Together with the team at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung – Philippines, our Asia team is excited to share with you our fellows for the Just Transition Journalism Fellowship.
In the transition to environmentally sustainable economies and societies, the world of work can benefit from some major opportunities, but there will also be some challenges to overcome. As the Philippines takes steps toward climate action by raising its carbon emission reduction target to 75% by 2030, what would a ‘just transition’ look like for the Philippines? What are the key issues to be addressed to achieve this goal? Is it possible to attain energy transition while also maintaining justice for the labour force?
These are some of the questions our fellows will dive into investigating and learning about.
Meet our fellows
Krizchelle Danielle A. Wong
A computer science student from De La Salle University, currently writing for the science-writing section of the university’s publication, The LaSallian.
Siegfred Aldous Lacerna 
A 22-year-old Journalism student from the University of Santo Tomas. He is also the current issues editor of The Flame, the official student publication of UST’s Faculty of Arts and Letters. He is also a junior contributor in Philstar.com and he writes about COVID-19 and vaccines.
Geela Garcia 
A freelance multimedia journalist and peasant advocate based in Manila, Philippines. Her photographic work focuses on inclusive development, documents stories of women, food sovereignty, and the environment, with the aim to write history from the experience of its makers.
Her writing and photography appear on Reuters, South China Morning Post, Philstar, Bulatlat, Rappler, and ABS-CBN News Digital. She has also published in academic journals and community magazines, and participated in exhibitions.
Garcia earned an honorable mention for a degree in Communication Arts and a minor in Development Management at Ateneo de Manila University in 2019, where she also served as the Art and Photo Editor of Matanglawin Ateneo, the university’s official Filipino publication.
Read Geela’s previous work:
Justin Umali
Freelance journalist currently working as Bulatlat’s Southern Tagalog correspondent, primarily focused on social issues and people’s movements around the region.
Ivan Jim Layugan
A freelance journalist and researcher from Baguio City, Philippines. His current works are on gendered narratives and oral histories of people in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He is the National Lead for the Philippines for the “Living with Covid-19 in Southeast Asia” project of the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, and the Principal Investigator for the gender snapshot project of Oxfam Pilipinas on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and disasters to boys, girls, men, and women.
He is a stringer for Rappler since 2013. He writes about popular culture, gendered narratives, art, and sustainable industries.
Lisbet Esmael
A Filipino journalist with a strong print and digital media background, reporting on business and governance issues.
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Maria Bernadette Rojas Romero
A reporter focusing on the policy and project announcements of the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, and Energy and what those mean not only for the business industry stakeholders but the ordinary Filipino.
Kazer Joshua Galindon
A full-time Radio Jock and Digital Media Producer at a local radio station operated by Manila Broadcasting Company, the country’s largest radio firm. Galindon is currently pursuing a degree in Communications with concentration in Broadcast Journalism at the University of the Philippines Baguio, the nation’s premier institution.
Since becoming a student leader and a campus journalist, he has been advocating for climate action. Now, working in his dream field, Galindon continues to integrate climate action demands and emphasizes the need for sustainable living in his daily broadcast duties.
We’re looking forward to the stories each of them will share with the world!