On June 26th 2015, His Excellency Neil Reeder, Canadian ambassador to the Philippines welcomed to the Canadian embassy ANCOP Canada President Ricky Cuenca and Board Chairman Greg Parillas. The embassy was at the 7th Floor of the RCBC Tower 2 in Makati City, the financial center of the Philippines.
For Ricky and Greg it was an opportune time to apprise the ambassador about ANCOP Canada and ANCOP’s work for the poor. They provided the ambassador updates on ANCOP Canada’s efforts towards rebuilding the lives of families affected by super typhoon Haiyan in 2012.
Ambassador Reeder was pleased to learn about the completion of 100 houses soon to be awarded to the families in Tacloban City, Philippines. Ricky told the ambassador that the ceremonial turnover of these houses to the beneficiary families will be done June 30th 2015. This will be participated by leaders of ANCOP global and ANCOP Canada, the executives of SM Cares, and the officials of the local government and the Catholic Church.
Ricky also shared to the ambassador that 300 more housing units are being built for other families. He further explained that ANCOP’s role includes providing scholarship to the children and conducting values formation to help usher growth and development in the community.
Ricky invited Ambassador Reeder to visit Tacloban City on September 12th, 2015 for the formal turnover of all completed units. He also solicited the Canadian envoy’s support for ANCOP Canada’s endeavors in the Philippines specifically in seeking financial assistance from Canadian businesses and organizations. In response to the ambassadors question, Ricky explained how ANCOP operates and how the programs are managed. Ambassador Reeder expressed willingness to help ANCOP within his capacity as Canada’s emissary.
For the ANCOP president, the visit opened doors of opportunity for him to make ANCOP known by the Canadian government as it seeks funding for its work.
Ricky and Irma Cuenca attended the Canada Day celebrations held July 1st at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati on the invitation of the ambassador.
By ANCOP Canada