The Philippines in Drone

How drone photography helps promote the Philippines 

The Philippine Star

28 July 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Let’s face it, the Philippines is one of the most geographically diverse and ecologically beautiful countries in the world. Renowned for its pristine white sandy beaches, lush topical forests, and crystal clear waters, the Southeast Asian archipelago has always been a hot spot for tourism and the modern-day adventurer.

Boom Garcia and Sean Nolan

We’ve been fortunate in our travels, having a chance to visit and document our wonderful experiences, and sharing those experiences with our fellow travelers worldwide. It’s through video that Our Awesome Planet was able to really expand its reach globally and it’s safe to say that OAP was the first to start the current trend of travel videos here in the Philippines.

Drones, however, have opened up an entirely new and exciting enterprise for travelers, videographers, and visual storytellers. Incorporating aerial footage into our videos has greatly expanded the way we communicate our stories with our viewers, and it’s given us a whole new perspective to work from. Sometimes we’ll be flying in the most amazing place you can think of and then be totally gob-smocked by just how much more amazing it looks from the air.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to elevate the way you tell your stories we recommend giving drones a shot. Drones are becoming more common and affordable, and as more people begin to use them, we’re actually very excited to see how visual storytelling will evolve.

Here’s our list of the top five places to drone in the Philippines.

1. Siargao

Siargao tops our list because it is quite simply the most gorgeous place in the entire Philippines. If we could break down this list any further Siargao itself would take up the top three spots for sure. The region is known for its surfing and rocky shorelines that break up into crystal-clear lagoons, and lush mangrove forests.

Siargao is Boom’s personal favorite, and he recommends flying the drone over Sohotan, the dark jade lagoon there is dotted with tiny islets and is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places to visit in person. We were blown away by the footage we collected in Siargao and you’ll only be able to really appreciate the grandeur of it all from a bird’s-eye view.

2. Batanes

Sean’s personal favorite island. The northern-most province is one of the most isolated in the entire Philippine archipelago. The three major islands that make up the Batanes group are some of the rawest and untouched places in the entire country. Batanes’ unique geology sets it apart from the rest of the islands, and being there almost feels like you’ve traveled back in time.

Itbayat island is the largest in Batanes and the most stunning. Flying along the coastline while the locals secured their boats for the night by manually dragging and pushing them up some seriously steep cliffs was one of the more memorable experiences we’ve had.

3. Palawan

Probably the most iconic place for drone flying on this list. Palawan is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque places in the Philippines. This is a great place to fly, and you’ll definitely come away with some amazing photos. However, a word of warning: Palawan is made up mostly of limestone, which look fantastic in photos, but the limestone can actually interfere with the radio signals for some drones. Fly with caution and not too close to rocky formations.

4. Cebu

An adventurer’s paradise that has plenty of destinations perfect for flying. We’ve gotten some of our most iconic footage from the southern part of Cebu. And if you ever get a chance to visit, we recommend flying at Kawasan Falls. The blue waters of the falls are absolutely brilliant!

5. Metro Manila

Metro Manila is one of the world’s “megacities,” ranking 8th largest in the world. The urban sprawl that sometimes feels never-ending is perfect for aerials. The stark contrast between urban decay and modern development is an interesting dynamic that’s great for visual storytelling. But be aware that flying may be restricted in certain parts of the city so best to check online.

- Boom Garcia, Sean Nolan

The Filipino Schindler (movie)

The Filipino Schindler: How the country's former president saved hundreds from the Holocaust

Chris Neebould
The National (UAE)
22 June 2019


In the opening scenes of Quezon’s Game, a newsreel plays harrowing images of concentration camps and the atrocities carried by the Nazi Party. As the reels plays, an ailing president of the Philippines, Manuel Quezon – head of a government in exile at the end of the Second World War – turns to his wife and asks: “Could I have done more?”

The real Manuel Quezon, who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. Alamy

It’s a fair assumption that most of the audience at screenings won’t know what he’s referring to. Is it his becoming the first elected president of a fully unified Philippines? 

His successful land reforms? His attempts to free the nation’s economy from the shackles of foreign ownership? His war on corruption? Or his leading of a ­government- in-exile in the US following the Japanese occupation of his homeland?

In fact, he’s not talking about any of these things, but about a little-known period in his presidency, one that doesn’t feature in many history books and remains a mystery to a vast majority of Filipinos.

Kate Alejandrino, right, stars as Maria Aurora “Baby” Quezon. Courtesy Film Freeway

Thanks to his actions, Quezon can reasonably be described as Asia’s equivalent of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist credited with shielding more than 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories.

Between 1938 and 1941, Quezon concocted a plan with his American poker-playing buddies – Paul McNutt, the US high commissioner, Philippine residents and cigar magnates the Frieder brothers, and Dwight ­Eisenhower, then chief of the US military in the islands.

Their idea would mean Quezon issued visas and assisted with transport to smuggle around 1,200 Jews out of Nazi-occupied Europe and resettle them in the Philippines. Had Quezon’s plans gone perfectly, he would have rescued more than 10,000 lives. He had already built a ­village where successful escapees could have lived and worked in the city of Marikina, and had declared the southern island of Mindanao a safe space where he hoped to settle a ­further 10,000 European Jews. Sadly, the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941 cut his scheme short and the president was forced to flee his homeland to establish his ­government in exile.

Manuel Quezon with his son, Manuel Jr, his wife, Dona, and his daughter, Maria. Corbis via Getty Images

The story was lost on the shelves of history, but now British filmmaker Matthew Rosen, a long-time resident of the Philippines, has brought the tale to the big screen – picking up more than 20 international festival prizes on the way. The film is currently in cinemas in the Philippines, while Filipino channel ABS-CBN, in association with the Philippine Embassy in the UAE, is planning select UAE screenings soon.

