While studying journalism, Dela Cruz became a student activist, carrying her camera during protests.
Starting in 2016, she began documenting the Philippine drug war through photography and research,[1][2][3] and the following year co-produced “Si Kian,” a children's book about the murder of Kian Delos Santos that won a National Children's Book Award.
[3] Among her projects, Dela Cruz produced Death of a Nation, a collection of photographs that narrate scenes related to the drug war in Manila and the lives of families affected by the killings.
She has participated in nightly group exhibitions on the work of Filipino photographers who have documented extrajudicial killings in the country.
She has also been the coordinator of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism's story project, where she co-produced “Si Kian.”.