“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” –Bryant H. McGill
Jay Atienza Razon was not among my group of Filipino-Canadian friends who hosted a despedida party for me when I left Vancouver for Blaine, Washington back in 2012, but he has become one of my regular callers after moving to the United States.
During prior visits to Vancouver in 2008, 2009, and 2010, I had heard and read a lot about Razon.
We first met when I was serving as editor for Philippine Asian News Today, a publication based in Surrey, located within Metro Vancouver; he was visiting to submit a story to sports editor Alex Mino. Our second meeting was during his 56th birthday party. Last August, I received several calls from him, where he relayed information claiming he was being “unfairly targeted” and “singled out without any due process.” He was referring to an advisory by the Consulate General of the Philippines in Vancouver, which screamed: “The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver advises the general public about the unauthorized and unlicensed recruitment of Filipino workers being conducted by ‘Harvard Immigration.’”
Razon, who owns Harvard Immigration, sought my assistance to clarify the situation.
“I believe in you, Alex; I know that you have many readers,” he said to me. “I know that you are fair and [balanced] and willing to air both sides of the coin.”
“I respect you as a journalist,” Razon added.
He admitted the situation was “against all odds” because of “false information fed to the RP consulate” but wanted the opportunity to air his side.
After giving him space in my blog and newspaper column, I advised him to focus on news website and not to respond to attacks on social media.
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Razon founded the Filipino Plaza Society of British Columbia (BC). He also advocated for the restoration of Filipino Plaza, a park in Vancouver. I heard a lot of opposition to the plan but there were also those who believed in his capabilities as the project needed a gargantuan budget.
I learned from a mutual friend that Jay Razon died last Thursday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): “This afternoon, at 2:15 p.m., Burnaby RCMP and a number of other agencies including the Coast Guard, BC Emergency Health Services, Burnaby Fire Department, Coquitlam RCMP, and the Vancouver Police Marine Unit responded to a report of an adult male kayaker who had capsized in the water at Barnet Marine Park and not resurfaced. At 3:20 p.m., the adult male kayaker was located deceased.”
His demise came about 24 hours after he wrote “Good reporting, Alex,” which turned out to be his last comment on the “live” report posted on my Facebook account.
Rest in peace, Jay.
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Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