Media Spotlight

Trese

Created by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, Trese is a fantastical, thrilling story featuring our protagonist Alexandra Trese, a female detective who solves crimes that involve the supernatural. With the right resources and talents to go back and forth between the world of the living and the dead, she uses this power to help those in need by combatting evil creatures that intend to destroy Manila. 

This is a must-watch for young Filipina girls as Ate Alexandra’s story helps us realize many things about our identity and capabilities. Firstly, Trese recognizes the existence of the supernatural—much like our Filipino ancestors. Were it not for the arrival of our colonizers, the Philippines would have continued to hold such superstitious beliefs, connecting us to our ancestral roots. Secondly, Trese emphasizes the importance of family and wanting to protect them. Alexandra’s whole motivation as a detective is because she loves her family, and wants to honor their legacy by continuing their mission, showing that courage and determination often come from the people we love most. Lastly, it is the very fact that our main character is a girl! In the later part of the story, the enemy tries to get to her by revealing her family’s secrets to her in the middle of a fight, but that doesn’t deter her. Instead, she declares she is her own person and will rise above the faults of the past. With this, Alexandra Trese represents the modern Filipina—one who is grounded by her roots, but doesn’t look back in fear, choosing instead to move forward with strength, independence, and an unshakable sense of self.