ILOCOS NORTE-BASED

"There is something different about being photographed by someone who knows this land the way they know their own name.

Working with Toffee Rivera reminded me that Ilocos Norte doesn't need to be explained. It just needs to be felt. The light here, the air, the weight of this place. He already understands it. I didn't have to perform for the camera. I just had to be here. He already knew what he was looking for.

That is the gift of our Ilocano photographers. They know this place. And when you stand in front of their lens, you feel that too.

I am so proud to have been seen this way, through the eyes of someone who loves this province as much as I do."

— Jamaica Nicole Mamuad, Miss Ilocos Norte 2025