100 Years of Graphic
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...
LOOKING BACK AT THE FUTURE OF PHILIPPINE WRITING
Written by National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera. First published in Philippine Graphic, January 1968.
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. In an economically underdeveloped country like ours, the profession of letters is an...
Any day in one’s life
Questions and reflections in a "writing experiment" dealing with language, time, memory, birth, mortality and other human concerns.
Only a writing experiment. Choose at random a future date—don't even think, Does it fall on a Tuesday?—and resolve to pay close attention, noting whatever small incidents occur or even ordinary things that seem to modulate the day's hum and drum, but throughout it should just be a kind of calm...
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 foreign corporation controlled by Arab businessmen. The price of the sale is allegedly much lower...
Cover Story
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...
She looms a beauty: The power of weaving and femininity in ‘A Loom of Stories’
Seven artists led the female-charged 37th edition of the...
Literature
100 Years of Graphic
Any day in one’s life
Questions and reflections in a "writing experiment" dealing...
100 Years of Graphic
THE SECRET (PRESENT AND FUTURE) OF SEASCAPES
Now and in the foreseeable future, all that the...
100 Years of Graphic
FILIPINOS ARE CLUMSY LOVERS
Valentine reportage from February of 1969.
Caroline Kennedy of London...
100 Years of Graphic
“The Pramoedya Affair”: More on the controversial Magsaysay Award
(Editor's note: In response to an article by Linda...
100 Years of Graphic
WEARING BLACK ON ST. VALENTINE’S DAY
jet-blackmy get-up today, from the upperto the underwear:black shirt,...
100 Years of Graphic
A MATTER OF CHOICE
1. A Gift of UnlifeWhat is sad, dear life-that-never-is,is...
Words
March 2026 Philippines Graphic Literary Workshop: THE FINAL OUTPUTS (Masterlist)
Before the second episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary...
Words
Against Male Pattern Baldness
Before the second episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary...
Feature
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 the Philippines has always required patience, strategy, and a little creativity.
Filipinos, especially...
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...
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.
Feature
THE YOUNGEST HOPE OF A TRIBUNAL ON TRIAL
It looks like it’s going to be a long haul when you scan the country, or even just this part of town, from the corner of Taft and Padre Faura—a long dazed journey, not to “Philippines 2000,” the splendiferous miracle promised FVR’s faithful a mere seven years from now, but to reality of NIChood probably a century hence.
Lifestyle
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 R. Marcos Jr. presided over the 9th Philippine Space Council (PSC) meeting...
Graphic Plus
Garmin Pay now available in PH, bringing fast and secure contactless payments to smartwatch users
MANILA, Philippines – Garmin has announced the launch of...
Science
Filipino scientists develop novel method to refine mathematical models and identify drug targets
Biological processes like the Wnt signaling pathway—which regulates crucial...
Tech
Xiaomi’s 6.6 Sale brings up to Php 6,000 off on selected phones and devices
Xiaomi’s 6.6 Sale features discounts on select products, from...
Science
UPD Chemists create AI Tool to predict antibacterial peptides
As antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to make traditional antibiotics...
Science
Philippines and Japan sign joint declaration to continue decades of space cooperation
The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the Japan Aerospace...
Science
Why is universal healthcare so elusive in the Philippines?
For many Filipinos, illness doesn’t begin with a diagnosis....
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
Ateneo hosts groundbreaking research into human-animal bonding
At a time when loneliness and isolation seem as...
The Philippines Graphic Reader
Philippines Graphic Reader
The Floating Library (The Inheritance)
The humidity in Manila wrapped around Lia De Castro like a damp shawl as she stepped out of the National Library,...
Philippines Graphic Reader
Mori Dress
People always say that she is beautiful, that she exudes an ethereal radiance only she is privy to. It’s…this strange, brilliant...
