- Discussion
Censorship in Asia
Featuring Patricia Evangelista, Miguel Syjuco, Iris Su, Samir Patil, & Roby Alampay (moderator)
Asia Stage Event
Is free expression really free? Despite constitutional protections, censorship, may it be official or self-imposed, still casts a shadow over Asian publishing. This discussion tackles cancel culture, political red lines, and the quiet compromises writers make in order to put their work under the spotlight.
The Asia Stage, Hall 5.1 A75, Messe Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main
Meet the Speakers:
Patricia Evangelista
Patricia Evangelista is a trauma journalist and former investigative reporter for the Philippine news company Rappler. Her debut book, Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country, an account of the Philippine drug war, was hailed as “a journalistic masterpiece” by the New Yorker.
The book, released October 2023 by Random House, was a New York Times Top 10 Best Books of the Year, A New Yorker and The Economist Best Book of the Year, and was Time Magazine’s #1 Nonfiction Book of the Year. It has since won the NYPL Helen Bernstein Book Award and was longlisted for the Moore Prize for Human Rights and the PEN Galbraith Award. She lives in Manila.
Roby Alampay
Roby Alampay is a distinguished Filipino journalist, media executive, and advocate for press freedom, with a career spanning over three decades. He is the founder and chairman of Puma Public Productions, the pioneering force behind PumaPodcast, Southeast Asia’s first non-music audio production company. Under his leadership, PumaPodcast has garnered international recognition, including inclusion in the US Library of Congress Podcast Preservation Project and accolades from the Society of Publishers in Asia and the Human Rights Press Awards. Alampay’s journalism journey began in print media, where he played a pivotal role in establishing TV5’s online news portal and served as editor-in-chief of BusinessWorld, the Philippines’ oldest business daily. His tenure was marked by a successful digital transformation and financial turnaround of the publication. He also anchored the nightly newscast “The Big Story” and co-anchored “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV. Beyond broadcasting, Alampay has been a prominent figure in media development and advocacy. He was the first executive director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and currently serves as the Asia Regional Adviser for International Media Support (IMS), focusing on strengthening independent media across the region. In 2025, Alampay took on a new leadership role as Vice President for Communications at PLDT Inc., reflecting his continued influence in shaping media and communication strategies in the Philippines. An alumnus of the University of the Philippines and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Alampay’s career reflects a deep commitment to journalistic excellence and media innovation.