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Did you know that “ZINE” allows for literary works to be cheap and accessible? It is a product of independent/DIY publishing that can be an effective carrier of ideas and tool for organization due to the cheapness of labour, production cost, and portability (David 27). Typically produced out of bond paper, scissor, stapler, and xerox machine, a copy can be sold for as low as 10 and 20 pesos (hence the Bente Bente Zines), while some are given for free.

More importantly, anyone can do it. Everyone can be a zinester.

However, some Filipino literati, notably Virgilio Almario, National Artist for Literature, through his article “Ang Sins ng Zine, Kung Sakali,” has been critical of zines because of its educational-threatening aesthetics (or lack thereof). He remarked that literary production must be managed by an editor “[…] na may tumpak na pamantayang pampanitikan at pangwika,” (qtd. in Filipino Ngayon) along its publisher. Because if one fails to secure artistic taste it would lead to the degradation of mind

Magiging katulad ng mumurahin kaisipán at baluktot na karunungang sisira sa pagpapahalaga ng bumabasa at magpapalubha sa kamangmangan ng sambayanan.

The risk of overproduction, he added, could feed selfishness and commercialization by the risk of overproduction.

Conchitina Cruz made a sound counter-argument that may address this cultural concern. She pointed out the materiality of literature and its irreconcilable relation to the socio-economic status of most Filipinos as a problem to uncover. That while skill is an important aspect in writing and making it attractive to non-literati.

[N]o amount of skill in producing finely crafted literature […] can grant Filipino access to the material and activity of reading the way that equitable redistribution of wealth can (Authoring Autonomy 153).

Accessibility to books, specially that of local writers, is key to mobilizing knowledge and culture. Because book copies are luxury, and barely everyone can afford it.

This explains the relevance of spaces that provide free access to cultural goods.

Here at Cafe Sigyá, we have zines on our tables waiting to be read. Some essays, some comic strips. Some poems, some plays. The most recent one is PASTIDYO ZINE (2025), a feminist-themed anthology of photos, artworks, narratives, and lyrics by Bikolano writers, including Frank Peñones, Jr, Jimple Borlagdan, Maricris Labayandoy, Rheich Alamer, and Dudz Clotatrio among others.

Enjoy your locally-sourced brew with independently-published Filipino works.

Works Cited:

^David, Adam. Zines and the Brief History of Small Press Publishing in the Philippines.

^Filipino Ngayon. “Ang Sins ng Zine, Kung Sakali.” 2024.

^Cruz, Conchitina. Authoring Autonomy: The Politics of Art for Art’s Sake in Filipino Poetry in English. 2016. ProQuest LLC. 10240433.