Three images taken by Filipino photojournalists made it to TIME magazine‘s list of top 100 photos for the year 2022.
The publication on Wednesday released the “carefully curated” unranked selection of images chosen by its eight-team photo editors with the aim to show that this year was “different.”
“It’s different this time. That was the sentiment humming in the background, and sometimes roaring quite loudly, throughout 2022,” Katherine Pomerantz, TIME’s director of photography, said.
“It’s what was said when young people started rising up in the streets of Iran in support of women’s rights; when the first Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine; when millions of people showed up to vote to send a country in a new direction,” she added.
“Not every photo displays profound change: images from the Westminster Dog Show, now in its 146th year, are frequently included on this annual list. But many capture a familiar scene that’s also unlike anything that’s come before,” Pomerantz said.
“Another Supreme Court class picture, yet this time with the first ever Black female Justice. The first ascension of a monarch in the modern age. Sometimes the photo shows not the change, but the necessity of it, a reminder that the status quo cannot continue. A young boy near the scene of a school shooting where 21 people were killed. It’s different this time. It has to be,” she added.
Among those that were included in the list were two images from the Philippines and a moment captured by a Filipino lensman.
Lisa Marie David — Reuters
David’s picture showed police officers blocking activists protesting the proclamation of then-president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr and vice president-elect Sara Duterte as new leaders of the country on May 25, 2022.
A joint session of the Congress formalized Marcos-Duterte’s election win at the Batasang Pambansa Complex following a two-day official vote tally by the National Board of Canvassers composed of senators and representatives.
Then-Senate President Vicente Sotto III and former house speaker Lord Allan Velasco had proclaimed Marcos and Duterte as winners amid the backdrop of protests, which a rights-based organization said were dispersed by the police violently.
The protest was a demonstration of rejection against the “UniTeam’s” victory in the May polls which they believe was “fraudulent.”
Eloisa Lopez — Reuters
Lopez’s picture captured Bulacan residents perched on their roofs as they wait for floodwaters to subside following the wrath of Super Typhoon Karding (international name: Noru) that wreaked havoc on Luzon, including Metro Manila, in September.
A girl can be spotted wading in the floodwaters while a boy can be seen eating while standing on a roof.
“Karding” was the country’s 11th tropical cyclone this year.
It left eight people dead and P1.29-billion worth of agricultural damage that severely affected farmers in Central Luzon.
The super typhoon prompted renewed calls to actively preserve the Sierra Madre mountain range and to give importance to UP NOAH, a disaster risk reduction and management program.
Noel Celis — Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Celis captured a moment between Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and former Chinese president Hu Jintao during the closing ceremony of the 20th China’s Communist Party’s Congress in Beijing.
Hu was being assisted to leave at that time.
The unexpected moment drew the attention of the international community as some speculated it was Xi’s deliberate power play while others suggested it was due to Hu’s poor health.
“Many wondered if it was a deliberate piece of political theatre. Unlike Mr Hu, whose presidency between 2003 and 2013 was seen as a time of opening up to the outside world, Mr Xi has presided over a country that has become increasingly isolated,” BBC News reported before.
