culture
Therese is a writer-editor with a strong background in digital media.
She's currently the APAC Lead Editor for behavioral insights practice Canvas8, working with experts, journalists, and analysts to identify insights for clients.
She was the culture editor of VICE Asia, where she led the team in winning a Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for Excellence in Arts & Culture Reporting in 2022. As a reporter, she covers K-pop, global pop culture, life, and mental health.
Previously, she was the Manila managing editor for Coconuts Media. She also contributed to Quartz, was a branded content producer for Rappler, and an associate editor for lifestyle website and zine Juice.ph.
She is a graduate of The University of Hong Kong's Master of Journalism program, New York University's Summer Publishing Institute, and De La Salle University-Manila, where she earned an honorable mention for a degree in Communication Arts.
culture
Shin Seung-ho photographed by Chanhee Kim Teens around the world are dreaming of becoming K-pop idols, even as former trainees share their experiences of overwork. This is part of a special series, The Future of Fame Is the Fan , which dissects how celebrity became so slippery.
"Squid Game" is a survival drama about people competing against each other in a series of deadly challenges inspired by children's games. Photo: YOUNGKYU PARK, Courtesy of Netflix
VICE spoke with K-pop girl group TWICE about their new album "Taste of Love," what the past year has been like, and the hope of seeing their fans again.
BIBI. Photo: Courtesy of Feel Ghood Music and 88Rising The South Korean singer-songwriter is living the best of both the underground and pop scenes. VICE K-Pop: Music, fandom, celebrity, and all things K-pop. This month, VICE is doubling down on all things K-pop and Korean music, featuring articles and videos on music, fandom, and celebrity.
In an exclusive interview with VICE, Jae talks about his solo project, the problem with perfection, and finding himself again through music.
LeeHi. Photo: Courtesy of AOMG Ltd. "All the songs in my albums, whether I've written or picked up, are true representations of how I've lived and how I feel." "Singers singing on stage come across as special and seem far away, but in fact, they're just like ordinary people."
Singer sogumm. Photo: COURTESY OF AOMG LTD. "My lifelong dream is to go outside Earth's atmosphere with a spaceship," the 27-year-old singer told VICE with a slight giggle. "I've started investing in related stocks, studying bit by bit. I really hope to go to space."
Day 1 of the band's anniversary concert BTS 2021 MUSTER SOWOOZOO started with a rare close-up of the singer's tattoos.
The show has all the beats of a rom-com but turns the genre's tropes on their heads. Plus it's just really good TV.
Some say the K-pop boy band's performance during the Grammy ceremony has a larger impact than a win.
K-pop artists usually stay mum on social issues but many lent their support to the Black Lives Matter movement. Here's why.
Photo: Courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment "'Life Goes On' is a little more different. It's a little more weighty ... [It is] our way of providing healing and consolation that life continues to go on."
Photo: Courtesy of Frankie Pangilinan On Philippine Independence Day, VICE spoke with 19-year-old artist Frankie Pangilinan about what fighting for freedom looks like in 2020. One thing the world has learned in the past couple of weeks is that when pushed to the brink, not even a pandemic can stop people from rising up and demanding justice.
"When they announced the lockdown, I knew that Poblacion was not going to be the same. It's a community and all the shops will be closed, so that's when I decided, OK, I have to go somewhere."
Photo edit by VICE. Screencap from 'Christmas in Our Hearts' music video on UniversalRecPH YouTube channel. While snowfall or stockings on display mark the holiday season for other countries, in tropical Philippines, it's a song by veteran singer Jose Mari Chan that takes over homes, malls, and parties.
What Ever Happened to...? is an investigation into the whereabouts of former pop culture icons, political figures, and urban legends. This week, we're diving into former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos' 3,000-pair shoe collection. As a girl growing up in the Philippines, the first thing I knew about our infamous First Lady Imelda Marcos, is that she owned 3,000 pairs of shoes.
I can't dance. I don't think I'm particularly funny, and I can't make my dog jump over a stack of toilet paper. And yet I thought, how hard can it be? But the attempt quickly became a rude awakening - or confirmation - of my lack of coordination.
