The gallery brings together 20 Filipinos whose lives intersect with solo motherhood, revealing the diverse roles, relationships and ambitions that extend far beyond a single label.
TECNO is bringing meaningful Filipino stories into the spotlight through 100 Portraits of Becoming, its international documentary portrait project in collaboration with acclaimed artist Angélica Dass. The brand has officially launched the Philippine portrait gallery, featuring 20 individuals whose personal experiences challenge the way society views identity and motherhood.
The two-year project spans five countries and is powered by TECNO Universal Tone imaging technology. Following its successful launch in Kenya, the Philippines becomes the second destination to showcase the initiative. The newly unveiled collection is now available through TECNO's global story archive.
Under the theme “See Beyond Labels,” Dass photographed 20 individuals in Manila whose lives are connected in different ways to solo motherhood. Rather than focusing on a single social identity, the portraits reveal the many dimensions of each person's life, including their family relationships, personal ambitions, and individual journeys.
The campaign is particularly relevant to the Philippine setting, where an estimated 14 to 15 million solo parents are part of the population, with women making up approximately 95%. The country also recorded an estimated 2.19 million overseas Filipino workers in 2024, including women who represented 57.2% of the OFW workforce.
These numbers highlight the diverse experiences of Filipino families and individuals, but the project aims to go beyond statistics by presenting the human stories behind them. It reinforces the idea that people deserve to be seen in their entirety rather than reduced to one label or social role.
The Philippine portraits were captured using the TECNO CAMON Slim 5G, powered by TECNO Universal Tone. The collaboration also highlights the smartphone's “Make It Lighter” philosophy, which aims to make expressive photography more accessible and intuitive, allowing more people to capture and share meaningful stories through technology.
The Stories Behind the Portraits of 20 People
Every portrait tells a story that goes far beyond a person's title or social identity. Through the Philippine chapter of the project, different voices come together to illustrate the realities of work, family, caregiving, and personal transformation.
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| Angélica Dass taking portrait photos in Manila |
The featured narratives come from a diverse group of individuals, including working solo mothers, adults who were raised by solo parents, members of multigenerational households, OFW caregivers, and media and community advocates involved in supporting women and families. Their experiences emphasize the importance of looking beyond stereotypes and recognizing that no individual should be defined by just one aspect of their life.
The discussions also raised meaningful questions about the relationship between motherhood and career growth, the experiences of adults who grew up in solo-parent families, and the support networks, decisions, and lessons that help families navigate everyday life.
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| Portraits of 20 people connected to solo motherhood |
These perspectives offer a deeper understanding of today's Filipino families and the different ways women shape their own paths. From mothers pursuing professional success while raising children to relatives sharing caregiving responsibilities, and from adults drawing inspiration from their mothers to individuals continuing to chase their ambitions, the stories reveal that identity is complex, personal, and constantly evolving.
Her Many Ways of Becoming
Ely Haig is among the 20 participants whose stories are featured in the campaign, representing the many roles women take on throughout their lives. She is a solo working mother, the family's breadwinner, an advertising professional, and a competitive amateur padel player.
When Ely became a mother, her career was just beginning to flourish. She made the decision to temporarily step back from opportunities so she could dedicate more time to caring for her loved ones. But her journey eventually led her to redefine what balancing motherhood and professional growth meant. By becoming more intentional about her priorities, she found ways to pursue her career, raise her daughter, work on side projects, and continue playing padel.
“Being a good mother shouldn’t mean leaving yourself behind. I want people to see more than a solo mom. A mother, yes, but also a creative, a career woman, an athlete, still becoming.” ~Ely Haig, a solo working mother, breadwinner, advertising professional and competitive amateur padel player
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| The Portrait of Ely Haig |
“Sometimes the strongest thing a mother can do is say, ‘I need help.’” ~Twinkle Dimayuga Zamora, raised two children as a solo mother before turning her own experience into community support
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| The Portrait of Twinkle Dimayuga Zamora |
Eunice N. Angeles, a fourth-year nursing student, was raised by a solo mother who later became an OFW in Qatar. Growing up, she watched her mother keep finding opportunities and making difficult choices to create a better future for them both. That confidence became something Eunice feels she inherited.
