Lapu-Lapu Day of Togetherness to push through despite protests

Philippine Canadian Inquirer

March 14, 2026

(Photo courtesy: lapulapuday/Instagram)

VANCOUVER, Canada – On March 12, 2026, the Lapu-Lapu Day team and Filipino BC posted an infographic for an event on April 19, 2026 at the Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre – the Lapu-Lapu Day of Togetherness. While they assured the public that further details will be announced in the coming weeks, they established that the Lapu Lapu Day of Togetherness was created in order to acknowledge the impact of the tragedy that happened last year on April 26, 2025.

The Lapu-Lapu Day team shared how their thoughts remained with the victims and their families and loved ones. They also commended the witnesses, first responders, and all members of the community who were affected by what happened. The Lapu-Lapu Day festival first came to be in 2024, and this year, while it will definitely look different from the previous years, they stated that the purpose of the Lapu-Lapu Day of Togetherness would be to reflect in the community’s shared grief and healing. They invited the community to come together and “gather in the spirit of bayanihan to lift each other up, reflect on shared healing, and honor culture and community with care.”

However, the victims and survivors of the tragedy last year continuously asked for this event to be moved as many of them felt that it was simply too soon to celebrate again. They repeatedly asserted that resuming Lapu-Lapu Day despite the pleas of the larger community would be insensitive and heartbreaking for both sides. A petition gained popularity in the community, asking Filipino BC to pause the celebrations for a year.

Furthermore, despite pushing through even with the amount of pushback, Filipino BC still declined to share financial transparency on the 2 million dollars’ worth of donations that were collected the previous year, meant for the victims. The affected families were seemingly left in the dark, seeing as one such family only received a total of $800 from Filipino BC, as reported by Omni News.