DFA ‘deeply grieves’ with kin of street fest victims in Canada

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday joined the Filipino community in mourning the loss of lives in a car-ramming incident at a Lapu-Lapu Day celebration in Vancouver, Canada over the weekend.

“I just wanted to say how we deeply grieve with those affected, the victims of that really horrific act,” DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters on the sidelines of the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries in Makati City.

“Our embassy and our PCG (Philippine Consulate General) in Vancouver, embassy in Canada are closely following the situation. In fact, they’re on top of the situation.”

In an earlier interview with Radyo Pilipinas, Consul General Gina Jamoralin said the consulate is in close contact with all concerned Filipino organizations to get information about any Filipino who needs assistance.

“As of today, we have made rounds of the hospitals, and informed them of the willingness of the Philippine government to provide support to the Filipino victims and they are aware of that and they will inform us,” she said.

The incident killed 11 people and injured 20 other people. The victims’ ages range from 5 to 65 years old.

“I think our ambassador in Canada is going to or is already in Vancouver and attending to the needs of those affected,” Manalo said.

Meanwhile, the PCG-Vancouver warned about campaigns claiming to raise funds on behalf of victims of the Lapu-Lapu Day festival.

The PCG said it “has not created any fundraising efforts nor has sanctioned any entities to raise funds on behalf of the victims.”

“It has come to the Philippine Consulate General’s attention that certain individuals have set up GoFundMe pages claiming to raise funds to support the victims of the Lapu-Lapu Day Incident, using a screencap of the Consulate’s official message as a backdrop as part of its material on the said fundraising page,” the PCG posted on Facebook.

“The public is also advised to exercise vigilance and prudence to avoid being victimized by unscrupulous and malicious actors attempting to exploit this tragedy that has befallen the Filipino Community in British Columbia.” (PNA)