Category: Philippine Star

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished slightly lower yesterday with investors opting to stay on the sidelines ahead of the release of the country’s second quater economic growth data. The PSEi eased by 0.13 percent, or 8.36 points, to settle at 6,277.95, extending its losing streak to three days in a row.

The broader All Shares index, on the other hand, improved by 0.02 percent, or 0.63 points, to close at 3,413.45.

Philstocks Financial Inc. said the local market declined as investors brace for the country’s upcoming GDP data, which will be released today.

It said lingering uncertainties between the United States and Iran as the latter denied that talks between the two were ongoing also added to the pessimism.

‘On a positive note, losses were trimmed in the final minutes amid bargain hunting,’ Philstocks Financial said.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with the industrial index posting the highest gain at 0.97 percent and the services index taking the biggest hit with a 0.44-percent drop.

Total turnover value thinned slightly to P6.18 billion from the previous day’s P6.77 billion.

Foreigners were net sellers with net outflows at P323.68 million.

Advancers edged out decliners in a tight contest, 97 to 96, while 57 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI stayed as the top traded stock, declining by 0.50 percent to P1,000 per share. It was followed by Ayala Corp., which dropped by 0.80 percent to P493, and BDO, which grew by 0.16 percent to P123.20.

Among index members, DigiPlus saw the largest increase with 3.26 percent to P9.50, while BPI lost the most, plunging by 2.32 percent to P101.

It’s not certain if the Japanese B-League will release Filipinos on the Asian heritage list to play for Gilas at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games but coach Tim Cone still included Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips on the 30-man roster that was submitted to organizers in an early advice of entries by name.

Cone excluded Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao as the Korean Basketball League is reportedly holding back on Filipinos. Quiambao wasn’t allowed to join the Asian Games because of contractual commitments with the Goyang Sono Skygunners. Tamayo nearly got his clearance from the Changwon LG Sakers but when Goyang grounded Quiambao, permission was also withheld. Other KBL Filipinos like Arvin Tolentino, Rhenz Abando and SJ Belangel are not on the list.

There are reports that Japan won’t send its A-team to play at the Asian Games despite hosting the event. But with or without the A players, Japan will still bring in B-Leaguers although not in the senior category. The indication is the B-League will keep its Filipino imports in the freezer. Besides, Ramos and Edu are booked to play in the B-League exhibitions at the MOA Arena on Sept. 9 and 10. Ramos’ Levanga Hokkaido will play Edu’s Gunma Crane Thunders in two games. The series will be in direct conflict with the Asian Games schedule as the basketball competitions begin Sept. 10 and finish Sept. 20. The Asian Games are officially set on Sept. 19-Oct. 4 but basketball will start and end early.

Without the B-League players, Cone is left with 25 in the pool. Under Asian Games rules, only passports are required for eligibility regardless of when they were issued. This will allow Fil-foreigners and naturalized players free access to play. The naturalized players in Cone’s pool are Justin Brownlee, Bennie Boatwright and Ange Kouame. Malick Diouf isn’t on the list. Boatwright is awaiting final documentation of his naturalization and SBP hopes it will come on time.

Included on the list is Jamie Malonzo who is currently without a team. The other players are from 10 different PBA teams, excluding Titan and Terrafirma. From San Miguel Beer are June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Jerrick Ahanmisi and Don Trollano. From Ginebra are Scottie Thompson, Troy Rosario and RJ Abarrientos. From TNT are Calvin Oftana, Jordan Heading and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser. From Converge are Justine Baltazar, Justin Arana and Juan Gomez de Liaño. From Rain or Shine are Adrian Nocum and Caelan Tiongson. From Meralco are Chris Newsome and Brandon Bates. Also in the cast are Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield, NLEX’ Robert Bolick, Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero and Phoenix’ Jason Perkins.

Excellence does not come overnight in competitive sports. Long periods of time are spent along with substantial amounts of resources. Literally and figuratively, blood, sweat and tears are a given. Yes, fame and fortune come in, especially if you’re a crooked politician, but all things considered, it’s never easy being a top athlete.

