Bianca Catbagan on Filmmaking and Royal Blood
Royal Blood will follow two queer lovers preparing for a ball in 1888 Philippines. There, an enigmatic attendee, Maria, unleashes forbidden passions, and poses an existential threat to the couple’s bond. Vogue Philippines
Filipinos That Strike
To go on strike is to risk your life; the classist elitism will threaten to crush you and your body even as you lay it down before the machines, both real and metaphorical. High Country News
Navigating Manila with a Map, a Bicycle, and a Stormy Heart
In Manila, two seasons, and no regrets. Modern Love, the New York Times
That Kid from Manila: Hannah Reyes Morales, Pulitzer Finalist
The early training for photojournalism was there: the close, careful repetition of looking. Positively Filipino
Always Again: New Work from the Philippines and Philippine Diasporas
The islands and their climates form archipelagos of deep contradictions, and shape a people of persistent laughter. MĀNOA: A Pacific Journal of International Writing
Remembering Martial Law
The details are well documented by historians. But for many Filipinos, the realities of Martial Law live on in personal, quiet stories. Cinema Sala
In the Claws of a Police State
Many have endless approval for their leader’s abusive choices, and they will never cease mistaking his punishment for a form of care. The Baffler
Duterte, Year One
In a sunny conference hall, several dozens of Filipino teenagers and adults held up sheets of paper on which they’d written their dreams. New York Times
Being Fil-Am in the Age of Trump and Duterte
It was inevitable that the name would enter into our interactions. CNN Philippines
Conversations at the Edge of Carnage
She paused, weeping, when she remembered his singing voice. World Literature Today
Prayer to the Dead
A meditation in collaboration with visual artist Roberto Jamora. 7x7 LA
The Animals in My Home
My sleep simmers with strange dreams. The Rumpus
Deadly Populism
In 2016, I was sure: many individuals who were alive that day in May would die when Duterte’s leadership, like a cruel tempest, arrived. The Mekong Review
The New Strongman of Manila
I told the officer I was worried that a Duterte administration would endorse death squads, as Mr. Duterte is said to have done while mayor of Davao City. ‘Should I be scared?’ I asked. New York Times
‘I am of both countries, and I feel sanctuary in neither.’
In the face of state-sanctioned violence and a campaign rhetoric of racist dictatorship, an author stumbles into a stunned silence. CNN Philippines
Questioning Tony Meloto
Their world was divided. A limited existence for their own, dark-skinned community, and a richer, more inclusive life for the lighter-skinned outsiders. Esquire Philippines
Notes from a Storm-Wrecked Land
The spirit of absence. New York Times
Road Tripping with my 93-year-old Grandmother
She is, for all her age and decline, still powerful. Gawker