Commissioned
The Philippines, which consists of over 7,600 islands in the Pacific Ocean, is one of the countries most at-risk from climate change. Many communities are already feeling the impacts of more severe storms, rising sea levels are a looming threat, and the warming ocean is putting marine life at risk.
The protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems could play a key role in tackling climate change, but in Manila Bay those ecosystems are in jeopardy.
Basilio Sepe, Global Witness
PHILIPPINES CAFE KEEPS ALIVE MEMORY OF 'DRUG WAR' VICTIMS
Most of the workers at this coffee shop in a suburb of the Philippine capital, Manila, are the wives, mothers, sisters or daughters of people killed during former President Rodrigo Duterte's so-called war on drugs.
Basilio Sepe, Deutsche Welle
FINLAND RELIES ON FILIPINO LABOR
Finland has to rely on Filipinos in more and more fields. One of them is Rosauro Coronacion, who aspires to become a welder in Kajaani, where Finns can no longer be found to work.
A total of 50 welders have arrived from different parts of the Philippines for the welding tests organized by the Finns. Twenty of them should be found to work in Kajaani already for the summer to manufacture tram and train carriages.
Basilio Sepe, Yle Uutiset
Basilio Sepe, Deutsche Welle
Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, one of the winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and Rappler CEO, acquitted of tax evasion after a court decision at the Court of Tax Appeals in Quezon City, Philippines. January 18, 2023. The tax court on Wednesday cleared Ressa and her online news company of tax evasion charges she said were part of a slew of legal cases used by former President Rodrigo Duterte to muzzle critical reporting.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
PHILIPPINES: SURGE IN SALES OF RECYCLED CHRISTMAS LANTERNS
Heightened awareness of environmental issues has prompted more Filipinos to use recycled plastic to make Christmas decorations. Colorful lanterns adorn homes and streets during the festive season.
Basilio Sepe, Deutsche Welle
SCHOOLS IN THE PHILIPPINES REOPEN
One of the world's longest corona-era school closures ended in the Philippines.
Basilio Sepe, Yle Uutiset
MANILA: BEHIND THE WHEELS OF ITS UNIQUE, UNOFFICIAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT
In Manila, the capital of the Philippines, a makeshift trolley transport system is unique, cheap and fast. Why do some people risk their lives to steer these vehicles?
Basilio Sepe, Deutsche Welle
PHILIPPINES: LIFE IN 'THE VENICE OF MALABON'
The Artex Compound was a former housing estate for cotton mill workers until it became flooded in 2004. Living there is challenging, but some residents have come to embrace the unique way of life.
Basilio Sepe, Deutsche Welle
Filipino activists clash with policemen during a protest before Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was proclaimed 17th President of the Philippines and Sara Duterte, the next Vice President at the Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. May 25, 2022. Marcos Jr. won a landslide election victory in the Philippines with more than 30 million votes, more than double of his nearest rival, incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
Foreign passengers arrive at Manila's International Airport, Philippines Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. The Philippines lifted a nearly 2-year ban on foreign travelers Thursday in a lifesaving boost for its tourism and related industries as an omicron-fueled surge eases.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno held a motorcade promoting his presidential bid while Former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his running mate for vice president, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte gathered their supporters at the Philippine Arena on the first day of the campaign season for the 2022 national elections. Feb. 8, 2022.
Campaigning in the Philippines’ presidential election started Tuesday with a cast of candidates led by a late dictator’s son and the pro-democracy current vice president, with all vowing to bail out a country driven deeper into poverty by the pandemic and plagued by gaping inequalities and decades-long insurgencies.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
Policemen inspect motorists at a checkpoint, health workers perform swab tests and some patients receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines as Manila shifts back to a stricter lockdown as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus disease. August 6, 2021. Thousands of people jammed coronavirus vaccination centers in the Philippine capital, defying social distancing restrictions, after false news spread that unvaccinated residents would be deprived of cash aid or barred from leaving home during a two-week lockdown that started Friday.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
The last mass and motorcade before the burial of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in Quezon City, Philippines on Saturday, June 26, 2021. Aquino was buried in austere state rites during the pandemic Saturday with many remembering him for standing up to China over territorial disputes, striking a peace deal with Muslim guerrillas and defending democracy in a Southeast Asian nation where his parents helped topple a dictator. He was 61.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
Cecile has taken on many roles in her prolific career: actress, artist, author, advocate, founder of the Philippine Educational Theatre Association, executive director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and youngest Filipina to receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award.
She is known most of all as a survivor – fighting for democracy during the turbulent Marcos regime and then later on, beating an illness just as dangerous: cancer.
Now, at 77, she takes on an unfamiliar role that many women throughout the world suddenly found themselves in because of the new coronavirus: that of a widow.