A First-Timer's Guide to the World is our bid to make life in quarantine a little less monotonous. Here, VICE Asia Editor Therese Reyes tries random challenges for the sake of content. Bikes demand from their riders a set of attitudes that make me deeply uncomfortable.
Samantha Lee is a Filipino writer-director. Her films Baka Bukas (Maybe Tomorrow) and Billie and Emma received various awards in the Philippines and have been screened in a number of international film festivals like the Osaka Asian Film Festival and the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco.
It's the second Saturday of December, just two weeks before Christmas, and shoppers are already in a long line outside Quezon City's Ali Mall, impatiently waiting for the doors to open. People quickly make their way inside once the guard finally unlocks the entrance at 11am, and in a matter of minutes, the lights are ...
It's not the kind of thing you see every day in Italy - hundreds of people queuing in a line that stretched around the block, patiently waiting for a taste of sweetened spaghetti topped with processed cheese and hotdog slices. That, however, was exactly the scene when Jollibee opened in Milan in March, its first branch ...
Last Friday night, a mostly Gen Z crowd came out to The Island - one of Uptown Bonifacio's trendy new bars - in droves. It seems a lot of them got the memo that crop tops, trendy track pants, and floral button downs were to be featured in the night's lookbook.
The Learning Library is different from other tutorial centers in Manila. This isn't immediately obvious upon entering its branch in Quezon City, an intimate space that includes students from nearby Ateneo de Manila University among it's mostly upper middle class clientele. But a quick glance at the titles on the brightly painted shelves that frame ...
Friday's International Museum Day was extra special for Filipinos - the National Museum of Natural History finally opened to the public after months of anticipation. Not even Manila's unbearable summer heat stopped people from standing in line outside the building just to be among the first to snap a photo from inside.
Sitting in a mall in southern Metro Manila, budding YouTube star Raf Juane - he now has more than 36,000 subscribers - holds up a phone showing a picture of his younger self. The boy staring back from the smartphone screen looks like any other emo kid in the early 2000s: purple hair dye, smudged ...
Antipolo, Philippines At age 12, Fidelina Geraldez, now 49, was already working at her uncle's store, poultry farm, and piggery. She said working for relatives is common in her hometown of Cebu, a province in Visayas island. Utang na loob-or "debt of gratitude"-is a value that runs deep in Philippine society.
The Atlantic's latest cover story, "My Family's Slave," has the Philippines talking. An emotional first-hand account of modern-day slavery, the author Alex Tizon revealed how his family had kept a slave, Eudocia Tomas Pulido, affectionately known as Lola, for more than 50 years. When Tizon's family moved from the Philippines to the US in the 1960s,...
Filipinos are fearful they may soon have to say goodbye to the iconic jeepneys millions of commuters ride every day. The Philippines' transportation department is working on a modernization plan that is expected to replace all jeepneys 15 years and older with electric vehicles, a step towards decreasing the country's carbon emissions.
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This article is part of a wider initiative by VICE looking at the state of the environment around the globe. In Asia-Pacific, each VICE office is examining the main concerns from their territory, in an effort to gauge the health of the planet as a whole and to highlight the widespread need for change.
"I think many people who grew up in Baguio have learned to be environmentalists, in a sense, because we saw a city that was very conducive to loving nature," she said. "The more that you consume and the more that you waste, the more that we are depleting the resources of our planet.
"Some people think zero waste means no trash. Actually, for me, the meaning of zero waste is no excess," one environmentalist said. Buzzing black flies and rows of trays full of maggots filled a small warehouse in the city of Bandung in West Java, Indonesia.
(L) Filipinos in face masks on February 26, 2020. Photo by TED ALJIBE / AFP. (R) A government worker disinfects a high school, amid concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, in Manila on March 9, 2020. Photo by Maria TAN / AFP. Metro Manila, the Philippines' capital region, is officially on lockdown.
Philippine police man a checkpoint on the border between Quezon City and Manila districts on March 18, 2020, as the government imposed measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP.
An aggrieved security guard who held dozens at gunpoint for hours, has garnered controversial sympathy from netizens who liken the incident to the movies 'Joker' and 'Parasite.'
