Stories with context.
Reporting with care.
Effective September 29, 2026
Orient Gazette explores the Philippines through travel, culture, food, history and local stories, with a view toward Southeast Asia. These standards guide the work we commission, edit and publish.
Accuracy and sources
Writers and editors should verify names, dates, locations and factual claims before publication. Use primary documents, direct interviews and authoritative sources where possible, and identify or link the sources that support important claims. Describe uncertainty openly. Never invent quotations, interviews, credentials or visits to a place.
Travel conditions, opening hours, fees, transport schedules and entry requirements can change. Check them with the responsible operator or authority, and give the date or context when needed. Readers should confirm time-sensitive arrangements before travelling.
Original work and attribution
Submit original work or material we have permission to publish. Credit other reporting, research, translations and archival material. A byline identifies the person responsible for the published story; it must not conceal another creator’s contribution. Clearly distinguish first-hand reporting from research, commentary and personal recollection.
People and communities
Represent people fairly, respect their preferred names and community terms, and avoid treating a community as a single voice. Seek informed permission for interviews and sensitive photographs. Give people a reasonable opportunity to respond to substantive criticism. Protect private contact details and information that could unnecessarily expose someone to harm.
Authorship and article labels
Stories should carry a clear byline, publication date and a link to the writer’s profile. Profiles should describe relevant experience truthfully. Where a contributor uses a pen name, their biography should make that clear without exposing private account details. Opinion, personal essays and sponsored work should be recognisable as such.
Images and AI assistance
Use photographs and illustrations that we created, licensed or have permission to publish. Include appropriate creator credits, source and licence information. Captions must accurately describe what an image shows; an illustrative image should not imply that it documents an event it does not show.
AI assistance does not replace editorial responsibility or factual verification. Disclose material AI-generated text or imagery where its use affects a reader’s understanding of the work. Do not present synthetic images, invented sources or generated quotations as documentary evidence.
Advertising, sponsorship and independence
Advertising must be visually separate from editorial text. Label sponsored stories prominently, identify the sponsor, and disclose relevant affiliate links, hosted travel, gifts or other material support. Commercial arrangements must not be presented as independent reporting. Writers and editors should disclose relevant personal or financial interests to the editor and, where material, to readers.
Dates, updates and archive material
Publication dates should reflect when a story first appeared on this website. Preserve the distinction between first publication, a later substantive update and the date of the events described. Do not change dates merely to make a story appear new. Archival and historical features need appropriate context; proposals and unfinished reporting must not imply that interviews or fieldwork have been completed.
Corrections and accountability
Jaime Delos Reyes, Editor in Chief, is the public editorial contact. Concerns about sourcing, attribution, sponsorship or accuracy can be sent to newsroom@orientgazette.com. Read our corrections policy for how to report a specific issue.