By now, we should be familiar with Alex Eala’s rise to stardom. From ‘ruffled to socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks’, Nike signed her in 2019 during her junior year and has now become a global brand ambassador. But some tasteless individuals tried to link her color of choice to the camp of a jet-setting you-know-who presidential wannabe. At just 21-years-old, the eloquent Filipina has risen to WTA star status, with the habit of making energetic comebacks.

Her conquest of top seeds from two years past could be considered upsets, but now, it’s getting to be a routine. Playing the tennis of her young life, Eala has landed with a bang on the women’s circuit and is getting to be among the best in women’s tennis.

If you get positive feedback from legends of the sport, definitely a mark has been made. Boris Becker said that there is a generational shift on the women’s tour, noting Eala’s aggression and fearlessness. Martina Navratilova praised her technical knowledge of the game and suggested improvement in her serves, as being left-handed will be very advantageous.

Greg Rusedski, a former British pro and during his prime had a powerful left-handed serve, echoed Navratilova’s assessment. He said she has everything in her game except a strong serve. Rusedski added that because of the way she plays, Eala has become the most exciting player on the WTA Tour (along with captive kababayan supporters on the stands) and is a dark horse in the coming US Open. I hope so.

The impressive runs at Wimbledon and Washington, DC now placed Eala in the top 20 of the WTA rankings, the highest ever for a full-blooded Filipino, male or female. Nike said, ‘Every dream begins as a seed. Once it grows, it cannot be stopped. Kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto.’ Indeed, a seed, of the Alex Eala variety, had been planted. Unlike the seed that bore nepo babies cultivated by ill-gotten wealth

At least Eala had given us reason to be afloat despite the waterworld Metro Cebu experienced in the past days. On cue, the head of the public works agency flew in from Manila and made site inspections of flood mitigation projects with the usual ramblings. Solutions? Your guess is as good as mine.

Down goes NLEX.

The NLEX Road Warriors absorbed their first loss of the Jimmy Alapag era after getting stunned by the Terrafirma Dyip, 114-109, Friday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Terrafirma finished the game with a 9-0 run to grab its third win in seven games.

Justin Strings paced the Dyip with 28 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Juami Tiongson added 20 markers and three boards, while Brent Paraiso had 18 off the bench.

The game was tight in the final quarter, with both teams exchanging leads early on in the final quarter.

A 9-2 run capped by a Tiongson trey pushed the Dyip ahead, 100-96, with 7:37 remaining.

But a 13-5 counter-blitz, capped by a JB Bahio deuce, towed the Road Warriors ahead, 109-105, with 3:11 to go.

Back-to-back-to-back layups courtesy of Geo Chiu and Paraiso, then, gave Terrafirma the 111-109 advantage with 1:01 left.

DeQuan Jones, then, tried to tie things up, but missed.

On the other end, Terrafirma melted the clock. Paraiso tried to beat the shot clock but missed, but he was able to grab the offensive board, prompting NLEX to foul him.

He made both freebies, and in the next possession, Jones tried to tie it up anew with a 4-point shot, which missed.

An insurance freebie by Mav Ahanmisi iced the game for Terrafirma, which won two of its last three games.

Ahanmisi and JM Bravo chipped in 16 points each for the Dyip.

Bahio and Robert Bolick spearheaded NLEX with 20 points each. Jones backstopped with 19 markers while Schonny Winston had 16 for the 6-1 Road Warriors.

Online dating has broken barriers and is the new norm for forming relationships, be it romantic or purely social.

From pioneers like Tinder, Bumble and Grindr to social apps that have dating features, such as Facebook and Viber, the possibilities of meeting new people have never been wider.

As exciting as it may appear, online dating can still get overwhelming given the number of profiles to sift through.

Keeping an eye out for green flags or positive traits will help the search for a potential significant other feel easier and safer, even from a virtual standpoint.

