Right spot, wrong angle: The flag that stole the Philippine Pavilion’s spotlight

A single snapshot can sometimes trigger a storm of questions. Such was the case when an image of the Philippine Pavilion at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, began circulating online — prominently featuring the U.S. flag beside it. In a follow-up to our earlier commentary on the matter, a concerned reader reached out […]


Why the stars and stripes, not the sun and stars?

A curious detail caught our eye in a recent press release from the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board: a rendering of the Philippine Pavilion for World Expo 2025 in Osaka prominently features the American flag. Not the Philippine flag, whose pavilion it ostensibly is. If it were Japan’s flag, that might make more sense—the host nation, […]


‘Woven Together’: Philippine pavilion opens at Expo 2025 Osaka

The Philippines officially unveiled its pavilion at World Expo 2025 in Osaka on Sunday, presenting an immersive cultural showcase centered on the theme: “Nature, Culture, and Community: Woven Together for a Better Future”. Dubbed simply “Woven,” the pavilion draws on the country’s rich tradition of weaving as both metaphor and method, blending indigenous craftsmanship with […]