Volume 5, Issue No. 39
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Wednesday, June 12, 2024
~ The news from Manila was quite startling - that Leslie B. Gatan, the former Philippine Ambassador to Canada, had passed away on Sunday June 9, a friend sadly informed me today. If there's anything to remember him by, it was his effort to elevate the Filipino community in Canada. Nearly a decade ago, Ambassador Gatan christened the general vicinity of Bathurst-Wilson in North York district as Little Manila. The area is now a popular site for community events as well as a tourist destination. His foresight is starting to pay off. Little Manila is his legacy.
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AMBASSADOR LESLIE B. GATAN
The Envoy Who Made 'Little Manila' a Reality
He Left a Legacy of Uplifting the Filipino Community
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy." - N. D. Kalu
TORONTO - Notwithstanding the unresolved issues between two claimants to the right to hold a street festival in what's now denominated as Little Manila, the birth of that events and commercial hub could be attributed to one man alone - Leslie B. Gatan, the former Philippine ambassador to Canada.
The envoy was the main guest at the first Taste of Manila in August 2014 in the city's North York district.
He had sensed the historic significance of the moment he spoke on stage as thousands of Filipinos congregated at the junction of Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave. for the festival.
Exultant and overwhelmed by the size of the crowd, he took the microphone and proclaimed: "If there is Chinatown and Little Italy, there is also Little Manila. Today we are christening this area, Bathurst, a congestion of Filipino establishments, as Little Manila".
He then sprinkled bottled water to the gathering while revelers clapped, danced, sang and rejoiced - a turning point in Filipino community organizing by inexperienced and questionable individuals behind that event. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZa99xeGW0).
Ambassador Gatan passed away on Sunday, June 9, 2024 in Manila, according to multiple social media posts.
While he had accomplished many things on the diplomatic front, it was his community involvement, specifically in the Greater Toronto Area, that has left an indelible imprint.
Ambassador Gatan's declaration of Little Manila may not be binding to municipal and provincial governments but he had already had planted the seed for long-sought recognition of the Filipino community.
Little Manila continues to attract mainstream attention because of the area's potential as a tourist destination, or as the core for Filipino residents and business enterprises, or simply as a particular place name for a growing Filipino population in Canada's largest city.
As a matter of fact, Little Manila has spawned the half-naming of the Bathurst-Wilson Parkette at the southeast part of the intersection as Mabuhay Garden.
Videos at:
Like most centers of population, Litttle Manila has its share of rouges and scammers. (Related story at: 'Little Manila' Is Where Rogues, Rumours, Fake News Abound).
Rightly or wrongly, however, Ambassador Gatan had shown an effort to elevate the Filipino community beyond the confines of the diplomatic world and onto where it mattered most - the people and the neighborhoods that make up a whole village.
Little Manila may just be a townlet, essentially a whistle-stop, but it is home to a Filipino population trying to make a big difference in Canada.
We owe it to Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan to uplift us. Rest in peace, sir! (Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved).
Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC-R4idO_s0
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