Green flags

The first telling sign a person is real is when their profile is verified and has several photos – and not just pictures, but recent and filter-free images that really show the kind of person they are.

Having a bio helps give a better look at the person, especially if a few words reflect their personality or showcase their interests, humor and values that matter most to them.

Pay attention to how matches converse with you, particularly the kind of questions they ask, ideally engaging ones.

Online dating is built on conversations and interactions, which are two-way efforts. The other party should be curious to know who you are and ask the right questions to know you better.

Discussions shouldn’t have to be monologues or one person bearing all the weight; they should feel like a rhythmic to-and-fro with increasing interest and effort.

At the same time, matches should be considerate – including onself – and understand there is a life outside of online dating. Messages don’t have be instant.

Green flags will also be respectful and not force others for personal information or quickly move to a different platform.

Red flags

If there are positive traits, then there are negative ones, or red flags, as well, which may be familiar to far too many individuals.

Right from the beginning, profiles with no photos or bio should be a warning sign. Louder alarms will ring if photos are stock images, heavily altered, or worse, pictures of someone else.

People say falling in love should be easy, but not so easy that matches quickly get carried away with pet names and professions of love within a few days.

Be wary of the other party bringing up emergencies meant to entice one to send money or investment opportunities that require wire transfers or using a different application. All these scream extortion and fraud.

If such things happen, don’t just disengage from the conversation, report them as well so that the apps can take proper action.

Beyond scams, some profiles just have vibes that can turn people off. Examples are those who write in their bios a list of specific demands and ultimatums rather than preferences.

Words come off as threatening like “either match my energy or just unmatch” or cynical like “sorry if you can’t handle,” as well as specific standards such as “should own a car or their own place.”

Merely having expletives or curse words in bios is a sign of potential toxic behavior and no emotional control.

Oftentimes, the vibes are there but just don’t click because of differing interests. There are profiles with few photos and really short bios, indications that online dating isn’t a priority.

Conversations with such people have really short replies and hardly any questions – better off unmatching rather than dealing with the bare minimum.

Rep. Leandro Leviste (Batangas, 1st District) and his mother Sen. Loren Legarda left the country on August 2 on separate flights, the Bureau of Immigration confirmed Friday, August 7.

Leviste and Legarda flew out of the country four days before the former was subpoenaed to appear before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for its ongoing probe into an alleged scheme to frame Executive Secretary Ralph Recto with false sexual abuse and drug allegations.

Their travel also came days after the Ombudsman announced plunder and graft complaints against them.

“The office confirms the departure of Sen. Loren Legarda and Rep. Leandro Leviste in separate flights last August 2. Both had no derogatory records at the time of departure,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.

Nothing barred the senator and congressman from traveling out of the country, as complaints under preliminary investigation at the Ombudsman do not automatically trigger a travel ban. The Ombudsman would have to request a hold departure order first from the courts before any travel restrictions can be put in place.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag has confirmed the departures separately, saying Legarda and Leviste both flew via Hong Kong on different flights with France as their final destination.

On July 31, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said he had signed the charge sheet setting a preliminary investigation into complaints of plunder, graft and conflict of interest against Legarda, Leviste and former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.

Investigators alleged the three conspired to monopolize the country’s solar energy resources through legislative and regulatory action. According to the Ombudsman, many of the awarded projects were never built.

Legarda called the accusations baseless and said no public funds were involved, adding that she expected to be vindicated once the facts came out.

Besides the case with the Ombudsman, Leviste is also one of the subjects of the NBI’s current investigation over a recently reported honeytrap plot that targeted Recto.

The scheme reportedly involved P5 million to recruit four women to falsely claim Recto forced them into sex and illegal drug use.

Leviste and former Negros Oriental congressman Jacinto ‘Jing’ Paras have been accused of planning and financing the plot. Both have denied the allegation.

No-show

Yesterday, Leviste did not appear before the bureau and sent lawyers instead. The NBI has given him another chance to appear on August 11.

