Posted by ReyFort Media
MEDIA RELEASE
New organization forms to promote legacy of Lapu-Lapu,
will commemorate Vancouver tragedy with community dinner
December 29, 2025 VANCOUVER — A new community organization has been incorporated in honour of and to foster the legacy of Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu.
Called the Lapu-Lapu Festival Society of B.C., the group was established by Filipino Canadians who trace their heritage to the central Philippine province of Cebu.
It was in Cebu where Lapu-Lapu and fellow Indigenous warriors successfully repelled European colonizers in the historic Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521.
Founding chairperson Antonio Ortega said that the formation of the Lapu-Lapu Festival Society of B.C. represents a continuity in the historical connection by the Filipino diaspora to their heritage.
“We are tending to our roots by reconnecting and reclaiming our cultural heritage,” Ortega says. “By rediscovering this tradition, we can better understand our identity and take pride in our shared bonds.”
Ortega notes that Filipinos of Cebuano lineage partake an ancestry that traces its origins to the pre-colonial society led by Lapu-Lapu and other Indigenous forerunners.
“We are on the whole descendants of Lapu-Lapu in an unbroken line of generations that honour his spirit of freedom and self-determination,” Ortega says.
Ortega is also the president of the Cebuano Society of Canada, one of the key organizations that spearheaded the 2024 and 2025 Lapu-Lapu festivals in Vancouver.
“Lapu-Lapu was our native hero and this is why Cebuano people stepped up in helping put together the festivals,” he notes. “This is also why we felt and continue to bear incredible sorrow over the tragedy of April 26, 2025.”
To remember the victims and everyone impacted by the tragedy, the Lapu-Lapu Festival Society of B.C. is hosting a commemorative dinner to mark the one-year anniversary of the incident.
When: April 12, 2025
Where: Fraserview Banquet Hall (8240 Fraser Street, Vancouver)
“We want to honour the memory of those who perished and wish healing for their families and friends,” Ortega explains. “We look forward to the community coming together in remembrance.”
Contact:
Antonio Ortega
778-751-6110/ sugbuhills@gmail.com
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