October 1, 2025 — Canada is standing with the Philippines against China in a diplomatic row over a chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea.

[Ed’s Note: Dr. Rey Pagtakhan, a retired medical professor and lung specialist from the University of Manitoba and Winnipeg Children’s Hospital (1971-1988) and a former Member of  Parliament (1988-2004) and cabinet minister – a historic first for a Canadian Filipino – is widely published in medical journals and textbook chapters and in community newspapers. This Commentary is from his column, Medisina at Politika, published in Winnipeg-based Pilipino Express.] 

October 1, 2025 -  Canadian Filipino dance artist Alvin Erasga Tolentino leads Co.ERASGA’s production of Eternal Gestures, a trilogy of solo works by Indigenous Coast Salish-based choreographers Margaret Grenier, Starr Muranko and Michelle Olson on October 9 and 10 at the Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver. 

October 1, 2025 -  Starting on October 9, Lasa ng Imperyo  will be on stage at Presentation House Theatre.  Presented by NPC3 in partnership with Rice and Beans, a Vancouver-based theatre company, this adaptation of Jovanni Sy’s A Taste of Empire, performed in Tagalog with English surtitles, was adapted, translated and performed by Carmela Sison.   Surtitles use projection equipment and software (like Captitles) to display live text synced to a performance.

October 1, 2025 – Bayanihan (collective or community care and support) is a valued tradition among Filipinos. In Philippine villages, its spirit draws farmers to join hands and help each other plow the fields, plant and harvest rice, maintain irrigation canals, or move a house. It inspires urban dwellers to get together and volunteer to patrol the neighborhood to keep peace and order or fight fires.

September 16, 2025 — An interfaith movement in Canada says that the prosecution of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court is a “historic opportunity to affirm the primacy of human rights and the rule of law”.

September 16, 2025 — They came as temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in Canada, and many of them have stayed for good.

[Editor’s Note: Dr. Pagtakhan – a retired medical professor from the University of Manitoba and former Parliamentary Secretary to former Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Minister of Western Economic Diversification in former Prime Minister Paul Martin’s cabinet – served in Parliament from 1988 to 2004. This Commentary is from his column, Medisina at Politika, published in Pilipino Express.] 

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.

September 1, 2025 — Still living with your oldies?

September 1, 2025 — The best cure for winter blues is a 10-day visit to sunny Philippines.  Sponsored by the Philippine Foreign Service Posts in Canada, namely, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, together with the Philippine Department of Tourism. the Philippine Ambassador to Canada, Hon. Jose Victor V. Chan-Gonzaga, along with the Philippine Consuls General in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary will be joining this tour. 

September 1, 2025 - Six not-for-profit groups in the Philippines will receive grants from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) this year. The CFLI is a competitive grants program run by the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines that provides direct financial support for small-scale, high impact projects that promote inclusive and accountable governance in areas such as human rights, gender equality, and climate resilience.

September 1, 2025 — There are no longer bouquets of flowers, rows of candles, and handwritten notes at the fence of the John Oliver Secondary School along East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street– the makeshift memorial in the aftermath of the tragedy that struck the Lapu-Lapu festival in Vancouver on April 26, 2025. 

August 16, 2025 — Canadian Filipinos who voted for Liberal Mark Carney as Canada’s prime minister on April 29 now have 10 reasons to rejoice as PM Carney marks his 100 days in office this month.

August 16, 2025 — Canadian labour unions are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to halt further military cooperation with the Philippines.