A Filipina physiotherapist has won the seat of a councilor for Martins Wood ward in Stevenage, England, becoming the first Filipino to get elected to the local body from the Labour and Co-operative Party in England.
Myla Arceno, 48, said she agreed to contest for the seat after being coaxed by local party leaders. She has been actively promoting Philippine culture and doing community work for almost two decades now.
“It actually started from our dance group. Can you imagine that? I love the Filipino dances so I organized the community and young kids. We always performed, not only in Stevenage, but also in other towns and cities because we wanted to promote the beautiful Filipino culture. It became bigger and we organized the Barrio Fiesta in Hertsfordshire,” Arceno told ANC.
Arceno, who works in the NHS as physiotherapist, said she initially declined the invitation for her to run as her priority is to take care of her children and her career.
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“I said ‘No’ initially. But I have been thinking, what I have been doing now is what a councilor should do,” she said.
She added that being an NHS frontliner was also instrumental in her win.
Arceno, who is a native of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, migrated to England in January, 2003. She and her son migrated as a dependent of her husband, Joseph, who also works in NHS as physiotherapist.
She later applied to work at the local hospital.
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“I just went to the Physiotherapy Department in our local hospital and I just applied,” said Arceno, who is now the Cardiac Rehab Lead in the NHS Trust.
Arceno earned her degree in Physical Therapy from Riverside College in Bacolod City.
She owned a clinic in Kalibo and was a teacher in Roxas City before migrating with her family to England. They had initially planned to stay in England for only a few years but never left Stevenage, she added.
Arceno, meanwhile, said that what inspires her to be in in public service is the commitment towards giving back to the community that welcomed her family. (AW)
