To Jaime and Company,
I knew about the attacks of Jaime Baquero early on and had suspicions on who was actually behind the fabricated and malicious accusations. I thought it better not to join in the whole mud-slinging adventure, finding it better to concentrate on what I was doing in the field. This was until I received a call from a friend of mine confirming my suspicion of who was behind these malicious lies. I will not name names anymore. Naming names will just keep the mud slinging contest going and more skeletons in the closet of those who started this will come out. It just shows how dirty things can be when people are desperate to be recognized as the only authority in net training and other field exercises related to the ornamental industry. Unfortunately this kind of actions reflects on the organization they belong to even if their organization had nothing to do with it.
For me, it does not matter if they are recognized as the sole GURU in this field as long as in good conscience I know that I am doing right. At any given moment, I know I can always out-train them in techniques and development of collectors in this arena with a higher percentage of success. I have no intention of having a contest with anybody. The training field is wide enough for everybody to come in. My stand has always been either we are all welcome to put our heads together and work as one or work separately. Just don’t make things harder. Just don’t make false claims and cover-up problems. It makes work in this field very frustrating and makes it harder to accomplish anything. It makes other coastal dwellers suffer more. No one person can be right or claim he is right and that he can do the whole thing alone. I myself having been in the field so long that I must have grown barnacles on my body but still cannot claim that I am the only one right. In the field I always get opinions and feedback and talk to other people of other organizations before implementing something. No one person is a hero, a savior, or a great guy in this field.
It always disappoints me to have worked in the frontlines of this reform movement for so long and witness time and again the backslide of numerous collectors not because it is totally the collectors, exporters or importers fault, but because organizations who work in this field messed things up due to pigheadedness and a huge crab mentality. If at present any reform initiative mess things up, the LGU's (Local Government Units) will just get fed up and shut down collecting activities one by one in their area of responsibilities. That will be the end of the trade here. Not hype and bandwagon build-up, nor BFAR connections will solve the problems in the field, but a right and honest method of implementation will do it. We have to avoid eager environmental lawyers who would jump into the midst of this thing and would not hesitate to file a landmark environmental case against the government agencies, organizations and even the funding agencies just to make their name. AND believe me I have been approached by several “do-gooders”.
I myself at present have been experiencing a hard time opening up areas because of the LGU's outlook and suspicion that net trainings, or even certification and management plans are just one big scam. For example; Last Wednesday while eight hours on my way up to Appari (which is in the end of northern Luzon) I got a cellphone call from Bicol (in the tip of the southern portion of Luzon) that the program is being lambasted by the media there and that the governor and provincial fisheries were being criticized heavily and being asked to revoke the permits. I had to do a sudden U turn, and rushed to Bicol, driving all night and half a day. I met with the media, and the government officials to explain the way we were handling the program. It took almost the entire day to assure them and to get their total support. Had I not reached Bicol in time to explain in more detail the practical methods of implementation and how it is being done, the permits would have been cancelled. Why Bicol? Why Appari? Because the market needs angels, triggers and tangs among many others, and these areas have them in abundance.
I should issue a challenge to Jaime and company to prove their accusations against us but I find it childish. I do not think this is the proper way to find a solution to the problems that have pestered us for decades. I find it better to combine skills, expertise, and knowledge: a better way to once and for all solve this problem so those in the communities affected by the problems of this industry can finally have some breathing space in eking out their own living without blaming the industry for their hardships. .
Let me just clarify some things before I talk about PPP, where Jaime played a major role:
A lot of people kept asking me why I went on without any funding. The answer is simple. I had to show part of the way. If we do cover-ups now and we certify collectors and when one of them gets caught using some other methods to collect fish, then not only does it destroy the credibility of certification, but the LGUs (Local Government Unit) will close down collection of ornamental fish municipality by municipality. If a depleted area is certified, the marine eco-system will never be able to recover. But to show the way, we have to work on a vertical approach with people who are willing to try it, not trying to find ways to go around it. That is what I did and what I am doing now. Bear in mind that I have put in a lot of honest work in the methods of certification, so I do not want it to go to waste if it is possible or to be made a tool to hide illegal activities. I found the certification method of implementation full of holes that at the time nobody wanted to plug. Certification was being hyped and turned into a bandwagon that was being used for other purposes. I also needed to prove that other species can be caught in volume by nets and brought into the market.
