Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance
Press Release

Two Years Later: Lanot Case Still a Reminder of Our Community’s Marginalization 

For immediate release: Nov. 29, 2004

On the second anniversary of the beating death of Mao Jomar Lanot outside of Sir Charles Tupper Secondary, the Filipino community continues to question, “where is closure for this case, where is justice?” 

The trial of those accused of beating Jomar has hit a roadblock. The crown has said that it cannot proceed with the case due to a lack of reliable witnesses. One witness admitted to lying in previous testimony.

“The news about the witnesses is obviously devastating for the family,” says Carlo Sayo of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance/Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada (FCYA/UKPC). He continues, “but in the larger context of the community, it exposes the weakness of the justice system in pursuing the case to a satisfactory end. It is disheartening, and disempowering.”

Beyond the justice system, says Sayo, systemic racism in the education system and policies in immigration and multiculturalism that continue to disempower and marginalize communities of colour.

Sayo questions the sincerity of initiatives of the Vancouver Police District (VPD) to hold community forums to address the issue of youth violence, since they do not address the issue of systemic racism. Sayo also criticized more government dollars going towards policing programs. “Instead giving more money towards policing, more funding should be allocated to community organizations that are already doing solid anti-racism education.” With the recent media attention on conflicts between Filipino youth and other ethnic groups, Sayo says that the police must be accountable for how they profile youth of colour.

In a recent international conference, “Ipagpatuloy: (Continue On) Living the Storm” hosted by FCYA, Filipino youth talked about their issues, shared experiences of their community’s history in coming to Canada and the hardships they endured such as racism and discrimination. The conference drew in participants from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York.

The Lanot case was brought up at the conference, as well as the case of Jeffrey Reodica, a 17-year old Filipino youth in Toronto who was shot three times in the back by a plain-clothes police officer.  

“For us as youth, Jomar is a reminder of why we need to continue to educate, organize and empower our community,” says Sayo. “That is the best way to honor his memory.”

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For more information, please contact Carlo Sayo at: 604-215-1103.