“I want people to see what I grew up with: confidence, determination and the courage to find my own way.” ~Eunice N. Angeles, a fourth-year nursing student, was raised by a solo mother who later became an OFW in Qatar
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| The Portrait of Eunice N. Angeles |
These stories reflect different expressions of their own diskarte: the wisdom, resourcefulness and choices women draw on to navigate life in their own way. More stories from the 20 portraits can be explored in the Philippines gallery of 100 Portraits of Becoming, part of TECNO’s global story archive.
An Opportunity to See Behind the Portraits
For Angélica Dass, the Philippines chapter is an opportunity to move from a shared social context to the individual lives within it. Across the 20 portraits, she encountered different ambitions, relationships, personalities and ways of navigating everyday life.
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| Renowned photographer Angélica Dass captures portraits using the TECNO CAMON Slim 5G in Manila, Philippines. |
“What stayed with me was the realization that ‘solo motherhood’ is only one part of a person's identity. Through the stories shared with me and the moments we created during the portrait sessions, I was reminded that behind every label there is a person with their own ambitions, relationships, choices, and dreams. No single label can tell us everything about who someone is.” ~Angélica Dass, Renowned Photographer captures portraits using the TECNO CAMON Slim 5G in Manila, Philippines
Each portrait was photographed in an environment that forms part of the participant's real-life story. Across various locations in Manila, the photography sessions took place in meaningful everyday settings, including workplaces, family residences, and community spaces familiar to each individual.
This location-based storytelling reflects the campaign's belief that every person has a story beyond the labels society assigns. By making room for moments of work, ambition, meaningful connections, humour, and daily activities, the collection presents a more expansive view of identity—one that celebrates the many roles and experiences that make each person unique.
From Kenya to the Philippines, and Beyond
The Philippine portraits were brought to life through the lens of Angélica Dass, who used the TECNO CAMON Slim 5G with TECNO Universal Tone technology to photograph all 20 participants.
Developed to help mobile cameras represent a broader range of human skin tones with greater accuracy, TECNO Universal Tone supports the campaign's commitment to authentic visual representation. Its role in 100 Portraits of Becoming goes beyond photography, reinforcing the idea that everyone deserves to be seen and appreciated for their individual identity.
The Philippines represents the second chapter of the two-year international project, following its launch in Kenya in July 2026. Across multiple countries, the initiative aims to bring together 100 portraits that document different lives, experiences, and possibilities in one growing global story archive.
Each destination explores a distinct aspect of human identity. In Kenya, the project examined how individuals move beyond inherited stories about their surroundings and future. In the Philippines, the focus turns to family, relationships, identity, and the many roles people carry, encouraging viewers to discover the person beyond the first impression or social label.
With the Philippine collection now part of the international archive, the journey is far from over. More countries, portraits, and personal stories are still to come, continuing the project's celebration of the many ways people define themselves and embrace who they are becoming.
For any related media queries, please contact pr.tecno@tecno-mobile.com.
About TECNO
As a global innovative technology brand with operations in over 70 markets, TECNO has been committed to revolutionizing the digital experience in global emerging markets, relentlessly pushing for the perfect integration of contemporary, aesthetic design with the latest technologies and AI. TECNO offers a wide range of smartphones, smart wearables, laptops and tablets, smart gaming, HiOS operating systems and smart home products. Guided by its brand essence of “Stop At Nothing,” TECNO is committed to unlocking the newest technologies and AI-powered new experiences for forward-looking individuals, inspiring them to never stop pursuing their best selves and their best futures. For more information, please visit TECNO’s official site: www.tecno-mobile.com.
About “100 Portraits of Becoming” by TECNO and Angélica Dass
“100 Portraits of Becoming” is a global portrait project created by TECNO together with internationally recognized artist Angélica Dass. Over two years, it will produce one hundred portraits across five countries — Kenya, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Brazil — pairing Dass’s portrait methodology with TECNO’s Universal Tone inclusive imaging technology. Each portrait moves beyond a face to the person behind it: to lives unfolding across different cultures, generations and moments of social change. One hundred portraits become one hundred ways of seeing humanity — and one growing archive of who we are, told by the people living it. To learn more, please visit: https://www.tecno-mobile.com/100portraitsofbecoming/.
