CFC ANCOP USA and OVP’S Angat Buhay widen partnership for the poor

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ANCOP USA Executive Director Roger Santos proudly shows his father’s Congressional Gold Medal given to Filipino war veterans. The FilAm Photos

ANCOP USA Executive Director Roger Santos proudly shows his father’s Congressional Gold Medal given to Filipino World War II veterans for their service. The FilAm Photos

By Cristina DC Pastor

CFC ANCOP USA Executive Director Roger Santos and his wife Josie live in Manalapan, a South Jersey town known for its large, sprawling homes. In the couple’s formal dining room, two of the five Christmas trees – dedicated to each grandchild — were waiting for Josie’s attention, the ribbons, shiny hanging balls, and lights scattered all over the place.

The 9-bedroom house may seem huge for just Roger and Josie and their well-behaved poodle and the occasional visits by their children Carmen, Vonz, and Paulo. (Vonz is based in the Philippines).

But Roger has another family in CFC ANCOP-USA, a non-profit organization that stands for Answering the Cry of the Poor. It is the global arm of the Philippine-based Couples for Christ (CFC), a lay organization whose mission is to spread the Catholic teachings through its legions of couple-members around the world. CFC began in 1993; it has strong ties to the Vatican.

“Couples for Christ is now in 120 countries,” said Roger, proud to be a member with Josie – his college sweetheart at Mapua — since 1994. “We have nearly a million members.” There are chapters in Moslem countries, such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar or where there is a prominent Filipino presence. “ANCOP is aligned with the Catholic church,” he said.

The Santoses host regular meetings for ANCOP in their recreation room that has a sound system for a live band and a video monitor for PowerPoint presentations. Nine priests from Bohol attending a U.S. conference were recent house guests. There were other occasions where the rooms instantly turned into comfortable inns, and the couple the gracious innkeepers.

With wife Josie. They met in Mapua when they were both engineering students.

With wife Josie. They met in Mapua when they were both engineering students.

ANCOP sponsors programs for the poor, usually family-based. It is Roger’s job as executive director to make sure logistics are in place to execute those programs. Annual medical missions and scholarships for poor students are large parts of its outreach. A couple of years ago, the group treated 10,000 poor patients during its medical mission in Iloilo alone.

Early next year, Roger and ANCOP-CFC volunteers, bringing with them $500K worth of medicines, will travel to Marawi for a medical mission in partnership with Angat Buhay, the flagship project of the Office of Vice President Leni Robredo. He was also in touch with Bangon Marawi and local law enforcement to make sure security is in place. He stressed Robredo, a former CFC leader with her late husband Jesse, does not solicit money, and that ANCOP’s assistance is not financial in nature.

“We don’t give money, everything is medicine and supplies,” he said.

Roger further clarified ANCOP’s role. “We want to work with her on her Angat Buhay project, which is parallel to what we do in ANCOP…helping the poor. In this project, there are other government offices involved, the military, the Department of Health, etc., and we work with them also. The OVP just happens to be the coordinating agency.”

On October 17, Roger together with a number of ANCOP USA leaders met Robredo in Washington D.C. before she spoke at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. They discussed the expansion of partnership between Angat Buhay and ANCOP USA. ANCOP’s Tele-Edukasyon online education program as well as disaster relief operations are being shared with Angat Buhay.

Signing a partnership agreement with Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo on Angat Buhay and its Tele-Edukasyon online education program. Photo by Manny Caballero

Signing a partnership agreement with Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo on Angat Buhay and its Tele-Edukasyon online education program. Photo by Manny Caballero

“Tele-Edukasyon is an ongoing ANCOP USA online tutorial project aimed at assisting high school students in the Philippines on their school work. Volunteer Filipino American teachers will answer the students’ questions,” explained Roger.

How he met Leni
Roger met Robredo through a friend. “I said, let’s work something out. We gave them some medical supplies” for a barangay infirmary in Naga. Last May, Robredo visited New Jersey to thank ANCOP for its donation of around $15K worth of medical equipment. She timed her trip to coincide with a visit to her daughter who was at the time graduating from Harvard University.

“It’s the trust she projects and promotes with everybody,” said Roger when asked why he likes working with Robredo. “She’s a very simple, but focused and determined person.”

Gold Medal
A Congressional Gold Medal honoring his father’s war-time service is prominently displayed in Roger’s Manalapan home. Moises Santos, now deceased, was a World War II guerrilla fighter who served in the Philippine Commonwealth Army of the United States Armed Forces Far East (USAFFE). “He was a medical doctor and a brigadier general,” he said. “He became chief surgeon at V. Luna Medical Center.” His mother, Carmelita, was a school teacher.

Roger caressed the velvet case that held his dad’s medal, a constant reminder that service to community runs in his family.

© The FilAm 2018

Weekend with family. Roger and Josie and their youngest child Paulo. Also in photo are Paulo’s wife Christine and their children Ava and Paulo Jr.

Weekend with family. Roger and Josie and their youngest child Paulo. Also in photo are Paulo’s wife Christine and their children Ava and Paulo Jr.



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