Author: Ricky Castellvi

Life with no parole for 22 years for intruders who killed mom of three

TORONTO –  When a grisly and gory crime hits close to home, it sends a shock wave to the whole Filipino-Canadian community of Toronto, especially to closer friends and relatives of the victim hearing for the first time that when a partner is murdered, the surviving partner is always the suspect. Tragic as it may be, the initial reaction is for everyone to send in their condolences. Only after Yostin Murillo, a main suspect of Costa Rican background, was arrested were friends and relatives of the couple able to breathe a sigh of relief. 

A virus that has a fatality rate higher than COVID-19 

TORONTO – In 2018, 835,175 Ontarians were recorded as “multiple property owners” by Statistics Canada.  In July 2020, we were just getting over the First Wave and CTV was reporting:  “Cottage real estate market heats up with more Canadians working remotely”.  In April 2021, the Globe & Mail reported that “in Toronto, as many as 1 in 5 homeowners own more than one property”

Code Red Para sa mga Mamamayan ng Mundo

TORONTO – Nung Mayo nitong taon na ito, maraming mga manok at mga isda ang nangamatay sa Dagupan, Philippines, dahil sa tinding init na umabot sa 52 Celsius. Nitong tag araw sa Canada, ang baryong Lytton sa BC, ay uminit nang matindi na umabot ng 49.4 Celsius, tapos nasunog  ito sa sumunod na araw. Nung 2018, dalawang kamaganak ko ang bumiyahe sa San Francisco para makipagkita sa mga pinsan na dumadalaw galing sa Pilipinas. Nang pababa na ang eroplano nila, kitang kita nila ang mga sunog sa California. Paglabas nila sa hantungan, puro usok ang naamoy nila at nangailangan silang magsuot ng maskara. Nung huling araw nila sa SFO, yung mga cable cars na likas na San Franciscan ay hindi pinahintulutan na umandar dahil sa alikabok at mababang aninag sa dadaanan ng mga ito. 

Code Red for Humanity

TORONTO – May 12th of this year saw chickens and fishes dying from the heat in Dagupan City, Philippines. The temperature that day registered at 52 Celsius. Early this summer, Lytton, BC, registered a record high of 49.4 C. The following day, wildfire devastated the village. In 2018, two relatives travelled to San Francisco early November to meet up with their cousins who were touring the US. While their plane descended for landing, they could see wildfires from the plane window. When they stepped out of the terminal, smoke was in the air. They had to wear masks. This, in SFO, in November. On their last full day in that city, the cable cars, which give SFO its character, stopped running for the day. The streets of San Francisco were covered in dust and visibility was so low, operating a cable car became risky, given that this is done manually.