Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Hello and good day to all activists worldwide who are fighting against individuals masquerading as philanthropists and do-gooders within clubs and associations. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
You are about to read about a former Rotarian who had the guts to speak out against a sneaky but clever scam going on in a Rotary Club in the Philippines..
Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
In 2005, in the Philippines' Provence of Bohol, a story that might appear somewhat out of date comes to light. However, although not unique, the scheme's sophistication was not a one-off occurrence within Rotary International. This scammers had a lot of help from people who knew a lot about it from working in the US and Australia. They subsequently shared their knowledge with local Rotarians in Cebu and Bohol. van ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Evan ILIADIS, a member of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran
In no less than 60 entries, he wrote about the scam and named the dishonest con artists who took advantage of poor people in rural Bohol. These individuals received only 10 cents of each donated dollar from generous Rotarians and, more importantly, from the Rotary Foundation (TRF), which amounted to thousands of US dollars. van ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Years later, Evan abruptly stopped posting about Rotary on almost all of his blogs, leaving his thousands of readers in the dark. Along with being a contributor, I was one of those readers who planned mailing campaigns for subscribers worldwide. I tried getting in touch with him several times, but he never replied. I once considered the possibility that he had passed away. I later learned, though, that he is still very much alive.
Whatever
the reason for his silence, I, Gerald Tevenier, have decided to revive
his blogs. While I didn’t have the necessary material, the Wayback Machine had archived them. Every generation must understand the significance of this knowledge, as it holds the key to shaping a better future for our world.
Let's get started.
VILLAGE AIDE PROGRAM(VAP rip-off) as we know it.van ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
My name is Evan Iliadis, and I would like to take a moment to introduce myself. When I lived on the Philippine island of Bohol for six years, I was a member of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT). Here is a synopsis of my Rotarian experiences.Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
My club unanimously agreed that I deserved the Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) award, which I was honored to receive in August 2007. The $1,000 cost was covered by the VAP. However, I was not thrilled about it. I wish I had gotten the award from the president of the Rotary Club as a real thank you for my service to the club instead of being linked to VAP's shady business practices without knowing it. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
In
September 2007, as a member of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT), I
submitted a request to the club president to investigate the whereabouts
of certain amounts of money related to Rotarians Dave and Baby Collins,
who were also members of the club: Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
-5 Matching
Grants (MG) have been approved, and funds have been wired by The Rotary
Foundation (TRF) to a Metro Bank (MB) account. The custodians of this
account are David Collins and Deoscoro Uy, who manages the local MB
branch, a past president of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT), and the
treasurer. The MG I am referring to includes: Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
In 2005, in Provence of Bohol Philippines, a story may seem a bit old and outdated. Still, the sophistication of the scheme, while not unique, was not an isolated case within Rotary International. The perpetrators of this scam had a few mentors who were well-versed in the practice from their experiences in the USA and Australia. They subsequently passed their knowledge on to local Rotarians in Cebu and Bohol. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Evan ILIADIS, a member of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran alerted the Rotary administration in Evanston, Illinois, to the fact that they seemed more focused on protecting the club's reputation than addressing his accusations. Consequently, he decided to take the matter to a public tribunal by first publishing the story on the club's website: rotarycluboftagbilaran.org. van ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
He published no fewer than 60 entries detailing the scam, exposing the unscrupulous crooks who preyed on the desperation of poor people in the rural areas of Bohol. These individuals received only 10 cents of each donated dollar from generous Rotarians and, more importantly, from the Rotary Foundation (TRF), which amounted to thousands of US dollars. van ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Years later, Evan shut down nearly all of his blogs related to Rotary without providing any explanation to his thousands of readers. I was one of those readers and also a contributor who organized mailing campaigns for subscribers around the world. I reached out to him multiple times, but all my requests went unanswered. At one point, I wondered if he had passed away. However, I later discovered that he is still very much alive.
Whatever the reason for his silence, I, Gerald Tevenier, have decided to revive his blogs. While I didn’t have the necessary material, the Wayback Machine had archived them. Every generation must understand the significance of this knowledge, as it holds the key to shaping a better future for our world.
Let's get started.
