For Miguel Nacianceno, whose photography is highly sought after in the local F&B space, that person was Mandy Navasero — photojournalist, photographer, PR practitioner, and columnist.
“One summer between my college freshman and sophomore years, my mom suggested I attend Mandy’s workshop,” wrote Miguel on Threads, recalling that time in 1998 or 1999.
“A bit of a cliché, but once I saw an image I had in mind translated into film and slowly come into focus in her darkroom, I was hooked.”
Across different eras, fields of endeavor, and circles of interaction, Mandy Navasero, who died on June 1, 2026 at 84, made her impact and presence felt — deeply and sans fanfare.
Woman on the streets
“I got to know Mandy when she started her career as a commercial photographer,” shared freelance photojournalist Bullit Marquez, formerly of the Associated Press, with InsiderPH. “But she got hooked on photojournalism when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated.”
It was during that tumultuous period that Mandy worked for Mr & Ms, the publication founded by Eugenia “Eggie” Apostol and part of the so-called mosquito press.
“Mandy Navasero is a name you would not normally read in, at least, popular histories about Martial Law, or even in specific discussions of press freedom under the dictatorship,” writes Karl Patrick Suyat, co-founder of Project Gunita, an academic research organization.
“But, more than we know, her photographs have become an important piece of visual memory of what protesting under Marcos Sr.’s regime was like.”
Specifically, Suyat points to a children-led rally in December 1985, held at the former Ugarte Field in Makati, which Mandy covered.
Meanwhile, Marquez further recounts how, in February 1986, “still lugging her camera, she opted to join others in blocking tanks to prevent Marcos’ forces.”
He also states that Mandy was likely the lone female photojournalist then actively and fearlessly taking pictures.
Said Mandy herself: “I pulled out of the ad scene and started joining rallies.”
Joining PDI
Mandy would later be hired by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, also founded by Apostol, where, aside from contributing photos, she maintained a regular column titled “Street Smart” which ran until 2015.
“When I was a greenhorn feature writer beginning to submit articles to the Sunday Inquirer Magazine, under Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc, she ordered me to tag along on assignments with this flamboyant, bubbly female photographer,” shared Alya B. Honasan on Facebook. Honasan would eventually become editor in chief of the magazine.
Mandy would go on to shoot Honasan’s “very first ever cover story” in 1989, featuring “a luminous Pilita Corrales with her showgirl leg extended high into the air.”
Noting how Mandy “could make any subject laugh and relax in a matter of minutes,” Honasan looked back at “many, many years of collaborations, lunches, laughter, and adventures.” It certainly helped that Mandy’s studio was then right across the street from the Inquirer.
Photography and public relations
Driven by the ethos “Passion for Photography, Passion for Excellence,” Mandy would fuse photography and public relations consultancy by organizing Mandy Navasero PhotoPRo Studio, housed at the LRI Design Plaza on Reposo Street.
With a commitment to “provide high-quality photography and PR services at best value,” she endeavored to “build strong, productive, and lasting bonds with clients,” with the end goal of ensuring their success.
During its peak, MNPS serviced leading firms such as Globe Telecom, Mighty Corp., ABS-CBN, and the World Health Organization.
Rosan Cruz, former senior assistant vice president of Benpres Holdings, now Lopez Holdings Corp., who had oversight over corporate image-building, recalls:
“When I was producing annual reports in my corporate life and needed board headshots, you brought your artistry and professionalism.”
“Thank you for teaching me that life is meant to be lived in color and adventure,” Rosan adds.
Photo safaris
Also under MNPS, Mandy was known for mounting photo safaris — “from Batanes to Nepal.”
Drawn by the “raw, stark beauty of Batanes” — the northernmost and smallest province in the Philippines, famed for its breathtaking, windswept landscapes — she found that it “always took her breath away.”
In 2017, Mandy remembered how a participant “never enjoyed a study group more than during her trip to Batanes.”
“We would get instructions at the start of the day on portraiture, glamour and fashion, architectural, naturescape, jumpology, and macro photography,” the participant said.
“At the end of the day, we would compare pictures and be amazed at how amateurs got such great pictures.”
“You were the photographer who put Batanes on the map,” Rosan further states, remembering how a 71-year-old Mandy—bubbly, vivacious, and radiant—would outpace everyone else up those hills.
Life and family
Mandy was born Luz Amandolina C. Navasero on Valentine’s Day 1942 to Leonora Navasero, née Cruz, a public school teacher. Her father was of Spanish-Portuguese lineage.
The only girl among six siblings. She had a brother, Hector, who was a basketball patron and a successful entrepreneur. Another, Ding, is a thespian, director, and active Rotarian.After earning a degree in mass communication from the Philippine Women’s University, she pursued an MA in English Literature at the Ateneo de Manila University.
“I decided to become a photographer after a stint as a Philippine Airlines flight attendant,” recalled Mandy in a 2008 as-told-to feature by Audrey Carpio in Metro Magazine. This stint, she explained, helped her as a girl from the province of Los Baños , develop her social graces.
After enrolling at Brookes Institute in Santa Barbara for a BA in photography, Mandy soon returned to the Philippines.
“I came back here after discovering America was not for me.”
“I love the Philippines,” she continued. “I enjoyed photography with a passion, and I had friends in the media who gave me access to do things.” Among them were Jimenez-Magsanoc and Chelo Banal-Formoso.
In 1992 she wrote of how, in broad daylight, she was held up in one of Makati’s busiest areas. She further alleged that there were no policemen around to help her.
In 2003 Immigration Commissioner Andrea “Deedee” Domingo publicly claimed that Mandy took photos of the primary suspect in the murder of Young Officers Union spokesman Baron Cervantes, an accusation she quickly denied.
“How could Deedee have made that mistake?” Mandy was quoted as saying.
Busy as she was, Mandy adopted four children — Julia, the eldest, followed by Kate, Amalia, and Kert. Of the experience, she said: “They came into my life…If I had more money, I would adopt more kids. I found it so much fun to care for these babies, even as a single parent. I just have so much mothering in my heart.”
In 2025 Mandy sought financial support for the surgery of her daughter Julia, thanking friends and generous donors as well as the doctors at the Philippine General Hospital. The procedure successfully removed five benign myomas and the uterus.
Apart from her children, Mandy left behind five grandchildren.
“Our mom lived a full and meaningful life,” shared her son Kert. “She touched many people with her kindness, wisdom, and love.”
Features Reporter
