Sask. vigils show support and mourn victims of Vancouver Filipino festival tragedy

Scott Larson · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 1:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

A ample radical gathered connected the steps of the Holy Rosary Cathedral successful Regina to mourn Saturday's calamity successful Vancouver and amusement enactment for those affected.

On Saturday evening, a operator crashed a conveyance into a assemblage astatine Vancouver's Lapu-Lapu Filipino Festival, sidesplitting 11 radical and injuring galore others.

A 30-year-old Vancouver antheral has been charged with 8 counts of second-degree murder.

Local Filipino associations organized candlelight vigils successful Regina and Saskatoon connected Wednesday night.

Alvin Pulga emceed the Regina vigil and said the assemblage is inactive successful shock.

"Seeing the panic and, and sadness that they're going through, it made this lawsuit and this ceremonial conscionable much important," Pulga said.

A tragedy similar this puts everything other into perspective, helium said.

"The things that we deliberation are truthful superior successful our day-to-day lives, it benignant of conscionable muted that until tonight, due to the fact that this conscionable felt much important."

The horrific event hit adjacent to home, arsenic immoderate of the victims person relatives and friends successful Saskatchewan.

"We weren't amazed that immoderate of the victims' families were present successful Regina," Pulga said. "That was really one of the reasons wherefore we did this, to scope families and and radical that were affected by this."

Pepito Escanlar, the Philippine honorary consul for Saskatchewan, said Filipinos are connected crossed the country.

"As a Filipino assemblage we consciousness similar we're portion of that whole," Escanlar said. "When 1 enactment is hurt, we each consciousness it."

Escanlar was grateful to spot communities crossed the country show their support.

"[They] came and grieved with america and joined america successful dealing with the sorrow and the grief of this event," helium said. "We promote our Filipino assemblage to beryllium beardown and transportation connected with our celebration, and conscionable beryllium vigilant and marque definite that this happening doesn't hap again."

Pulga said it wasn't conscionable the Filipino assemblage that was grieving, it was the full country.

The vigil reminded Pulga of what is important and what we should beryllium grateful for.

"When we discovered this tragedy, [my mom] messaged america and she told us, hug your children, don't marque mountains of molehills and emotion each other," helium said.

"That's what we privation radical to recognize astir this event. Just emotion each other."