MORE than 16 years ago, Filipino Canadian Delano Europa became the first Filipino appointed Justice of the Peace in the Ontario Court of Justice in Canada.
A former a municipal judge of Solano, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, Europa appeared to have set his path in his homeland. However, unforeseen circumstances prevented him from fulfilling that role.
He left his municipal judge position and moved to Canada with his second wife where he started over. Despite being educated at the San Beda College of law and a former judge, in Canada he was nothing. He started as a laborer at an asbestos plant pushing drums inhaling chemicals that caused him to prematurely age, according to a profile story about him on the Business Mirror.
He quit shortly after, worked several odd jobs before finding a job as a parking lot attendant in Toronto. Wanting a better life for himself and his family, Europa tudied law at the University of Toronto during his free time and began bringing language tapes – Chinese, Japanese, French and German - while parking cars.
It all paid off.
In 1992, he saw an advertisement in the Toronto Star for the Justice of the Peace post.
He applied and became the first Filipino to be appointed to the post in Ontario.
As Justice of the Peace, he’s responsible for handling criminal cases including misdemeanors and other crimes committed by Canadians. n
( Published November 4, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p B2 )
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