PhilSTAR L!fe yearend editorial: The stories that stayed with us in 2024

This Filipino anthropologist made 44 audio walking tours for 44 places in the Philippines

L!fe was among the first to feature Filipino anthropologist Raizel Pauline Albano or Anthro on Foot, who came up with a mix of self-paced audio walking tours around cities and municipalities in the Philippines for travel enthusiasts to know more about the country’s gems minus the carbon footprint.

It was four years in the making—she started recording it in Jan. 3, 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and launched it on Jan. 9, 2024. L!fe featured her special project a day after its release.

Six months later, Albano became the first Filipino to win the “Star of Outstanding” prize at the 2024 Global Awards for World Heritage Education Innovative Cases by UNESCO in India for Anthro on Foot. She was also invited to present at its online session dubbed Science, Creativity, Empowerment—World Heritage Education Towards the Future.

In July, Albano thanked L!fe for being one of the first to believe in Anthro on Foot. “It kickstarted our project and brought us places I never would have imagined finding myself in,” she said.

L!fe is all about seeing the good even in the little-known, and shining a light on those that deserve it. Anthro on Foot reminds us that there's so much you can learn even from the simplest of things, and that the things that truly matter are well within our reach.

This 72-year-old man turned his home into library to give back to the community

Early this year, L!fe visited Hernando “Mang Nanie” Guanlao in his modest home in Makati, which he turned into a communal library with a wide variety of books for all ages. Since its launch, "The Reading Club 200" has been an essential resource for all, especially the street children who don’t have access to good reads and education. There are times when he gives books out for free to marginalized children in remote areas, too.

"My basic rule in life is to serve humanity [because] we failed to explore that area [as] we are educated more on material destiny which is very regretful in the end,” he said.

Mang Nanie is living proof that we don't need to be rich in order to live a rich life—that generosity and helpfulness don’t have a lot to do with how much we have, but more of how much we desire to reach out and offer a hand to those who need it. 

LIST: Top international destinations for Filipino solo travelers

Going on a trip alone has been seen by some as lonely, difficult, and scary, but those who have actually done so said there’s nothing like it. Research has shown that it could bring you transformative experiences as it gives you complete freedom to do whatever you want, makes you step out of your comfort zone, and lets you learn more about yourself along the way.

In this story, L!fe provided readers with a list of countries that are ideal for Pinoy solo travelers, with insights from people who are experienced in the field. It did not only inspire us to add solo travel to our bucket list of new things to try, but also made us realize that there are way too many places in this world and new experiences to embrace—and that we don't need to wait for someone to do it with us.

Quezon City holds 'graduation rights' for LGBTQ+ students denied of marching in their gender-affirming attire

A special graduation ceremony was organized by the Quezon City government for LGBTQIA+ students who weren't allowed to march in their gender-affirming outfits during the official culmination activities of their schools. It took place at the QCX Garden of Quezon Memorial Circle in June, with almost 400 people who attended the event in their toga and rainbow cap.

According to the LGU, the affair was held to honor the graduation rights of queer students and let them freely express the gender that they identify with.

Quezon City has been an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. While Mayor Joy Belmonte has faced backlash by some conservatives for it, she stood firm on her stance in upholding "genderless love" for all. She said, "Hindi ako natatakot, kasi tingin ko tama ang aking ginagawa. Pinaglalaban lang po natin ang pagmamahal ng lahat, dito sa ating lungsod."

This came less than two months before a university drew flak from social media users after releasing a dress code for students that included a ban on long hair for men and cross-dressing in the campus. The graduation event in QC showed that while we still have a long way to go in our fight for LGBTQIA+ rights in the country, there has been progress that continues to spark hope among the queer community and its allies as well.

[OPINION] We haven’t talked nearly enough about Carlos Yulo’s singular genius

Going beyond the millions of pesos and the unconventional incentives that Carlos Yulo got for his double gold win at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was unfortunately tainted by his family drama, this opinion piece by award-winning sports writer Jaemark Tordecilla talked about how important his feat was and how it was almost impossible to achieve.

Despite training costs and other barriers that could have hindered Yulo from clinching the highly coveted medals, he managed to become the only Southeast Asian to take part in the Olympics and the only athlete from a developing country to bag gold. "For people from our part of the world, with our background, winning anything in this sport at this level is damn near impossible. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Carlos Yulo made it happen. Twice," wrote Tordecilla.

"The most impressive part of the whole thing is how he made the impossible now feel inevitable. As if it weren’t crazy enough we have a kid from Leveriza Street in Manila who was born with enough midi-chlorians in his blood to win two Olympic gold medals in gymnastics. Stop paying attention to unimportant sh*t. We might never see anything like Carlos Yulo ever again," he stressed.

At a time when Yulo's family drama dominated headlines amid his historic win, Tordecilla's piece served as a stark reminder for all of us to shift our focus on what matters. It also emphasized the importance of being supportive of our athletes who are waving the country's flag wide and high.

Generations

In October, L!fe also launched Generations—a column that explores various topics and issues from the perspectives of different age groups.

So far, we've had our Gen Z columnist Angel Martinez weigh in on job-hopping and why it isn't all that bad, collecting anik-anik as a way to heal our inner child, gatekeeping and how it could be key to personal style, cheating, and resisting the age of AI-induced brain rot, among others.

