Cover
Looking back at the future of Filipino writers
One day, toward the end of 1967, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera sat down to look critically at the state of Philippine literature and what sorts of styles and literary figures have come to the scene.
Lumbera’s particular interest was with the outputs that came out in the decade between 1955 and 1965 to...
100 Years of Graphic
LOOKING BACK AT THE FUTURE OF PHILIPPINE WRITING
ONLY the very naive or the very cynical would try to predict the future course of Philippine literature. There are only the weekly magazines or the occasional books as signposts to indicate trends, and these signposts do not give very coherent directions.
100 Years of Graphic
THE PETRON SELLOUT
The sale of the national oil company to a foreign corporation betrays the national interest, endangers the country’s security, and sticks of graft and corruption.
Petron Corporation is unquestionably the most valuable corporate asset of the Philippine government—the most precious gem in the country’s dwindling collection of public corporations.
Yet it has been sold to a...
Cover
China’s Difference Engine: Changing the configuration of the world
How did China make the leap from being one of Asia’s poorest nations to becoming a global economic behemoth—all in a little more than six decades?
In 2013, China emerged as the primary engine of global economic growth, officially surpassing the contribution rate of other major economies.
Since then, China has consistently contributed about 30% of...
Cover
Toward stability, not strain: What really matters in China–Philippines relations
I’ve been in the Philippines for over four months now. It’s been busy. Some days mean seven back-to-back meetings, but what sticks with me isn’t the schedule. It’s the people.
Ordinary Filipinos are warm, sincere, and kind. The smiles, the handshakes—they remind me why this work matters: Keep China–Philippines relations steady, moving forward, and focused...
Cover
Getting to know China’s technological DNA
Possessing one of the oldest civilizations in the world, China’s 5,000-year-old history is a tapestry of transformation—from an ancient, agrarian society (8,000 to 10,000 years ago) to becoming the world’s low-cost, manufacturing nexus (mid-20th century), all the way to attaining global, high-tech, superpower status (21st century), driven by rapid urbanization and technological adoption
Drawing on...
Art & Culture
EXPOLIARIVM: The expatriate life of Juan Luna’s famous painting
While examining the archives of the Biblioteca Nacional de España, I encountered an albumen photograph labelled “Sala de pintura y escultura at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris.”
The image is attributed to Juan Laurent—one of the most important photographers working in late 19th-century Spain.
Laurent created a visual record of Spain’s cultural life at...
Cover
Orly Mercado’s Philanthropy Revolution: The next 50 years of Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko
BY HIS own admission, the young Orlando “Orly” Mercado was “a dyed-in-the-wool, left-wing activist,” having organized his first labor union shortly after beginning his broadcast journalism career.
Born on April 26, 1946, he was only 20 years old when he started a union at the RepublicBroadcasting System, the precursor of GMA 7. The union he...
Cover
KKMK Philanthropy Anthology Raxel’s World: The Race to Healing
Angelic, with a hint of sadness and uncertainty framing an otherwise cherubic, smiling face, the boy is small, thin, amiable, and sprightly.
When asked what he wanted to be when he grows up, he quickly answered: “Gusto ko po maging duktor (I want to be a doctor).”
Ano ang dinadasal mo kay Jesus?
“Sana po, gumaling...
Art & Culture
There’s a light that never goes out for Filipinos—thanks to art
The celebration of the Philippines’ arts and culture is a celebration for all, regardless of one’s proclivities, so long as it stands to illuminate the citizen—and the nation—for good.
What does a beauty queen of mixed heritage have anything to do with Philippine arts and culture?
Back in December 2016—two years before she was crowned Miss...
100 Years of Graphic
Discerning the age of innocence
It was probably the most unsettling and shocking piece of news that broke during that second week of October.
After eating his share of hotdog and marshmallow-on-a-stick, a boy, aged 3, uses the stick to stab the heart of his four-year-old girl playmate. The girl dies, but lives long enough to tell her mother: “Mama, nag-away kami. Sinaksak niya ako. .”
The news of the child’s death made the rounds of...
Of ‘balimbing’ and coup
It is balimbing season once again. Balimbing is a fruit with many sharp sides, so that it has been popularly used to describe agile politicians who are able to change sides quickly everytime there is a change in the political weather. It is the local term for “turncoat.”
Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel, who is known to cling to his political principles no matter what the weather is, predicts a...
RIZAL AND THE ASIAN RENAISSANCE
An Asian Renaissance must involve cultural rebirth and empowerment, not simply cultural jingoism.
In 1886, a young Asian student wrote from Europe the following lines dedicated to his country: "Recorded in the history of human suffering is a cancer so malignant that the least touch irritates it and awakens such agonizing pains."
Alone and far away, Jose Rizal tried to invoke the memory of the Philippines to compare it with countries...
THE FIRST FREEDOM DAY
By 4 p.m. the clouds had dispersed and the sun shone over Manila Bay. This looked like a good omen on the historic birth of the Republic 67 years ago.
THE town of Kawit in Cavite Province assumed a festive air that Sunday morning of June 12, 1898. Local bands had been promenading around the streets since sunrise playing a medley of gay tunes, some Spanish, others Mexican, mixed...
The Making of the U-Belt
U-Belt means Manila’s collegiate zone, an area extending from Calle Arlegui in Quiapo to Governor Forbes in Sampaloc, bounded in the west by Quezon Boulevard and in the east by Dr. Jose P. Laurel Street. In the university belt are three boroughs: Quiapo, San Miguel and Sampaloc.
Hub of this campuslandia is the east end of Recto. Here and on the streets off it are the shops, eateries and cinemas...
