The year 2025 was marked by moments of celebration, reckoning and transformation in Philippine culture and the arts. From record-breaking acts of faith and landmark recognitions to major institutional shifts, losses and debates that shaped public discourse, the year revealed both the vitality and the fragility of the country’s cultural life. This survey of notable developments and events affirmed enduring traditions, expanded creative horizons and prompted reflection on heritage, memory and the future of Philippine culture.

Feast and Traslacion of Jesus Nazareno, the largest single-day devotional ritual. On 9 January 2025 in Quiapo, Manila, more than 8.12 million devotees joined the Traslacion procession or image transfer reenactment during the Feast of Jesus Nazareno, the highest recorded attendance in the history of the event, making it the Philippines’ largest single-day, single-location and single-event devotional ritual. The 2025 observance was also significant as the date was formally recognized as a nationwide liturgical feast, expanding celebrations beyond Manila to dioceses across the country.

Pasinaya: The biggest arts festival. For more than 20 years, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has been holding Pasinaya: The CCP Open House Festival, which has grown into a multi-arts and multi-venue event to celebrate National Arts Month and usher in a year of cultural happenings. Over the years, it also has grown into a major cultural destination with multiple venues and components. In 2025, Pasinaya, held on 1 and 2 February, drew 58,417 attendees during the two days and in all its venues across the country, making it the most attended arts festival in the country.

La Solidaridad Bookshop sold. The Solidaridad Bookshop, a cultural landmark on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila, founded in June 1965 by National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose, was acquired in late November 2025 by controversial Batangas congressman Leandro Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda. Long regarded as one of the country’s most important independent bookstores, Solidaridad was known both for its curated collection and as a gathering place for writers, artists, intellectuals, cultural workers, and civic leaders. Following Jose’s death in 2022, the bookstore continued to be managed by his family but was put up on sale in June 2025, culminating in its acquisition later in the year.

Newly declared National Living Treasures. Nine practitioners was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan, the Philippines’ highest honor for traditional artists, artisans and culture bearers, on 7 May 2025 at the Manila Metropolitan Theater. The roster, the largest in a single cycle since the honor was institutionalized in 1993, included Adelita Romualdo Bagcal, Ilocano mandállot (dallot chanter) from Banna, Ilocos Norte; Abina Tawide Coguit, Agusan Manobo embroiderer from La Paz, Agusan del Sur; Sakinur-Ain Mugong Delasas, Sama traditional dancer from Simunul and Bongao, Tawi-Tawi; Bundos Fara, Tboli brass caster from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato; Marife Ravidas Ganahon, Higaonon Manobo mat weaver from Malaybalay, Bukidnon; Amparo Balansi Mabanag, Ga’dang embroiderer and beadwork practitioner from Paracelis, Mountain Province; Samporonia Pagsac Madanlo, Mandaya textile weaver from Caraga, Davao Oriental; Barbara Kibed Ofong, Tboli textile weaver from Lake Sebu; and Rosie Ungkal Godwino Sula, Tboli chanter from Lake Sebu.