We got only $400 from Filipino BC, says sister of Lapu-Lapu fatality 

Posted by ReyFort Media

The sister of Jendhel May Sico wants to know one thing from the organizers of the ill-fated Lapu-Lapu festival.

Like many in the community, Maydhel Ann Sico is asking Filipino BC where funds raised for victims of the April 26, 2025 tragedy have gone.

Her sister Jendhel May was one of 11 fatalities in the Vancouver car ramming incident.

“It would be interesting to see where their money is really going and why they aren’t able to help as much as they claim,” Sico said in an interview with Patrol Abroad.

Sico told journalist Rowena Papasin that her family received the equivalent of only $400 from Filipino BC since the Vancouver tragedy happened, despite the gravity of their loss for the death of Jendhel May.

Sico was interviewed on December 22 when representatives of the Filipino community in Victoria traveled to Vancouver to hand out cheques to support victims and families.

The Sico family received $1,000, and Maydhel Ann noted that this was the first time they ever received a substantial amount of support.

Her mother Jenny De Guzman turned emotional during the Patrol Abroad interview. She was grateful for the support by Filipino community members in Victoria.

The cheques were distributed by Melissa Badua, president of the Bayanihan Cultural and Housing Society, and Annette Beech, president of the Victoria Filipino Canadian Caregivers Association, a group that includes temporary foreign workers and international students.

In her report, Papasin noted that Filipino BC has been facing criticisms and questions about how the organization handled donations for Lapu-Lapu victims.

In the interview, Sico noted that it has been “difficult” to ask for help from Filipino BC.

“It makes no sense to us that there’s a capacity that they just have to give a small amount to each family when … it was told that they received so much more than everyone’s receiving,” Sico said.

Ex-Filipino BC directors Lina Vargas, Concepcion Colobong, Antonio Ortega, and Oscar Bisnar have been pressing Filipino BC to make a full accounting of where the Lapu-Lapu funds went.

Earlier, the United Filipino Canadian Associations in BC (UFCABC) have released a report detailing how much money the alliance raised for victims and how it was spent to support victims and families.

A social media post by the Bayanihan Community Center in Victoria presented a tally of funds raised by the Filipino community in Victoria and how these were allotted.

The Filipino community in Victoria raised around $15,000.

Out of that total amount, $1,000 was given to the family of Jendhel Ann Sico.

Jendhel May’s cousin AJ Sico was severely injured. He got a $5,000 cheque from the Filipino community in Victoria.

A cheque of $3,000 went to Blaine Redblack, Jhendel Ann’s fiancé, who survived with serious leg injuries and has been unable to return to work. 

Alejando Samper received $3,000. He lost his mother, father and sister in the Lapu-Lapu tragedy.

Christie Ann Watkins received $3,000. She was injured in the incident. Her son sustained emotional trauma.