Francis M family warns vs fake tribute concerts

Two tribute concerts for Francis Magalona are set to happen in Ontario, Canada and in Dubai, UAE on March 27 and April 5, respectively. The first one will be organized by "Mstudio" and will allegedly benefit "Francis M foundation," while the latter will be mounted by "Filipino artists" and its proceeds will go to "Philippine Red Cross." Publicity materials bear Francis M's photos, which the Master Rapper posted on his Multiply account himself when he was still alive. One of the organizers even hyped about wearing "The Sun and Three Stars" shirts for the King of Pinoy Rap. But the big puzzle here — the family of Kiko is clueless. They found out about it only last March 16. Unna Lu, one of the daughters of Francis, stumbled upon two Facebook event invitations. Links were initially provided, but as of 11 a.m. of March 17, the links had been canceled. THE ONTARIO CONCERT. Here's the complete text (published as is): "Francis Magalona's music and lyrics didn't only spur attention, it evoked thoughts and a nationalistic attitude. "From 'Mga Kababayan Ko' (My Fellow Countrymen), to 'Three Stars & A Sun,' to 'Man From Manila,' to 'Tayo'y Mga Pinoy' (We Are Filipinos), Francis M.'s songs weren't only certified hits, it made Filipinos proud to be who they are and do away with the colonial mentality that have plagued them in the past. "This March 27, Mstudio is honoring the man who not only catapulted Filipino hip hop to mainstream status and pioneered the merging of Filipino rap with Pinoy rock, he also inspired millions and generations of Filipinos to represent and be proud of their nationality. And because of all of this, FrancisM, we thank you. "Proceeds of the event will be donated to Francis Magalona's foundation. Also, PHLIP The Sun and the Stars will be selling Master Rapper t-shirts and part of the proceeds will also go to the foundation. "To view the life and accomplishments of Francis M, please click on the link. "For more info on PHLIP The Sun and the Stars, and to become a fan, please click on the link. "How to get to M Studio by Car: Take the 401 to Dixie Road. Exit Dixie Road going north. Turn left on Meyerside Drive. M Studio is at the plaza on the right just before Tomken. "How to get to M Studio by Bus: Take the subway to Islington. Take the #1 bus going west. Hop off on Tomken Take the #51 or 51A heading north on Tomken. Hop off at Meyerside and M Studio should be on your right (northeast corner of the intersection)." THE DUBAI CONCERT. Here's another event, which is organized by a Pinoy DJ. The actual post in Facebook goes: "Club Manila and Chi @ d' Lodge brings you: Three Stars and the Sun... A Tribute to Francis Magalona. "Fellow Filipino"s in the Middleast we are inviting everyone to be a part of reliving the legacy of the man who started it all...The Philippines Rap icon Master rapper Francis Magalona. "Your presence and support will be much appreciated. As we continue what Francis have started, the love for our country. Thru his music he touches and inspired a lot of people especially the youth. "And we the Filipino artist in UAE (DJ, Band, Rap Artist, Breakdancers, etc) join hands in presenting a tribute to Francis Magalona. "All tickets sales will be donated to the Philippine Red Cross. "And we are calling all Filipino group or organization to be a part of this tribute and charity event. Your support will be highly appreciated. "Let's Rap for Peace and Unity. "Pls free to call us @ +971503547128 "VENUE: Chi @ the Lodge/ TIME: 9 pm till 3 AM/ TIX: Dhs 30/ FACE Card 50% off on Beverages "If you have A tshirt of Francis Magalona wear it on that night." KIKO'S GRIEVING FAMILY REACTS. That same night—at 11:03 p.m., to be exact—Master Rapper's widow Pia Arroyo-Magalona posted this message: "This is Pia, the late FrancisM's wife. My attention was called to this site by my daughters and I am quite disappointed that you are holding an event using his name and persona to make money off without my express permission. "There is no such thing as a legitimate Francis Magalona Foundation. I am terribly, terribly hurt by this. I hope you could respect me and my dearly beloved's memory by not exploiting his death. "What you are doing goes against the values Francis wrote about in his songs. This is exactly what he spoke of when he wrote those lyrics speaking of graft, corruption and greed. "Do the right thing. "God bless, Pia Magalona" At 11:30 p.m., she also posted a message about the Dubai event: "This is Pia, the late FrancisM's wife. My attention was called to this site by my daughters and I am quite disappointed that you are holding an event using his name and persona to make money off without my express permission. "Did you even course this through the Philippine NATIONAL Red Cross? If so, why is their name on your invitation wrong? It just says Philippine Red Cross. It's very haphazard. I am terribly, terribly hurt by this. I hope you could respect me and my dearly beloved's memory by not exploiting his death. "What you are doing goes against the values Francis wrote about in his songs. This is exactly what he spoke of when he wrote those lyrics speaking of graft, corruption and greed. Do the right thing." Maxene, the eldest child of Francis and Pia, was fuming mad. The Kapuso actress did not expect this, especially now that the entire family is still grieving. In her Facebook account, she wrote earlier today [Tuesday]: "Although we understand that papa influenced millions of people with his work, we don't approve of these gimmicks that pretend to pay tribute to his legacy when it is OBVIOUS that they are merely using him to make money. "FRANCIS M.'S FOUNDATION? There's no such thing! Mama never approved of anything like that! If they were honest and true about paying tribute to papa and wanting to earn money for some foundation, they would have done the appropriate thing and respectfully asked my mom for permission. This is like using my dad as a performer in a concert except they don't pay him for it. "Plus, they're selling shirts just like those my dad's clothing line.. GAYA GAYA! How do these people sleep at night?! PLEASE RESPECT MY DAD AND LET HIM REST IN PEACE. Nakakabastos kayo!" And just before publishing this story, PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) was able to get a message from Pia Magalona. She's distraught. These people are ruining the very essence of Francis's message in his songs—corruption and greed. She said that if the intention of these people is to help, they could have done it when he was still alive, instead of capitalizing and exploiting his death. Lastly, she stressed that, at press time, "There's no event allowed for Francis." At 11:02 today [Tuesday], PEP called up the number indicated in the publicity material for the concert which will be held in Dubai. A certain "George" picked up the call. He described himself as "the pioneer of DJ's on Manila, na-base lang ako dito sa Middle East...This tribute, and the sales will be going to the Philippine Red cross." We asked him what's going to happen at the tribute concert, and his reply: "The break dancers, rap artists join presence for Francis Magalona." Then we segued into, "Sir, is this known by the family?" He said he's going to call a person whose name sounded like "Kemo" in Manila, then he asked back, "Are you the PR of Pia?" PEP's reply: "No, Sir. We just want to know." He hastily replied, "I will call 'Kemo,' then I will call you to say what Pia said.'" He hung up. For the Ontario concert, we searched PHLIP via Google and found out that he has a MySpace Account. We visited his site and it actually flags his T-shirt brand "The Sun and The Stars." His designs and statements are quite similar to the ones being sold by FMCC (Francis Magalona Clothing Company.) He is a 23-year-old Pinoy based in Ontario, and his account has links to www.phlipparel.com. His last log-in session is dated today, and PEP was lucky to check out the Homepage, because as of 11:45 a.m., his account was already canceled. - Philippine Entertainment Portal