WHO WE ARE
We are a group of Canadian Filipinos passionate about raising the profile of Filipinos in Canada by providing news and views about Canadian Filipino communities across the country.

WHY CANADIAN FILIPINO NET
The number of Canadians of Filipino ancestry is approaching a million. The Philippines has become the top source country for recent immigrants to Canada. Since the first wave of Filipino migrants came in the mid-1960s, the community has grown to include a second generation of young adults, who were born in the Philippines and raised in Canada, and a fast growing third generation, born and raised in Canada. Canadian Filipino communities are found not only in big cities but also in small towns. Through this website, we want to share stories and engage in a dialogue among Canadian Filipinos all over the country and across generations. With this information sharing, we hope to start a buzz amongst and about Canadian Filipinos, inspiring our community to take its rightful place in Canadian society.

Why Canadian Filipino, not Filipino Canadian? Our goal is to promote Canadian engagement by Filipinos, and for Filipinos to make an impact in Canada.

OUR VISION
A self-aware and connected Filipino community fully engaged in Canadian society.

OUR MISSION
To inform, engage and facilitate inter-actions among Canadian Filipinos coast to coast, and Canadians in general.

 OUR MANDATE
To provide a platform for the different voices in a nationwide dialogue about Canadian Filipino issues, needs, views, activities and contributions to Canadian progress and prosperity. In addition, to share this information with other Canadians in order to promote understanding and collaboration among Canada’s diverse population.

HOW WE OPERATE
Canadian Filipino Net is owned, managed, and operated by the Maple Bamboo Network Society, a non-profit society with the purpose of fully engaging Canadian Filipinos in Canadian society. We are all volunteers.

PLEASE CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Maple Bamboo Network Society, publisher of this website. While an endeavor is made to keep the information up to date and correct, neither the Society nor any person acting on behalf of the Society, makes any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

In no event will the Society be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with the use of this website.

Through this website you may link to other websites which are not under the control of Maple Bamboo Network Society. The Society has no control over the nature, content and availability of such websites. The inclusion of any links does not imply a recommendation or endorsement of the views expressed within the said websites.

The Maple Bamboo Network Society shall make reasonable efforts to keep the website up and running smoothly, but takes no responsibility for the website being unavailable.

The Canadian Filipino Net is owned, managed, and operated by the Maple Bamboo Network Society, a non-profit society powered by 100% volunteers. This digital publication has been made possible through the support of Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Filipino community. Thank you for your generosity.

CanadianFilipino.ca is a platform for diverse voices and perspectives. We welcome the submission of news, feature stories, and commentaries. Submissions must include the name of the author. We do not accept anonymous offers. The use of pseudonyms is not allowed. We want to get to know you. We look forward to building a long-term relationship with you. Please tell us a bit about yourself. CanadianFilipino.ca reserves the right to edit, shorten, or refuse any contribution.

LENGTH
Contributions should be around 400 words.

IMAGE
Contributors are encouraged to provide an image or photograph relevant to the article, which is not subject to copyright.

SPELLING
Use Canadian spellings (labour, behaviour, flavour, neighbour)

NUMBERS
Spell out numbers under ten. Use figures for those 10 and above.

DATES AND TIMES
No st, nd, rd, or th on numbers in dates: February 1, not February 1st.
No :00 for exact hours. Use a.m. and p.m. (The call began at 11 a.m. Not 11:00 a.m., not 11 AM)

ITALICS
Use italics for titles of books, poems, plays, periodicals and newspapers, published speeches, musical works, movies, television and radio programs, works of visual art, names of ships, aircraft, space craft and trains, and foreign words and phrases. (Swan Lake, Mona Lisa, New York Times).

QUOTATIONS
Use double quotation marks for quotes.

 IDENTIFICATION OF SOURCES
The use of anonymous sources is not allowed. People speaking in the article should be properly identified by their full name and description.

PLEASE CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION

Thank you for your interest in supporting CFN.

As you all know, CFN is a community website run by an all-volunteer crew of editorial board, technical crew, writers and contributors across Canada with the goal of highlighting the issues, culture and profile of Filipinos in Canada in a digital platform. In its first year alone, the website had reached 1 million hits and garnered more than 100,000 visitors. We need your help to ensure that Canadian Filipino stories are continued to be published through CFN’s digital platform. Click on the donate button now. Any amount of donation is greatly appreciated. Once your online donation is processed, you will receive an electronic receipt via email. Your financial gifts will directly support our mandate and the maintenance of the website to make the voice of Canadian Filipinos resonate strong and deep from coast to coast.

