REAR VIEW. What can we learn from one of the worst years ever?
Illustration by Emil Mercado
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Yes, we know. You’d rather forget about 2020.
But as in every tough experience, 2020 provides all of us fond and painful memories to keep, lessons to treasure, and yes, a wish for things to become better. 2020 is also about 20/20 – better clarity in vision for the future after emerging from possibly one of the worst years ever.
As we navigate our way to 2021, Rappler compiles on this page the stories, articles, images, and important headlines that shook, angered, awed, and inspired us. We also look ahead and spot trends, offer predictions for 2021, forecasts, and analyses.
Bookmark and refresh this page to look to the past, and get a glimpse of the future and the fun stuff as we close 2020 and enter a new year.
LATEST UPDATES
7 games that kept us company during the lockdown
Kyle Chua
History won’t remember 2020 too fondly, but the year, at least, gave us a chance to play some video games.
While the medium has already been massively popular even before the pandemic, the enactment of stay-at-home orders and social-distancing protocols forced many of us to turn to gaming as an outlet to escape our grim reality and bridge social gaps. These are the year’s best.
2020 may have been a tough year. But surprisingly, the consumer tech industry has been able to chug along, releasing a number of devices worthy of being on your wishlist.
Here are some of them. These devices not only have novel features, they push for new levels of performance and give us a glimpse of where consumer tech may be headed in the future.
2020 was not very kind, especially to the food and service industry. Some restaurants managed to pull through and pivot, but some well-loved Manila restaurants weren’t able to survive.
We look back on the gems we had to say goodbye to (and those who came back right away) here.
The year 2020 saw polarizing views among Filipinos. From politics to health to economy to natural disasters, the Philippines saw turbulent events that shook us – and divided us – as a nation. But if there’s one thing we can agree on, it is this: 2020 is a year that tested our spirits and almost drained what is left of our hope.
We lost some of our heroes in the frontlines – doctors, nurses, activists, and human rights champions. Despite the pandemic, we took our rage to the streets to protect our freedom and democracy, and even our jobs. And those who are brave enough to stand up to the powers that be bore the consequences of holding them to account.
As 2020 ends, Rappler sums up the video headlines that defined the year – the hopeful and the tragic, the good and the bad – in less than 4 minutes.
2020 surely tested everyone’s patience (the only mass testing to happen this year, so to speak) in various ways and in the several issues we faced.
As the year comes to a close, let’s look back at some of the most laudable (if not, iconic) clapbacks involving personalities – public officials and celebrities alike – that perfectly captured 2020 in all its chaotic glory.
As we debunked one false claim about the pandemic after the other, the effect of the infodemic that we’ve experienced became clear: it was ultimately the creation of fear, confusion, and distrust in authorities.
Rappler reporters and researchers talk to 7 people whose stories of loss and survival embody the upside-down year of 2020.
They are: a mayor at the front lines of the pandemic, a struggling business owner, mother of a killed quarantine violator, a lawmaker fighting disinformation, a red-tagged celebrity, a social worker saving lives, and a woman seeking justice for her dead grandchild.
Elite Filipino athletes carry PH flag on world stage
Ariel Ian Clarito
While athletic events in the Philippines came to a screeching halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, there were still Filipino athletes who soldiered on and carried the country’s flag in the international arena.
Here are the valiant male athletes who carried the torch for flag and country.
There will always be stories to tell and experiences to share especially in 2020, when Filipinos faced unprecedented events that stirred mixed emotions of anger, fear, hope, and inspiration.
With the help of our movers and partners in different sectors, we continue to tell the #StoryOfTheNation that gave Filipinos a louder voice this year.
Here are some stories of the nation throughout this year’s roller coaster ride.
