MANILA, Philippines — Young rising tennis star Alex Eala and singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo lead the contingent of Filipinos included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2026 list.
The annual regional list by Forbes magazine recognized exceptional young individuals across various industries in Asia and Oceania under the age of 30.
Eala was front and center of the Entertainment and Sports category with her photo wearing a striped ensemble over a white tank.
A write-up by staff members Rana Wehbe Watson and Ian Sayson noted the athlete's achievements in the last year, as well as the flock of Filipinos who witness them each time.
"The support has been incredible," Eala told the magazine. "Tennis can sometimes feel quiet and serious, so having that energy makes it special."
A representative for the tennis player told Forbes Eala became the highest-earning Filipino tennis player of all time last year because of prize money totaling $876,000 (P54 million), while endorsements from the likes of Nike and NutriAsia are expected to rise to $3 million (P185 million) this year.
Bookending the Entertainment and Sports write-up was an excerpt for Tabudlo, noting his viral and streaming records as well as his "The Voice Kids" connections.
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Notable figures in this category were K-pop groups I-dle, Nmixx, and Cortis, golfer Minjee Lee, track star Gout Gout, choreographer Leejung Lee, Indonesian girl group Na Na, and singer Regina Song.
Last year's list featured the P-pop girl group BINI and chess wunderkind Daniel Quizon.
Other Filipinos
Three Filipinos were included in the list's Social Impact category: Saje Miguel Molato, Steph Naval and Emmanuel Mirus Ponon.
Molato is the founder of the consulting firm which for the past decade has helped young people become more globally competitive, working with different partners on education, skills development and climate programs.
Software engineer and psychologist-in-training Naval is the founder of social enterprise Empath which provides online counseling, psychotherapy and psychiatric consultations to schools, workplaces, and non-profit groups.
Ponon founded ASEAN Youth Advocates Network or AYAN, an organization that encourages young people in Southeast Asia to participate in policy making, peacebuilding and sustainable development.
Two Philippine-based pairs were included in the Retail and E-Commerce category: Fan Connection SEA (FanConSEA) co-founders Pauline Dizon and Adrian Jumangit, and GoRocky co-founders Kiyanusch Braun and Martin Joaquin Palaña.
Dizon and Jumangit founded FanConSEA during the pandemic by betting their savings on Southeast Asia as a key entertainment market, and now their business continues to make deals with merchandise licensing, bookings, and live events.
Forbes staff member Ardian Wibisono noted in a write-up how Braun and Palaña founded GoRocky to destigmatize men's health issues such as erectile dysfunction and hair loss and raised $2 million (P123 million) in funding.
"Promising confidentiality and convenience, the digital platform claims to have connected more than 30,000 customers to licensed doctors and pharmacies," wrote Wibisono. "The new capital will be used for expansion beyond men's health into chronic conditions including obesity, diabetes, hormonal imbalances among women and hypertension."
Finally, in the Consumer & Enterprise Technology category, BayaniChain Tech co-founders Brandon Angelo Wong and Raphael Sevilla were included (their colleague Paul Soliman was ineligible as he was over 30).
BayaniChain Tech builds blockchain systems for governments and companies to improve transparency, secure data and reduce corruption.
It worked with the Department of Budget and Management as the latter became the first government agency in the Philippines to use blockchain to upload and verify key budget documents, and helped drive legislation in promoting blockchain use to safeguard public funds.