Follow us in Facebook and Twitter to receive updates on CFN’s latest news and stories.

We thank you in advance for your support. Should you have any questions, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Board of the Maple Bamboo Network Society

Publisher of Canadian Filipino Net

The CanadianFilipino.Net (CFNet) Team 

 President/CEO of Maple Bamboo Network Society (MBNS), and founding Editor of CanadianFilipino.Net

 Prod Laquian is professor emeritus of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia. He was a former director of the UBC Centre for Human Settlements. After retiring from the university in 2000, Laquian served as acting director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s special program in urban and regional studies in Cambridge. He was also resident scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, DC, a consultant at the Asian Development Bank in China, and a coordinator for a study of basic urban services in seven hundred cities and towns in sixteen Asia-Pacific countries, which was funded by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) in Barcelona, Spain. Laquian has a BA degree in public administration, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines and a PhD in political science with a major in urban studies from MIT. He has authored twenty books and numerous articles on urban planning, governance, and delivery of urban infrastructure and services (water, sewerage, transport, sustainable energy, solid waste management, and affordable housing).

Vice-President and Director of MBNS, and former editor-in-chief of CanadianFilipino.Net

 Eleanor R. Laquian has written four bestselling books and co-authored four others with her husband, Prod Laquian. Over ten years, she served in various capacities at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research: as manager of administration and programs, editor and chair of the publications committee, and primary researcher of the Asian Immigration to Canada project. She did her BA degree in journalism at Maryknoll College in the Philippines, a master’s degree in public administration at the University of the Philippines, and postgraduate studies at the School of Public Communications at Boston University in the US. Before coming to Canada, she worked with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, and the UN Information Center. She was a researcher and bureau manager of The New York Times in Beijing, China from 1984 to 1990. She was the first and only Filipino to conduct a nationwide survey of Filipinos in Canada, in 1972, for her master’s thesis at UP. It was published as A Study of Filipino Immigrants in Canada, 1952–1972. She updated the survey in 2005 for a book, co-authored with her husband Prod: Seeking a Better Life Abroad: A Study of Filipinos in Canada, 1957–2007, published by Anvil Publishing in Manila. She and Prod have visited over a hundred countries for work and pleasure. They immigrated to Canada in 1969. 

Director of MBNS responsible for Fundraising and Fund Development, and Social Media Director of CanadianFilipino.Net

 Emmy Buccat is a donor relations professional at the University of British Columbia’s Development and Alumni Engagement Office. She supports the communications, stewardship, and events team in keeping donors informed, involved, and engaged. She moved to Canada in 2008, with ten years of experience in marketing communications, public relations, and event management for brands Fuji Xerox and Speedo. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Santo Tomas, Asia’s oldest university, a certificate in integrated marketing strategy from UBC’s Sauder School of Business, and an associate certificate in fundraising management from BCIT. 

Advisor to the MBNS board
Eleanor Guerrero-Campbell is a city planner, community champion, and writer. She came to Canada in 1977 with a degree in English and Comparative Literature, and a Masters's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of the Philippines. She went on to work as a planner manager in Edmonton in Alberta, and Surrey, Richmond and Vancouver in British Columbia. Guerrero-Campbell co-founded the Multicultural Helping House Society, where, as executive director, she established programs to assist newcomers in Canada. As chief executive of the Minerva Foundation for B.C. Women, she managed leadership programs for women in various stages of their careers. She currently co-convenes the City of Vancouver's Immigrant Partnership Program Committee on Access to Services. Her first novel Stumbling Through Paradise: A Feast of Mercy for Manuel del Mundo depicts the struggles of a Filipino family's immigrant journey in Canada through three generations. Eleanor is a recipient of many awards including the Vancouver Civic Merit Award (the only Canadian Filipino to receive this award thus far) and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service.
More details about Eleanor and her novel can be seen at www.eleanorguerrerocampbell.com

Honorary Legal Counsel
Melissa Briones, a licensed attorney in British Columbia and the Philippines, brings over several years of Wills and Estates, Family Law, and Real Estate experience, as well as a decade of commercial law expertise. She also holds a CPHR designation. As head of Northam Law Corporation in Vancouver, her leadership extended to roles in the Rotary Club of Vancouver Mountainview, Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, Philippines Canada Trade Council, the UP Alumni Association in BC, and she was previously the editor-in-chief of the Philippine Canadian Inquirer. Actively engaged in professional associations, she emphasizes networking and dialogue. Her involvement in committees like the OMNI Pacific Council and RCMP’s Commanding Officer Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee underscores her commitment to both the legal profession and the communities she serves.

