December 1, 2025 – On November 13 Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced support for Filipino Legacy Society and PortLiving development firm to build a Filipino cultural centre in Vancouver. Immediately, questions sprouted on the internet, like mushrooms after a rain, as Filipinos emailed each other their dismay.
How could Mayor Sim support the partnership of a newly formed FLS and a financially and legally troubled PortLiving firm to build such a centre, they asked. Was he misinformed? Was he politicizing a tragedy, a community issue?
They worried about PortLiving CEO Tobi Reyes, who has a long history of legal issues, including current foreclosure proceedings involving the property on 1940 Main Street where the cultural centre is proposed.
Tobi Reyes’s financial and legal troubles are no secret. The Vancouver Sun’s award-winning journalist Dan Fumano published 'Red flags': Disagreement erupts over Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim's plan for Filipino cultural centre (November 13, 2025) and The doctor and the judge: Why high school friends now accuse Vancouver real estate developer of fraud (July 22,2024) about them.
Mayor Sim added that” if a group came up with another opportunity, and it made sense, we would enthusiastically support it as well.” He only had to ask his staff to do a little research to know that two group
(FilipinoBC and Mabuhay House) are preparing a feasibility study on what the 175,000 Filipinos in BC want in their cultural centre and why.
Both groups had conducted surveys, mailed questionnaires, held town hall meetings to interview and discuss with Filipinos about the centre they want and programs they need. There is no record showing that FLS and PortLiving did any community consultation at all.
Mabuhay House Concerns
Mabuhay House issued a press release that it had formally notified the City of Vancouver that it abstains from supporting the proposed motion to “prioritize” the establishment a Filipino Cultural Centre at 1940 Main Street by FLS and PortLiving. It cited the following reasons:
1. Duplication and fragmentation of efforts – it would divide the community and duplicate provincial efforts to establish such a center. Since 2023 MH has been working closely with BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport (TACS) to advance a provincially recognized, community-led process to establish a Filipino cultural centre.
2. Governance and Accountability Gaps – the city-led cultural centre project “lacks a clear governance plan, defined ownership, and transparent management structures. It excludes broad community representation from 90 organizations endorsing the provincial process.”
3. Process and Timing Red Flags – the rapid advancement of the motion raises procedural concerns, including the absence of public financial transparency, undefined partnership terms, and potential conflicts of interest related to leases or advisory roles.
FilipinoBC’s Difficult but Necessary Questions
In response to Mayor Sim’s support of the FLS and PortLiving partnership, FBC Chair RJ Aquino announced the following:
1. “Any development of a Filipino Cultural Centre—particularly in the wake of the April 26events—must be undertaken with the transparency, genuine consultation, and the informed consent of the community.
2. Aquino added: “That is why I encourage our community to ask Filipino centre organizers these difficult but necessary questions:
- Is the project financially sound, or built on uncertainty and risk?
- Does the organization leading it have the governance and legal structure needed to steward a major community asset?
- Can a feasibility study be credible without access to key data or a clearly identified site?
- How can a capital campaign be launched without an asset to raise money for?
Both FBC and MH have conducted surveys, mailed questionnaires, held town hall meetings to interview and discuss with Filipinos about the centre they want and programs they need. There is no record showing that FLS and PortLiving did any community consultation at all.
The future of Filipino Cultural Centre: Where it is at now
Can MHS and FBC work together with Filipino Legacy Society to build a single cultural centre for the good of all Filipino communities in BC?
In 2023 MH received a $250,000 grant from the BC government to prepare a feasibility study and is working closely with the Province since the initial engagement stage. MH Board Chair Lester de Guzman said:
“While Mayor Sim’s motion may fast-track the process, it raises concerns regarding planning, governance, ownership, accountability. Transparency and inclusion are important in any development of a cultural centre, and community trust is at stake due to our history with similar attempted projects. Together, we build one Filipino Cultural Centre for all—rooted in transparency, unity, and community service.”
On the other hand, FBC has its own proposal for a centre in partnership with Hungerford Properties for a property in South Vancouver. It is currently doing its feasibility study for a community and cultural centre that will be a hub for cultural events, educational programs, and social gatherings to connect, learn, and celebrate Filipino culture.
Hungerford Properties is an Indigenous-owned (51 percent or more owned and controlled by Indigenous people) real estate developer with commercial and residential projects in Western Canada. FBC Chair RJ Aquino explained, “Hungerford Properties was chosen for their expertise as renowned Indigenous developers creating dynamic and inclusive spaces that enhance communities and enrich lives.”
FBC has established a long-term endowment and community fund to support programs and initiatives while also enabling FBC to begin capital planning. The endowment fund ensures that while planning and feasibility work continues for the new centre, resources are already in place to deliver programs, support families, and strengthen community connections now and into the future.
On November 26, Mayor Sim and Councillor Zhou co-submitted a motion to council to promote and prioritize the Filipino cultural centre and hotel project, subject to approval on Dec. 10. If approved, the only remaining problem is whether PortLiving CEO Tobi Reyes will be able to resolve his $17 million mortgage on the proposed FCC site.
Editor of Canadian Filipino Net
Eleonor R. Laquian has written four bestselling books and co-authored four others with her husband, Prod Laquian. Over ten years, she served in various capacities at the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research: as manager of administration and programs, editor and chair of the publications committee, and primary researcher of its Asian Immigration to Canada project.
She did her BA degree in journalism at Maryknoll College in the Philippines, a master’s degree in public administration at the University of the Philippines, and postgraduate studies at the School of Public Communications at Boston University in the US.
Before immigrating to Canada, she worked with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, and the UN Information Center. She was a researcher and bureau manager of The New York Times in Beijing, China from 1984 to 1990. She was the first and only Filipino to conduct a nationwide survey of Filipinos in Canada, in 1972, for her master’s thesis at UP. It was published as A Study of Filipino Immigrants in Canada, 1952–1972.
She updated the survey in 2005 for a book, co-authored with her husband Prod: Seeking a Better Life Abroad: A Study of Filipinos in Canada, 1957–2007,published by Anvil Publishing in Manila. She and Prod have visited over a hundred countries for work and pleasure. They immigrated to Canada in 1969.
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