Members of the Filipino community in Canada bid farewell to newly appointed Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Jordan with concurrent jurisdiction over the Palestine Republic , Her Excellency Junever Mahilum-West.
The Despedida Party held March 21st at the St. Ohrid Macedonian Banquet Hall in Toronto, was hosted by the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF), headed by its’ President Romy Rafael and Executive Vice-President Rosemer Enverga, and Ancop (Answering the Cry of the Poor) Canada, headed by its’ President Ricky Cuenca. It wasattended by more than 200 leaders, members, media and friends of the Filipino community from the Greater Toronto Area, Barrie and other areas in the central Ontario Simcoe County and Montreal in the province of Quebec. Also amongst the well-wishers were Senator Tobias (Jun) Enverga, the first Canadian of Filipino origin appointed to the Senate, and Member of Parliament John Carmichael.
Ambassador Mahilum-West served the Filipino community as the Consul General of the Greater Toronto Area, Saskatchewan and Manitoba for the last three years. She is very popular and is well loved by the Filipinos in the jurisdiction she served for the personalized service she provided as a Diplomat.
Proceeds of $3,000 from the farewell event was presented to Ambassador Mahilum-West, which was put towards the construction of a house in her name in Ancop’s PCCF Village to be in built in the storm ravaged Tacloban in Leyte.
In her remarks to those present in her send-off, Ambassador Mahilum-West said that, “You make me feel honored, humbled and inspired. The best is yet to come for our community here and with your drive, initiative and bayanihan spirit, it will start to happen soon.”
Now on its 5th year of existence, PCCF through its’ projects, is working towards getting more houses added to the PCCF Village in Tacloban. Construction of one house in the village costs $3,000.
PCCF’s main event for the summer of 2015, is the Pinoy Fiesta and Trade Show in Toronto, scheduled for June 27th at the Metro-Toronto Convention Centre. It will be highlighted by the PCCF pageants and a Trade Show . It will also be graced by the attendance of GMA TV stars. Tickets are now available for the event. Interested exhibitors are also invited to pursue the opportunity of promoting their products and services. For more information or any inquiries, please e-mail: pageantsphilippines@gmail.com or pinoyfiestatoronto@gmail.com.
