Some survivors of the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy say it’s not the right time for the cultural event to return to Vancouver next month — about a year after a vehicle ramming attack killed 11 people at the Filipino festival in 2025.
Advocacy group Filipino B.C. has announced that it will host the annual event on April 19, stating the gathering will look different compared to previous iterations of the event, which is named after a Filipino chief who fought against Spanish colonization.
It says the festival will focus on reflection and communal healing and will be held at the Italian Cultural Centre instead of on Fraser Street, where last year’s tragedy occurred.
But some from Metro Vancouver’s Filipino community say the trauma remains fresh.
On April 26 last year, a vehicle plowed down a crowded street of festival goers. Adam Kai-Ji Lo is charged with 11 counts of second-degree murder and 31 counts of attempted murder.
“It’s disrespectful for us if they do it again, not even a year later,” said Val De La Cruz, who was injured in the attack while attending the festival with his wife and their two young children.
De La Cruz was carrying his two-year-old son when the vehicle drove into the crowd near John Oliver Secondary School. He was knocked unconscious, injured his arm and required surgery.
He says his son suffered a concussion and is still recovering from the trauma he endured.
“Every time he sees a car, he’s hugging me and running, thinking there’s a car behind us,” he said. “We’re not ready for that. We’re still in trauma.”
De La Cruz is still undergoing physiotherapy and remains largely unable to work.
Petition calls for pause
More than 1,200 people have now signed an online petition calling on organizers to postpone the 2026 event.
“It’s way too soon,” said Roan Hidalgo, who started the petition. “Most of us in the community are still grieving.”
He says the community needs more time before returning to large public celebrations.
It’s been almost a year since the deadly attack at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in Vancouver. Filipino B.C. has announced a new event this April, but as the CBC’s Baneet Braich reports, some victims and Filipino community members say it’s too soon.
In a statement, Filipino B.C. said it recognizes that not everyone feels ready for a gathering this year.
“Everyone experiences grief and healing in their own way, on their own time,” the organization said. “We understand that some individuals feel it may be too soon to hold a gathering this year.”
But it added that many community members have also expressed support for coming together again.
“We have also been deeply encouraged by the overwhelming positive response from community members who wish to come together.”
Organizers say this year’s event will include time for reflection and remembrance in the morning before shifting later in the day toward arts and cultural expressions.
Questions about donations
Alongside concerns about the timing of the event, some community organizations are also raising questions about donations collected after the tragedy.
The Kapwa Strong Fund, launched by United Way B.C. to support recovery efforts, has raised more than $1.6 million, according to a February 2026 report.
About $1.5 million has already been distributed through 45 grants to 36 community organizations providing mental health services and trauma recovery programs.
This week, the man charged with murder in the Lapu Lapu Day festival tragedy, makes his next court appearance. It’s been one month since 11 people were killed and more injured, when a car rammed through the street festival in East Vancouver. Christi-Ann Watkins was among those injured. BC Today host Michelle Eliot met with Christi-Ann at her home in Vancouver.
Those programs include clinical counselling, peer support groups, healing circles and art therapies, among others.
United Way says the funds raised provided support for community-based programs and services that address longer-term healing and recovery needs identified by community leaders.
The organization says it raised approximately $450,000 for Filipino B.C., as directed by donors.
In a joint statement, survivors and some Filipino community organizations say they are calling for greater transparency from Filipino B.C.
The chair of Filipino B.C., RJ Aquino, is calling for more government support for the victims of Vancouver’s Lapu-Lapu Day festival tragedy. He said survivors and victims’ families are still struggling six months after the killings.
De La Cruz says his family has not received the support they expected.
“Until Filipino B.C. is able to explain what happened to the donations, I don’t think they should be organizing another Lapu-Lapu Day,” he said in the statement.
United Filipino Canadian Associations in B.C. is also urging more clarity around the funds.
“The money that will be spent to hold another festival a year after the tragedy would be wiser to spend to benefit the victims directly,” said Arcie Lim, president of the organization.
CBC News has reached out to Filipino B.C. for comment.
Calls for a quieter commemoration
Lailani Tumaneng, a registered nurse who volunteered at the 2025 festival, said Filipino traditions typically observe a one-year mourning period.
“In our culture, we have what we call babang luksa, the end of mourning after one year,” she said.
She supports a planned remembrance dinner in Vancouver happening on April 12, organized by the Lapu-Lapu Society of B.C., saying it offers a more reflective way for the community to mark the anniversary.
“It has to be calm and quiet,” Tumaneng said. “Not festivities, concerts and selling stuff. It has to be a mass and a gathering where people can just talk.”
