September 16, 2025 – Several months have passed since the senseless tragedy that struck the Lapu-Lapu Filipino Street Festival in Vancouver on April 26, 2025. What should have been a joyful celebration of culture and community turned into a day of unimaginable grief when an SUV plowed into the crowd, taking 11 lives and injuring dozens more.
We thought such violence could never reach us here in Canada, least of all within the Filipino community. But it did. In the wake of such sorrow, we are reminded that tragedy spares no one.
What has endured is our strength in unity. Across provinces and cities, Filipinos, together with Canadians alongside us, came together in grief, compassion, and solidarity. We stand with the community in Vancouver, holding them in prayer, love, and support.
The following reflections from fellow Filipino Manitobans represent Manitoba’s Filipino community in this collective moment of mourning and healing.
Manitobans attending a vigil at the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba. Photo by Charles Venzon.
Hon. Malaya Marcelino, Minister of Labour and Immigration of Manitoba
The terrible news and images reached us early Sunday morning. Grief surfaced immediately in church services, impromptu prayer circles, including one in the Jeepney Filipino restaurant parking lot (Inkster Ave), and a vigil at the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba (PCCM) three days later.
Soon after, the Filipino community mobilized to support those affected. On May 11, the Manitoba Government announced matching community fundraising up to $50,000. Our community partnered with the Jewish community to raise $100,000 for victims. Together with Gustavo Zentner, Vice President of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, we made appeals on Filipino radio (CKJS) and newspaper (Pilipino Express), at churches and synagogues, community events, and through private business appeals.
Outdoor Filipino festivals in Winnipeg continued this spring and summer with stronger security, more police presence, and re-imagined alternatives to street parades. June Heritage Month celebrations in smaller rural areas remained unchanged.
As a cabinet minister of Filipino descent, the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy changed me profoundly. Many Filipino organizations in Manitoba are volunteer-run, with no permanent staff, no charitable status, and limited capacity. When the tragedy hit Vancouver, the Jewish Federation of Vancouver stepped in, providing staff, their charitable number, and assistance organizing fundraising with B.C. Filipino groups.
One of my main goals now is to help build institutional capacity for our Filipino organizations. With over 100,000 Filipinos in Manitoba, long-held community goals, like a Filipino personal care home, childcare centre, and performing arts and athletics spaces, can be realized for all Manitobans. During June’s Filipino Heritage Month, our NDP government announced a $900,000 grant to three Filipino organizations (Philippine Heritage Council of Manitoba, PCCM, and the Mabuhay District) to conduct a feasibility study for community capital projects. The tragedy galvanized our community in Manitoba to support our fellow Filipinos in B.C. and underscored the urgency to ensure our organizations have strong, enduring capacity to withstand crises and build upon community goals.
Jelynn Dela Cruz, MLA for Radisson
On April 26, the Manitoba Filipino community was celebrating at The Forks Market in Winnipeg for the launch of the Mabuhay District’s membership drive. That night was filled with joy and pride, a reminder that we are what our ancestors prayed for.
But within hours, tragedy struck in Vancouver, and our joy gave way to sorrow. Though miles away, grief reached us instantly through social media and phone calls. For my family, it became personal when close family friends and their infant were among the injured.
Encouraged by constituents, I helped organize a space for collective mourning. The PCCM opened its doors three days later. Filipino businesses and artists came together, donating food, candles, music, and time, so we could grieve as one.
That evening, candles lit up tear-stained faces, and bayanihan pulsed through every embrace and quiet word of comfort. We are a people who have carried much yet refuse to settle for less than our community deserves. That night, we lived kapwa, carrying each other’s grief and making a promise: we will not let go of one another, no matter how heavy the load.
Paul Ong, Educator, Singer, and Philanthropist
The tragedy in Vancouver deeply affected Filipino Canadians nationwide. Beyond the grief, it forced us to confront trauma and the importance of mental health. For many, it reopened old wounds and unacknowledged pain.
Filipino values like kapwa and bayanihan sustain us in times of crisis, yet true healing requires more. It means creating safe spaces for vulnerability, encouraging open conversations, and challenging the silence imposed by hiya. While hiya can foster respect, it can also stifle honesty, teaching us to hide pain to appear strong. Healing demands recognizing vulnerability as strength.
This tragedy also reminds us that kapwa is not a single story. It is a tapestry of many voices, especially those often unheard. We must focus on compassion, empathy, and the needs of victims’ families.
By embracing authenticity and servanthood, we build a community where healing grows naturally, reminding everyone they are never alone.
Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan, Physician, Professor, Former MP and Cabinet Minister
When I first saw the breaking news on April 26, I felt anguish and outrage. Eleven lives were lost and dozens more injured. I could not help but ask what more could have been done to prevent this.
Beyond physical injuries, psychological trauma runs deep. Survivors and witnesses now face fear, insecurity, and long-lasting emotional scars. Healing requires more than medical care; it demands renewed human connection, therapy, and the embrace of community.
Filipino values of kapwa and bayanihan become therapeutic. Both are rooted in interconnectedness, recognizing that healing happens together. This was reflected when Prime Minister Mark Carney laid flowers at the memorial and emphasized bayanihan as the guiding spirit in difficult times.
Messages of condolence are important, but equally vital is the call for mental health specialists to help survivors process trauma. Acts of solidarity, whether fundraisers, vigils, prayers, or words of comfort, all help re-establish these human connections.
Over decades, I have seen Canadians admire the Filipino spirit of solidarity. In this tragedy, that spirit shines again. Each act of bayanihan inspires hope and reaffirms our pride as Filipino Canadians.
Reflection
The Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy will remain a painful memory, but it has also revealed the depth of our shared strength. Through kapwa and bayanihan, we transform grief into compassion and solidarity. Together, we mourn. Together, we heal. And together, we carry forward the promise that no one in our community ever walks alone.
About the Author
Emmie Joaquin is editor-in-chief of Pilipino Express, Winnipeg’s leading Filipino news magazine, and a recipient of four distinguished honors: the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medals (Gold, Diamond, Platinum) and the King Charles III Coronation Medal, recognizing her contributions to media and community service. She earned her degree in broadcast communication from the University of the Philippines and worked in media and public relations before immigrating to Canada in 1988. In 1989, Emmie produced and co-hosted Good Morning Philippines, Canada’s first Filipino weekday morning-drive radio program, later launching Manila Sound and a Saturday show on CKJS Radio, serving Winnipeg’s Filipino community before the digital era. Today, she leads Pilipino Express and is a Financial Advisor with W.P.G.-The Wealth Planning Group.
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