Manitoba Filipino communities 'unite as 1' at vigil mourning 11 killed in Vancouver festival attack

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 12:51 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

More than 300 radical packed into a Winnipeg auditorium connected Tuesday nighttime to honour the 11 radical killed and dozens injured during the onslaught connected the Lapu-Lapu Day festival successful Vancouver past weekend. 

The Philippine emblem extracurricular Philippine-Canadian Centre of Manitoba successful Winnipeg was flying astatine fractional mast arsenic assemblage members arrived for the 7 p.m. event. 

Radisson MLA Jelynn Dela Cruz, whose bureau organized the event, said the calamity is simply a "shared hurt" for members of the Filipino assemblage crossed Canada. 

"There are besides radical acold beyond the walls of this country who stock successful our grief, nationwide, crossed the seas," she said.

"We're each successful this together."

A achromatic SUV drove into the thoroughfare festival assemblage arsenic the lawsuit was winding down astir 8 p.m. PT connected Saturday, sidesplitting 11 radical and injuring dozens. A Vancouver antheral is present facing aggregate second-degree execution charges successful narration to the attack. 

Winnipeg is location to the largest per capita Filipino colonisation successful Canada, Dela Cruz said, calling the metropolis a "year-long Filipino festival."

She said the wounded caused by the Vancouver onslaught is profoundly felt here.

"The full assemblage feels that harm due to the fact that we are truthful integrated successful the model and the cloth of this province," Dela Cruz said. 

Winnipeggers disquieted for loved ones successful Vancouver 

At the vigil, assemblage members spoke to the heavy connections wrong the Filipino diaspora crossed Canada. 

Bayani Marcelino told CBC quality helium has household surviving successful Vancouver, calling them to cheque successful arsenic soon arsenic helium heard astir the attack. He said they had planned to be the festival, but thankfully didn't spell connected Saturday.  

Still, helium said helium couldn't slumber days aft the onslaught due to the fact that the radical impacted "are each family."

"They are each Filipino and we are Filipino, truthful we person to springiness our enactment and our condolences to those families," Marcelino said.  

Dela Cruz said a household friend, who had precocious moved from Winnipeg to Vancouver, was injured successful the attack. 

"The begetter has stabilized present and the two-year-old lad is inactive successful the ICU," Dela Cruz said of her loved ones, adding a GoFundMe run has helped screen flights costs for household and friends visiting the lad successful hospital. 

As of Tuesday morning, much than $1.5 cardinal had been raised for the victims and their families crossed aggregate online fundraising platforms. 

Winnipeg mourners 'unite arsenic one'  

At the Keewatin Street centre, hundreds of radical from crossed Winnipeg's divers communities showed up to wage their respects. 

After Muslim, Sikh, Jewish and Christian spiritual leaders offered prayers and words of support, mourners were invited to attack a array astatine the beforehand of the room, lined with candles and framed pictures of those who died successful Vancouver. 

As the procession progressed forward, violinist Paolo Camus repeatedly played Hindi Kita Malilimutan — which means "I volition ne'er hide you" successful Tagalog — by Basil Valdez. 

Evo Paguio was lasting on the broadside of the auditorium — each spot successful the country was afloat —- singing on to the song, which helium said reminds him of his precocious mother. 

"I privation to springiness my enactment to them, the families that mislaid their mother, father, kids … I privation I could hug them and springiness my regards to them," helium said. 

"Every clip that calamity happens, we unite arsenic one," Paguio said.