To commemorate the 75 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Canada, the Philippine Embassy in Canada launched the “75 faces” project.
The said project highlights stories of 75 Filipino-Canadians and Filipinos in Canada and their migration journeys.
Filipinos from all around their country with diverse backgrounds are on the list including B.C. MLA and the sole Filipino member of the provincial legislature Mable Elmore, Burnaby City Councillor Maita Santiago, and OMNI News Filipino journalist and host Rhea Santos.
In an interview with CityNews Vancouver, Santos stated that she is “deeply honored and humbled to be part of this project, alongside 74 aspiring individuals who have made a mark and are continuously serving communities and giving back to Canada.”
“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to serve fellow Filipinos back home in the Philippines through my career in television,” she added.
Before coming to Canada as an international student in 2019, Santos worked for twenty years as a broadcast journalist and host in the Philippines.
She and her husband made the “leap of faith” to relocate to Canada because they wanted to give their kids greater and better opportunities.
In 2020, she was among the group that launched OMNI News Filipino, the only Canadian daily nation broadcast in Filipino.
The project honors Canada’s long-standing connection with the Philippines, according to a statement released by the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines on Facebook.
For the broadcast journalist, she hopes to see more representation of Filipino-Canadians in different fields such as media and politics.
“Canada’s strength is the difference of its people, and if Canada can tap and harness the strengths of Filipino achievers and professionals from the Philippines who are already here, who can contribute to industries that are in crisis, and who can create positive change,” she stated.
Santos’ image was painted by local Filipino artist Gio Sampayan and will be incorporated into a mural inside the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines, in addition to the honor of being one of the 75 Filipino-Canadians on the list.
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