Aika Rey

By Aika Rey Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Exposed to the city’s worst air, Baguio’s jeepney drivers are left to manage that risk on their own. But it’s the least of their worries. On Baguio’s steep roads, the exhaust is at its worst on the climb. Lawrence Raymundo, 32, knows this well enough that he distances himself from the vehicle in front of him. Raymundo has spent a decade behind the wheel in the highland city.

By Aika Rey Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism A city known for fresh air still falls short of global health guidelines. At 1,500 meters above sea level, the air changes. The fog moves in through the pine trees, and the cold bites the skin. This is Baguio, the Philippines’ summer capital, the city that has sold itself on the promise of clean mountain air. More than a million tourists make the climb every year to escape the heat and the smog of the lowlands.

By Aika Rey, Myanmar Data Citizens (Myanmar Now), April 25: Cries echoed through the rubble as buildings crumbled across central Myanmar. Families and neighbours dug first. Rescue teams arrived later—slowly, if at all. As the cries faded into silence, the urgency of the rescue effort gave way to the next phase, recovery. Increasingly, resources were deployed along lines drawn since the military took power, rather than following the trail of destruction.