April 16, 2026 — The man in-charge of securing the performance venue in last year’s April 26 Lapu-Lapu festival still remembers the tragedy as if it happened yesterday. James Villamayor leads the True North Hinirang Eagles Club, a community-based socio-civic organization that was tasked to secure Apl.de.ap’s arrival and performance inside the John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver. But half an hour after the Fil-Am hiphop artist’s performance, mayhem broke loose and cellphones began ringing inside the school building.
“Kasi naghihintay pa si Apl.de.ap ng service ng 30 minutes. Habang naghihintay nagpi-picture sa loob. Nag-photo-op sila”, recalled Villamayor and added, “Ngayon may mga tumawag na. Kasi may mga agila na naka-duty sa labas at naka-duty sa loob. (Apl.de.ap was still waiting for his transport service 30 minutes after the show. While waiting, they were taking pictures inside. They were having this photo-op. Then we got a call, because there were Eagle volunteers who were on duty outside as well as inside.).”
In what is now considered as the worst vehicle-ramming attack in Canada, 11 people were killed including a five-year old child on that cool spring evening. More than 30 other people were reported as seriously injured. The driver, identified by the authorities as Kai-Ji Adam Lo, has since been charged with eleven counts of second-degree murder and thirty-one counts of attempted murder.
According to Villamayor, safety and security preparations before the festival were thoroughly discussed and addressed. His group of 32 volunteers were assigned to secure the VIP entertainers and the school lot, which included the building and the school parking area. Red Hawk, a private security firm, meanwhile, was hired by the festival organizer Filipino BC to man the festival grounds outside the school complex and its outer perimeter.
“Yun ang ibinigay. Dahil hindi pa dumating and Red Hawk ‘nung umaga, (kami) ang nag-charge ng responsibility, the True North Hinirang Eagles Club” Villamayor explained and quickly added, “So ‘nung dumating na ang Red Hawk, nag-focus kami sa loob kasi marami ng tao. Tinulungan na rin namin ang Red Hawk kasi kokonti ang kanilang guard. Kung hindi kami nagkakamali, mga four o five (That’s what we were tasked with. Because Red Hawk was not there in the morning, the True North Hinirang Eagles Club were charged with that responsibility. So when Red Hawk arrived, we focused on indoor security because there was a huge crowd inside. But we also helped Red Hawk because they did not have enough guards. If we’re not mistaken, there were only four or five.).”
While the ratio between the festivalgoers and the safety volunteers might seem off at first glance, what was more noticeable was the absence of any police officer or marked police vehicles during the festival.
In a news briefing by the Vancouver Police Department at midnight, just a few hours after the attack, this writer specifically asked then acting police chief Steve Rai how many police officers were assigned to secure the event. Chief Rai, who appeared not to expect that question, failed to give a clear answer that evening but gave a prepared statement the following morning saying: “We determined through consultations with the City of Vancouver and festival organisers that dedicated police officers and heavy vehicle barricades will not be deployed at the festival site.”
John Lind who was severely injured in the attack is questioning this and has filed a class-action lawsuit against the city of Vancouver. According to the lawsuit, Filipino BC submitted its special permit application with “high” complexity level, but was downgraded as “low” complexity and was not forwarded anymore to a city committee for further risk abatement.
The True North Hinirang Eagles Club is social service organization and their programs include feeding the community.
Jason Asuncion, a safety and security professional with almost 40 years of experience covering Manila, Southeast Asia, and Vancouver, noted the importance of uniformed police officers at public events held outdoors.
“Siyempre, number one is police presence. (Of course, number one is police presence.) Number two, barricades. Kailangan lagi ng mga dumptruck diyan. Psychologically, deterrent ‘yan” (You always need to have dump trucks. Psychologically, that’s a deterrent.),” he said.
Asuncion’s specialty in the safety and security industry is securing public events like special gatherings of 50 to 100 people and big live concerts in public spaces or sports arenas numbering to the tens of thousands of attendees.
Asuncion pointed out that there are important lessons to be learned in the attack despite the degree of loss in this tragedy. One of these is having the right number of private security personnel and volunteer safety marshals because realistically it will be impossible for any police service to cover everything in a public event.
“So basically, the police are complementary to the private security and safety volunteers. They (security and volunteers) will do the hard work of covering the grounds. They can call down the police para hulihin ang nanggugulo because ang mga marshals or mga security guards hindi puwedeng mag-detain. (They can call down the police to arrest the troublemakers because the marshals or security guards are not allowed to detain anyone.).”
But safety is not limited to securing public events against criminal intent. Safety also covers the general physical well-being of everyone attending the public event. The scope includes knowledge of basic first aid or serious medical health cases, and skill in handling emergency situations like fire or earthquakes, and public disorder that may result in a stampede. Asuncion pointed out that preparations for these types of scenarios are paramount.
“So ito ang emergency exit kung sakaling lumindol, dito ang safe zone, dito banyo, dito ang first aid. Kung may napilay, kung may naaksidente, they know kung saan dadalhin. (So this is the emergency exit if there’s an earthquake, this is the safe zone, this is the washroom, this is the first aid. If someone sprained his ankle, or if there’s any accident, they know where to bring the victims.).”
Villamayor has reached the same conclusion and is now taking steps in improving his group’s knowledge and competence on emergency care by coordinating with another Filipino organization, the Philippine Nurses Association.
“Nagkaroon kami ng reflection sa nangyari at ‘yung mga plans sa mga susunod na mangyayari at sa susunod na event kung ano ang gagawin. Kaya nga po nag-request kami ng workshop sa PNA, sa Philippine Nurses Association na mag-review sa amin o magturo sa amin ng first-aid. (We reflected on what happened and outlined our plans for future events, what we should do. That’s why we requested a workshop from the PNA, the Philippine Nurses Association, to do a review or teach us about first-aid.).”
Villamayor believes that despite the painful experience brought by the tragedy, volunteerism and community service should not stop or even slow down. Instead, it should resist the impulse to quit and continue to push forward.
Villamayor’s Hinirang Eagles Club’ membership has been slowly increasing and currently has about 100 members. Villamayor sees this growth as a sign on the desire of many Filipino-Canadians to volunteer in the community.
“Bagama’t nangyari ‘yung tragedy, hindi tayo titigil sa pag-volunteer. Kundi, mag-cause ito ng aral o leksiyon sa atin. Maging motivation sa atin na patuloy tayong magserbisyo sa community na mas handa. Mas knowledgeable doon sa mga bagay na dapat natin matutunan. (Although the tragedy happened, we will not stop volunteering. Rather, this should serve as a lesson for all of us. It should motivate us to be better prepared in serving our community. We should have more knowledge about what is required from us.).”
For his part, Asuncion offers a parting shot to the community whether they are volunteering or attending a public event.
“I’m going to share the same advice I tell my kids: always be vigilant. That’s the only thing you can do which is, be vigilant. Pay attention to what’s happening around you. And don’t do anything stupid.”
For this story, we tried to get a statement from Lapu-Lapu festival organizer Filipino BC and its chair RJ Aquino, but have not received any feedback before the deadline.
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