7 PH achievers on Forbes ‘30 under 30’ list

Seven young Filipinos who have made an impact in their respective fields—entertainment, health care, arts and entrepreneurship—were recognized by Forbes Asia in this year’s edition of “30 Under 30” list.

These trailblazers, all below the age of 30, were chosen by the publication among thousands of online nominations coming from 21 countries and territories.

Content creators Ramon Christian Larga, known as Arshie Larga, and “Lumpia Queen” Abigail Marquez made the cut.

Larga, a 27-year-old licensed pharmacist, rose to popularity for producing funny and engaging content about safe medicine use on TikTok, where he has amassed nearly 4 million followers. The social media influencer, working at his family’s pharmacy in Marinduque, uses his platform to raise funds for customers who have a hard time paying for medicine. TikTok Philippines recognized him as the best educational content creator last year.

Marquez, 23, shares her love for Filipino food, especially those wrapped in lumpia and fried in hot oil, through her cooking channel on TikTok, where she has over 3 million followers. She was recognized as TikTok’s Creator of the Year for Food in 2023.

Startup founders

Also included in the roster were Mikaela Helene Reyes and Amanda Cua, who both know what it is like to build something from the ground up.

Reyes, 29, is the cofounder of Parallax, a Manila-based cross-border payment startup. Her startup, launched just last year, aims to make money transfers cheaper via cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Parallax, which now has customers from over 150 countries, raised $4.5 million in a seed funding round led by Dragonfly Capital last year.

Cua, the youngest in the cohort at age 21, founded Backscoop, a newsletter that tracks the happenings in the tech and startup space in Southeast Asia. This is complimented by her One More Scoop podcast, which helps startup founders in finding investors for their ventures.

Artists, reformers

Another honoree, 23-year-old Chia Amisola, is a founder of Developh, a nonprofit community that monitors the local internet archive to preserve “digital work, movements, cultures and art.”

Amisola, whose work has been recognized by publications like the New Yorker and Frieze, also created Ang Bantayog, a website that pays homage to victims of human rights abuses during the Martial Law.

Joshua Serafin, 28, a permanent house artist at an arts center in Belgium, delves into concepts of cultural identity, transmigration and queer representation through performances that combine dance, music and theater. The artist was invited to participate in the 60th Venice Biennale this year and had also performed at ANTI-Contemporary Art Festival in Finland, TONO Festival in Mexico and the HAU Hebbel am User in Berlin.

Lastly, rapper Ezekiel Miller, 25, popularly known as Ez Mil, was also recognized. He worked with hip hop legends Dr. Dre and Eminem for the “Up Down” track. He first gained attention from his “Panalo” song, where he expressed his pride as a Filipino.

‘Inspiring’

“The entrepreneurs, artists and change-makers on this year’s 30 Under 30 Asia list are leading the transformation of their industries and inspiring their generation,” Forbes said.

Forbes chose 30 Under 30 honorees covering the following fields: entertainment and sports; finance and venture capital; enterprise technology; media, marketing and advertising; consumer technology; industry, manufacturing and energy; arts; social impact; retail and e-commerce; and health care and science.