Long time readers of the blog know that I am from The Philippines. I've written about the Philippines trying to get to the World Baseball Classic back in 2012. As of 2026, they still haven't done it, but it doesn't mean the country can't represent on the diamond. While they haven't competed in the WBC, the baseball team has won the Southeast Asian Games three years straight, and five titles overall.
So, let's crank out some celebratory music...
Okay, back to the point...
One of the goals of this blog is to show off my collection. Today, I thought I'd show off my collection of mini Allen & Ginter cards that feature the The Pearl of the Orient Seas.
Starting with my favorite A&G Mini Card of All-Time, from the 2007 Flag of All Nations set...
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| 2007 Topps A&G Philippines Flag #39 |
The card isn't actually numbered per se, but the card is #39 alphabetically (Algeria-United States). Love this design. The sun in the background, the volcano (there's smoke coming from the top), coconut trees along the coast. It really is reminiscent of the original 1887 N9 Allen & Ginter's Flag of All Nations set. I just love the colors of this card, and how the flag is presented.
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| 2008 Topps A&G Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo #WL35 |
The following year, Topps included a mini insert set featuring 50 of the (at the time) current world leaders. The Philippines was represented with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who became the 14th President of the country. Sworn to the post after the previous president was impeached, she was the leader of the country from 2001 through 2010. She did get into her own issues, but I'm not going to get into that...I am no expert in the story. She is currently a member of the House of Representatives, serving the constituents of the 2nd district of Pampanga. The card itself features a headshot of GMA and an outline of the islands. At least Topps used the right photo for her card, compared to the little mistake done for the card representing Ireland.
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| 2009 Topps A&G Jose Rizal #NH26 |
The year after that saw Topps honoring National Heroes. This time, Topps selected our national hero, Jose Rizal, as a subject for it's 2009 insert set. The reverse of his card gives a really brief summary of who he was and what he did while the Philippines was under Spanish rule in the late 1800's. He was a writer and member of the Philippine Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms while the Philippines was a colony of Spain. He was executed during the Philippine Revolution, and the day of his death (December 30) is a National Holiday. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Filipino history. The card features Rizal along with the Philippines Coat of Arms.
On to lighter fare...
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| 2010 Topps A&G Carabao #NA42 |
National Animals was one of the mini insert sets that appeared in the 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter product. And our national animal, the Carabao, was among the 50 subjects. The carabao is a water buffalo species that is commonly used by farmers for plowing. There were also used to pull carts, whether those contained people or valuable supplies. (There's a picture somewhere of yours truly on one...can't remember where it is. I think the name of the one I was on was Gigolo...or was it Macho...)
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| 2011 Topps A&G Philippine Eagle #AP15 |
Carrying the animal theme over into 2011, Topps featured endangered species in a set called Animals in Peril. The Philippine Eagle, or what is more commonly known as the Monkey Eating Eagle, was among the 30 subjects in this set. It has a six-foot wingspan, and is the largest of all eagles. It's the national bird of the country, with logging taking much of it's territory away. Current estimates say that there are maybe 400 pairs left in the wild.
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| 2012 Topps A&G Balut #CC9 |
And then...there's the Culinary Curiosities set from 2012. This set featured 10 local delicacies that...let's say are unique. Between the Rocky Mountain Oysters and Haggis is this Filipino delight...Balut!!! Yes, balut. You may have seen the videos of people trying to eat it. And what is it exactly? Fertilized duck embryos boiled or steamed, and eaten in the shell. It's a street food that's sold in many countries in Southeast Asia, but it's more commonly connected to the Philippines. Now, I am more of a Penoy person myself (incubated duck egg that didn't fully develop an embryo), but I've eaten this once. And for a Filipino, once was enough.
It would be a few years before an exclusively-Filipino related card would appear in Allen & Ginter. Sure, the 2021 Mini World Leaders didn't include the President of the time, and the 2022 Mini Bearing Fruit cards had a handful of fruits that are found throughout the region, but there was nothing specifically tying the Philippines to any of them.
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| 2024 Topps A&G The Philippines #FOTW-16 |
While the 2024 Topps Allen & Ginter set featured a Manila/Dubai Sister Cities full-sized card (and I have that one), the Flags of the World mini set returned after 17 years. This time, as a horizontally-oriented set, with a picture of Manila to the right of the flag. The card is nice, and again, as an extremely amateur vexillologist (definitely not Sheldon Cooper level), I like the set, I like the card.
But nothing compares to the 2007 version.
On a related note, my mom is flying to Manila to visit friends and family back home this week. I wish her safe travels. Maybe bring back the Philippines baseball team cap if you can find one. A jersey would be nice too, but that may be asking for too much. It looks like this...I think...
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
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