Calgary, Alberta
VP Robredo shares ‘emotional’ meeting
Teodoro ‘Ted’ Alcuitas
One aspect of Vice-President Robredo’s life that is perhaps least known is that she is a lawyer and was practicing as a progressive advocate even before she went into politics. Like many of you I was surprised to see a repost in April 2015 of her meeting with a witness in one of her cases.
Canada is close to Robredo’s heart as she has two siblings living in Alberta and has been in the country – once in 2013 and the latest in 2018 when she spoke in Vancouver. She was planning to bring along her father to visit Canada just before he died in 2013.
Here is the repost on her Facebook page about meeting the witness.
Shared with Public
Had a happy, emotional reunion with EK Santos in Calgary this afternoon.
EK was my star witness in a Murder Case I handled back in 2008. He was the only eyewitness when his mother and younger brother were mercilessly and brutally murdered. He sustained many stab wounds himself and was left for dead but miraculously survived to tell the story. He was still a very small, thin 12-year-old then. Without being rehearsed, he breezed through my many hours of direct examination in court without faltering a bit.
Theirs is a story that was an ultimate test of faith. His dad, Arnel, left for Calgary for the first time on April 30, 2008, to try his luck here. The unfortunate event which took the lives of EK’s Mom and brother happened on Mother’s Day, just a week after Arnel left. EK and his two other brothers were left under the care of their grandparents.
In 2011, they were finally able to join their father. EK is now a College Freshman. Already several heads taller than me, he has remained very smart and respectful.
