For Sluggo Rigor, the stories of war were not something he read in textbooks: They were memories that his father—World War II veteran Col. Conrado Rigor Sr.—shared at home as the children grew up: the hunger, the fear, and the will to stay alive after the fall of Bataan.

Kids relish their time in the summer sun inside the Cainta Oval, where residents run, jog, and exercise daily to stay healthy. Photo and caption by Bernard TestaPublished in the May 2026 issue of the Philippines Graphic

A young girl enjoys refreshments in the shade on Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte—one of the country’s most picturesque coastal destinations. Scenes like this underscore the importance of protecting the moments and places that matter most. 

When you ask a foreigner whether they ride a motorcycle in the Philippines, they usually look at you as if you’ve suggested juggling chainsaws and reply: “Are you insane? In this traffic?” And yes—Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is...

Boatmen in Coron, Palawan celebrated International Workers’ Day on May 1 while guiding tourists around the Calamianes island group. They work closely with the municipal government and local tourism office to sustain income opportunities until the months leading to the rainy season.

Morning mist blankets the rolling hills of Boso-Boso in Antipolo City, Rizal...

Workers dust off the statues at the EDSA People Power Monument in preparation for the 40th anniversary of the 1986 People Power Revolution. On February 25, civil-society groups and demonstrators are expected to gather at the site, calling for stronger action against corruption in government. Despite the administration’s declaration of a Special Working Day, organizers urged the public to participate in commemorating the “bloodless revolution” that restored democracy in 1986. 

Healthcare systems work only when people trust them— trust earned through consistent service, fairness, and reliability. For PhilHealth, this understanding has shaped not only its reforms, but its purpose. 

Before “yakap” ever became part of a national health lexicon, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was already navigating one of the most consequential inflection points in its three-decade history.

The human body betrays language in explicating unusual faculties. Our bodies are biologically designed to “tell” us if something is wrong— but not through words. It pinpoints a specific part and uses the dialects of pain, as if to...

In the history of mankind, wars have taken away far more than it created anything. The 1945 Battle of Manila and the recent attacks in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv have shown us what we lose as a species when...

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...