By Karen Tan
It was a beautiful but somber Saturday evening as members of the Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians (MFFC), dignitaries and the public stood before the Jose Rizal memorial in Markham and held a candlelight vigil following the fateful events in Vancouver on April 26, 2025 at the Lapu Lapu festival. Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti as well as Regional Councillors Joe Li and Alan Ho and MP Michael Ma spoke in turn to express their support for the Filipino community.
Our condolences and prayers to the people who perished, were injured, mentally struggling to cope with the violence or feel lost in these difficult times. We stand with you with our hearts in our hands. The following is the MFFC’s statement of condolence. Click here to view the photo album of the event.
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May 3, 2025
Good evening my friends,
We are gathered here tonight to express our collective grief and sympathy to the Vancouver community affected by the horrible incident at the Lapu-Lapu Festival which occurred a week ago.
To the victims, families, friends, residents and visitors in Vancouver: we - the Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians, the Markham Filipino community and our friends -we join with you in your mourning of lost lives, and share with you our hopes for the quick recovery of those who suffered injuries, and others that may have been affected in other ways. As well we convey numerous expressions of condolences and sympathies from friends who sent their messages through social media.
It is our strong love for our Inang Bayan - that translates into a strong sense of community, and of family, that brings us together tonight, to console and comfort each other, to sympathize and support, and pray for one another in this time of grief and sorrow.
And we gather, along with the many other compatriot communities all over the diaspora, in unity, and in solidarity with Vancouver families.
It is in that strong sense of love for our Heritage that they were celebrating a Filipino folk hero, Lapu Lapu with a Festival.
A proud and joyous occasion, but a senseless act of violence turned it into a dreadful tragedy.
It is incumbent upon all of us to call on the government to have a better response to the needs of people with mental health issues and to explore appropriate safety measures in protecting everyone at a gathering in public places.
It is in our solidarity and faith that we can find strength and peace when answers are not easily found. As our late Pope Francis said ‘prayers and quiet service’ are our victorious weapons to navigate during difficult times.
Our special thanks to all who are able to join us here tonight as we turn to our God Almighty to heed our prayers for our brothers and sisters in Vancouver.
May the grace of God be with us always. Amen
Identified victims by media among the 11 who died:
1. Jenifer Darbellay – a Vancouver mother of 2, whose husband was also badly injured
2-4. Daniel Samper, his wife, Glitza Maria Caicedo and their daughter Glitza Daniela Samper
5-7. Richard Le, 47 yrs, Linh Hoang, 30 yrs, his wife and their daughter Katie Le, 5 yrs old
8. Kira Salim, a teacher-counsellor from a middle school and a secondary school teacher, originally from Brazil
Myrna de Leon
MFFC Vice Chairperson