MANILA, PHILIPPINES – True to its mantra of being the “word on creativity,” adobo Magazine has bagged the Quill Award of Excellence for Communication Management at the recent Philippine Quill Awards for its profound endeavor, the Year of Creative Sustainability, last August 27, 2025 at The Manila Hotel. In addition to this, adobo Magazine was also awarded the inaugural Top Award in the New Category: Sustainability Communications and Breakthroughs and Innovations, making this the fourth Top Award that the publication has received at the Philippine Quill. This award is the highest merit in the award-giving body, with an equivalent to a Grand Prix — truly an unprecedented achievement.
Abigail Ho Torres, chair of this year’s Quill Awards reflected on adobo magazine’s win: “For the 21st Philippine Quill Awards, we introduced special categories that we feel are apt for these very dynamic times: sustainability and breakthrough and innovations. adobo’s Year of Creative Sustainability campaign, this year’s top awardee for sustainability, was not only a timely reminder for us to never stop evolving, it was also a testament to the enduring power of creativity, despite whatever disruptions we may encounter.”
Following waves of breakthroughs in large language models (LLMs) and AI, the creative industry took hit after hit of criticism and confusion, begging to find an answer to the question: “How, then, can creatives survive this ever-changing world?”
Born out of sheer tenacity and the quick wits to adapt, the Year of Creative Sustainability was a proud innovation of adobo Magazine’s stalwart writers and artists. They sought to ride the tide of change, and cleverly navigate these uncharted waters — eventually conquering and slaying the proverbial dragon like true heroes. And the results noticeably spoke for themselves.
In the year-long quest for creative sustainability, the magazine’s own creatives pushed for inspiring innovations and solutions that would allow fellow makers to develop their skills and remain true to their core. One of these is the first-ever Portfolio Night Manila that joined 24 cities worldwide. This enlightening and encouraging event gathered the most brilliant, young minds for a unified celebration of craft and as a playground where young maestros could get a taste of their future success. Another is the adobo SheCreative Network that garnered a Gold Award at the prestigious 2025 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. This blossomed to be an iconic platform for women in creativity, encompassing both mentorship and education in an exchange of knowledge. This also led the way for women empowerment and gender equity in the industry.
Creative sustenance was also found in the form of education: all backed by dependable bases of knowledge. Thought-provoking, original editorial articles pursued higher cognizance that elevated the publication’s standing in the field. And engaging sessions from the newly launched adoboTalks Podcast fortified its voice among the clangor of AI-generated materials.
And with each effort, a reinvigorated sense of camaraderie was felt among — and more importantly, enthusiastically forged by — those in the creative community. This web of meaningful, genuine connections allowed individuals in every pocket of the community to easily reach out to one another, and weather the storm of change together.
adobo Magazine’s commitment, moreover, the devotion of its own people and supporters to the discipline of creativity and its survival was something that was unexpected given the circumstances — and yet, it was also absolutely needed.
This remarkable feat is not only for the glory of adobo Magazine, but also in rightful recognition of the notable virtuosi who made the Year of Creative Sustainability come alive. The spirit of creativity will continue to sustain those who adapt, evolve, and embody the ethos of artistry amid adversity.
