Philippine cultural moments 2025

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.

Centenary of Lola Basyang. The year 2025 marked the 100th anniversary of the debut of Lola Basyang, a beloved character created by writer and playwright Severino Reyes, who tells stories to children. The first of the series of Lola Basyang stories, “Ang Plautin ni Periking,” came out in Filipino-language magazine Liwayway on 22 May 1925.

Closure of ABS-CBN Sagip Pelikula. Sagip Pelikula, the pioneering film restoration project of the network ABS-CBN, formally ended its 14-year run, marking a significant cultural loss. Since its launch, Sagip Pelikula or ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project restored and remastered more than 240 Filipino films dating back to 1939, reintroducing cinematic classics to new generations and reshaping film preservation in the country. Its closure on 31 March 2025, was a direct consequence of ABS-CBN’s 2020 shutdown following the non-renewal of its franchise under the Duterte administration. While the restoration unit ceased operations, the Sagip Pelikula advocacy continues under other ABS-CBN divisions.

New museums. Several museums opened in 2025, a welcome development in a country still experiencing a dearth of museums and cultural spaces. The country’s first museum dedicated to Filipino women and their contributions, the Tandang Sora Women’s Museum, opened on 19 February at the Tandang Sora National Shrine, highlighting the life and legacy of revolutionary Melchora Aquino. On 30 May, Bahay Modernismo opened at the Quezon Memorial Circle, recreating the mid-twentieth-century Filipino home of the Aquino family and becoming the country’s first museum devoted to modern heritage, particularly postwar architecture, lifestyle, and culture from the 1950s to the early 1970s. The MindSpark Museum, the Philippines’ largest interactive science museum, opened on 12 August at Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque City, featuring over one hundred hands-on STEM exhibits. Meanwhile, Museo P. Lhuillier opened on 5 December, showcasing the antiques and personal memorabilia of Ambassador Philippe J. Lhuillier and narrating the family’s history.

Long-standing museums also reopened after rehabilitation and renovation. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines reopened the Museo ni Apolinario Mabini at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila on 10 December and the Museo ng Libingan sa Ilalim ng Lupa in Nagcarlan, Laguna, on 11 December. The Pasig City government likewise reopened the Pasig City Museum on 26 March.

Joya and Manansala paintings achieved auction records. On 14 June 2025, the Philippine art market reached a historic high as Salcedo Auctions set new world auction records during its Finer Pursuits: Important Philippine Art and Rare Collectibles sale. Jose Joya’s 1962 masterpiece Flight fetched a record P37,376,000, while Vicente Manansala’s 1965 Untitled (Carabaos) sold for P12,848,000, both establishing global benchmarks for the artists. The auction also set a new record for Fernando Zóbel’s Erenos from the Saeta series. The sale also posted record results for works by Pacita Abad, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz and strong highs for Mauro Malang Santos, Ang Kiukok and Juvenal Sansó.

Note: More ‘cultural moments in 2025’ next week.