Filipino Community & Lifestyle News
With files from Edwin C. Mercurio There’s nothing more frustrating than arriving in Canada as an international student or as a Filipino newcomer and not being able to afford to buy a home, rent an apartment or even find a place to stay. “In recent years, many Toronto homes have become more and more expensive,” […]
Alam ko eksayted kang makakita ng snow. I get it: I was once new to Canada, too. I was so excited to see snow for the first time. I expected snow to come down fluffy and soft, cold to the touch, yes, but not freezing cold. I thought the white stuff falling down from the […]
An unexplained manananggal sighting as an eight-year-old triggered Motzie Dapul‘s interest in horror stories and the occult. A manananggal is a winged, fanged creature with a severed lower body—a very common mythical creature in Filipino stories. “Nung eight-years-old ako, me manananggal sa labas ng bintana sa Batangas. Nakita ko ang anino, wala akong makita na […]
Kalamansi Collective owner Kris Pangilinan remembers well the first time he tasted kalamansi. The tiny citrus fruit, native to the Philippines, is smaller than a pingpong ball, but it “packed a punch”. Pangilinan was visiting the Philippines at the time, having a meal at Mang Inasal—a chicken barbecue restaurant—where they offered condiments such as soya […]
As Noreen Ocampo—a Philippine-born, Canadian-trained dental hygienist on a medical mission to the Philippines—peered into the mouth of a young boy from Smokey Mountain, her heart broke at what she saw. “Nabulok na ang permanent teeth (his permanent teeth were all rotted out),” Ocampo said. She said most of the kids from Smokey Mountain—one of […]
A newcomer to Canada deals with so many new things: speaking an unfamiliar language, getting accreditation for foreign credentials, culture shock and an overwhelming sense of displacement. For someone from the Philippines, for example, where people have become accustomed to a lack of free government programs, healthcare benefits and employment support, it could come as […]
When Laureanne Hoekstra realized that her job in accounts receivable made her so busy that she barely saw her kids, she knew it was time to shift careers. “I went from always being there to never seeing (my kids). No quality time at all,” Hoekstra said. Hoekstra quit her job and became a stay-at-home mom. […]
With Filipino immigrants representing Canada’s third largest source of immigration, coupled with the country’s need for more workers—particularly in the construction industry— Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced pathways to break down barriers to permanent residency. “We need about 100,000 construction workers. They won’t all come from inside Canada,” Miller said, speaking at the Filipino-Canadian Professionals […]
It’s hard to choose which award to mention first among Patrick Alcedo’s long list of exceptional achievements in the arts. Alcedo is not only a Filipino filmmaker, dance professor and department chair at York University—the first person of colour to hold the chair position in the Dance department’s 50-year history—but also one of Canada’s Top […]
Picture this perfect recipe for a Filipino festival: the sun’s shining, there are people dancing, as the sound of Filipino rap-slash-cha-cha music echoes throughout the square in Memorial Park in Oshawa, Ontario for the Durham Filipino Festival. The scent of barbecued pork and chicken wafts through the air. Line-ups form as hungry attendees seek out […]