Now on its 14th year of publication, Dahong Pilipino, the Filipino Canadian Business Directory earned the distinction as the only Filipino directory of its kind in Canada that had consistently published annual editions for the last 13 years. Similar Filipino directories in other major Canadian cities that started earlier or at the same time as Dahong Pilipino did not survive that long.

Former community journalist and civic leader Leo B. Cunanan founded the directory in 1991, the same year he was awarded the Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino (LINKAPIL) award for Journalism and Community Service from President Corazon Aquino at the Malacanang Palace in Manila.

He was the founder and first editor/publisher of the Vancouver-based community newspaper, The Philippine Chronicle before it changed hands in early 1991.

Mr. Leo B. Cunanan with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who's holding a copy of Dahong Pilipino Business Directory.

In 1997, Marilyn Abundo Cunanan took over as president and publisher when the Canadian goverment appointed her husband to the Immigration and Refugee Board, a federal quasi-judicial tribunal in Vancouver. Leo O. Cunanan, Jr., a former band musician and graphic designer, assumed the ownership and full responsibility for the publication in 1999.

Dahong Pilipino is providing the community with a directory of Filipino businesses, professionals, tradesmen, associations and a network of resources that serves as a handy reference for Filipino households, especially the new immigrants. 

The listings in the directory show with pride that the Filipino community in B.C., now estimated at close to 100,000, has a wealth of talents, skills and capital resources that makes Filipino Canadians a significant factor in the economic life of the province. Dahong Pilipino owes much of its longevity to the support of its loyal advertisers and those who find it useful for reference and its features.