Is Duterte behind the closure of the Philippines' largest news network? Is this an attack on press freedom? What's next?
Protestors carry signs that say "Junk Terror Bill" at the University of the Philippines campus. Photo by Miggy Hilario / AFP However, the somber national mood didn't prevent Filipinos from gathering, if only to speak out, rather than express Filipino pride.
Filipinos protest the Anti-Terrorism Bill. Photo: Ted ALJIBE / AFP Human rights groups, journalists, artists, and regular citizens had spoken out against the bill on social media, while others rallied on the ground despite anti-coronavirus measures forbidding public gatherings.
Employees and supporters of Philippine television network ABS-CBN hold placards as they protest in front of the House of Representatives in Manila on July 10, 2020. Photo: Miggy HILARIO / AFP While some of ABS-CBN's entertainment and news shows still appear on cable channels, it had to stop broadcasting across its 80 stations on free TV and AM and FM radio.
The Philippine President made the bold claim during his 2020 State of the Nation Address, amid growing concerns over his administration's pandemic management and foreign policy shift towards China.
(L) Vernise Tantuco talking about their fact-checking methodology during an event in Bacolod City in November 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Vernise Tantuco. (R) Raisa Serafica speaking at an event in the Rappler office in Metro Manila in July 2019.
Some of us are worried about corruption. Others are angry at anyone unnationalistic enough to worry.
A new anti-terrorism bill only needs President Rodrigo Duterte's signature to be signed into law. Human rights activists say it is a repression tool to silence government critics and diminish freedoms.
Spoiler alert: there was no social distancing.
Despite ordinary Filipinos and human rights groups calling such an arrest a violation of freedom of expression, the national police force backed up the cops who arrested Orcullo. "There could have been other statements that became the reason for the police to take this person into custody," Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Brigadier General Bernard Banac told CNN Philippines on Friday, May 15.
Photo: Miggy Hilario / AFP As hospitals in the Philippines continue to buckle under the pressure of rising coronavirus cases, its healthcare system now faces another blow following allegations that officials from the country's public insurance agency have pocketed over $300 million in the past year.
For many, the topic of plastic pollution conjures up images of dirty rivers and massive landfills in developing countries. It's hard not to think this when the idea is supported by official studies. In 2015, a report on Science revealed that the leading sources of plastic waste in oceans were in Asia, with China, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the top three spots.
It wasn't much of a joke. More of a quip. But it had the desired effect, as it usually does when Rodrigo Duterte cracks wise amid the adoring throngs at his campaign rallies. He would sacrifice his life for the Filipino people, he said. Even accept execution by hanging with a smile.
It was a perfect day for somersaults at the beach. Three teenagers took turns showing off their acrobatic skills, each impressively sticking their landings after taking running leaps into the waist-deep water. The carefree Sunday we visited Baseco Beach, in Manila's Tondo neighborhood, the teens were joined by hundreds of local residents, many of whom ...
Walking along Roxas Boulevard's Baywalk, one is presented with two sides of Manila: the city that is and the city that could have been. On a recent Saturday morning, we got a taste of both. It was 7am and the road wasn't yet drowning in the bumper-to-bumper traffic that would fill it by afternoon.
Over the weekend, news outlets reported how Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte requires his cabinet members to learn Cebuano (his mother tongue) in order to understand and participate in meetings. "So I told them, 'You can't understand? OK, learn. It's not my problem. I'm not a member. I'm your chief in the cabinet.
They talked about closing Boracay for months. On Wednesday, the talk became reality. President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson, Harry Roque, told reporters that the president had ordered a 6-month total closure of the Philippines' most popular island destination, following a proposal from the departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Tourism (DOT), and Interior and Local ...
The Philippines is inching closer to reinstating the death penalty, which it abolished in 2006 (it was also the first country in the region to ratify a United Nations protocol against capital punishment), and the process is pitting a Bible-thumping boxer against the Catholic Church. With a new death-penalty bill overwhelmingly passing the House of...