Rosen has been making films in the Philippines since the 1980s, after he was brought over as a cinematographer on a six-month contract by a British producer. That contract was extended to a year, and by then he’d fallen in love with both the country and his wife-to-be. He never left.

The tale of how he came across this particular story, which even his ­Filipina wife was unaware of, is almost as incredible as the story itself. “I found out totally by accident,” he admits. “I’m a British Jew, living in the Philippines with my wife, and we went back to the UK for a Jewish wedding. When we started singing [traditional Jewish wedding song] Hava Nagila, my wife knew all the words and dance moves.”

Raymond Bagatsing, Billy Ray Gallion, and David Bianco in 'Quezon's Game'. Courtesy Film Freeway

Upon quizzing his wife Lori on her sudden command of Hebrew, he discovered that she used to sing the song on the streets of her hometown as a child, and had always assumed it was a Filipino song in a dialect she didn’t understand.

Rosen looked further into the mystery on returning to the Philippines, where a visit to a museum in the back room of a synagogue revealed that the area where his wife had grown up once had a sizeable Jewish population. Slowly, the puzzle began to fit together, and once Rosen had managed to track down the surviving family members of both Quezon and the Frieder brothers, the full scale of the joint US-Filipino evacuation efforts came to light.

There is still a small Jewish ­community in the Philippines, Rosen adds, although most of those who came over during the Holocaust left when the war finished – the Japanese destroyed the village they had moved to, which was on the site of what is now Marikina City Hall. Although the filmmaker notes that the local Jewish community had some knowledge of the events, the Filipino community had none at all. “I just felt this was a story that needed to be out there. Quezon was a hero,” he says.

With the story complete, there was still one major challenge ­remaining for Rosen – getting the film ­funded. The Filipino cinema market is ­traditionally skewed towards ­romance, comedy and the occasional big action flick. Historical drama is not something the local industry is known for. It’s perhaps doubly surprising, then, that not only did Rosen successfully raise the film’s reported $500,000 (Dh1.8 million) budget, but he did so through the Philippines’s biggest mainstream TV and cinema conglomerate, ABS-CBN.

“It was really difficult, and ABS was not the first place we tried,” he admits. “It took us three years of solid pitching. We’d been turned down by almost everyone else, but we hadn’t tried the big houses first, because we didn’t think this was the kind of film they’d make. We’d been trying to pitch to government agencies and indies, but absolutely nobody wanted it.”

Rosen could perhaps have saved himself the trouble – his last resort loved the idea, and took it on board almost immediately: “We should have gone there first as they saw something they liked and it was settled very ­quickly,” he says.

Audiences seem to have bucked the trend of eschewing historical dramas, too, perhaps understandably given this fascinating lost story about one of their national heroes. The film is already in its third week in Filipino cinemas, and the director reports that it is still playing to packed houses and may extend its run.

Rosen’s next plan is to get the film out to wider audiences internationally. Quezon’s Game is filmed 80 per cent in English, with the remainder in subtitled Spanish and Tagalog, and its impressive festival run at the turn of the year should bode well for international audiences, too.

ABS-CBN in Dubai hasn’t yet confirmed the exact details of its planned UAE screenings, but perhaps the film’s runaway success back home could tempt them to give it a wider opening.

Philippines is Mr. Gay World 2019

Filipino crowned Mr. Gay World 2019

ABS-CBN News

May 05 2019 

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MANILA - John Jeffrey "Janjep" Carlos became the second Filipino and Asian to win the Mr. Gay World crown after winning this year's pageant in South Africa. 

Carlos, who hails from Cavite, bested 21 other candidates in the final round of the pageant in Cape Town, South Africa on May 4 (May 5 in Manila). 

He joins fellow Filipino John Fernandez Raspado took the crown in 2017. 

Carlos succeeded Mr. Gay World 2018 Jordan Bruno, an Australian national, for the crown.

Spain's Francisco Alvarado was crowned 1st runner up, followed by Hungary's Oliver Pusztan (2nd runner up), Thailand's Cjayudhom Samibat (3rd runner up) and Belgium's Nick Van Vooren (4th runner up) 

In his introduction video posted on the Mr Gay World 2019 Youtube channel, Carlos said mental health awareness was one of his main advocacies, particularly the fight against depression. 

"Depression is real, and it has caused the tragic loss of lives. Depression is a real illness that can be treated if properly diagnosed," he said.

"With love and understanding of people undergoing depression, this illness can be transformed into wellness." 

ASEAN's first Autism Advocacy Prize

Filipino wins first ASEAN prize for autism advocacy 

Christina Mendez

Philippine Star

15 November 2018

SINGAPORE – A Filipina mother who has pushed for the rights of persons with autism is the first recipient of the ASEAN Prize in honor of her exemplary contributions to an inclusive ASEAN community.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong poses with Erlinda Uy Koe, chair emeritus of the Autism Society-Philippines, during the opening ceremony for the 33rd Asean Summit and Related Summits last Tuesday.AP

President Duterte congratulated Erlinda Uy Koe, who was given the award during opening ceremonies of the 33rd ASEAN summit at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Center on Tuesday night.

Koe became emotional when interviewed by members of Philippine media covering the summit after she received the award from no less than Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and ASEAN secretary-general Dato Lim Jock Hoi.

Koe, chair emeritus of the Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP), was nominated for her family autism advocacy.

The ASP’s “Angels Walk for Autism 2018” gathered 24,000 participants early this year, while thousands more converged in simultaneous walks in 10 cities.