Basilio Sepe, ABS-CBN News
IP GROUP DUMAGAT REMONTADO EXTENDS HELP TO METRO'S COMMUNITY PANTRY
Driven by the desire to help and express solidarity with Metro Manila’s urban poor communities, a group of Dumagat Remontado, the indigenous people residing in Daraitan, Rizal, joined hands to provide produce to a number of community pantries in the capital region. The initiative was a response to somehow help address the broken food systems and alleged lack of government support, which became evident as communities grappled with steady supply of food during the lockdowns in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Basilio Sepe, Greenpeace Philippines
PANDEMIC AFFECTS PHILIPPINES’ ASH WEDNESDAY TRADITION
The coronavirus pandemic has affected not only the lives of Filipinos but even their traditional religious practices. On February 17, Ash Wednesday, priests sprinkled ashes on the crown of the head of the faithful instead of marking it on the forehead.
Despite health restrictions due to the pandemic, Filipino devotees flocked to churches across the country to observe the start of the Lenten season. Some parishes distributed ashes to people for those who cannot go to church.
Basilio Sepe, LICAS News Philippines
TAAL VOLCANO ISLAND, A YEAR LATER
A year after Taal Volcano released its fury on Batangas residents, ruined buildings are still covered in ash while once verdant fields stay buried under thick layers of mud.
The eruption released a plume of smoke and ash high into the sky that displaced tens of thousands of people inside the volcano’s danger zone and coated surrounding towns and provinces, including Metro Manila, in coarse ash.
Basilio Sepe, ABS-CBN News
Rescuers save trapped residents from a flooded street due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Vamco in Providence village in Marikina City, east of Manila, Philippines, Thursday. November 12, 2020. The typhoon swelled rivers and flooded low-lying areas as it passed over the storm-battered northeast Philippines, where rescuers were deployed to help people flee the rising waters.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
THE RAW AND UNFILTERED BEAUTY OF THE PICC
Award-winning photojournalist Basilio Sepe captures the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in its rarest state: calm, raw, and without the echoing applause of live events.
The pandemic has rendered the destination for important events and glamourous celebrations quiet, and yet its beauty remains. “You would be mesmerized by the architecture. It’s amazing how they have maintained the buildings in such an excellent condition over the years,” says Sepe.
Basilio Sepe, Esquire
Residents of Kasiglahan Village in Rodriguez, Rizal continue to appeal for aid following the devastation caused by Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco). Ulysses left thousands of individuals calling for food, water, and shelter assistance as parts of the village remain submerged and coated with thick mud and debris.
Environmental group Greenpeace calls for the mobilization of society, led by the government, to respond urgently to the current climate crisis at a scale and speed that would protect Filipinos from worsening climate impacts.
Basilio Sepe, Greenpeace Philippines
CONGRESS REJECTS NEW FRANCHISE FOR ABS-CBN MULTIMEDIA NETWORK
Employees wearing protective face masks look at a monitor to watch a live footage of the hearing about the ABS-CBN franchise renewal inside the broadcasting network's headquarters in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 10 July 2020. Legislators of the Committee on Legislative Franchises in the House of Representatives in Congress on 10 July voted to reject a new franchise for multimedia network ABS-CBN, after the expiration of the network's 25-year operating franchise.
Basilio Sepe, EPA
Despite danger, Filipinos made restive volcano their home while men rescue trapped animals from Taal volcano island in Balete, Batangas province, southern Philippines. So far no one has been reported killed in the eruption, but the disaster is spotlighting the longstanding dilemma of how the government can move settlements away from danger zones threatened by volcanoes, landslides, floods and typhoons in one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
PHILIPPINES CATHOLIC PROCESSION
Filipino Catholic devotees raise their hands and towels during the Feast Day of the Black Nazarene at Quiapo Church in Manila, Philippines. January 9, 2020. A mammoth crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Catholics prayed for peace in the increasingly volatile Middle East at the start Thursday of an annual procession of a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ in one of Asia's biggest religious events.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
MONUMENTS: 'THE MANILA OF OUR AFFECTIONS'
It’s the steady hum of cicadas that envelops you the moment you step into the garden near the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City.
That, and the absence of everything else.
To the right, 3 gardeners cut overgrown grass in front of a black wall that commemorates Filipinos who “offered their lives for freedom, justice, and truth.” There is nobody else on June 3, save for us, 3 journalists, out to document monuments around Metro Manila.
It’s the same experience almost everywhere.
Over the course of 7 hours, we went around 3 Metro Manila cities to visit several monuments. We wanted to document their place in everyday metropolitan life and, maybe, to answer the question: What are they here for?
Basilio Sepe, Rappler
TRICK-OR-TREATING FROM THE BACK OF A CAR
A community in the United States found a unique way to get the kids together to trick-or-treat on Halloween without walking for miles.
Instead of going house to house, families and their children walk through a parking lot with more than 70 decorated cars to collect candies in the event dubbed “Trunk or Treat.”