President Rodrigo Duterte is best known for his violent war on drugs that has killed thousands of Filipinos. But a fictional portrayal of a Philippine president in "Madam Secretary" has his administration worried that it could portray the leader in a bad light. An upcoming episode of the CBS drama scheduled to air on Sunday...
The Trump Organization's partners around the world have been seen as potential conflicts of interest ever since Donald Trump announced he was running for US president. With his inauguration just days away, more attention is being paid to these conflicts, and the head of the Office of Government Ethics insists that Trump must sell off...
Manila, Philippines The show began like many other casino acts do. On the last Tuesday of 2016 in Resorts World Manila's Bar 360, six girls in matching white tank tops and shorts walked up to a stage lit with strobe lights, and danced to hits including Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte wants to amend the process to declare martial law, further emboldening the strongman amid his controversial war on drugs that has killed more than 6,000 people. In a speech addressed to female volunteers on Dec. 22, Duterte criticized the process required for the president to declare martial law, which requires approval from other branches...
Like the Donald, like Duterte. As Donald Trump struggles to find musicians to perform at his inauguration, the Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte finds himself in a similar situation. As a protest against the president's war on drugs, James Taylor decided to cancel his concert in Manila.
The majority of Filipinos are worried a family member will be a victim in Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, but still, many say they're satisfied with how the government is handling things, a recent survey revealed. These contradicting feelings about the crackdown that has killed close to 6,000 people are in the latest report released by Social Weather Stations, a...
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's latest controversial statement was an admission that he personally killed drug suspects when he was mayor of Davao City. Once again, his communications secretary Martin Andanar was quick to take it back. "I reviewed the tape. He didn't say he personally killed.
While apartment buildings in New York are shedding the Trump name, the Philippines is due to get its first Trump Tower next year. The man responsible for building what will be the tallest residential skyscraper in the country isn't Donald Trump, though, it is his local business partner Jose E.B.
Rodrigo Duterte has shown he's unafraid of lashing out at world leaders in his speeches. But he does fear awkward moments, apparently. The Philippine president admitted that he pretended to be sick during parts of an international conference last month just to avoid an awkward encounter with Barack Obama, who has criticized Duterte's bloody war on drugs....
One in four young Filipinos have been sexually violated, according to a report released this week by the UN children's agency Unicef and the Philippine government. Based on a survey of 13- to 24-year-olds conducted last year, the report found (pdf) that most of the violations happen in the children's homes, communities, or during dates; that boys are more at...
For all the controversy he's generated since taking office a little over five months ago, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has-so far-remained a popular leader among Filipinos. That makes challenging him difficult, but the political opposition is gathering strength, led by a charismatic but fundamentally different kind of politician: his vice president, Leni Robredo.
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte is best known for his violent crackdown on drugs, but a new program from his administration shows that his iron fist could be beneficial for his more progressive policies. Next year, the Department of Health (DOH) will begin to distribute condoms and hold counseling session in schools all over the Philippines, the department secretary...
Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos was given a hero's burial two weeks ago in a controversial decision by president Rodrigo Duterte. Since then, young Filipinos have been spearheading a sustained protest movement that's relied heavily on social media and drawn inspiration from everything from Game of Thrones to local soap operas.
Hong Kong Ever since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines in May, Ces, a 32-year-old Filipino domestic worker in Hong Kong, said she feels "very happy to go home." That's because Duterte has done something to stamp out one of her biggest fears about flying back to Manila: "bullet planting."
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, which involves controversial extrajudicial killings, has claimed its first high-profile victim, in the southern province of Maguindanao. Samsudin Dimaukom, the elected mayor of Datu Saudi-Ampatuan, was gunned down this morning along with other people in his convoy during a clash with police at a checkpoint.
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While we're relying on prepackaged food and gadgets more than ever, limiting waste and conserving energy is still possible while stuck indoors.
I hope people cooperate with the lockdown. It's scary. But even though we're scared we can't do anything about it because we need to work for our families. Riders don't want to be outside but we need to do it, because working helps us, even if just in a small way.
Where we live, we see EDSA, a major highway in Metro Manila that is usually congested. But now, we only see four to five cars at a time. From being a busy area, you can now barely see any pedestrians or vehicles on the road.
