THOMASIAN architect and illustrator Jomike Tejido launched a new edition of “Foldabots” on Aug. 30 at the National Book Store in Trinoma Mall, Quezon City.
“Foldabots” are do-it-yourself cardboard robots that can be cut out from book pages and first appeared in May 2006 through the now-defunct K-Zone magazine.
In the 2025 edition, “Foldabots” are presented alongside a storyline that features Buhawi, a Philippine eagle-inspired robot, which leads a crew of hero-robots in saving the world from pollution propagated by evil robots seeking to destroy their world.
Tejido created Foldabots in the hope of helping kids like him, who do not enjoy reading much, develop a reading habit.
“I feel that Foldabots is a step into reading, so that kids can be interested in books in general, because they get to follow instructions and use art as a stepping stone [and] as an interest to become future readers,” he said.
In the Foldabots toy book series, the first book contains all the heroes, while the second one contains all the villains.
The new version of the Foldabots toy book one also includes remastered editions of his original releases from 2006.
“The collectors can be assured that I’ve polished every robot, updated their write-ups, and procedures for building, so they can be further enjoyed by today’s collectors.”
He also produced assembly guides on how to build the robots, which can be accessed by scanning the QR code, redirecting the reader to a YouTube video.
Tejido said some comics were already in the works, but added that he wanted to focus on re-establishing the idea of Foldabots into the new generation of kids.
“I think that would be a good foundation for kids to start playing with the toys, then the stories come next,” he said. “People can watch out for that, because we’re definitely reviving the comic as well.”
Tejido said the idea of Foldabots was rooted in his childhood craft of making paper robots for himself as a form of entertainment.
“It started in the early 90s when I used cardboard or folders that were all from school. I would make my own toys, [so] I won’t have to ask my parents to buy all the robots that I wanted,” he said.
Foldabots was last released in 2016, a year before K-Zone shut down publication in 2017.
Tejido signed Foldabots copies on Sept. 13 during the five-day 2025 Manila International Book Fair. With reports from David Nigel C. Cortes and Djenhard Yreneo Raphael Y. Sapanhila