MBNS founding member, director, and current Editor of CanadianFilipino.Net

Carlito Pablo iin addition to being a founding member of the Board of Maple Bamboo Network Society, was a staff writer with Canada's biggest urban weekly, the Georgia Straight paper of Vancouver from 2006 to 2022. He has also been editorial consultant for Metro Vancouver-based Filipino community newspaper, Philippine Asian News Today, since 2005. He was a national reporter with the Philippine Daily Inquirer before coming to Canada in 2005. He started as a journalist for Ang Pahayagang Malaya in the Philippines.

Managing Editor
Rachel Ramos-Reid started writing for magazines and newspapers when she was still a junior in the University of the Philippines’ communications degree program, majoring in journalism. She continued to write in a public relations/corporate communications capacity for private and government offices until moving out of the country in 1997 to work as programme officer for the arts and culture branch of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization in Bangkok, Thailand. At the end of her term, she immigrated to Canada in 2000 and again searched for new beginnings. She is a governance professional at a small community college on Vancouver Island.

Webmaster

Arlene Wright  is an independent website designer. She has developed sites for various companies over the last ten years. She is responsible for the CFNet’s new look for 2022, which makes the website more accessible to mobile device users.

Social media and marketing manager

Ma. Yvette Corpuz Lucas is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with a comprehensive background in brand and product management, events, market intelligence and marketing communications. She graduated with a degree in communications from the University of the Philippines before obtaining a Masters in Business Administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. 

 Yvette has written numerous articles on social, labour and telecommunications, led major website redesigns, and crafted social media strategies for corporates and nonprofits. She is a driven events manager who has orchestrated high-profile events that contributed to increased revenues and memberships. 

Yvette moved to Canada in 2021, completed additional diplomas in International Business Management and Supply Chain Management, and currently plays a key role at Northam Law Corporation in Vancouver, BC, where she contributes to the firm's promotional efforts and ensures smooth office operations.

 
Jo Leuterio Flac, a graduate of the University of the Philippines, came to Canada to attend the University of Toronto’s graduate school. She adores her family, which includes seven grandchildren, and loves books, food, and travel. A regular contributor, she is in charge of lifestyle trends for CFNet.

 Dr. Mike Rayel —author, entrepreneur, and psychiatrist—has helped many individuals and families with their mental health and family issues. Aside from his clinical practice, he has dedicated his time to writing articles and books, such as the Shrink series, publishing webinars on mental health and emotional intelligence, and creating educational games and products to promote emotional health. Certified in psychiatry, with a sub-specialty in geriatric psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine, he has written a number of psychiatry review books designed for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology certification examination. He loves the great outdoors, sports, music, politics, and photography. For details about Dr. Rayel, visit DrRayel.com

 

Mary Ann Reyes-Mandap has over three decades of experience in journalism, public relations and corporate communications work, and was a staff member and writer for Mr. & Ms. Magazine, Malaya, and Free Press in the Philippines. While living in San Francisco in 2003-2007, she worked as Associate Editor of Philippine News, the oldest and most widely circulated Filipino newspaper in the United States, and as Editor of the Filipino Insider Magazine. In Vancouver, she is associate editor of Dahong Pilipino and had worked as community news editor of Philippine Canadian Inquirer. She has also authored a book, the soon-to-be published Lakbay: Immigrant Seniors Find Their True North. She took up Bachelor of Arts in Communications (major in Journalism) and Master of Arts in Asian Studies from the University of the Philippines (Diliman), and was granted scholarships by the Japan Foundation and the Local Scholarship Program of the Philippine Civil Service Commission. She likewise earned the California Health Journalism Fellowship from the Annenberg School, University of Southern California.

 
Adelaida Lacaba-Bago, Ph.D. is a retired professor of education at De La Salle University in the Philippines where she handled courses in the graduate programs. She has published four books on curriculum development, supervision of instruction, social dimensions of Philippine education and the most recent one, Thesis Writing with Confidence.

