![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nDominique Villamin said Sico, his cousin, has made remarkable progress, defying doctors\u2019 expectations. <\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you knew him before, you always knew he was stubborn, he\u2019s always stubborn. He wanted something, he\u2019s gonna do it, right? That\u2019s the way AJ was,\u201d said Villamin, calling Sico a fighter.<\/p>\n
Facing a room filled with hundreds of people, and surrounded by his relatives and friends, Sico gave a thumbs up and a big smile to all who greeted him.<\/p>\n
Community leaders at the event, organized by the Lapu-Lapu Society of BC, encouraged people to reach out to victims and their families to show support, as their long journey of healing continues.<\/p>\n
Filipino-Canadian singer Warren Dean Flandez, a two-time Juno nominee, performed at the event, along with the Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir. At the end of Flandez\u2019s performance, he said it was incredible to hear AJ singing.<\/p>\n
Flandez said he hoped the love and kindness for the victims would continue. <\/p>\n
\u201cTonight symbolizes so much more. This transcends so much. This transcends politics. This transcends another festival. This is about reaching out to those who need us right now. It is our duty as human beings, as Vancouverites, to help those the most affected, those still struggling, those who need help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Arcie Lim, president of the United Filipino-Canadian Associations in B.C., said the moment brought out a mix of emotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not really a closure for us. It\u2019s more or less saying we\u2019ve got to accept this. Let\u2019s start moving on, hopefully,\u201d said Lim.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s very hard, especially for the families who have loved ones who have passed away. The victims are still recovering, and the victims are still recuperating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Filipino BC has organized a Lapu Lapu Day of Togetherness on April 19, involving both commemorations and cultural events. Some in the Filipino community have said the event should not go ahead.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s event included the screening of videos showing victims before their lives were transformed by the attack. The screening reduced the audience to silence, broken by sobbing. <\/p>\n
Villamin said when the tragedy took place, he couldn\u2019t process it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very emotional for my family, for them to think like it\u2019s been a year,\u201d said Villamin.<\/p>\n
But he said old videos of Sico also show how much he has improved.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what the doctors were saying, like, how long it\u2019s gonna take for recovery, or if he doesn\u2019t recover \u2014 he already proved a lot of people wrong, right?\u201d said Villamin, \u201cHe\u2019s still improving a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa Hill, Sico\u2019s partner for five years, wanted to emphasize the \u201csouls that were lost in this tragedy,\u201d including Sico\u2019s cousin, Jendhel May Sico, who was among the 11 who died<\/p>\n
Hill, wearing a pink shirt bearing a photo of Jendhel, said to the crowd that she was a \u201cbeautiful soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the first time I met her, I was shocked by her beauty. I was so overwhelmed because she\u2019s just so sweet and loving, and she would always make you feel welcome,\u201d said Hill. <\/p>\n
Hill said everyone who died in the tragedy deserved to be remembered. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really important for people to remember that yes, we\u2019re victims and we\u2019re continuing to struggle and fight for what is right,\u201d said Hill.<\/p>\n
Adam Kai-Ji Lo has been charged with 11 counts of second-degree murder and 31 counts of attempted murder over the attack. He has yet to face trial.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April. 13, 2026. <\/p>\n
Nono Shen, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dominique Villamin said Sico, his cousin, has made remarkable progress, defying doctors\u2019 expectations. \u201cIf you knew him before,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-601792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}