PAMPANGA Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been elected chairman of the Association for Philippines-China Understanding.
In her acceptance speech, the former President said she was honored by her election to an organization which she helped organize in the early 1970s.
With Arroyo as co-chairperson of APCU in the 1970s, APCU members said her organization played a key role in the establishment of diplomatic relations with China.
“First, thank you for the honor of being elected as chair of APCU. For the record, I did not ask for this position. But I did not hesitate to accept it either, if that will help revive an association that I helped establish way before I entered public life and one that I played an active role in until the demands of public service took over my life,” Arroyo said.
APCU is recognized and accredited by China as the official people-to-people organization in the country.
Arroyo said it was the late Alejandro Roces, who had served as secretary of Education during the term of her father, President Diosdado Macapagal, who recruited her to help organize the organization.
As one of the founding members, Arroyo said it was through APCU that she came to know many unforgettable personalities, namely acclaimed painter Veronica Yuyitung, artist Jose Joya, writer Adrian Cristobal, Ambassador to Poland Patricia Ann Paez, retired Court of Appeals Justice Angelita Gacuta and Tony Barreiro, the father of media icon Bobby Barreiro, among others.
She pointed out that their biggest benefactor was the late Rufino Dee Unhong, the father of Donald Dee, president of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines.
Arroyo said the revival of APCU was timely considering the need to promote harmony and peace between the Philippines and China.