Why Imperial and not those that were certified exporters of MAC? I left MAC so I can criticize the implementation method openly. It would be unethical to criticize them while I was in the organization. So it is but logical that I should not use MAC certified exporters nor touch their certified areas. Several other shippers approached me to join them. They had been shipping out to the Asian market successfully, but shipping out to the western countries, things were a disaster. To be honest about it, I was being offered some sort of fee, but I turned it down and instead asked that they donate some field materials, and in return receive high quality net caught fish. One of them formed Imperial and last January, when they were ready to operate, wanted to go 100% net caught. So in return, I volunteered to work with their technical staff without pay as long as we came to an agreement that they only handle net-caught fish, that they received fish properly without any under the table percentage for the screeners, and ship only net caught. We also had a common agreement that they share their fish with other shippers and try the US market, so I can prove that the method we were implementing was right. Imperial even shared their high-value angel fishes with others, even when these angels were just trickling in during the start of the agreement. They have shipped to the US and have proven that mortality can be very low and can stay low. That was all I asked from them. After having proved this, I have not mentioned or pushed Imperial on my own. They can take care of themselves and so far, the agreement between us has been honored. I have not gone there recently as often as I did in the early part of this year, except when a US buyer complains about a shipment that has to be corrected, or fish that has to have preventive medication. Right now, I am working to arrange a flow of net caught fish supply to more exporting outfits that is still not 100% net-caught
Why would I cut fish supply to a MAC certified exporter? It is not in my interest to cut off supply to anybody. The areas I am in are not certified areas. The areas where net caught fish come from are all over the Philippines. I have done training in those areas one way or another either during IMA’s time or before that when we were still in the business. I have tried to organize collectors to turn them to a more cohesive body in these areas.
When the collectors are ready to sell their fish, I have provided them with a list of five recommended exporters, all of who are willing to provide the collectors with a better price for their fish than the normal PTFEA pricing guidelines. (I do not think I have to remind you that these collectors have dealt with almost all the exporters at one time or another and have their own opinion and impression that even I cannot change nor influence.) In fact, one of them is MAC certified. It is up to the leaders amongst the collectors to decide where they should sell their fish. It is up to the exporters to deal with them fairly too. That is competition. In an area I have just opened up that has been closed to collection of ornamental fish for over a decade, I went as far as to tell the leader to call a MAC certified exporter to offer their fish, but they were turned down. I haven’t told these collectors where the donation of materials to hold fish in the areas comes from, so they are under no feeling of obligation to sell to that exporter. I have only told them the plastic net comes from a donation of a US group. Anybody can come down here and ask the collectors or the LGU people the truth to this anytime.
As far as the accusation of being paid, although I see nothing wrong with it having no affiliation at that time, I declined it for very obvious reasons. I do not want to be tied down by any exporter and forced to close my eyes. There is a time to earn money and there is a time to do things right. Doing things right should be first.
I find it funny that Steve and I are regarded as minor irritants that would soon be taken care of. We are not irritants. We are pointing out things that are wrong to protect the industry.
Jaime, do you remember the PPP? You were part of its creation. You attempted to federate the net-caught collectors that Haribon trained and to sell their fish abroad with the promise of better pricing that never was and the promise of better quality fish that never materialized. In that supposed federation, they even included collectors that I have trained pre-Haribon and IMA days. Jaime, at that time, you approached my family when PPP was being set up and my mother informed me by phone. I was in Indonesia then working in the tourism sector and not connected with IMA. They told me what PPPs goals were and I told them that they should help and offer to PPP net caught fish that they were getting from Palawan and Mindanao, so that PPP would have the variety that was needed to ship out. I knew that with only fish from Bolinao and Zambales, PPP will never be able to ship out and I believed at that time that it was one of the solutions to the multi-faceted problems of the industry. In one of my many trips back to the Philippines, I even met with PPPs University of the Philippines marine biologist Mr. Ben Vallejo Jr. and Juned Sonido , who hung out in the facility of my family a lot even pre-PPP days. They wanted to learn and asked a lot of questions. I answered those questions not begrudging them, even if they were regarded by the association as competitors being associated with PPP. Talks of conflict of interest were wide spread. In fact, I told them to get supplies of fish from my family so they can make a go of it. Ben and Juned could not only hang out, but were free to go in and out of the main holding system in our facility, something they never could do in other facilities. They were not welcome in other fish holding areas of the association. One of these guys eventually joined ICLARM and is doing great things.
