PhilReport.com
We are not looking for writers who cover the Philippines. We are looking for writers who know it from the inside.
philreport.com’s readers work in and alongside Philippine institutions. They will know immediately whether a writer has genuine standing with a subject or is reporting from a distance. Standing cannot be performed. It shows in what you know and what you do not bother to explain.
If you have that standing, we want to hear from you.
What We Accept
Op-Ed
A committed argument on a subject where you have specific knowledge. Not a balanced overview. Not a policy brief. A position you will put your name on and defend.
The argument should say something the mainstream coverage has not. If the thesis contradicts common advice, qualifies a widely-held assumption, or names something practitioners know but rarely say publicly — it belongs here. If BusinessWorld ran the same argument last week, it is not ready.
700 to 1,000 words. No exceptions.
Special Reports
Long-form analysis that produces an insight the daily news cycle cannot. This format is for contributors whose expertise is deep enough to tell the reader something not available from compiling public sources.
A development economist with fifteen years on Philippine fiscal policy. A lawyer who has worked infrastructure procurement from the inside. A rural banker who understands MSME credit at ground level. These are the contributors Special Reports are built for.
2,000 to 3,500 words. Longer is not better. The synthesis layer — the insight that only emerges when the full piece is assembled — is the deliverable. Comprehensive is not the same as deep.
Press Check Contributions
If you have primary source access or institutional knowledge that strengthens a specific Press Check assessment, contact us before submitting. Press Check is desk-produced but we consider expert co-authorship where contributor knowledge is material to the verdict.
What We Do Not Publish
Advocacy dressed as analysis. Sponsored or commercially motivated content — paid or unpaid, disclosed or not. Punditry without specific evidence. Press release rewrites.
If you are writing on a subject where you have a financial or institutional stake, disclose it in your submission. Undisclosed conflicts of interest are grounds for rejection at any stage, including after acceptance.
Our Standard
Everything published on philreport.com — including contributor pieces — is held to the same standard as our own work.
That means: Philippine journalism English, not thinktank prose. Specific claims with traceable sourcing. A position that reaches a conclusion rather than presenting every angle without weighting any. An ending that informs rather than reassures.
We edit for precision and register. We do not rewrite your argument. If a piece needs structural changes, we tell you specifically what and why. The final decision on what publishes under our name is ours.
Disclosures Required
Full name and a one-paragraph bio describing your relevant expertise and institutional affiliation. We publish contributor bios. Anonymous contributions are not accepted except where a contributor’s safety or employment is genuinely at risk — assessed case by case.
Any financial, institutional, or personal stake in the subject matter. Disclosure does not disqualify a submission. Concealment does.
Contributors who use AI assistance in drafting or research should disclose it. Not grounds for rejection. Submitting AI-generated copy as original work without disclosure is.
Rights and Payment
We publish under first publication license. You retain ownership.
We do not currently pay contributor fees. We are building toward a payment model as revenue develops. When we pay, contributors get paid before we do. That is on the record.
What we offer now: a readership that engages with arguments at the level they deserve, an editorial process that makes pieces stronger, and a permanent archive that gets cited long after the publication date.
How to Submit
Pitch or draft to [editorial contact].
A pitch is three to five sentences: the argument, the evidence base, and why you have standing to make it. We respond within five working days. No simultaneous submissions for pieces under active consideration.
Include with any draft: the piece, your bio, your disclosure statement, and a note on AI assistance if applicable.
We do not ghost submissions. If we pass, we say so — and if the piece has potential we cannot use in its current form, we tell you why.
We hold Philippine institutions to their own stated standards. We hold our contributors to ours.