VILLAGE AIDE PROGRAM(VAP rip-off) as we know it.
van ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Evan ILIADIS wrote:My name is Evan Iliadis, and I would like to take a moment to introduce myself. I am a former member of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT) located on the island of Bohol, Philippines, where I lived for six years. This is a brief account of my experiences as a Rotarian. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
From the very first day of my induction in March 2004, I prioritized community service. I dedicated my time, without pay, to serving children, the elderly, and individuals with mental disabilities. The funds for this service were provided by the Village Aide Program (VAP), an organization based in Australia, which was founded by Rotarian Derek Pyrah and his family.
Pyrah, at the age of 62, made headlines when he left his wife to pursue a romantic relationship with a 20-year-old Filipino girl in the Philippines. The funds for this endeavor were managed by Dave Collins, a former Rotarian and Past President of the Rotary Club of Tagbilara [RCT].
In August 2007, I was honored to receive the Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) award, which my club unanimously felt I deserved. The $1,000 cost was covered by the VAP. However, I was not thrilled about it. I wished I could have received the award from the president of the Rotary Club as a genuine recognition of my contributions to the club, rather than being unknowingly associated with VAP's questionable business practices-Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
In
September 2007, as a member of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT), I
submitted a request to the club president to investigate the whereabouts
of certain amounts of money related to Rotarians Dave and Baby Collins,
who were also members of the club: Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
-5 Matching Grants (MG) have been authorized, and funds have been transferred from The Rotary Foundation (TRF) to a Metro Bank (MB) account. The custodians of this account are David Collins and Deoscoro Uy, who manages the local MB branch, a past president of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT), and the treasurer. The MG I am referring to includes:
- RC Milton-Mowbray Matching Grant 2006 P 800,000.00
- RC Milton-Mowbray Matching Grant 2007P950,000.00
- RC Collingwood Canada Matching Grant 2007 P790,000.00
- RC Wiltshire Blvd Hollywood Matching Grant 2007 P 900,000.00
- RC West Wollongong Matching Grant 2007 P 902,739.95
-The club's accounting report did not record the thousands of US dollars that were received from donations made by clubs and Rotarians worldwide, as Treasurer Deo Uy disclosed during the regular meeting. Conversely, these funds were deposited into an MB account, of which Collins and Deo were the sole custodians. Since they were the only ones who knew about the money, it was not deposited in a bank account controlled by the club, which is against Rotary International rules.
Baby Collins announced on a banner outside her pawn shop in downtown Tagbilaran City that she had received 10 million pesos (roughly US$250,000) from the Village Aide Program, which is based in Australia. The club was unaware of any financial transactions or bank accounts under their control that involved the amounts stipulated on the banner.
- As stated in the TRF's terms and conditions, all construction projects financed by the RI must have detailed cost and bidding documents. This includes projects like the construction of water-less toilets, water tanks, and others. But instead, Dave Collins, who worked as a prime contractor and hired his employees, completed these tasks. The "conflict of interest" section of the TRF bylaws was contravened by this action. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
- In response to the complaint, the RCT set up an investigation committee. But when the Collins family was told to show up for their scheduled meetings to clarify the charges, they disobeyed. Rather than attempting to defend the indefensible, they determined to resign from the club and assume the status of fugitives. They knew my accusations were well-founded and backed up by their own fingerprints. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Meanwhile, the TRF ordered Catherine King, a senior Matching Grant supervisor and coordinator for the Southeast Asia Rotary clubs, to investigate my allegations. She cleared the RCT of any wrongdoing, indicating that the club could reapply for Matching Grants. However, when asked to provide information about the 4 million pesos that Collins claimed to have returned, she has not responded. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
Here is the first:“I found your site interesting, especially as a brand-new Rotarian. The only thing I would question, without knowing any facts, is how much better these individuals would have been if the Rotarians had done nothing.”
— Bill (not his real name)
Bill, many may not agree with your approach to charity work. If you are cheating the IRS by paying only $100 in taxes instead of the $1,000 you actually owe, should people be grateful for paying something rather than nothing? The real issue here is the motivation behind "helping" the poor, how much money was raised, and how much was actually invested. Should we be thankful to the individuals mentioned when they ask for a dollar donation to feed the hungry, claiming that 97% of the funds go to the cause, only to find that when you open the bag, it contains only 20 cents' worth of food? Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
He claims, both in this document and in several others that I possess, that the administrator's cost is only 2.3% of the budget. This allocation is intended to cover travel expenses and accommodations for trips from Australia to the Philippines five times a year. Additionally, this budget supports numerous guests from Australia, as well as travel and accommodation expenses for RI officials, board members, and his ex-wife—all funded by this 2.3% allocation from an annual income of $100,000, as Derek Pyrah states. I will leave the conclusion to the readers. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
-The second email was from a respected, long-time Rotarian with an honorable record in the organization; let’s refer to him as "George." He wrote: “If it is about money, be specific about how the money flowed and how it should have flowed. You don’t need much more than that.”
