Filipino voters in Canada keenly observing presidentiables

Three Philippine presidentiables are hoping to get the support of Filipino voters in Canada by seeking advice from a Filipino-Canadian senator.

This was revealed by Sen. Tobias Enverga, the first FilipinoCanadian elected to public office in the city of Toronto, in a chance interview at the official residence of the Canadian ambassador in Manila on the occasion of the presentation of beneficiaries to Canada’s Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund.

“They want some assistance or information,” said Sen. Enverga when asked what the presidential candidates wanted from him. “They want some sort of endorsement or some advice on how to deal with our kababayans there.”

“I told them I cannot be involved in politics in the Philippines,” he added. “I’m not even endorsing my cousin who is running for congressman in Quezon (Mark Enverga). I don’t want to endorse anybody because we are foreigners technically.”

Sen. Enverga said the last time he was approached by one of the candidates was in May last year while visiting the country.

“I can’t give the names because it’s private and confidential discussion,” he said. “When I’m here I don’t announce anything. Nobody knows except today. I just go around places at a very low profile. I’m here to help some projects in communities. I was in Baguio, Bataan, Quezon, Laguna.”

Tough, caring, clean According to Enverga, Filipinos in Canada have already shown interest in the forthcoming presidential elections in the Philippines.

“They’re interested,” he noted. “Everybody has their opinion and they have their own favorite.”

Filipinos in Canada are wellinformed, he said. They chose their candidates by reading newspapers.

“Hindi na puede ang pogi points sa amin,” said the Filipino-Canadian senator.

Enverga said there are currently an estimated 20,000 Filipino-Canadian registered voters in Canada who get feedbacks from relatives and friends through social media.

“They want somebody who is tough but caring. Somebody who is smart and clean, something like that,” said Enverga.

He pointed out that choosing the next leader of the Philippines is important for Filipinos who live and work in Canada.

“It will make a lot of difference here because when they send their money to their relatives here they want to say we want you to vote for this,” said Enverga.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Enverga earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Letran College.

Hard work He used to work in a bank before he travelled to Canada as an immigrant in 1981 and was employed by the Bank of Montreal for 30 years.

“I started from the lowest, like a mailbox man,” Enverga shared. “I studied all along and took third courses and masters until I improved myself in Canada and had family at the same time.”

Enverga was appointed to the Upper House on September 6, 2012, where he sits as a Conservative. At the time of his appointment he was a project manager at the Bank of Montreal. He has fifteen years left in his term.

“It used to be senator for life there, until you die but some people realize that some people can no longer function normally,” Enverga intimated. “So they limited it to the age of 75.”