Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy victims, community to protest against Filipino BC’s Sunday event

Philippine Canadian Inquirer
April 19, 2026

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A storm of controversy is brewing ahead of today’s celebrations, as survivors and families of the 2025 Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy are set to picket the event over the alleged mishandling of $1 million in funding.

The protest, scheduled to begin today at 10 a.m. outside the Italian Cultural Centre at 3075 Slocan Street, marks a high-stakes confrontation between the local community and Filipino BC, the organization behind the festival.

At the center of the dispute is a massive pool of funds—comprised of $500,000 in provincial government grants and an additional $500,000 in community donations—that critics say has not been properly accounted for in the year following the disaster.

Family members of the victims, joined by former directors of Filipino BC, claim that despite the million-dollar influx intended for relief and support, those most affected by the April 26 tragedy have received “so little.”

The group has repeatedly called for a transparent breakdown of expenditures, including the salaries of staff members hired by the organization in the wake of the incident. However, they say these requests have been met with silence.

For many, the decision to proceed with the 2026 festival is seen as a sheer disrespect for the ongoing grieving process that the victims and the community are going through.

The organizers of the picket argue that it is explicitly inappropriate to hold a celebratory event while questions regarding financial transparency remain unanswered and the community continues to heal.

“Bringing back the festival is not appropriate,” the group stressed in a media release, emphasizing that Filipino BC continues to solicit new funds even as the previous year’s accounts remain unclear.

As of Saturday evening, Filipino BC has not issued a formal response to the allegations or the planned protest, leaving a cloud of uncertainty hanging over what was intended to be a day of supposed ‘cultural celebration’.