In the Philippines, the past is perpetually intruding on the present. As Magsalin, the protagonist of Gina Apostol’s novel Insurrecto, asks: ‘The question, it seems to me, is how to keep the past from recurring. I mean, what the fuck is the point of knowing history’s goddamned repetitive spirals if we remain its bloody victims?’

History has not been kind to the Philippines. Colonised by both Spain and the United States, twice ruled by a despot of the electorate’s own choosing, besieged by a myriad of insurgencies. Extrajudicial killings are a hallmark of the country’s violence, consistent in their method from the martial law era to the present. Presiding over these horrors is a small cast of characters who spin through the revolving door of electoral politics.

• Tags: Bryony Lau, Carlos Bulosan, Gina Apostol, Issue 20, Lauren Greenfield, Philippines