This is especially true for countries in Asia where understaffed hospitals have been upended by the rising number of COVID-19 cases. In the Philippines, some health workers are forced to work without protective gear, leading them to beg for some on social media.
While only time will tell if these changes will last, here's some positive news during this dark time.
Illustration by Bobby Satya Ramadhan Singledom has become so popular in the Philippines that women are now reclaiming the term "No Boyfriend Since Birth." This story is part of a wider editorial series. Coming Out and Falling In Love is about the queering of our relationships with others, and the self.
I think about this a lot. Me and five friends huddled around a long table, warmed by sweaters, steam, and soju. We're in Baguio, one of the few places in the Philippines where the temperature drops below 10 degrees. Surrounded by mountains and pine trees, we plan our next trips for the year.
We know how hard it is to keep up with all the restaurant, bar, and club openings in Metro Manila. Sometimes they're local concepts bringing something totally fresh to our city's F&B scene, other times they're big international brands coming to the Philippines for the first time.
The past week's downpour indicates that summer season is officially over in the Philippines, but most fitness enthusiasts would say that that is no reason to stop going to the gym. It is, however, understandable to want to condense two hours worth of exercising, especially as traffic in Manila gets even worse because of the ...
Makati's Poblacion district is already teeming with trendy bars and restaurants -- but a new addition to the area aims to fill the relatively small but passionate demand for a space in Manila specializing in house and techno music The Void is...
Bonifacio Global City has become the go-to location for international brands coming to Manila for the first time, and the latest to set up shop in the business district is Hong Kong's Elephant Grounds. Filipinos who frequent Hong Kong are all too familiar with the cafe's cozy-but-modern interiors and offerings like single origin coffee, artisanal ...
Fast food - that is, quick and easily accessible food - gets a bad rap. It's usually associated with greasy burgers or carb-heavy, rice-based meals, but a new restaurant in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) is rolling out on-the-go meals that show that "fast food" can be convenient, light, and satisfying.
Attending art events can feel a bit intimidating sometimes - especially if you feel unfamiliar with the subject matter. Museums and galleries also often have a vibe of exclusivity to them that could have an alienating effect on people who have just started to dip their toes into the art world.
"Charot" is a colloquial Filipino term that means "just kidding," and is often added to the end of a sentence as a way to downplay a statement. It also happens to be the title of a new musical by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA).
In the Philippines, merienda is a light snack that's just as important as any other meal. Usually consumed once in the morning and another in the afternoon, they're meant to satisfy carvings before lunch and dinner. Merienda fare isn't showcased much in Filipino restaurants abroad or in the Philippines, which is why Coconuts Manila was excited to try ...
After a stint at a San Francisco Bay Area winery and 15 years of working in a cruise ship as a cellar master, sommelier, and wine educator, Isagani Natividad is back in the Philippines, now as the in-house sommelier for La Petite Parisienne.
Food parks and food halls don't usually go for that minimalist chic look - it's usually multi-colored LED lighting, bold colors, and a converted shipping container or two at these kinds of trendy communal food centers. The Grid, newly opened in the new wing of the posh Power Plant mall in Makati, however, is in many ways an ...
The original Magnolia Bakery in New York City has, in some ways, become a pop culture icon in itself - it was even filmed in a scene of Sex and the City, and was name-dropped in the film The Devil Wears Prada. Now the bakery is an international brand with more than 10 outlets all over the ...
Editor's Note: This review contains spoilers. The Coconuts Manila crew caught last Friday's performance of Ang Huling El Bimbo, a musical carried by songs adapted from the discography of Filipino '90s mega band Eraserheads. For those who may be unfamiliar, Eraserheads is a rock band often called "The Beatles of the Philippines."
It had been two months since 19-year-old Nurrol Izzah Mala got a taste of badak. She only eats her favorite meal - made from jackfruit, coconut milk, rice, and fish - a couple of times a year, whenever she goes home to the Muslim-majority city of Marawi in the southern Philippines.
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Hosted a video interview with dominatrix Eva Oh.
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Reporting from Manila, Philippines.