What happened to the PPP? It was a pure waste of good intentions and money. It gave false hopes to collectors, and when they realized that nothing will happen, they went on a backsliding spree with a vengeance, thinking that they had been had. Nobody took time out to explain to them the reasons of why it failed, so they felt they had been used. News of this misadventure spread all over the PI unfortunately, making it harder for IMA to do its own training. Did I protest and say the whole thing was a conflict of interest, a fraud? Did I protest when our offer of net caught fish of wider variety was turned down? Where you able to ship out? Why was there no continuity in the whole thing? Here in the Philippines there is still a lot of question about PPP. There are still a lot of innuendoes. I do not want to join in it nor speculate on what happened.
Regarding my conflict of interest during IMAs days, I beg to disagree. When IMA tapped me to do training in the early 90s, they asked me to choose the site. I chose the killing fields of Jolo, where a lot of cyanide fish at that time was coming from. It was a place no American citizen goes without tons of armed escort. I brought the late David Baskin, an artist, into the area, sleeping in small deserted islands to see the place and its corals. I brought in the president of IMA and their guests to Jolo to see the training. After the training, I left IMA and went to Indonesia to earn money. That was outside of IMA because they cannot afford to pay me. In 1996, IMA contacted me to do work in Indonesia. After that, they told me to work full time in the Philippines, most of it in Mindanao. The moment I was asked to work full time, I close down the business to avoid any conflict of interest and I have not heard one word of complaint till now from my family who got affected by it. This all can be verified. Does this answer your accusations?
In retrospect, I should not have persuaded my family to close down. They gave a fair shake in pricing to collectors. Prices have not improved for a long time. Only a few want to treat collectors fairly. Life for them is a daily struggle.
I have actually had a timetable to suspend my activities and that was supposed to be last June. I have proven my point that things can be done right. Mortality can be low. A lot of different species can come into the market. But when I saw that I had the knack for opening up closed areas, having opened up two closed areas during MAC’s time that I thought was just being lucky and at present another wider area that can bring in more varieties of fish, and having the donated hand nets coming in, I thought it better to keep going. To keep going, I have been receiving some financial help from my family who believes in what I am doing. Most important is that I enjoy what I am doing and that I am doing it right.
When I decided not to suspend my activities I decided to help the people who have approached me to form another ornganization. EASI. The members are a former Humanrights Commisioner who mastered in Law of the Seas in Colombia University, a Environmental Lawyer, an expert in community capacity building and a high executive belonging to the biggest media outfit in the Philippines that was involve in the tourisim sector. They asked me to join and do my own trainings while they help me do the CDCRM. So what is wrong with that? One thing ssure is all of us in this organization does not have the crab mentality.
There are those in the US who believe in what I am doing and have supported me. There are importers there like Mary Middlebrook’s invaluable help by guiding me and kept me abreast with the results of shipments, so I can find the causes of failures and improve the shipments from the field up to shippers. There is Horge whom I have never met. There is Mike Kirda who has constantly been looking for ways to get different nets. There is Steve Robinson who is a good fellow trainer who sees the need of doing things the right way. There is my family there who has provided me the financial assistance because they believe in what I am doing. Too all these people and others that I have not mentioned I am grateful and I thank them on behalf of the collectors who are starting to benefit from all of them. Not only is it the collectors that are benefiting, but all the coastal dwellers that are affected by this industry.
As I said Jaime, we here are literally in the frontlines. We are the first one to feel the hit and misses instantaneously. If you and your companion over there still want to debate all these issues and any other issues in front of a forum, I am willing to go to the US anytime, if you think PI is not a conducive place for it. As I have always seen it, it is either we all work together for the good of the industry or the community dwellers which I find are the best approach or not. It does not matter to me.
And Jaime, I have always kept the line open between me and MAC as I do with other organizations. I have never closed it. MAC people and I have been talking for months and that includes Peter Scott. I saw to it that I take time out for these meetings with them. I have even given them a list of suggestions of methods of implementation to address issues I had in my resignation letter. While all these things are going on I have not asked them for anything or asked to work for them. I hope this answers any other malicious speculation of my wanting to get something out of MAC or wanting a salary from MAC. I hope it answers other future questions that might come out.
With Best Regards to you and your pals and no malice intended,
Ferdinand Cruz
.
