Filipino students at McMaster leading event today to remember victims of Lapu-Lapu Day attack

Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News

· Posted: May 10, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 22 minutes ago

A gathering led by Filipino groups astatine McMaster University is aiming to honour the 11 radical killed successful Vancouver during the Lapu-Lapu Day lawsuit past month.

The groups began organizing after realizing determination was a request successful Hamilton for "a abstraction for america to link and cheque successful with however radical are, due to the fact that nary one's checking successful [on us]," said Anabelle Ragsag, a PhD campaigner astatine McMaster's School of Social Work.

The gathering takes place Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. within McMaster's Office of Community Engagement astatine 8 Mayfair Crescent.

It's being held precisely 2 weeks aft 11 radical were killed and dozens were injured connected April 26, when an SUV was driven into a crowded Lapu-Lapu Day festival.

Ragsag said she felt "selfish" astatine archetypal for feeling grief implicit the attack.

"I was feeling that I'm mourning and I americium aggravated and I consciousness conscionable successful a mode frightened for my daughter, adjacent if [she wasn't in contiguous danger]," she told CBC Hamilton.

She said erstwhile idiosyncratic called this feeling "secondary grief," her feelings started to click.

Five-year-old Katie Le was the youngest unfortunate of the onslaught on with her parents, Richard Le, 47, and Linh Hoang, 30.

Glitza Daniela Samper, her parent Glitza Maria Caicedo, and her father, Daniel Samper — a household from Colombia — were besides among those killed.

Fundraisers have been set up for each the victims, which besides see Maria Victoria Bjarnason, a parent visiting from the Philippines, Jendhel May Sico, Rizza Pagkanlungan, a "loving wife," and "devoted sister," Jenifer Darbellay, a Vancouver parent of two, and Kira Salim, a schoolhouse counsellor from Brazil.

The accused attacker, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.

• Read much astir the Lapu-Lapu Day onslaught victims.

A spot to 'check successful with 1 another'

Saturday's gathering, organized by Filipino McMaster social enactment students and faculty, the McMaster Filipino Network, and the Filipino McMaster Student Association, is called Tuloy po kayo — meaning "come in," successful the Tagalog language.

The lawsuit volition be the 2nd successful the metropolis wherever residents came unneurotic to mourn since April 26. A assemblage vigil, or Luksang Bayan, was held astatine Bayfront Park past Sunday.

Ragsag said this weekend's gathering aims for radical to beryllium capable to "check successful with 1 another" and portion it is open for everyone, it volition beryllium student-centred. 

"We truly wanted to make a abstraction that was centred for students and for younker successful general," said Jasmine Fox, a societal enactment pupil astatine McMaster and the erstwhile co-president of the university's Filipino pupil association.

She said they wanted to marque abstraction for students from Mohawk College arsenic good arsenic precocious schools, in an accessible place that besides felt safe.

Melissa Cortez, who's a Master of Social Work pupil astatine McMaster, said Filipino people in Canada are "very underrepresented."

"This gathering is simply a mode for america to admit the pains that we are collectively feeling wrong spaces that person been designed to minimize our visibility oregon minimize our voices," she said.

She said she feels "a batch of sadness" astir the Lapu-Lapu Day attack. She feels conflicted, seeing however the calamity has brought the assemblage together, but besides that determination has been a "lack of care" from organizations and institutions. 

There are astir 11,730 Filipino people in Hamilton arsenic per the 2021 census, making them the 4th largest disposable number successful the city.

Fox said the value of the attack's aftermath was enactment connected the assemblage that's trying to mourn.

"Filipinos are ever described arsenic resilient … everyone's conscionable like, 'oh, we'll bounce back, it'll beryllium okay,' but we're not taking the clip to really consciousness retired our emotions," she said.

WATCH | More victims killed successful Lapu-Lapu festival onslaught identified

What Lapu-Lapu Day was expected to be

Cortez said festivals similar Lapu-Lapu Day successful Vancouver are a accidental for second-generation Filipinos similar her to reconnect with their culture. 

"I person precise small household successful Canada. I person precise small nonstop transportation to the Philippines," she said. "These spaces person been for reconnecting and learning and conscionable gathering communities."

Fox said Lapu-Lapu was an Indigenous humanities fig of anti-colonization, a time to commemorate him, connected April 27, was proclaimed successful B.C. successful 2023.

"This lawsuit was meant to observe him and what helium represents successful the bigger Filipino discourse of resilience, of warring for our rights, warring for our culture, warring Filipino indignity," she said.

To person the onslaught hap connected that time feels similar "our full past has been tainted," said Fox.

"[The event] was fun, it was loud, it was connected a beauteous day. And now, alternatively than knowing its discourse for what it was expected to beryllium for … radical present are going to subordinate it with this horrific tragedy."