A JOURNALISM graduate and former The Flame photojournalist was hailed as one of the winners in the 2026 World Press Photo Contest for a series of images capturing a Filipino wedding in a flooded church.
Aaron Favila’s winning entry was selected in the “stories” category, which depicted a Filipino couple who chose to continue their wedding ceremony despite floodwaters inside the Barasoain Church caused by Typhoon Wipha (known locally as Typhoon Crising) in July 2025.
The story, which was titled “Wedding in Flood,” centered on the bride’s gown and veil drenched in knee-deep floodwater, which forced the couple and their guests to go barefoot. It was among the seven winners for the Asia-Pacific and Oceania region and the 42 awarded projects worldwide.
According to the criteria, a set of photos submitted in the “stories” category combines four to 10 images to build a cohesive and engaging narrative over time.
Favila has been with the Associated Press since 1998 and has covered major events in the country, including natural disasters, the West Philippine Sea dispute, the drug war during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte and sports events.
He previously received a special merit citation at the 2026 World Sports Photography Awards for his close-up photo of volleyball action.
His other accolades in the past years include the Ani ng Dangal Award for Visual Arts from the National Commission for Culture and Arts and the top prize in the environmental issues category at the 5th Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand and the OnAsia Photojournalism Contest.
Favila was a photographer for The Flame before finishing his Journalism degree at UST in 1996.
Independent regional juries and a global jury selected the winners based on visual quality, story and issues covered by the entries and their representation. The panels were composed of local expertise of each region’s cultural, social and political backgrounds.
Two finalists and the Photo of the Year award will be selected from the regional winners on April 23.
This year’s edition received a total of 57,376 entries submitted by 3,747 photojournalists across 141 countries.
Inaugurated in 1955, the World Press Photo Contest recognizes visual stories reflecting pressing global issues, including the climate crisis, while also highlighting stories of resilience in the past year. F