I knew about the attacks of Jaime Baquero early on and had suspicions on who was actually behind the fabricated and malicious accusations. I thought it better not to join in the whole mud-slinging adventure, finding it better to concentrate on what I was doing in the field. This was until I received a call from a friend of mine confirming my suspicion of who was behind these malicious lies. I will not name names anymore. Naming names will just keep the mud slinging contest going and more skeletons in the closet of those who started this will come out. It just shows how dirty things can be when people are desperate to be recognized as the only authority in net training and other field exercises related to the ornamental industry. Unfortunately this kind of actions reflects on the organization they belong to even if their organization had nothing to do with it.
For me, it does not matter if they are recognized as the sole GURU in this field as long as in good conscience I know that I am doing right. At any given moment, I know I can always out-train them in techniques and development of collectors in this arena with a higher percentage of success. I have no intention of having a contest with anybody. The training field is wide enough for everybody to come in. My stand has always been either we are all welcome to put our heads together and work as one or work separately. Just don’t make things harder. Just don’t make false claims and cover-up problems. It makes work in this field very frustrating and makes it harder to accomplish anything. It makes other coastal dwellers suffer more. No one person can be right or claim he is right and that he can do the whole thing alone. I myself having been in the field so long that I must have grown barnacles on my body but still cannot claim that I am the only one right. In the field I always get opinions and feedback and talk to other people of other organizations before implementing something. No one person is a hero, a savior, or a great guy in this field.
It always disappoints me to have worked in the frontlines of this reform movement for so long and witness time and again the backslide of numerous collectors not because it is totally the collectors, exporters or importers fault, but because organizations who work in this field messed things up due to pigheadedness and a huge crab mentality. If at present any reform initiative mess things up, the LGU's (Local Government Units) will just get fed up and shut down collecting activities one by one in their area of responsibilities. That will be the end of the trade here. Not hype and bandwagon build-up, nor BFAR connections will solve the problems in the field, but a right and honest method of implementation will do it. We have to avoid eager environmental lawyers who would jump into the midst of this thing and would not hesitate to file a landmark environmental case against the government agencies, organizations and even the funding agencies just to make their name. AND believe me I have been approached by several “do-gooders”.
I myself at present have been experiencing a hard time opening up areas because of the LGU's outlook and suspicion that net trainings, or even certification and management plans are just one big scam. For example; Last Wednesday while eight hours on my way up to Appari (which is in the end of northern Luzon) I got a cellphone call from Bicol (in the tip of the southern portion of Luzon) that the program is being lambasted by the media there and that the governor and provincial fisheries were being criticized heavily and being asked to revoke the permits. I had to do a sudden U turn, and rushed to Bicol, driving all night and half a day. I met with the media, and the government officials to explain the way we were handling the program. It took almost the entire day to assure them and to get their total support. Had I not reached Bicol in time to explain in more detail the practical methods of implementation and how it is being done, the permits would have been cancelled. Why Bicol? Why Appari? Because the market needs angels, triggers and tangs among many others, and these areas have them in abundance.
I should issue a challenge to Jaime and company to prove their accusations against us but I find it childish. I do not think this is the proper way to find a solution to the problems that have pestered us for decades. I find it better to combine skills, expertise, and knowledge: a better way to once and for all solve this problem so those in the communities affected by the problems of this industry can finally have some breathing space in eking out their own living without blaming the industry for their hardships. .
Let me just clarify some things before I talk about PPP, where Jaime played a major role:
A lot of people kept asking me why I went on without any funding. The answer is simple. I had to show part of the way. If we do cover-ups now and we certify collectors and when one of them gets caught using some other methods to collect fish, then not only does it destroy the credibility of certification, but the LGUs (Local Government Unit) will close down collection of ornamental fish municipality by municipality. If a depleted area is certified, the marine eco-system will never be able to recover. But to show the way, we have to work on a vertical approach with people who are willing to try it, not trying to find ways to go around it. That is what I did and what I am doing now. Bear in mind that I have put in a lot of honest work in the methods of certification, so I do not want it to go to waste if it is possible or to be made a tool to hide illegal activities. I found the certification method of implementation full of holes that at the time nobody wanted to plug. Certification was being hyped and turned into a bandwagon that was being used for other purposes. I also needed to prove that other species can be caught in volume by nets and brought into the market.
