The past six months have been a blur for Rev. Francis Galvan.
The pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Delta, B.C., has walked the scene of the April 26 Lapu Lapu Day festival attack in Vancouver, listening to stories of devastated Filipino community members. He has sprinkled holy water at the East Vancouver neighbourhood and attended the memorial for victims at Holy Rosary cathedral.
He has hosted gatherings and offered counselling for those reeling from the tragedy that claimed 11 lives and left many others injured.
There has been some healing. But Galvan says there is still anger, confusion and sadness.
He and others in the Filipino community say the case remains a wound, and while police say all but one of the injured are now out of hospital, some will forever live with the results of the night when an SUV plowed through a crowded street of festivalgoers.
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No date has been set for the trial of Adam Kai-Ji Lo, accused of 11 counts of second-degree murder and 31 of attempted murder.
“For some people, when the tragedy happened, it’s like the news, and you’ve got other news the next day. But for the Filipinos, this isn’t just news. It sticks with the Filipino community,” said Galvan.
RJ Aquino with Filipino BC, the group that organized the festival and has since been advocating for victims, said that for people with life-altering injuries and other survivors, there may never be an end to this.
“Can you ever have closure on losing a loved one? I don’t know,” said Aquino.
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He said that the tragedy would not stop Filipinos from celebrating their community. But he stopped short of committing Filipino BC to organizing a Lapu Lapu Day festival in 2026.
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“I’ll say that there is a desire to continue to gather, to continue to have events like Lapu Lapu Day,” he said.
Asked later if that meant the event was on or off, a spokeswoman for Filipino BC said it “wasn’t a Yes or No.”
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Galvan said that in Catholic tradition, November is a month dedicated to prayers for the dead, and he would visit the memorial site at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery to light candles to honour the victims.
He said he was alerted to the unfolding tragedy on the night of the attack by a call from his cousin. Others sent him videos of the attack’s aftermath.
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“I saw it once. I couldn’t watch it again. It’s too painful. It’s just too painful,” said Galvan.
He visited the scene the next day, wearing his priest’s collar. Those on the street went up to him to share their stories of the night before.
“It disturbs me a lot in some way, and for those who’ve been there, they couldn’t sleep,” added Galvan.
Aquino said he often finds himself reflecting on the tragedy.
“I would trade everything to just make sure that didn’t happen,” he said. “I mean it feels like it’s been the longest six months. But it also feels like it just happened yesterday.”
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He said he visited the memorial this week in a quiet moment of reflection.
The site is adorned with Philippine flags, dozens of stuffed teddy bears, and handwritten cards.
“Being there, I was getting really emotional, getting a little choked up,” said Aquino.
He says he recalled how political leaders hugged him and shook his hands at the scene of the attack.
But now, dealing with the aftermath doesn’t seem like their priority, he said.
“I would say that grief has turned into frustration,” said Aquino.
Filipino BC recently called on federal, provincial, and municipal governments to commit funding to victims of the attack and their families. It said no level of government had promised to dedicate funding.
“And now I want to say that, where are you? And not necessarily for me personally, but for the victims and families,” said Aquino.
“It really is a frustrating experience because we were seeing these politicians attend memorials, light candles, and pose for photo ops, but never deliver tangible support, and we kept hearing, ‘Oh, Filipinos are so resilient.’ And then they took our resilience and it became their excuse.”
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The Kapwa Strong Fund for victims and families raised $2 million, but Aquino said the fund isn’t enough. He said about 40 people had identified themselves as the “most injured,” although emergency officials originally reported that 26 people were taken to hospital.
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“That really translates to only about $50,000 a person. Does that solve their problems?” said Aquino.
“We’re finding that we’re now in a very resource-intensive part of their recovery. A family may have lost someone who is the main source of income and now they can’t work,” said Aquino, “So, expenses are racking up fast.”
Aquino said different levels of government need to provide long-term, sustainable, and tangible support to victims and their families.
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He said for families that have suffered losses, the last thing they should face is the “burden of a complicated, lengthy system application and bureaucratic hurdles.”
Vancouver police say the one person injured in the attack who remains in hospital is in stable condition.
Among those now recovering at home is 53-year-old Roland Nulada, a father of two. He moved out of Vancouver General Hospital’s rehabilitation centre to his home in Burnaby in early September after the attack left him with a brain injury and a broken arm and leg.
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Carlyn Nulada said her husband now uses a wheelchair. The past month has been tough, with her husband effectively confined to their home because ICBC — the public auto insurer that has been covering some costs for victims — had been slow to install a ramp.
“Roland has been staying at home the whole day, the whole month,” said Carlyn, “It’s depressing to him because he cannot go out.”
A GoFundMe campaign had raised about $160,000 for medical and other costs, but Carlyn returned to work as a health-care assistant at Lynn Valley Care Centre on Oct. 1. “We do have bills,” she said.
Carlyn said Christmas would be different this year, since they can’t travel to attend any family gatherings.
“We don’t have anything planned for Christmas. We don’t have the spirit of Christmas here right now,” said Carlyn.
Galvan said that while some were still dealing with grief, he had noticed young Filipino Canadians more willing to embrace their heritage since the attack.
And Aquino said memories of the attack would ultimately see the community emerge stronger.
“I know that we’ll always be reminded of what we lost,” he said. “We’ll use that reminder to make sure that as we get stronger, we put ourselves in a position to be there for each other, to help each other.”