Cover Story
EXPOLIARIVM: The expatriate life of Juan Luna’s famous painting
While examining the archives of the Biblioteca Nacional de...
Orly Mercado’s Philanthropy Revolution: The next 50 years of Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko
BY HIS own admission, the young Orlando “Orly” Mercado...
KKMK Philanthropy Anthology Raxel’s World: The Race to Healing
Angelic, with a hint of sadness and uncertainty framing...
There’s a light that never goes out for Filipinos—thanks to art
The celebration of the Philippines’ arts and culture is...
U.S.T. MUSEUM: Believe it or not, they’re there!
A book smaller than your thumb, Roman coins before...
Tilly’s birth will do us part: AI actor and the doomed commerce of inauthenticity
Previous era of the arts had subversiveness, vulgarity, and...
Anatomy of a repeating scandal: Lessons in investigating a failed 1926 public works project
Some 96 years ago, on June 12, 1929, the Graphic magazine published an article titled The Tinkers’ Dam by M. San Martin.
When there is no Planet B, how do you get to point C?
The astronauts got it right the first time. It was 1971 and Apollo 14 Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell peered through the small window of their spacecraft and saw a 360-degree panoramic view of the Earth, Moon, Sun, and the stars.”
El Colegio De San Ildefonso presents “The Acapulco–Manila Galleon: We Are the Pacific: The World That Emerged From The Tropics”
For two and a half centuries, from 1565 to...
Hymen, oh Hyménée!: Juan Luna’s love in a time of lunacy
Juan Luna’s ‘Hymen, oh Hyménée!’ drowns the public with...
Literature
Literature
Phils. Graphic launches 1st-ever onsite writing workshop as it nears 100th year
PGLW is a two-day event where aspiring young writers...
Cover
Looking back at the future of Filipino writers
One day, toward the end of 1967, National Artist...
Words
April 2026 Philippines Graphic Literary Workshop: THE FINAL OUTPUTS (Masterlist)
Before the third episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary...
Words
Out-of-World Experiences to Have at Your Local Tapsihan
Before the third episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary...
Words
An Encounter with the Red Lady
Before the third episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary...
Feature
100 Years of Graphic
Discerning the age of innocence
It was probably the most unsettling and shocking piece of news that broke during that second week of October.
After eating his...
Feature
Americana, on his back
My grandfather was shipped out of the Philippines in the 1920s, and landed in Stockton, California—less as a starry-eyed immigrant, and...
PHOTO ESSAY
“2GO or Not 2GO”: Why sea travel to Coron is as good as it gets
By all accounts, traveling in an archipelagic country like...
Cover
Orly Mercado’s Philanthropy Revolution: The next 50 years of Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko
BY HIS own admission, the young Orlando “Orly” Mercado...
Cover
KKMK Philanthropy Anthology Raxel’s World: The Race to Healing
Angelic, with a hint of sadness and uncertainty framing...
Cover
Tilly’s birth will do us part: AI actor and the doomed commerce of inauthenticity
Previous era of the arts had subversiveness, vulgarity, and...
Feature
Through Greg’s brilliant eyes
TRIBUTE — On September 26, the Filipino literary titan, maestro of the Philippine short story, and former Graphic editor Gregorio C. Brillantes passed away at 92.
Lifestyle
Science
Filipino students command robot in space, wins 3rd place at international programming contest
Team Inflection Point of the Batangas State University (BatStateU) has won again in the international Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC), securing...
Graphic Plus
Staying connected with Xiaomi’s durable, water-resistant ecosystem
For urban professionals, fitness enthusiasts, and daily commuters, the...
Science
Satellite data show earthquake damaged areas, coastal uplift, and return of nighttime lights
Via GRAPHIC PLUS | Quezon City (16 June 2026)...
Science
President Marcos Jr. convenes Philippine Space Council, approves programs on satellite development and key space initiatives
Malacañang Palace, Manila (June 4 2026) — President Ferdinand...
Tech
Maximize fun with an epic battery & immersive screen from the HUAWEI nova 15 Max
via GRAPHIC PLUS | Manila, Philippines (June 11, 2026)...
Tech
HP IDEA launches in Pasig City to advance innovation, digital learning in schools
Via GRAPHIC TECH | MANILA, Philippines (10 June 2026)...
Science
How land use shapes the viruses mosquitoes carry, UP study finds
Mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, which...
Science
PhilSA’s children’s book, ‘Si Tala at ang Kanyang Lakbay Kalawakan!’ goes international
Via GRAPHIC PLUS | Quezon City (22 June 2026)...
Science
UP MSI and Partners launch Kalalawdan Fellowship Program Batch 2 to strengthen science-based maritime governance in PH
QUEZON CITY, Philippines – A new cohort of researchers,...
Science
PH among top 3 nations in AI Olympiad
The Philippines placed among the top three national delegations...
Science
PhilSA launches HiRAYA to recognize student research in space science and technology
Quezon City (19 June 2026) — The Philippine Space...
The Philippines Graphic Reader
Philippines Graphic Reader
The Igorot Sky
Lander left our community church on the first Sunday of the year. Three years ago, I did the same thing. After...
Philippines Graphic Reader
Darning
When all is done, Mama shows mehow to knot the final stitch, carefulnot to tug too tightly at the thread.The doctor...
Philippines Graphic Reader
Iteration of a Theme’s Variation
End with everything. Keep nothing. Then own it all...
Philippines Graphic Reader
On A Day Like This
There is an old Japanese film called Okuribito, which...
Philippines Graphic Reader
You, Too, Are a Pilgrim
“Look!” she exclaimed. I followed her clue toward the...
