AYEJ Newsroom

In Marawi, the barangay long known for its garbage moves on — but its livelihoods must too

Marawi's Papandayan barangay lived beside an open dumpsite for over two decades before its 2021 relocation. The cleanup ended a health crisis, but also the income waste pickers depended on to survive.

Alyanna Fatmah Barapantao · 6 min read · Sep 12, 2026

In Marawi, the barangay long known for its garbage moves on — but its livelihoods must too

Voices

Redirections happen, and it led me to mangroves, then seagrasses

A hemophobic kid who once dreamed of medical school found his way to marine biology instead — and then to mangroves, a field he calls "a dying breed" worth saving.

Matthew Tabilog · 5 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Redirections happen, and it led me to mangroves, then seagrasses

Hope

In three coastal provinces, the sea became the classroom

Through Haribon's Junior Sea Guardian Project, coastal schoolchildren in Aklan, Antique, and Quezon are trading textbooks for tide pools. Teachers say the hands-on lessons are reshaping habits at home, too.

Ritchel Cahilig · 5 min read · Sep 12, 2026

In three coastal provinces, the sea became the classroom

Hope

What does a disaster-ready barangay actually sound like?

Barangay Pagas in Cabanatuan turned recyclables into scholarships and sirens into survival — becoming a five-time disaster-response awardee along the way. Its formula: strict ordinances, real community training, and follow-through.

Klyde Charles Lee · 5 min read · Sep 12, 2026

What does a disaster-ready barangay actually sound like?

Hope

Green Island, Palawan gets its first sustainable freshwater system

Green Island in Roxas, Palawan just got its first reverse-osmosis water station, cutting drinking water costs in half for over 300 residents. But population growth and pollution are already testing its limits.

Helen Mae Padrones · 5 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Green Island, Palawan gets its first sustainable freshwater system

Voices

1.5°C is gone. Here's what's still worth building.

Ten years into climate education, Lara Salaysay unpacks what the new UN climate report actually means — and why 1.5°C slipping away doesn't mean the fight for a livable future is over.

Lara Jean Salaysay · 5 min read · Sep 12, 2026

1.5°C is gone. Here's what's still worth building.

Voices

Damp boots, camera traps, and a house full of conservationists

A volunteer application led one writer to Bayawan Nature Reserve's research house — rain boots by the door, camera traps on every desk. Conservation, he learned, is also dishes, chores, and daily life.

Yobert M. Juanillo · 4 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Damp boots, camera traps, and a house full of conservationists

Visuals

'The trend of extinction has slowed' — meet the West Visayas Big Five

Five endemic species — the lagsaw, bakatin, badlitan, tarictic, and talarak — are the benchmark for conservation success across the West Visayas. Talarak Foundation says extinction's trend may finally be slowing.

Talarak Foundation · 6 min read · Sep 12, 2026

'The trend of extinction has slowed' — meet the West Visayas Big Five

Frontlines

Climate change affects the Deaf more severely; here’s how they cope, and how we can make sure they’re not left behind

A first-of-its-kind study found Deaf Filipinos face climate disasters with almost no accessible institutional support. Researchers say something as simple as hiring interpreters could close that life-or-death gap.

Tricia Aquino · 5 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Climate change affects the Deaf more severely; here’s how they cope, and how we can make sure they’re not left behind

Hope

Sa Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, nakasandig sa barikada ang paglaban ng mga katutubo sa pagmimina

Sa Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, 24 oras na nagbabantay ang mga katutubo sa mga barikada laban sa isang mining exploration permit. Alam nila ang maaaring kapalit — tulad ng nangyari na sa Didipio at Runruno.

Mark Lemuel Pabalan · 7 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Sa Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, nakasandig sa barikada ang paglaban ng mga katutubo sa pagmimina

Hope

Ang patuloy na pagbangon ng mga magtatahong sa alon ng langis

Ilang dekada nang nagtatahong si Emmanuel "Ka Manny" Dobleso sa Kawit, Cavite. Ang oil spill noong 2024 ay ikatlo na sa loob ng isang dekada — at hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin ganap na nakakabawi.

