tears about the poor the dream team wowed “to change all that” “Son et lumière” effects and much more. (Please let me know if the life of the poor Cebuano has changed ever since)… The event appeared for a while on the District’s website with more than 300 photos then disappeared, not even cached pages can be found apart from 2 or 3 bad quality clips on YouTube not worth a referral. Oh well… who cares about dream teams anymore…
Derek Pyrah was determined to make significant changes within the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT). He had two main objectives: first, to put the RCT out of business so that Collins could start a new club from scratch; second, to address the initial failure of the club, which was considered too ambitious and difficult to achieve. He intended to pressure District Governor Yumi Espina to rehabilitate former Rotarians Dave and Baby Collins, along with Deo Dioscoro, and help them find a new club within the district. To achieve these goals, he developed a clever plan that he carefully implemented as follows:
He arrived at the event with his own “dream team” from Australia, including PDG Bill Litle and a few others. In addition to a camera, they brought along a set of drums, some rice, cans of sardines, and a few t-shirts. He set up inside the convention, showcasing his typical dramatic pictures and PowerPoint presentations that left many attendees in tears. But that wasn't all! He also had two Paul Harris Fellow awards in his suitcase, which he purchased for Dave and Baby Collins. (Keep in mind, he was a Matching Grants trader, which allowed him to receive a significant discount.)
He was planning to use them as the most powerful weapon, thinking it would create significant confusion when used in the presence of Rotarians from about 90 clubs. He believed that all my efforts against the crooks would become obsolete, forcing the Rotary Club Team (RCT) to adopt a more aggressive stance against me. Furthermore, he thought, "Let’s kiss each other now, and to hell with this traitor, Evan."
But the truth is, none of the recipients was a member of the RCT. They deserted it in October of 2007 to avoid answering questions, and stripped of their membership in January 2008. As you’ll soon have the opportunity to see the letter of termination.
Even worse, how Baby Collins became a member of the Rotary club of Cebu without prior clearance.
The truth is that none of the recipients were members of the RCT (Rotary Club of Tagbilaran). They deserted the organization in October 2007 to avoid answering questions and had their membership revoked in January 2008, as you will see in the termination letter.
Even more concerning is how Baby Collins became a member of the Rotary Club of Cebu without the prior clearance and recommendation from her original club, the RCT, which is required by Rotary bylaws. Collins claims they were unaware of their termination. Did Governor Espina not know either?
If the governor is not aware of who is in or out of his district, then who is? Rotarians were well aware of the situation; however, it seems they chose to pretend otherwise to undermine the RCT. Their strategy was successful. After the award ceremony, the “family photo” was taken, highlighting the divide.
And recommendation of her original club to the RCT as required by the Rotary bylaws? They –Collins – say they didn’t know about their termination. Didn’t they? Governor Espina didn’t know? If the governor doesn’t know who’s in who’s out of his district, who does? Rotarians, trust me, they all knew, but it was in their agenda to pretend not to, in an attempt to ambush the RCT. And it worked. After the award ceremony, the“ family photo” was
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In reality, Pyrah and Collins did not bring them to Bohol for the reasons they claimed; their true intention was to assert their dominance over the RCT, sending a clear message: “submit or die.” These high-profile Rotarians would not even acknowledge you unless you complied with their demands, which included reinstating Collins and, most importantly, openly denouncing the traitor Evan Iliadis, who had instigated this conflict against them. They entirely ignored the RCT and, even more so, the other club, RCUT. In fact, they had not visited either.
Once the dust settled in the days following the attack, the group realized that the RCT had not suffered any harm as they had anticipated. Desperate to justify the money and time spent firing at the RCT, Collins launched his final assault. Through his lawyer, he issued a summons to DG Yumi Espina, asking him to delist the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran based on vague and unfounded claims. Espina rejected the request, not out of sympathy for the club, but out of fear of repercussions from Rotary International, which was struggling to increase its membership. The last thing they needed was a governor closing a club!
It became clear to everyone that the evil team’s demolition plan had failed to produce results; however, that was what everyone believed at the time.
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