For the first time in the history of Fil Co-operative One Housing Society (OHS), the Board of Directors held a swearing-in ceremony with an elected BC official, MLA Mable Elmore, officiating. The event took place on March 4, 2023, in the MLA’s constituency office on Fraser St. in Vancouver.
The board members who took their oaths of office were Jody Flores (President), Marilyn Paulin (Vice-President), Rona Bunda (Secretary), Maria Pamela Gonzales (Assistant Secretary), Marichu Celi (Treasurer) and Allen May Robles (Board Member). The other board members, Cris Saguindan, Edzel Escala, and Rosalinda Sangalang, missed the occasion due to work, travel or important prior commitments.
The board members declared their commitment to advance and promote the goals of the Society, including the advocacy for affordable housing for middle-income Canadians especially the marginalized Filipino immigrant community.
Taking the oath of office was held in the wake of the OHS Board of Directors approving a Code of Ethics during its meeting a week earlier. Swearing to remain faithful to their duties, the board members pledged to uphold the ethical principles contained in the Code, that is, to observe honesty and integrity in all dealings with Society members, the public, the government, partners and the community in general.
The complexities of the issues around, and solutions to, the housing crisis, the challenges of inter-agency collaboration and the need to preserve organizational integrity inspired the Board of Directors to re-examine its core values and reinforce their commitment to always act ethically and professionally.
The swearing-in ceremony was also monumental in the sense that the Society’s officers renewed their faith in, and commitment to, the Abot Kayang Pabahay advocacy of One Housing Society.