Palm Krislyn Balugo · 7 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Ang patuloy na pagbangon ng mga magtatahong sa alon ng langis

Voices

What can a 20-year-old binocular teach you about conservation?

A Haribon communications specialist's first birdwatching fieldwork at La Mesa Ecopark became an unexpected lesson in patience, and in why conservation starts with simply paying attention.

Eula Femina Suza · 5 min read · Sep 12, 2026

What can a 20-year-old binocular teach you about conservation?

Frontlines

The barangay in Cebu that got blamed for everyone else's trash

A viral video of a man dumping trash into Manila Bay off Barangay Pasil sparked online outrage against the whole community. Residents say the real culprits — industrial waste and a shifted river current — lie upstream.

Mark Aaron Collera · 8 min read · Sep 12, 2026

The barangay in Cebu that got blamed for everyone else's trash

Hope

Where the water once fed us: As Navotas' tahungan disappears, fisherfolk adapt to keep their way of life afloat

Bamboo tahungan once lined Manila Bay, supporting generations of Navotas mussel farmers like Arvin Escarial. A 500-hectare reclamation project has demolished them, leaving fisherfolk to fight for what remains.

Ace Russell C. Pizarro · 7 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Where the water once fed us: As Navotas' tahungan disappears, fisherfolk adapt to keep their way of life afloat

Hope

Who really recycles the Philippines' electronic trash? Ask the informal waste pickers.

In Malabon, informal waste pickers like Joanna Amican dismantle electronics with bare hands to survive, breathing in toxic metal dust and fibers. Now they're organizing to demand legal recognition and protection.

Alex Lauricio · 7 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Who really recycles the Philippines' electronic trash? Ask the informal waste pickers.

Hope

'Ang kape molahutay': inside one Bukidnon farm where the blossoms fall too soon

Cornelio Eraya has farmed coffee in Bukidnon for over 40 years, building a 29-hectare farm and raising eight children. Now, unpredictable weather is putting decades of harvests and the region's coffee future at risk.

Sai Saara Velez · 7 min read · Sep 12, 2026

'Ang kape molahutay': inside one Bukidnon farm where the blossoms fall too soon

Hope

A decade after Yolanda, can one man's mangrove forest survive a highway?

For over a decade, Roque Regis has helped restore Tacloban's Paraiso mangroves after Super Typhoon Yolanda. Now a proposed causeway project threatens the water flow that keeps the sanctuary alive.

Dorothy Globio Fabian · 6 min read · Sep 12, 2026

A decade after Yolanda, can one man's mangrove forest survive a highway?

Hope

Fifty years on Zambales waters, and Belty Amlog has watched the catch grow thin

Dynamite and cyanide fishing have left over 90% of Zambales' reefs threatened, costing the Philippines billions annually. Fisherman Belty Amlog, 74, says the destruction is now emptying his own nets.

Rose Ann Amlog · 6 min read · Sep 12, 2026

Fifty years on Zambales waters, and Belty Amlog has watched the catch grow thin

All Stories

In Marawi, the barangay long known for its garbage moves on — but its livelihoods must too

Redirections happen, and it led me to mangroves, then seagrasses

In three coastal provinces, the sea became the classroom

What does a disaster-ready barangay actually sound like?

Green Island, Palawan gets its first sustainable freshwater system

1.5°C is gone. Here's what's still worth building.

Damp boots, camera traps, and a house full of conservationists

'The trend of extinction has slowed' — meet the West Visayas Big Five

Climate change affects the Deaf more severely; here’s how they cope, and how we can make sure they’re not left behind

Sa Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, nakasandig sa barikada ang paglaban ng mga katutubo sa pagmimina

Ang patuloy na pagbangon ng mga magtatahong sa alon ng langis

What can a 20-year-old binocular teach you about conservation?

The barangay in Cebu that got blamed for everyone else's trash

Where the water once fed us: As Navotas' tahungan disappears, fisherfolk adapt to keep their way of life afloat

Who really recycles the Philippines' electronic trash? Ask the informal waste pickers.

'Ang kape molahutay': inside one Bukidnon farm where the blossoms fall too soon

A decade after Yolanda, can one man's mangrove forest survive a highway?

Fifty years on Zambales waters, and Belty Amlog has watched the catch grow thin