Discovering Filipino Science Fiction

I wasn't aware Filipino science fiction existed. Living in the Philippines, I saw fantasy shows like Encantadia and heard about the Japanese anime series Voltes V, but I never imagined Filipinos envisioning our own futures.

GIF from Ghost in the Shell (1995)

 

The only time I remember seeing us represented in sci-fi was a scene in the original Ghost in the Shell anime where characters were drinking San Miguel on a boat. I remember thinking: Uy! Philippines.

When Rexy Dorado told me he was working on a Filipino sci-fi story that would become Maharlika, I was intrigued. Filipino sci-fi? But I didn't think much about it until I attended a talk by author Renato Clarete Tranquilino at a book event in Laguna, Philippines.

He'd just launched his book, Fate of a Distant Future. When drawing inspirations for the book, he mentioned Alimuom, a film by Keith Sicat, something clicked. What is the Filipino experience of the future? What do our struggles, our values, and concerns look like? What is our role within the human race hundreds of years into the future?

I never thought about that. I never even thought about us existing in the future. That's when it hit me. I was reading a newsletter featuring Mayari Ong, co-creator of Malaya, and Rexy Dorado, who introduced me to the concept of the "colonization of the mind." We consume everyone else's sci-fi futures, like Japanese, American, and Korean, instead of authoring our own.

Where are Filipinos? Where are the people of the Tropiks? Do we exist?

If we don't imagine our future, someone else does it for us. Or we get left out entirely.

 

After the talk, I went down a rabbit hole. Filipino sci-fi is hard to find... but it does exists.

I found Tablay by Katrina Olan. A mecha story that blended fantasy elements. I'm a big fan of mecha, and I was thrilled... Pinoy mecha exists!

I discovered Kat and Ian Sta. Maria's Makina. Ian's art was stunning. The world they built felt familiar, like the Philippines I knew, but futuristic.

I read Maharlika. It opened my mind to what the Philippines could become... a technologically advanced global superpower.

I also found out about new emerging authors like Just Villanueva, whose novel D.I.E. (Department of Irregular Elimination) explores the Philippines as a cyberpunk dystopia not far from our current reality.

I traveled through Philippine history with the mysterious figure in Doorkeeper by Scott Lee Chua and Ethan Chua. An all-knowing being influencing different moments in our past. It reminded me of the Shrike in Hyperion.

I eventually watched Alimuom and tracked down Keith Sicat. Watching Alimuom was like listening to the Velvet Underground and Nico's studio album. I'm not sure many people saw the movie. But everyone who did was inspired to create some Filipino sci-fi. Which is funny because I assembled a killer team with Rexy Dorado, Keith Sicat, and Sigmund Torre. We started a project together that we'll announce soon!

This is what it means. Our people are writing our futures. They're imagining us forward. At WorldCon, Hot Tropiks is bringing these stories to the world. Stories that make you proud to be Filipino, and curious about what comes next.

What is WorldCon?

WorldCon, the World Science Fiction Convention, is the principal annual gathering of science fiction and fantasy fandom. Since 1939, it has brought together fans, writers, artists, and creators from around the world. It's where the Hugo Awards, the most prestigious awards in science fiction, are presented. For Filipino creators, this is more than a convention. It's a stage. It's recognition. It's a chance to say: we're here, we're imagining, and the world needs to listen.

LAcon V (Worldcon 2026) takes place August 27-31 in Anaheim, California. Hot Tropiks will have a booth bringing Filipino sci-fi, fantasy, and speculative fiction to the global science fiction community.

About Hot Tropiks

I'm Angelo, and I run Hot Tropiks, a California-based publisher and distributor of komiks, children's literature, and culturally inspired merchandise by creators from the Tropiks and its diaspora. This journey into Filipino science fiction changed how I see our stories. And our future.