PROSPECTS 2021

A frontline medical worker standing inside a triage at Sta. Ana Hospital on Aptil 14, 2020 in Manila.

Jes Aznar/New York Times

A medical personnel wearing protective clothing works to treat patients inside a tent at a parking lot converted into a COVID-19 isolation facility, at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute Hospital on April 30, 2020 in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

An anesthesia resident leads the ‘airway team’, a four-person group that performs the riskiest task in tending to COVID-19 patients: inserting a breathing tube down toward the trachea for those with damaged lungs. 

Martin San Diego

Recycled N95 masks and respirator filters hang inside the donning area for medical personnel assigned to treat patients at the COVID-19 isolation facility, at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute Hospital on May 1, 2020 in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Ezra Acayan / Getty Images

Medical personnel in protective clothing work to treat a patient inside a tent at a parking lot converted into a COVID-19 isolation facility, at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute Hospital on April 30, 2020 in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines. 

Ezra Acayan / Getty Images

Maria Ressa, head of news website Rappler, meets the press after being convicted for cyber libel on June 15, 2020 in Manila City, Philippines.

Ezra Acayan

ABS-CBN supporters stage a protest to seek the renewal of the network’s broadcast license. A congressional committee rejected its renewal, forcing the network to shutter most of its operations and lay off thousands of staff.

Jilson Tiu

Residents of Barrio Roque in Quezon City line up for government food aid a day after they were forcefully dispersed by policemen for lining up for food on February 4 2020.

Luis Liwanag

Protesters gather at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus to oppose the approval of an anti-terrorism law in the middle of the pandemic.

Jilson Tiu

A disinfection team in the Philippine capital.

Jimmy Domingo/LiCAS News

A man crosses a street in a deserted commercial district in Quezon City during the early days of coronavirus lockdown in Metro Manila.

Jire Carreon/LiCAS News

Former soldier Winston Ragos was shot dead by police for allegedly violating quarantine protocols in a suburb in Quezon City in Metro Manila. His family said the former army soldier suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his military duty.

Jilson Tiu


Soldiers guard the perimeter of a bomb explosion site in Jolo town, Sulu province while waiting for a military ambulance.

Nickee Butlangan


Holiday shoppers in Manila City flout physical distancing rules. Jilson Tiu

Fighting Harder in the Worst of Time

Fighting Harder in the Worst of Time

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Atop a hill overlooking the grey wasteland wreaked by Taal Volcano, I felt that the depressing lay of human catastrophe all around me may be an omen. It was early January, but there I was, struggling to breath in a foreboding N95 mask and setting up a live disaster...

The Baesa Crematorium

The Baesa Crematorium

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Workers wearing protective suits pull a body bag near a furnace before cremation at the Baesa Crematorium in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. May 5, 2020. Basilio Sepe/BenarNews COVID-19: Deaths, meltdowns, valor Ever since the coronavirus spread to the...

‘I wish we could live life as before’

‘I wish we could live life as before’

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Stranded individuals along a street in the capital Manila eat a packed food prepared by missionaries and private organizations. Veejay Villafranca/Der Spiegel COVID-19: Deaths, meltdowns, valor Ever since the coronavirus spread to the Philippines early last year,...

The Stranded Migrant Workers

The Stranded Migrant Workers

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Overseas Filipino workers await for flight updates while cooped up in a school in Pasay City that serves as temporary shelter for stranded migrant workers. Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg COVID-19: Deaths, meltdowns, valor Ever since the coronavirus spread to the...

White Sand, Murky Outlook

White Sand, Murky Outlook

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Boracay Island in October. Cristina Menina/The Straits Times COVID-19: Deaths, meltdowns, valor Ever since the coronavirus spread to the Philippines early last year, sparking prolonged and painful lockdowns, FOCAP journalists have scoured the treacherous front lines...

Empty Chapels, but Filled with Hopes

Empty Chapels, but Filled with Hopes

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Filipino Catholic devotees emerge from quarantine to receive blessings from a priest on Palm Sunday on April 5, 2020 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Jes Aznar/New York Times COVID-19: Deaths, meltdowns, valor Ever since the coronavirus spread to the Philippines early...

The Missionary Pilot

The Missionary Pilot

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Davin Bennett doing pre-flight checks ahead of a mission. His face mask bears the name of his blog, Flying by Faith, where he shares stories about his missionary work. Martin San Diego/Washington Post COVID-19: Deaths, meltdowns, valor Ever since the coronavirus...

Pandemic hammers community press

Pandemic hammers community press

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ABS-CBN supporters stage a protest to seek the renewal of the network’s broadcast license. A congressional committee rejected its renewal, forcing the network to shutter most of its operations and lay off thousands of staff. Jilson Tiu Pandemic hammers community press...

The Cagayan flooding, amid a health crisis

The Cagayan flooding, amid a health crisis

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Floods submerge ricefields in Isabela province in Cagayan Valley region. Jojo Riñoza/BenarNews The Cagayan flooding, amid a health crisis By Jason Gutierrez, New York Times TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines From the air, it is hard to distinguish where the mighty Cagayan...