Families set up their Halloween decorations from the back of their cars and trucks at the parking lot of the Curtis Lake Church in Sanford, Maine.
Basilio Sepe, ABS-CBN News
SUPER TYPHOON MANGKHUT BATTERS THE PHILIPPINES
Dozens of people are feared to be buried by a landslide in the mining town of Itogon, in Benguet province, after Super Typhoon Mangkhut triggered a massive landslide in northern Philippines which destroyed hundreds of homes and killed over 80 people while more bodies are being recovered from the landslide.
The storm slammed into the main Philippine island of Luzon over the weekend and continued its path through Hong Kong and Southern China, killing four people in the province of Guangdong as 2.5 million people were evacuated in Guangdong and on Hainan island.
Basilio Sepe, Getty Images
Thousands of people joined the annual Metro Manila Pride March, on Saturday, in celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+) Pride Month in Marikina City in the Philippines.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
PHILIPPINES MUD PEOPLE FESTIVAL
Filipino Catholic devotees covered in mud and leaves attend an early morning ritual to mark 'Taong Putik Festival' (Mud People Festival) and the feast day of Saint John the Baptist in Bibiclat village of Aliaga town in Nueva Ecija province, northern Philippines 24 June 2018. The annual ritual followed by a morning mass is held by devotees largely to give thanks for answered prayers and a bountiful harvest.
Basilio Sepe, EPA
Filipino Muslims join the Islamic world in the observance of the month of Ramadan, a month of fasting and prayers. Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar when Muslims spend the whole day in prayer and reflection.
Basilio Sepe, UCANews
Hundreds of Filipino Catholic devotees flocked to Santa Ana Church, also known as the Parish of Our Lady of the Abandoned in Manila to celebrate Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week.
In the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, millions fill the churches nationwide to observe the start of Holy Week.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
At least four employees were killed and two others remained trapped in a fire that hit a Manila hotel, according to a Philippine official.
More than 300 guests were evacuated from the Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino, some by helicopter.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
IN PHOTOS: THE RAINBOW WARRIOR
Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace’s iconic and environmental campaign ship, arrived in Manila on Wednesday for a 20-day “Balangaw: The Climate Justice Ship Tour,” which includes port stops in Tacloban, Leyte and in Guimaras Island until March 5.
The tour, which focuses on climate justice, emphasizes people’s rights to a stable climate and safe environment so they can have clean air, clean water, safe food, among others, according to Rainbow Warrior captain Hettie Geenen.
Basilio Sepe, ABS-CBN News
Thousands of Filipinos on Sunday joined the annual Angels Walk for Autism in a show of support for people with the condition.
The event at the Mall of Asia in Manila featured concerts and performances by people living with autism.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
Filipinos marked the official countdown to Christmas on Saturday with the start of a series of pre-dawn masses running up to Christmas eve.
Millions of Filipinos flock to churches nationwide to celebrate the annual tradition, known as 'Simbang Gabi', or misa de gallo.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
Relatives that claim their family members were victims of extra judicial killings under the Philippines 'war on drugs' held a rally on Tuesday outside a police station in the capital.
Relatives displayed pictures of their loved ones and offered flowers as they seek justice for victims of the illegal drugs campaign under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte which started after he became president in 2016.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
A Filipino teenager at the centre of the latest outcry against the President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody crackdown against illegal drugs was buried on Saturday.
Mourners at the funeral protested against the thousands of drug killings that have taken place under Duterte's term in office.
Basilio Sepe, Associated Press
IN PHOTOS: THOUSANDS JOIN FLUVIAL PROCESSION IN NAGA
Thousands of Filipino Catholics celebrated the annual festival of the Our Lady of Penafrancia in Naga City, Camarines Sur province on Saturday.
The festival started with a "novena" or nine days of prayer at the Cathedral of Naga, where the wooden image of the Virgin Mary was brought from its original home at the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Penafrancia also in Naga City.
Basilio Sepe, ABS-CBN News
IN PHOTOS: RESORTS WORLD MANILA UNDER ATTACK IN THE PHILIPPINES
Filipino policemen and soldiers take their position outside Resorts World Manila after gunshots and explosions were heard in Pasay City on June 2, 2017 in Manila, Philippines.
Explosions and gunshots were heard at the entertainment resort as armed policemen and soldiers were deployed to the scene while plumes of smoke poured out of a building.
Basilio Sepe, Getty Images
IN PHOTOS: MORIONES FESTIVAL IN MARINDUQUE
A Filipino portraying Jesus Christ (C) carries a wooden cross next to 'Morions' (masked penitents) during the Good Friday re-enactment of the Passion of Christ in the town of Boac, Marinduque island, Philippines, 14 April 2017.
Villagers of the island of Marinduque celebrate an annual religious festival called 'Moriones' wherein men and women in costumes and masks replicating the garb of biblical Roman soldiers as they parade.
Basilio Sepe, EPA