A youth program coordinator at the Multicultural Helping House Society in Vancouver, BC in 2006-2007, Maria Veronica "Vernie" G. Caparas wrote a syndicated column for three bilingual newspapers that were circulated in the West Coast. Her articles focused mainly on South Asian newcomer-youth and their families. Vernie moved to Edmonton where she taught ESL at the University of Alberta and eventually joined the Alberta Children and Youth Services (aka Social Services or Children Services). Her curiosity on the plight of skilled immigrants from Canada’s top three source countries (China, India, and the Philippines) lead her to a research journey that - through her Critical Theory lens - uncovered plots of Canada’s undelivered promises; international immigrants, however, successfully navigate their way around social mazes and do their home countries proud.

Veronica finished her PhD in Educational Policy Studies (Theoretical, Cultural, and International Studies in Education) at the University of Alberta on a full SSHRC-Bombardier scholarship, Presidential Prize of Distinction, and GRA Rice Scholarship in Communications. She taught for more than two decades at the University of the Philippines Diliman where she retired with the rank of Professor.

Dulce Amba Cuencais, a lawyer in British Columbia was also admitted to the Philippine Bar prior to immigrating to Canada in 1996. She has worked in the field of human rights and employment and labour law since 2006, travelling across BC and the Yukon, representing workers and human rights complainants. She is a grateful immigrant who got her first job in Canada in 1996 by volunteering. She is passionate about civic engagement and contributing to the community. She served as trustee of the Richmond Public Library Board for eight years, and was a member of the board of Richmond Cares Richmond Gives. She also volunteers with Access Pro Bono. She believes that volunteerism completes any immigrant's integration in the community and unites people from diverse backgrounds to work toward a common goal.

Meyen “Marilynn” Quigley has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of the Philippines. In Victoria, she has worked for BC public services and in programs for persons with mental health and substance abuse issues and persons experiencing homelessness. She has a master's degree in intercultural administration from the School for International Training in Vermont and a graduate certificate in professional communications management from Royal Roads University.

Leonora (Nora) Angeles is cross appointed faculty at the University of British Columbia School of Community and Regional Planning and Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. She taught at Queen's University, where she did her doctoral studies, University of Regina, and University of Saskatchewan before moving to Vancouver. She was president of the National Pilipino Canadian Cultural Centre for 2020, vice president of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of BC, and member of the Company Erasga Dance board of directors and Critical Asian Studies editorial advisory board. She also helped convene the Daloy-Puso Youth Network and the Filipino-Canadian Futures: Education, Leadership and Capacity-Building.

Mel Tobias was a movie critic, lifestyle and entertainment editor, author, foreign correspondent, broadcaster, amateur actor, festivalier, impresario for the arts, proprietor of a vintage collectibles boutique, frustrated saloon singer, gourmet who knew where all the good eating places were, an avid collector of esoteric and nostalgia recordings and books, and a fundraiser for charitable causes. He passed away in October 2017.

 Leonardo B. Cunanan was the founding editor of Dahong Pilipino, the only Filipino-Canadian community and business directory in Canada. Started in 1991, it is the only such directory that has published annually for almost thirty years. When Cunanan became an Immigration and Refugee Board member (1997–2005), his son Leo Jr. took over the publication, but he remained editor. He passed away in  June 2022.  In keeping with the technological advances of the time, Leo Jr. transformed the directory in 2011 from a traditional print publication to a modern digital directory but continues to distribute printed copies to advertisers ( DahongPilipino.ca). 

Emmie Joaquin and colleagues Rey-ar Reyes and Paul Morrow established The Pilipino Express, Inc., and began publishing the Pilipino Express News Magazine in Winnipeg. Joaquin is currently the company’s president and the news magazine’s editor-in-chief. Joaquin was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for media and community service. She earned her degree in broadcast communication from the University of the Philippines. She worked in media and public relations before immigrating to Canada in 1988. In Winnipeg, Joaquin produced and co-hosted the daily morning drive-time show Good Morning Philippines on CKJS Radio 810 AM. She also produced and hosted the daily weekday afternoon show Manila Sound and the Saturday show Tunog Pinoy Pang Sabado. After almost fifteen years in radio broadcasting, Emmie left CKJS in December 2003 to serve as special assistant for communications for then federal minister of Western economic diversification, Dr. Rey Pagtakhan. She had a brief stint as executive assistant to deputy mayor and councillor Mike Pagtakhan on the City Council of Winnipeg. 

Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan, PC, OM, LLD, ScD, MD, MSc, is a retired lung specialist, professor of child health, author of articles and chapters in medical journals and textbooks, former health critic, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, cabinet minister as Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development. He graduated from the University of the Philippines, did postgraduate training and studies at the children’s hospitals of Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and spent a sabbatical year as visiting professor at the University of Arizona Medical Center. In June 2003, he spoke on “The Global Threat of Infectious Diseases” at the G-8 Science Ministers/Advisors Carnegie Group Meeting in Berlin. His ongoing series on the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in February 2020, is published by Pilipino Express in Manitoba and by CanadianFilipino.Net in BC.

Joe Zagala is an active participant in Greater Toronto’s Filipino community. He is a past president of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (Toronto), former vice president of the Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre, a former (and the only Asian) director of the Riverwood Conservancy, and one of the original organizers and a past presidents of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Toronto. He is a holder of chemical engineering degree and a business administration degree from the University of the Philippines. He has held high positions at large corporations in Canada, including as vice president for global business at CipherSoft, Inc. He is managing director of Lily Framarc Management Consultants, based in Mississauga, Ontario.

Rose Tijam lives in Toronto. She is a founding member of the Philippine Press Club of Ontario and served a second term as president of the club in 2016. She is a former president of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association Toronto. She was associate editor of two community publications. She worked for twenty-five years at a social work setting for women and continues to do so on a part-time basis at a crisis line service for women. She graduated from the University of the Philippines and has a master’s degree in communications. She speaks Spanish and French.


 

Carissa Duenas moved to Canada in 2006, leaving behind a career in the management technology consulting space. She pursued her master’s in business administration at Queen’s University in 2008 and has since worked in various finance and marketing positions for companies based in Toronto, Manila, and Hong Kong. Despite being rooted in the corporate world, she has always maintained a passion for writing. She writes essays in her spare time that delve into everyday life experiences. Her work has been published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Globe and Mail. More of her writing pieces can be found at CarissaDuenas.com. She hopes to complete her book of personal essays soon.

 Jaime A. FlorCruz is a veteran China-watcher and foreign correspondent in China. He was CNN’s Beijing bureau chief and correspondent, (2001–2014), TIME magazine’s Beijing bureau chief and correspondent (1982–2000) and Newsweek’s Beijing reporter (1981). Twice he served concurrently as the China chairman of the Fortune Global Forum, a meeting of global business and political leaders in Beijing in 2005 and in 2013 in Chengdu. In 2017, he again served as China chairman of the Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou. He was considered the dean of the foreign press corps in Beijing, having been the longest-serving foreign correspondent in China until his retirement in 2015. He was a two-term president of the four-hundred-member Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (1988–90 and 1996–99). He is the founding president of the Peking University International Students’ Alumni Association (2010–present). In November 2017, he was elected for a four-year term as one of the vice chairs of the Peking University Alumni Association, the first-ever foreign alumnus elected to the position. He is the co-author of Massacre at Beijing (Warner Books, 1989), a book about the crackdown in Tiananmen Square and Not On Our Watch (2012), a book about campus journalists during the martial law years in the Philippines. He is fluent in English, Filipino, and Mandarin Chinese. He has retired and now lives in Manila.

 Ellen T. Tordesillas is trustee and writer for VERA Files (VeraFiles.org), a group that undertakes in-depth reporting on current issues and does fact-checking to fight disinformation. She writes opinion columns that appear in Malaya Business Insight, ABS-CBN online and VERA Files. As a reporter, she covered education, health and science, the PCGG and foreign affairs beats, before she was assigned to cover politics. She has covered all Philippine elections since the 1986 snap elections that triggered the ousting of Ferdinand Marcos. She continues to watch closely anything relevant to the Filipino people..

Manolo Abella, a Filipino economist, was formerly the director of the International Migration Programme of the International Labor Office based in Geneva and a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Migration Policy and Society at the University of Oxford. He also served on the board of the Migrating out of Poverty Programme of Sussex University. He has been actively involved in international efforts to develop a multilateral framework for the management of labour migration and spent many years writing, speaking, and rendering advice to governments on policies and best practices. He heads the working group that developed, under the World Bank and the ILO’s auspices, the methodology for measuring what workers pay to migrate, which is envisaged for inclusion as one of UN’s Millennium Development Goals. He now lives in Vancouver, BC.