Why Imperial and not those that were certified exporters of MAC? I left MAC so I can criticize the implementation method openly. It would be unethical to criticize them while I was in the organization. So it is but logical that I should not use MAC certified exporters nor touch their certified areas. Several other shippers approached me to join them. They had been shipping out to the Asian market successfully, but shipping out to the western countries, things were a disaster. To be honest about it, I was being offered some sort of fee, but I turned it down and instead asked that they donate some field materials, and in return receive high quality net caught fish. One of them formed Imperial and last January, when they were ready to operate, wanted to go 100% net caught. So in return, I volunteered to work with their technical staff without pay as long as we came to an agreement that they only handle net-caught fish, that they received fish properly without any under the table percentage for the screeners, and ship only net caught. We also had a common agreement that they share their fish with other shippers and try the US market, so I can prove that the method we were implementing was right. Imperial even shared their high-value angel fishes with others, even when these angels were just trickling in during the start of the agreement. They have shipped to the US and have proven that mortality can be very low and can stay low. That was all I asked from them. After having proved this, I have not mentioned or pushed Imperial on my own. They can take care of themselves and so far, the agreement between us has been honored. I have not gone there recently as often as I did in the early part of this year, except when a US buyer complains about a shipment that has to be corrected, or fish that has to have preventive medication. Right now, I am working to arrange a flow of net caught fish supply to more exporting outfits that is still not 100% net-caught
Why would I cut fish supply to a MAC certified exporter? It is not in my interest to cut off supply to anybody. The areas I am in are not certified areas. The areas where net caught fish come from are all over the Philippines. I have done training in those areas one way or another either during IMA’s time or before that when we were still in the business. I have tried to organize collectors to turn them to a more cohesive body in these areas.
When the collectors are ready to sell their fish, I have provided them with a list of five recommended exporters, all of who are willing to provide the collectors with a better price for their fish than the normal PTFEA pricing guidelines. (I do not think I have to remind you that these collectors have dealt with almost all the exporters at one time or another and have their own opinion and impression that even I cannot change nor influence.) In fact, one of them is MAC certified. It is up to the leaders amongst the collectors to decide where they should sell their fish. It is up to the exporters to deal with them fairly too. That is competition. In an area I have just opened up that has been closed to collection of ornamental fish for over a decade, I went as far as to tell the leader to call a MAC certified exporter to offer their fish, but they were turned down. I haven’t told these collectors where the donation of materials to hold fish in the areas comes from, so they are under no feeling of obligation to sell to that exporter. I have only told them the plastic net comes from a donation of a US group. Anybody can come down here and ask the collectors or the LGU people the truth to this anytime.
As far as the accusation of being paid, although I see nothing wrong with it having no affiliation at that time, I declined it for very obvious reasons. I do not want to be tied down by any exporter and forced to close my eyes. There is a time to earn money and there is a time to do things right. Doing things right should be first.
I find it funny that Steve and I are regarded as minor irritants that would soon be taken care of. We are not irritants. We are pointing out things that are wrong to protect the industry.
Jaime, do you remember the PPP? You were part of its creation. You attempted to federate the net-caught collectors that Haribon trained and to sell their fish abroad with the promise of better pricing that never was and the promise of better quality fish that never materialized. In that supposed federation, they even included collectors that I have trained pre-Haribon and IMA days. Jaime, at that time, you approached my family when PPP was being set up and my mother informed me by phone. I was in Indonesia then working in the tourism sector and not connected with IMA. They told me what PPPs goals were and I told them that they should help and offer to PPP net caught fish that they were getting from Palawan and Mindanao, so that PPP would have the variety that was needed to ship out. I knew that with only fish from Bolinao and Zambales, PPP will never be able to ship out and I believed at that time that it was one of the solutions to the multi-faceted problems of the industry. In one of my many trips back to the Philippines, I even met with PPPs University of the Philippines marine biologist Mr. Ben Vallejo Jr. and Juned Sonido , who hung out in the facility of my family a lot even pre-PPP days. They wanted to learn and asked a lot of questions. I answered those questions not begrudging them, even if they were regarded by the association as competitors being associated with PPP. Talks of conflict of interest were wide spread. In fact, I told them to get supplies of fish from my family so they can make a go of it. Ben and Juned could not only hang out, but were free to go in and out of the main holding system in our facility, something they never could do in other facilities. They were not welcome in other fish holding areas of the association. One of these guys eventually joined ICLARM and is doing great things.
