Alma Aguilar
Alma Aguilar is a journalist and a lawyer. She also holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning. After living in the Netherlands, she currently on a European tour while working remotely.
Agatha Verdadero
Agatha Verdadero is a writer and editor from Nairobi, Kenya. She finished her MFA in Creative Writing at De La Salle University Manila (with high distinction) and her BA Humanities at University of the Philippines Diliman (cum laude). While not immersed in her work or playing with her fur baby Sam, she does extreme adventures in the wild
Amylou Ruth Lopez Dy Lim
Amy Dy Lim is from Bacolod City and has been working as an International Flight Attendant in Dubai, United Arab Emirates since 2006. She and her husband, Perci, are active members of the United Christian Church of Dubai and consider Dubai their second home.
Antonio Montalvan
Antonio J. Montalván II is a social anthropologist and museum professional who writes opinion essays for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Vera Files, PressOne.PH, and Al Jazeera Digital. He also travels the world occasionally in his study of material cultures.
Berjer Capati
Berjer B. Capati is an audiovisual director, editor, screenwriter, illustrator and playwright. He has lived in Barcelona for four years and has a degree in Humanities with higher studies in Audiovisual Communication. Tagó: Filipinos in Barcelona is his first professional job in the world of theater. "A Violent Act of Love" is his fourth short film after "Famelicus" (2013), "Vulneris" (2015) and "Reunae" (2016).
Bles Chavez-Bernstein
Bles Chavez-Bernstein is a Filipino-American soprano, poet, and author of Without Rhyme, a poet’s story, and In The Typhoon’s Eye, a story of childhood and leaving home. Bles has performed solo concerts in various countries including the U.S., Thailand, Philippines, Germany, and South Korea. In the last eighteen years, proceeds from her performances have supported advocacies for women and children worldwide. Bles has also devoted many years in the art and vocation of nursing, working as a registered nurse in the U.S. both as bedside clinician and director of nursing, in two clinical specialties: mental health and addictions nursing. Currently she is working on her second collection of poetry, Sensuous Healing. For more information on Chavez-Bernstein’s works, visit: www.blessingingpoet.com
Cristina Ilao
Cristina Ilao is an award-winning international wedding photographer known for her timeless fine art style. a preferred photographer at the prestigious Blenheim Palace, Cristina has been featured in distinguished online platforms and print publications including vogue italia, wedding sparrow, and nikon europe. taught by industry experts and coached by world-renowned photographer D’Arcy Benincosa, Cristina's style focuses on delivering an exceptional experience, valuing strong work ethics, providing personal attention, and exceeding expectations every step of the way. Throughout her career, Cristina has worked with notable television celebrities, leading UK fashion influencers and esteemed brands cementing her place in the UK and extending her reach to a global client base
Dheza Aguilar
Dheza Aguilar is the Managing Editor of The Filipino Expat Magazine. She was a former Netherlands correspondent for ABS-CBN, and freelance writer for other publications. She works for a supply company in Rotterdam and is eternally juggling passion and career.
Dunia Mayrit
Dunia Mayrit lives in Cairo, Egypt for years now. A fan of culture and arts, Dunia spends time appreciating God's and man's creations.
Elisha Gay Hidalgo
Elisha Gay Hidalgo lives in Bologna, Italy with her husband and three kids. She is a Registered Nutritionist and Dietitian in the Philippines, and a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. She is pursuing her LM Sociology and Social Work in Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna. She works as a cultural mediator for Filipinos in Bologna through associations like ANTINEA, SOCIO COOP AIPI and CIDAS. In her spare time, she also volunteers in her local parish to teach basic Italian to other migrants.
Ella Assenberg Van Eijsden
Ella Assenberg Van Eijsden and her son visited the Philippines in 2018. She fell in love with the country that she wants to go back. She lives in Meppel, the Netherlands.
Emilio Tejera
Emilio Tejera (Cádiz, Spain, 1981), M.D., Ph.D., combines working in science with literature. In 2007, he published the novel "Carthage. The empire of gods". You can find more information about his publications and writings in emilio-tejera.blogspot.com.