Generations has made us see things from the lens of others. Some pieces helped us grasp certain topics better, while others made us realize that we don't always have to agree on one thing in order to understand them. It has sparked insightful conversations in the comments section of the articles that have been shared, and we can't wait for what the column has to offer in the coming year.

Duterte takes 'full legal responsibility' for war on drugs

Former president Rodrigo Duterte said he's taking "full legal responsibility" for the things that happened in the bloody war on drugs—known as "Oplan Tokhang"—under his administration in October. “I, and I alone, take full legal responsibility sa lahat ng nagawa ng mga pulis pursuant to my order," he said in Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing on the issue. "Ako ang managot at ako ang makulong," he added, noting that the cops who simply followed his orders then shouldn't be arrested.

Two months later, the House quad committee recommended the filing of charges against the former chief executive and his allies Ronald dela Rosa, who was the Philippine National Police chief at the start of the anti-drug campaign in 2016, and Bong Go, who was Duterte's former special assistant.

This is an interesting development in the probe into Duterte's drug war, which saw the execution of thousands of suspected drug peddlers, users, and small-time criminals. The government's "Real Numbers" data showed that a total of 6,229 individuals were killed from July 1, 2016, to Jan. 31, 2022, but rights groups estimated that the number of deaths from it reached as high as 27,000. The killings soon caught the attention of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and ordered the ongoing investigation.

EXPLAINER: What does a Trump win in the 2024 US presidential election mean for the Philippines?

The political scene in the United States became eventful in November as it saw Donald Trump's White House comeback. 

Instead of merely reporting that the Republican exceeded the required 270 electoral votes in this US presidential election on Nov. 6, L!fe reached out to two political analysts to explain why it matters and how Trump's win could affect different parts of the world, including the Philippines. They talked about its potential impact on immigrants in the US, regional security in terms of the support the US could give to us under Trump's administration, as well as foreign policy and trading between the US and the Philippines considering his "US first" approach.

We learned that the best thing the Philippines can do moving forward is to meet Trump halfway and adjust to the possible effects of the outcome of the 2024 US polls.

"The only way we can make the most out of our ties with the US is to adapt to his administration’s policies and programs," political expert Dennis Coronacion suggested. "If his government will be less supportive to our country in some aspects mainly for financial reasons, then let's show him that we have become more self-reliant now than we were during his first term. That way, if the United States will continue to support us, it doesn’t necessarily translate to shouldering the financial cost."

[OPINION] The Marcos-Duterte spectacle is misdirecting us all—and we shouldn’t allow it

One of the happenings that became a highlight of local politics this year was the feud between Marcos and Duterte, who were running mates at the 2022 elections under the UniTeam banner.

In her opinion essay, Martinez noted that taking a side or staying neutral in their issue wouldn't impact both parties in any way as these dynasties "could only remain protected and in positions of power."

"So as long as our higher-ups are determined to tear each other down, the welfare of the ordinary Filipino will inevitably have to take the backseat," she wrote. "If we can’t join the fight with the same energy and bravado as before, we should at the very least keep watching. If our officials see that we’ve stopped caring, they can get away with fracturing our democracy. If we turn away, we fail to see who their fake narratives might be harming. If we close our eyes, the time will come when we won’t be able to tell who our real enemies are."

L!fe, but Better: The 100 List

For our fourth anniversary, L!fe launched The 100 List, which consisted of our top recommendations for travel, food, beauty and wellness, and pop culture. Curated for the curious, this special project gave you unfiltered views on offerings that stand out in their respective fields, our country, and even the world.

After a period of research and discussions that lasted for weeks, we were able to complete the selection with quality, inclusivity, reputation, timelessness, recognitions, and sustainability in mind. It's a reflection of our love affair with providing you with everything you want, love, need, and more that's been going on since 2020.

With The 100 List, we put forth a guide you can use as you see more of the world and live a "better life" as defined by you, which you can use in 2025 and perhaps the years to come, too.

2024 Bar topnotchers share their secrets to acing the law licensure exam

After the release of the 2024 Bar exam results on Dec. 13, L!fe asked some topnotchers to share their tips and secrets to acing them.

Some stressed the importance of knowing your weakest and strongest subjects and then planning your Bar calendar accordingly, while others highlighted how having a support system throughout their study period became a big help for them.

Beyond topping the Bar, however, just having 3,962 new lawyers in the country who are here to fight for justice in different issues in the country makes us feel upbeat and hopeful for the year ahead.

Meet Neil Ruaro, a tech geek who dropped out of school to build an AI startup at 19

And then there’s this teenager who reminded us that there's more than one road to success.

Neil Ruaro dropped out of school to put his full focus on doing what he loves and start his own company out of it at age 19. The tech geek, who recently turned 20, launched the productivity tool, Intellecs.ai, that helps improve your study workflow—from notetaking, information gathering from PDFs and videos, and writing essays to making use of flashcards among other study techniques. 

In an interview with L!fe, he said he has no regrets about his decision and even revealed the best part of his job. "It's not really like you were able to build something and then have people use it. It's more of like people are actually paying to use what you've built and they're actually loving and getting value from it."

2024 was filled with an interesting mix of happenings that left us heartbroken, annoyed, glad, overjoyed, inspired, and more. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but there were silver linings and developments—whether big or small—that gave us reasons to celebrate in between. As we continue to seek answers to our endless questions, we hope that these stories somehow sparked hope for what's to come, no matter how unpredictable things can be.