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Get to know the values & team behind EA Philippines

Effective Altruism Philippines leads the strategic direction, coordination, and growth of the local EA community. Focused on high-impact causes, the team supports learning, advising, and collaboration efforts to help individuals and organizations use evidence, reason, and compassion to do the most good.

Our Values

Welcoming Spaces

To create welcoming environments for Filipinos to access and engage with effective altruism resources.

Principles-First Approach

To foster a mindset that prioritizes core effective altruism principles in actions and decisions. We endorse the core EA principles, which include:

Scope sensitivity: We’re committed to the idea that saving ten lives is more important than saving one, and saving a billion lives is a lot more important than saving ten.

Impartiality: With the resources we choose to devote to altruism, we strive to help those that need it the most without giving more weight to those who are similar to us or live near us, in space or time. (Less confidently, this often means focusing on people in developing countries, animals, and future generations.)

Scout mindset: We believe that we can better help others if we’re working together to think clearly and orient towards finding the truth, rather than trying to defend our own ideas. Humans naturally aren’t great at this (aside from wanting to defend our own ideas, we have a host of other biases), but since we want to really understand the world, we aim to seek the truth and try to become clearer thinkers.

Recognition of tradeoffs: Because we have limited time and money, we recognize the need to prioritize different ways to improve the world.

Support for Doing Good

To support EA-aligned organizations (those founded on and guided by EA principles) and individuals committed to high-impact initiatives, we provide tailored mentoring and career advising—both one-on-one and in groups—focused on strengthening local EA chapters, fostering resilience, pursuing high-impact careers, and building the local EA movement.

What does EA Philippines do?

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Our vision is to create a thriving community of Filipinos who use evidence, reason, and compassion to maximize their social impact.

Our mission is to support Filipinos in tackling pressing problems by providing welcoming spaces and resources for learning and practicing effective altruism.

EA Programs

We run fellowships, workshops, and projects that help Filipinos explore and apply effective altruism ideas. These programs are designed to build knowledge, skills, and connections for doing the most good.

Community Events

We host talks, socials, and networking events that bring together people interested in effective altruism. These gatherings create space for learning, collaboration, and building lasting friendships within our community.

Career advising

We offer personalized support to help members identify high-impact career paths that align with their skills and values. Through 1-on-1 advising and resources, we guide Filipinos in making thoughtful, impactful career decisions.

A Hub for Resources

We maintain a collection of materials to help Filipinos learn about effective altruism and apply it in their own lives. From introductory readings to career guides and local opportunities, our resource hub supports members at every stage of their EA journey.

Local EA Chapters Support

We support university and city-based EA groups across the Philippines by providing resources, mentorship, and training. Our goal is to empower local leaders to grow strong, resilient, and values-aligned communities.

The Team

Executive Team

Samantha Ackary

Co-Director

Sam currently serves as the Co-Director of EA Philippines. She graduated in 2023 from Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in BS Health Sciences and a minor in Sociology. After graduating from university, Sam began working in the health and development space. She currently works at the Ateneo School of Government as a Research and Project Assistant for their Tobacco Control and Governance Program under the Ateneo Policy Center division.

Zian Bonoan

Co-Director

Zian currently serves as the Co-Director of EA Philippines. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Ateneo de Manila University. Besides being active in the Effective Altruism space, Zian also works as a part-time market researcher in GoDoc, a software company specializing in developing applications for medical practitioners. 

Advisory Board

Kate Lupango

Co-Founder and Board Member

Kate is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Animal Empathy Philippines. Founded in 2021, AEP aims to bring farmed animal issues in the Philippines to the forefront and harness collective action to effectively help farmed animals. Kate is also a co-founder and former community builder of EA Philippines.

Raymund "Red" Bermejo

Board Member

Red is the Executive Director of Anti-Entropy, which provides operations support to high-impact organizations as well as tools and resources for ops staff. He has garnered 9 years of experience implementing software projects, working with various clients across the world, from startups to Fortune 500 organizations. He also has 7 years of building and managing a full-fledged consulting firm offering end-to-end IT services with annual revenue of ~$3M USD with ~150 staff.

Rochelle “Roc” Bata

Board Member

Roc runs Dory Foundation, a US grantmaking foundation supporting impactful non-profit work. She is also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Phlourish Mental Health Initiative Inc., a local EA-aligned nonprofit that aims to scale evidence-based and cost-effective mental health solutions in the Philippines. Roc has over 8 years of nonprofit experience, including serving as COO and Operations Manager for climate change organizations based in the UK and the Philippines, respectively.

We're excited to see more Filipinos doing more good. Find out how you can take action!
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