Francine Vito
Francine Alessandra Vito is a writer, serial thrifter, and an advocate for the slow living lifestyle. You can find her sustainable fashion and lifestyle posts on her Insagram account, @francinealessandra17.
Geneva Liz Isaac
Geneva Liz Isaac works for a local bank during the day and hustles as a writer at night. She geeks out about conspiracy theories, Harry Potter, anime, fashion, and classical music. In rare times that she's not glued to her computer typing her heart away, she can be found in museums or aesthetically beautiful cafés.
Henzy Richter
Henzy Manaligod Richter is an ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) research professional who has long swapped her foreign language teaching and translation background for sustainability-related research. Apart from Filipino and English, she is fluent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese, and has some basic knowledge of Italian and Dutch. While she does a lot of reading and analysis for a living, she would still like to have more time to read her books on sustainability, minimalism, and foreign language acquisition. On sunny weekends, she enjoys going out for long walks around Frankfurt's Green Belt ("Grüngürtel") area, hiking in and around the Taunus, and discovering castle ruins nearby. She lives in Frankfurt am Main with her husband, daughter and their growing collection of indoor plants.
Jocy Cuatriz Arcilla
Jocy Arcilla is a seasoned Executive Assistant based in Manila and dabbles in creative writing when her busy schedule allows her to. She took up a short course on Teaching English as a Second Language at the Centre for Language Learning at De La Salle University in 2005, followed by Spanish Language Studies at Instituto Cervantes for over a year.
Jardine "Dean" Torno
Dr. Jardine "Dean" Torno works as a psychiatrist in Road Town, British Virgin Islands where he enjoys the simplicity, calmness and positivity of life on the islands. He is an advocate of mental health awareness. He loves going to the gym, playing tennis and traveling in his free time. He You can follow him on Tiktok (https://www.tiktok.com/@deantorno) or Instagram.
Judy Anne Santos Sierszula
Judy Anne Santos Sierszuela is a commercial and transformation coach working for a multinational company. She is also the founder of several start-ups in the Philippines, including Hero App and Besty Besties, the local equivalent of Etsy. She was chosen as one of 100 Most Influential Filipina Women™ AWARDS in 2022 by the Foundation for Filipino Women's Network. She lives in Rotterdam with her husband and children.
Justine Grace Abugena
Justine Grace Abrugena holds a master’s degree in Migration and Intercultural Relations. She is based in Germany and works at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. Justine’s research interests include diaspora studies, gender, labor migration, migrant emotions, and integration amongst others.
Karen Mae Medalla
Karen Mae Medalla is an IBDP Chemistry and secondary science teacher who spent four years in Khartoum, Sudan from SY 2018 to 2022, at the height of its revolution and the pandemic. Prior to Sudan she taught in Dhaka, Bangladesh and the Philippines. She has recently moved to her current school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Karessa Ramos
Karessa Ramos (38, Nueva Ecija) is a writer based in Madrid, Spain. Her first book of poems and short stories, “Cosechas del insomnio” (Diversidad Literaria) was published in 2021. She loves joining poetry recitals and dancing, but sings badly for a Filipina. She is currently studying photography while mothering her son Leo and thriving in the former colonizer’s land.
Kay Monteclaro
is a licensed architect currently living and working in Singapore. Together with her husband, who is also an architect and a passionate visual arts creator, they broaden their social horizons by mingling with people of shared interests. Kay is a water and board sports enthusiast, and a television geek. She enjoys extreme sports and martial arts. She developed an interest in fine arts, creative writing, fashion, cooking and music at a young age.
Louise Baterna
Louise Baterna is a writer and former lifestyle journalist in Manila. She lives in Brussels and works as Chef Du Cuisine at the Residence of the German Delegation to the NATO.
Matthew Marquez
Matthew Marquez earned his Master in Migration Studies degree at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona through a MAEC-AECID master scholarship. He has been working in the migration industry for more than a decade and hopes that what he learned in Barcelona, in and out of the classroom, will help him influence the narratives surrounding the migratory journeys of Filipinos abroad.
