Mariejo Ramos

Living in the riverside village of Sipat in the Philippines, Josephine Dela Cruz watches the soil erode with every storm, haunted by the fear that one day the ground will wash away completely and take her family with it.

One night this summer, heavy rains toppled trees and knocked down a bamboo stilt house in their settlement in Bulacan, a densely populated province north of Manila, she said.

Melissa thought her financial troubles would disappear with just a few clicks in a Philippines online lending app that promised "fast cash".

Without access to loans from traditional banks to pay her bills, the working student tried an app last month and received money in a number of loans that were instantly approved.

The Philippines is a global leader in nickel mining - crucial if the world is ever to switch to clean energy - but it's an industry that comes with a heavy environmental cost.

Scientists say extracting minerals poses a grave threat to vast swathes of forests and the Filipinos who depend on them, raising questions about the land's long-term survival and how to restore all the felled trees.   

Blue carbon - a magic ingredient found in mangroves and salt marshes - is worth billions as a natural shield for nations that are most vulnerable to floods, storms and climate change.

But those same countries are struggling to unlock funds to protect their natural marine and coastal defences, leaving millions at risk of the deadly fallout from climate change.

Home to several endemic species like the endangered Philippine pangolin, the province of Palawan has faced threats to its biodiversity for decades from illegal wildlife trafficking to deforestation.

Now the island's forests and communities are vulnerable to mining for its nickel, with the Philippines ramping up operations to meet global demand for metals and minerals to support the green energy transition.

Before helping fellow gamblers quit the roulette wheel or forgo the glory of a Royal Flush, Filipino Reagan Praferosa fought his own addiction - a passion that almost cost him his life.

Enthralled by the “big-shot identity” that came with early casino victories in Las Vegas and later in Manila, Praferosa went on to lose 50 million pesos ($873,515) in seven years.

As 27 million Filipino students returned to school in June, teachers' groups said classrooms remain ill-equipped to withstand climate disasters and prevent learning loss due to insufficient funding for education.

Over the past decade, the government had adjusted school calendars to avoid typhoon season, which typically begins in June. After heatwaves forced schools to shut down in the summer months of April and May, the government reverted to a June-to-March school calendar this year to avoid the peak heat index.

The Philippines has touted aquaculture for decades to secure food as wild fisheries stocks decline, but the vast coastline farms have themselves been a significant driver of mangrove loss and degradation.

Jurgenne Primavera, an internationally recognised marine scientist from the Zoological Society of London, worked in aquaculture development until she discovered its impact on mangroves and moved into conservation in the 1970s.

Despite being seen as one of Asia's most LGBTQ+ friendly countries, the Philippines does not have a national law that could address the discrimination and legal challenges queer Filipinos face.

Religious groups and conservative lawmakers have for years fiercely opposed attempts to pass a law that would provide fair and equal access to basic social services, opportunities, healthcare, protection and justice to the LGBTQ+ community.

Impoverished fishing communities in the Philippines are caught in a David-and-Goliath fight with industrial fishing companies after the country’s top court loosened restrictions on commercial operations in protected coastal waters.

Already facing threats from extreme weather and urban development that have destroyed fish breeding grounds, fishers fear they may now have to compete with large vessels in municipal waters, the 15-km (9 mile) stretch of sea off the coastlines of cities.