Filipino Emergency Response: Community, Care, and Collective Healing

By Janice Lozano

In the aftermath of the heartbreaking tragedy that unfolded at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver on April 26, 2025, the Filipino Community has come together in strength and solidarity. As families grieve, survivors heal, and hearts struggle to make sense of the loss, a grassroots network known as the Vancouver Filipino Emergency Response Collective has formed to provide comfort, resources, and collective support.

This tragedy, which took place on what was meant to be a joyful celebration of Filipino culture, has left a deep wound. But in the face of immense pain, our community has shown profound resilience, grounded in shared values of kapwa, compassion, and care.

The Response team is made up of volunteers and organizers working to connect those affected with essential resources—whether it’s information about community gatherings, vigils, updates on missing persons, or ways to access mental health support.

The group invites anyone with relevant updates or requests to reach out via VanFilEmergency@gmail.com. This open, accessible channel is a lifeline for many who are trying to navigate this difficult time with limited information or support.

Our team consists of grassroots organizers with Deep Roots of Solidarity. Our team spans dozens of volunteers across a variety or spaces and organizations. Some within the Filipino community and others through solidarity networks.

This community-led response is powered by the care and labor of dedicated volunteers. In alphabetical order, the current list of cadre organizers includes:
• Carmela Cruz
• Claire Baguio
• Crystal Lau
• Fyonna Laddaran
• Jennifer Lingbaoan
• Jessamine Liu
• Jocelle Refol
• John Tolentino
• Josh Rasalan
• R
• Kaira Fenix
• William Canero
• Wyn Ramos-Daquigan

These individuals and dozens more are working tirelessly behind the scenes—coordinating aid, amplifying calls for justice, and ensuring no one is left to grieve or struggle alone.

On Unceded Lands: Honoring Indigenous Solidarity

As we organize in response to the crisis, we acknowledge that this work is taking place on the unceded, ancestral, and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

This acknowledgment is not a formality—it is a call to action. While our community mourns, we also recognize that Indigenous Peoples on these lands continue to experience the violence and trauma of colonization. The support we have received from Indigenous communities during this time is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of our struggles.

We call on folks of all backgrounds to extend the same compassion and solidarity to Indigenous kin that has been extended to us. True healing is collective. Justice must be inclusive. Moving forward together will look different across the various silos of communities. With over 135 different Filipino non-profits in BC alone and over 180 different ethnolinguistic regions in the Philippines.

Mental Health Awareness Month, also observed in May, arrives at a time when the need for emotional, psychological, and communal healing could not be clearer. This tragedy has revealed not only the urgency of trauma-informed care, but also the strength that emerges when communities unite. During the pandemic the Filipino community had been reeling over the loss of 27 Filipino youth suicides. Recent tragedy has reinforced our collective need to activate culturally appropriate mental health supports across all communities.

The Filipino Emergency Response is just one expression of that unity—one that will continue to evolve, grow, and support in the days and months to come.

For now, we offer this: a thank you. For your patience, your care, your support. For standing with one another in grief and in hope. Together, we heal. Together, we remember. Together, we rise.