Myls Rubio
Myls Rubio worked in marketing and advertising before joining the Philippine Foreign Service. A staunch supporter of culture and the arts, she is an alumna of the UST Singers, and a soloist of the Diplomatic Choir of Berlin. She is married with three children and is currently based in Germany. Her family’s shared love for music continues to inspire many through self-produced music videos and live online performances.
MZ Akil
MZ Akil worked in publishing and briefly in television in the Philippines before moving to the UK in 2006. She spends her train journey to and from London—where she has a remit within luxury fashion— randomly musing about life and occasionally talking about it in her blog. Her lifelong aspiration is to write stories rather than emails.
Nats Sisma Villaluna
Nats Sisma Villaluna has been serving the Filipino community in Spain for more than 13 years. His volunteer works include teaching Spanish to Filipinos, and as artistic director of the Coro Kudyapi, a group of musically inclined young Filipinos in Barcelona. His passion to serve the Filipino community now extends to other countries in his role as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the new The Filipino Expat Magazine.
NJ Torres-Jacobson
Nory Joy Torres Jacobson is a passionate content strategist, career marketer, and a seasoned PR maven from the Philippines, now thriving in Switzerland. With more than 15 years of solid experience and education, she has diverse capabilities in communications and digital content creation, as well as developed skills in events and media management.
Patricia Ann Bello
Patricia Ann Bello is freelance writer based in Manila, Philippines. An avid reader with an enormous TBR pile, her Instagram page @patandpages is dedicated to her love of reading. She keeps a day job as a banker and juggles being a wife and a mother to two boys while she indulges her passion for reading, writing, and traveling.
Pecky Dolores
PC Dolores is the pseudo name of a creative Filipino expat in Spain.
Pepe Chavez
Pepe Chavez is from Baler, Aurora and is currently one of Barcelona’s most sought-after professional photographers. He goes fishing and plays billiards in his free time. He is totally obsessed with aquariums.
Rhafael Antonio
Rhafael Antonio is a social media influencer behind @tastecrib, an Instagram food blog and the brand name of baking kits. He is also a recipe creator, a corporate guy and all-around cooking enthusiast. He lives in the Netherlands with his husband.
Raymond Unico
Raymond Unico is a Filipino queer living in the Netherlands. He completed his master´s degree in gender studies at Utrecht University. He is particularly interested in issues around race, gender and sexualities. School of thoughts such as critical race theory, postcolonial theory, and posthumanism are influential in his works and mosed of thinking. Raymond enjoys reading, writing, and learning new things.
Ricka Perez
Ricka Perez is a 21-year old still figuring out her purpose in life. Loves to travel, explore, emerge through her thoughts in writing, and en- gage with different cultures. She runs Roam Rome Tours. Your little miss roaming in Rome!
Siony Sarabia
Siony Sarabia has made Auckland, New Zealand her home for fifteen years now. An account officer by profession, she finds the Kiwi lifestyle a mix of metropolitan life and nature.
Sharon Masler
Sharon Masler is the president of Masler & Associates, CPA. She has 25 years experience in finance and accounting. Her background includes planning and performing audits, reviews and compilations of financial statements, primarily for medium-sized, privately-held companies in manufacturing and distribution industries.
Teresa Corti
Teresa Corti is a Filipino/Swiss climbing professional. She is a presenter and assistant producer for Epic TV Climbing.
Tricia Morente
Tricia Morente is a journalist and editorial consultant. She has worked for different publications in SouthEast Asia including Manila Bulletin, Seafarer Asia, and F&B Report, among others. Tricia is sole proprietor of www.jetsetjourno.com, where she writes about travel and the occasional epiphany. She is currently based in Madrid.
Wowie Delos Reyes
Wowie Oliveros Delos Reyes has taught in international schools in the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, and China. She has been teaching overseas for more than a decade. She lives with her 4-year old golden retriever Isabella.
Yingying Kooyman
Yingying Kooyman is married and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. She loves to travel and the heightened experiences and challenges that immersing in unfamiliar cultures, languages, structures brings. She realizes that people of different cultures share the same things: love for family and life, and that overall people are kind. An avid fan of Rafa Nadal, she gardens, loves jazz, and learning new languages. She collects cookbooks and dabbles in photography. She is a lifelong advocate for children’s causes and social justice.