First Philippine-Born UK Mayor Proclaimed

A nurse by profession, Danilo Favor who was the first Filipino to hold elective office in the United Kingdom, made history anew after his proclamation as town mayor of East Grinstead in Sussex following the 2019 local elections there.

His election as the new town mayor for 2019 to 2020 was announced on the official website of East Grinstead. Since 2011, Favor has been the town councilor of Ashplats Ward.

On his election, Favor expressed his “pride and appreciation.”

He was quoted as saying that he moved to the town 19 years ago to work at the Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) but “never in his dreams thought he would be a Town Councillor let alone Town Mayor.”

Favor, now a British subject, is the first Philippine-born town mayor in the UK. He worked as an ophthalmic nurse practitioner at the QVH.

Prior to his government work, he received the Presidential Banaag Award for outstanding Filipino individuals and organizations overseas that have advanced the cause of, and promoted the interests of overseas Filipino communities.

Favor also received a Community Service Award in 2014 from Mid-Sussex District Council for his active involvement in numerous community organizations.

He graduated in the Philippines with a degree in nursing and continued his ophthalmology nurse specialist studies at King’s College in London. (PNA)