First Fil-Canadian senator visits Letran
January 14, 2017 Tweet3757
“I am here because I want to recognize Letran for making me what I am today,” said Hon. Tobias C. Enverga Jr., the first Filipino to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, during his visit to the Colegio, his alma mater, last January 13.
Enverga graduated from Letran in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.
The Fil-Canadian senator received a warm welcome from the Colegio’s administration, led by the rector and president himself, Rev. Fr. Clarence Marquez, OP.
“It takes a Letranite to understand a Letranite,” said Marquez in his opening remarks. “For a Letranite, coming home is a big thing.”
Enverga was evidently happy to be able to “come home” to historic Letran, recounting stories of his college days when the 396 year-old institution was still only composed of male students.
“I’m a very proud graduate of Letran. I keep on telling them Letran is the best school in the Philippines,” he said. “I mean, what school in the country has created the only Filipino senator outside of the Philippines? Nobody else but Letran.”
The senator also spoke to Political Science students, encouraging them to pursue their dreams.
“The most important thing is you focus on your studies, focus on your goals,” he said, adding that they should strive to be “the leaders”.
Appointed in 2012 to the Canadian senate as a representative of Ontario, Enverga has been a prominent member of the Filipino-Canadian community. He also founded the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation which has already transported medical equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to selected hospitals in the country while supporting a number of poverty-stricken Filipinos through housing.