May 1, 2026 – On Thursday, May 7,  from 5:0 0 -6:30 PM at the Philippine Consulate Office in Vancouver, 660-999 Canada Place, Philippine   Ambassador to Canada H.E.  Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga will meet Filipinos in British Columbia at a Town Hall Meeting arranged by Philippine Consul Genreral Gina Jamoralin and her staff.   

[Editor’s Note: Dr. Pagtakhan is a retired Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine (1971-1988) and the first Canadian Filipino MP (1988-2004), Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Federal Minister. Widely published and lectured in medicine, politics and community advocacy, his Medisina at Politika commentary is published in Canadian Filipino Net and Pilipino Express.] 

May 1, 2026 - In an historic tennis event, two Filipina tennis darlings faced off at this year’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany on April 14, 2026. In the end, Canadian Filipino Leylah Annie Fernandez defeated rising star Alex Eala 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and a half.

May 1, 2026 —As part of the Philippines’ participation in SIAL Canada 2026, a Philippine food business forum will be held in Vancouver on May 4, 2026.

May 1, 2026 — If there is one thing that stands out on all the commemorative events being held across Metro Vancouver on the first anniversary of the 2025 Lapu-Lapu festival tragedy, it is the strong and visible presence of armed police officers which was unmistakably missing last year.

April 16, 2026–Vancouver Magazine annual list of 50 people powering the city in 2026 includes a Filipino for the first time – RJ Aquino, chair of FiipinoBC, for speaking out and up for the Filipino community in BC. 

April 16, 2026 –  As of April 14, PM Carney has a total of 174  votes  after five floor crossings (four Conservatives and one from NDP) plus three Liberal MP candidates winning at the April 13 byelections; (in  Ontario, two  and in Quebec, one). PM Carney is now moving full speed ahead with serious and ambitious new plans to build Canada strong starting with the number one concern of all Canadians: affordability.

April 16, 2026 - A woman leaves her family in the Philippines to start a new life abroad as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW).  A student in Victoria who does not fit traditional gender roles and definitions struggles to belong.

April 16, 2026 — A report titled “A Canadian bedtime story” reveals a noteworthy glance on one facet of the Filipino experience in Canada.

April 16, 2026 —  Filipino Restaurant Month in Canada (FRMC) returns this April for its fifth year, inviting Canadians to experience the richness and diversity of Filipino cuisine across British Columbia.

April 16, 2026 - Vancouver-based dance company Co.ERASGA celebrates the month of May as Asian Heritage Month with Undivided Colours, featuring performances by Co.ERASGA, Victoria’s Bayanihan Creative Collective, Kasandra La China, Sujit Vaidya and Toronto’s Dream Walker Dance/Andrea Nann. 

April 16, 2026 — The man in-charge of securing the performance venue in last year’s April 26 Lapu-Lapu festival still remembers the tragedy as if it happened yesterday. James Villamayor leads the True North Hinirang Eagles Club, a community-based socio-civic organization that was tasked to secure Apl.de.ap’s arrival and performance inside the John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver. But half an hour after the Fil-Am hiphop artist’s performance, mayhem broke loose and cellphones began ringing inside the school building.

April 1, 2026 – A timely and unflinching conversation with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate  Maria Ressa,  moderated by  Adrienne Arsenault, Emmy Award-winning CBC News chief correspondent and host of The National newscast,  starts at 7:30  and ends at  9:00 PM on Thursday, April 2 at the Chan Centre. 

April 1, 2026 – It’s appalling that American voters enabled one man with a bloated ego and unhinged mind to cause daily economic hardships on 8 billion people in countries around the globe even if those people are not directly responsible for the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

April 1, 2026 — Are you happy?

April 1, 2026 — April 26, 2026 marks the Filipino community’s babang-luksa (literally translated as end of mourning) for the victims of the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy. How does that fateful evening in 2025 expose the Filipino community’s vulnerabilities and strengths?

March 16, 2026 – FilipinoBC, chaired by RJ Aquino, announced that Lapu Lapu Day of Togetherness will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver to commemorate the first anniversary of the Lapulapu Day tragedy of April26, 2025.

March 16, 2026 – There are many reasons why Filipinos are ashamed of their government these days.  Currently headed by a dictator’s son and known generally by his nickname, President Bongbong Marcos is supported by 24 senators and 318 congressmen, many of them former movie stars or TV personalities, elected for their looks rather than brains, through vote buying and dynastic family support.