British ambassador travels with his 'diplocats'
ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 28 2018 04:45 PM | Updated as of Jan 29 2018 08:48 PM
British Ambassador Daniel Robert Pruce presents his 'diplocat'
MANILA - (UPDATE) When he's not busy attending to the needs of UK citizens and businesses in the Philippines, British Ambassador Daniel Robert
Pruce attends to the needs of more than a dozen furry denizens of that parcel of British territory in Upper McKinley, Taguig.
"Here in the embassy we have been adopted by 17 wild cats that live around the compound," Pruce said.
As all cat people know, you don't adopt cats; they adopt you.
The UK envoy doesn't deny his affinity for felines. While on a posting in Bangkok, Pruce was approached by two such furry creatures who expressed their sincere interest in joining Her Majesty's diplomatic corps.
British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce speaks to Cathy Yang for ANC's The Boss
"My wife Rachael and I brought in a couple of cats who adopted us in Bangkok, they were street cats, pusakal (pusang kalye)," Pruce said in an exclusive interview with ANC's The Boss.
Pruce said the two cats' names are Charlie and Lupin and now proudly own British passports. From Bangkok, Charlie and Lupin accompanied them to Madrid, then back to the UK, and are now delighted to be back in Southeast Asia.
Unfortunately, the two have yet to get their diplomatic license and become full-fledged feline diplomats.
"They're not yet accredited. But we're working on that.. in their capacity as diplocats. But they are happy to be here and enjoying themselves."
Pruce's 17 other cats are all also fed happily each lunchtime by ambassador's personal assistant who loves cats too. All the cats are healthy and vaccinated, he said.
"We did that in partnership with this fantastic animal charity CARA here in the Philippines."
It is not certain at this point if any of the McKinley cats have also indicated interest in a career in diplomacy.