Request granted, George. While I have often explained my accusations, let me state them simply and directly once more. I accuse them of the following:Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
- Accusations have been made regarding the defrauding of individuals, Rotarians, clubs, and organizations in Australia and around the world. The leaders of VAP, Derek Pyrah and Dave Collins, allegedly misled donors into contributing funds by misrepresenting their actions. They instructed donors to deposit money not into a bank account controlled by the RCT Club, but into an account solely managed by Collins and the treasurer, PP Deo Dioscoro, without the club's knowledge of its existence. Notably, Deo Dioscoro serves as the manager of the Metro Bank where these accounts are held. This is just one example of the issue. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
- Dave Collins is accused of defrauding TRF out of thousands of dollars by misrepresenting the use of the MG. He did not disclose that he was the contractor-builder for all the construction projects submitted for financing. Instead, he falsely claimed that a construction company named Valles Construction, located in Tagbilaran, Bohol, was hired for the work. However, there is no record of such a company under that name in the Trades and Industry Department database in Bohol. Please review the emails he sent to RI and other recipients, including myself.
Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
They are claiming, "Oh yes! We have receipts!" But what receipts are they referring to? All the receipts are in the name of her pharmacy, covering purchases made for her business as well as for the Rotary. Has anyone actually seen any of these receipts? If you have, please raise your hand.
-After I submitted a request to my club to investigate the matters mentioned above, the President established an investigative committee to look into the allegations. They organized several meetings with Collins and PP Dioscoro for discussions and were instructed to provide the bank account passbooks—which we refer to as savings account booklets in the Philippines—where all transactions are recorded. I found myself wondering why they didn’t have a checking account. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
But, they refused to cooperate, vanished, and did not attend either the investigation meetings or the regular meetings. "George, do you know anyone innocent who would act this way? If my allegations, as presented to the club and Rotary International, were motivated by malice stemming from a personal vendetta, it would be easy for such powerful individuals to dismiss them outright. Instead, they chose to hide rather than take the time to explain themselves." Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
-The Rotary International (RI) and the District Governor (DG) were informed about these facts a long time ago. Their inaction on this matter not only led to a “let it go” attitude but also encouraged the accused to further amplify their already unhealthy and predatory behavior towards the local Rotary community.
Evan ILIADIS wrote this.
Rotary should revoke the memberships of Derek Pytah and Dave Collins, the founders of VAP, as a result of their defamatory and unlawful actions against the Rotary Club of Upper Tagbilaran in Bohol, Philippines.
With the support and common sense of the former District Governor 3860, Evelyn Magno, the RCUT (Rotary Club University of Bohol) survived the coup. Now, two years later, this club enjoys full recognition from the people of Bohol, despite the questionable support of the current District Governor, Yumi Espina. Take a moment to read this, look at the photo, and form your own opinion. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
What made this plot happen? It's fear, hate, and greed that hold the key. There were numerous reasons for Collins to be apprehensive about the formation of the new club, which was exclusively composed of Filipinos, particularly young men and intellectuals. By comparison, only 10 of the 25 members of the Rotary Club of Tagbilaran (RCT) were foreigners. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
There is concern about the uncovering of the VAP's dishonest activities on the island. The RCUT includes experienced engineers. If their chartering is approved, there will be some interaction between the two clubs in town. "Go tell them that, as they see it, a dry toilet costs 300,000 pesos or 7,000 Australian dollars! They will laugh in your face." Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
There's a worry that Derek Pyrah might have to give MG more equal support, like he did for some clubs in Cebu. "If you disclose to your supporters in Australia that you are collaborating with District 3860 in the Philippines, you are obligated to fulfill that commitment." In the district, there are other clubs, such as RCUT. But Collins has no plans to work with them. The paranoia of Collins was at its height when President Luella Bantol of the RCT continued to extend invitations to members and began to visit RCUT.
Read the story as it was published at the local press. It tells it all. Evan ILIADIS - Diaries of a former Rotarian.
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