FROM A BOY HOLDING THE GLOBE . . . The Catholic faithful parade the revered image of the Sto. Niño, or Child Jesus, while carrying their own versions, in the streets of Iloilo City on Jan. 26. This photo won as best news photograph in this year’s Catholic Mass Media Awards. —IAN PAUL CORDERO /INQUIRER VISAYAS
As the Philippine Daily Inquirer celebrates its 39th anniversary, the Photo Section presents the 39 best shots of the year. The selected pictures show the depth of PDI’s coverage—from politics to calamities, hard news and even everyday moments capturing a slice of Filipino life.
Through the lenses of Inquirer’s talented photojournalists, we continue to serve as a witness to history, as the eyes of our readers. Behind every image is a photographer who braved different challenges to capture seconds of action, color or stillness that are worth saving. Wherever and whenever these significant events unfold, the Inquirer Photo team will be there to help tell their stories in the right, honest, engaging frame.
. . . TO A MAN CARRYING A CROSS The Jan. 9 Feast of the Black Nazarene is held just about two weeks after Christmas, fast-forward to the passion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This image of the sea of devotees won the Silver Award for Best News Photography in the 2024 WAN-Ifra Asian Media Awards. —RICHARD A. REYESTOP THIS! Instead of mobile phone games, a traditional toy demands the concentration of these children in San Andres, Manila, during this hot morning on April 20. —RICHARD A. REYES‘DINAGYANG ILOMINATION’ It’s Iloilo City’s most brightly lit festival, hence the playful spelling. Seven dance troupes competed here on Jan. 26. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETAYOU NEVER WALK ALONE A mother and her young son make their way into a conference on autism held Jan. 26 at SM North Edsa, Quezon City. —LYN RILLONCHINATOWN HOT SPOT On Feb. 9, Chinese New Year “fireworks” didn’t have to wait for nightfall on Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZWELCOME TO THE FAITH Around 90 babies are baptized at the Sto. Niño de Pandacan Parish Church in Manila on Jan. 14. —RICHARD A. REYESBREEZY BUNTINGS A surplus of “abanico” fans makes for a cool fiesta on A. Rivera Street, Tayuman, Manila, on May 9. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZCULTURAL HARVEST The Halamanan ng Guiguinto Street Dancers peform at the Feb. 3 Pasinaya Festival of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City in celebration of National Arts Month. —RICHARD A. REYES4 MONTHS TO CHRISTMAS It’s just Aug. 31 when this was taken at a stall on Kanlaon Street, Sta. Teresita, Quezon City. But as they say, it’s never too early for the Pinoy. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETASOMBER SPECTACLE St. Peter’s Church: Shrine of Leaders on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, marks All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2 with a Candlelight Mass. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETAMANGROVE TOUR A coastal forest in Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon province, offers tourists a different boating experience. One group gives it a try on Feb. 8. —MARK ALVIC ESPLANARAMADAN IN MANILA Inside the Golden Mosque in Quiapo on March 10, the eve of the Islamic Holy Month. —RICHARD A. REYES‘UNDAS’ PREPARATIONS A tight cluster of tombs, some in pastel colors and deviating from the traditional white coat, gets cleaned up on Oct. 29 ahead of All Saints’ Day at Manila South Cemetery in Makati City. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZIMMERSIVE MUSEUM A child seems to walk among the stars at the Space and Time Cube, an attraction in Pasay City photographed on June 6. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZCALMING CASCADE The Hinulugang Taktak in Antipolo City, visited on May 28. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDEQUIETER TIME No more traces of the last eruption of Taal Volcano, as seen from the surrounding Taal Lake in Laurel, Batangas, on Nov. 9. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETASTAR OF THE SEASON Already on display on Oct. 9, traditional “parol,” or Christmas lanterns, are sold at P70 each at this Central Market stall in Sta. Cruz, Manila. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETATHE GLOVES ARE OFF By now, Vice President Sara Duterte is unafraid to show this much hostility toward President Marcos and his allies. This is at the Oct. 17 press conference where she threatened to exhume his father’s remains. —LYN RILLONMABINI RITES President Marcos leads the wreath-laying ceremony on the 160th birth anniversary of Apolinario Mabini, the patriot also known as the “Brains of the Philippine Revolution” against Spain, in Tanauan City, Batangas, on July 23. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZTHAT LOOK She was jailed for nearly seven years because of him. Hence that look when former Sen. Leila de Lima and former President Rodrigo Duterte became seatmates at the Nov. 13 House committee hearing on his brutal, six-year war on drugs. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETACENTER OF POGO PROBE Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac, Mayor Alice Guo faces the House quad committee on Sept. 19, the mostwatched personality in the Pogo investigations that started early this year. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDEALSO GRILLED Like Alice Guo, Katherine Cassandra Li Ong endures hours of questioning in the Pogo inquiries. She’s back in the hot seat facing senators here on Sept. 17. —RICHARD A. REYESDEPORTED Shiela Guo, Alice Guo’s sister who was also tagged in the Senate probe of the nowbanned Pogos, arrives at the airport in Manila on Aug. 22 after being arrested in Indonesia. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE‘MISTAHS’ MADE IT The Philippine Military Academy’s “Bagong Sinag” Class of 2024 graduates on May 18 with flying colors—and hats. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZGOODBYE, LIAM The death of Liam Payne of the defunct British boy band One Direction triggers an outpouring of grief from Filipino fans, one of them expressing hers at a Parañaque City mall on Oct. 19. —RICHARD A. REYESHAZING CONVICTION Minnie Castillo, mother of hazing victim Horacio “Atio” Castillo III, breaks into tears after the Oct. 1 conviction of 10 Aegis Juris frat men charged with Atio’s death. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZAWAY FROM HOME A mural depicting overseas Filipinos, fittingly rendered at the Department of Migrant Workers office on Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong City. Photo taken on Feb. 6. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETAEARLY CATCH A day in the life of fishermen in Noveleta, Cavite, in this morning shot taken on Nov. 3. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE‘ATIN ITO’ A convoy of fishing boats asserts that Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal is “ours” by staging a protest action directed at China on May 15. —RICHARD A. REYESHIGH-VOLTAGE TASK Some jobs you leave only to a professional, like here on Lacson Avenue, Manila, on April 21. —RICHARD A. REYESINFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE Another casualty of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” (international name: Trami): the Bugaan Bridge—or what’s left of it—that connects the towns of Laurel and Agoncillo in Batangas province. —RICHARD A. REYESTONDO ISLAND INFERNO Residents and their pets have no choice but to find safety in the murky water as a fire engulfs parts of the coastal shantytown of Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, Manila, on Nov. 24. —RICHARD A. REYES‘KRISTINE’ VICTIM A tragic end to a search at the site of a landslide in Barangay Sampaloc, Talisay, Batangas province, on Oct. 25. —RICHARD A. REYESANOTHER ‘ISLAND’ BLAZE Too late for some homes at Isla Noah, Barangay Damayang Lagi, Quezon City, on March 19. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETANEAR MAYON, EVEN WITH NO ERUPTION A mudslide caused by heavy rains and traceable to the Mayon Volcano buried this and several other vehicles in Barangay Masarawag, Guinobatan, Albay, one of the areas hit hard by “Kristine.” Photo taken on Oct. 22. —MARK ALVIC ESPLANATENSION AFTER ‘ENTENG’ Residents and rescue volunteers race against time to find missing loved ones in a landslide at San Luis, Antipolo City, in Rizal province, on Sept. 3. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETAPARCHED LAND El Niño reduced a field intended for rice cultivation to this, a scene photographed on Feb. 26 in Pulilan, Bulacan, and replicated in many other farmlands across the country. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