What happened to the PPP? It was a pure waste of good intentions and money. It gave false hopes to collectors, and when they realized that nothing will happen, they went on a backsliding spree with a vengeance, thinking that they had been had. Nobody took time out to explain to them the reasons of why it failed, so they felt they had been used. News of this misadventure spread all over the PI unfortunately, making it harder for IMA to do its own training. Did I protest and say the whole thing was a conflict of interest, a fraud? Did I protest when our offer of net caught fish of wider variety was turned down? Where you able to ship out? Why was there no continuity in the whole thing? Here in the Philippines there is still a lot of question about PPP. There are still a lot of innuendoes. I do not want to join in it nor speculate on what happened.
Regarding my conflict of interest during IMAs days, I beg to disagree. When IMA tapped me to do training in the early 90s, they asked me to choose the site. I chose the killing fields of Jolo, where a lot of cyanide fish at that time was coming from. It was a place no American citizen goes without tons of armed escort. I brought the late David Baskin, an artist, into the area, sleeping in small deserted islands to see the place and its corals. I brought in the president of IMA and their guests to Jolo to see the training. After the training, I left IMA and went to Indonesia to earn money. That was outside of IMA because they cannot afford to pay me. In 1996, IMA contacted me to do work in Indonesia. After that, they told me to work full time in the Philippines, most of it in Mindanao. The moment I was asked to work full time, I close down the business to avoid any conflict of interest and I have not heard one word of complaint till now from my family who got affected by it. This all can be verified. Does this answer your accusations?
In retrospect, I should not have persuaded my family to close down. They gave a fair shake in pricing to collectors. Prices have not improved for a long time. Only a few want to treat collectors fairly. Life for them is a daily struggle.
I have actually had a timetable to suspend my activities and that was supposed to be last June. I have proven my point that things can be done right. Mortality can be low. A lot of different species can come into the market. But when I saw that I had the knack for opening up closed areas, having opened up two closed areas during MAC’s time that I thought was just being lucky and at present another wider area that can bring in more varieties of fish, and having the donated hand nets coming in, I thought it better to keep going. To keep going, I have been receiving some financial help from my family who believes in what I am doing. Most important is that I enjoy what I am doing and that I am doing it right.
When I decided not to suspend my activities I decided to help the people who have approached me to form another ornganization. EASI. The members are a former Humanrights Commisioner who mastered in Law of the Seas in Colombia University, a Environmental Lawyer, an expert in community capacity building and a high executive belonging to the biggest media outfit in the Philippines that was involve in the tourisim sector. They asked me to join and do my own trainings while they help me do the CDCRM. So what is wrong with that? One thing ssure is all of us in this organization does not have the crab mentality.
There are those in the US who believe in what I am doing and have supported me. There are importers there like Mary Middlebrook’s invaluable help by guiding me and kept me abreast with the results of shipments, so I can find the causes of failures and improve the shipments from the field up to shippers. There is Horge whom I have never met. There is Mike Kirda who has constantly been looking for ways to get different nets. There is Steve Robinson who is a good fellow trainer who sees the need of doing things the right way. There is my family there who has provided me the financial assistance because they believe in what I am doing. Too all these people and others that I have not mentioned I am grateful and I thank them on behalf of the collectors who are starting to benefit from all of them. Not only is it the collectors that are benefiting, but all the coastal dwellers that are affected by this industry.
As I said Jaime, we here are literally in the frontlines. We are the first one to feel the hit and misses instantaneously. If you and your companion over there still want to debate all these issues and any other issues in front of a forum, I am willing to go to the US anytime, if you think PI is not a conducive place for it. As I have always seen it, it is either we all work together for the good of the industry or the community dwellers which I find are the best approach or not. It does not matter to me.
And Jaime, I have always kept the line open between me and MAC as I do with other organizations. I have never closed it. MAC people and I have been talking for months and that includes Peter Scott. I saw to it that I take time out for these meetings with them. I have even given them a list of suggestions of methods of implementation to address issues I had in my resignation letter. While all these things are going on I have not asked them for anything or asked to work for them. I hope this answers any other malicious speculation of my wanting to get something out of MAC or wanting a salary from MAC. I hope it answers other future questions that might come out.
With Best Regards to you and your pals and no malice intended,
Ferdinand Cruz
.