Legarda, meanwhile, has been absent from the Senate for three straight days, including the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. told reporters Legarda’s chief of staff wrote on August 3 informing his office that she would be on medical leave from August 3 to 5.

Recto and Leviste have been feuding since May, when Leviste used a House speech to publicly accuse the executive secretary of corruption and vote-buying.

The House eventually voted to strike Leviste’s speech from its records.

The pair of Alex Eala and Venus Williams failed to advance in the Canadian Open’s doubles’ competition after falling against Liudmila Samsonova and Miyu Kato, 4-6, 3-6, Friday morning (Manila time) in Toronto.

Eala and Williams could not replicate the deep run they had back in the Bad Homburg Open, where they reached the quarterfinal round.

Their opponents started off the match on a roll, going up 2-0.

Eventually, the Filipino-American pair clawed out of the hole and tied things up at 4-all after they broke the serve of their opponent.

However, Samsonova and Kato finished off the first set with back-to-back games to muscle their way to a 1-0 lead, 6-4.

With the momentum clearly on their side, the Russian-Japanese duo continued cruising, going up 4-0 as they showcased their dominance.

While Eala and Williams won back-to-back games to fuel their hopes, a break in the seventh game pushed Samsonova and Kato a game away from advancing, 2-5.

But the pride of the Philippines and the United States broke their opponent’s serve anew to keep themselves afloat, but to no avail.

Samsonova and Kato punched in 28 receiving points to their rivals’ 23. Eala and Williams also committed five double faults in the match.

While it is the end of the road for Eala in doubles, she will still see action in the singles’ action as she takes on Caty McNally on Saturday morning (Manila time).

Sachi Minowa, formerly Jaja Santiago, will reunite with Alyssa Valdez at Creamline in the Premier Volleyball League even for a brief time.

The news was first announced by Creamline star Michele Gumabao and later the team via social media one hour apart Friday afternoon that awoke the Philippine volleyball fandom.

Minowa, who was naturalized as a Japanese two years ago after her marriage to current Alas Pilipinas women’s coach and Japanese Taka Minowa, will only team up with the Cool Smashers’ captain in the PVL Invitational and Reinforced late this year.

That was because the 30-year-old 6-foot-5 middle blocker has signed a deal with the San Francisco Signal in the United States’ League One Volleyball Pro, where she would start playing by January next year.

“Since nag-uunahan na lang din tayo. Welcome to the Team Jaja!” said Gumabao on her social media account referring to Minowa.

It will be a reunion of sorts for two of the nation’s most endearing faces in the sport after teaming up with PLDT in the Shakey’s V-League – the PVL precursor – where they won two championships together.

A few years before, Minowa and Valdez were high school teammates at UST.

It will also be a much-sought PVL return for Minowa after suiting up with the now defunct Chery Tiggo Crossover in the inaugural league five years ago–a conference that they eventually won in the COVID era bubble in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.

Interestingly, it came at the expense of Valdez and the Cool Smashers.

Before and after her brief Chery Tiggo appearance, Minowa went on a Japanese tour, suiting up for local Ageo Medics (2018-2023), JT Marvelous (2023-2025) and Denso Airybees (2025-2026).

Now they’re back in each other’s arms as teammates.

Top seed Rolando Bregente and No. 2 Shinichi Suzuki fashioned contrasting semifinal victories Friday to set up the much-anticipated championship showdown in the NGAP Match Play Championship at Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac.

Suzuki leaned on his superior length and experience to end young sensation Ralph Batican’s impressive run with a 2and1 victory, while Bregente survived a late charge from Emilio Hernandez to escape with a tense 1-up decision as the week-long championship heads to a fitting finale between the tournament’s top two qualifiers from the 36-hole stroke play eliminations.

Bregente, the stroke play medalist, appeared headed for a comfortable victory before Hernandez mounted a spirited comeback, trimming a three-hole deficit to just one over the closing stretch. Forced to come through under pressure, Bregente responded with a crucial par on the 18th hole to finally seal the hard-earned win on the rain-softened Luisita layout.

“I really struggled to make putts, even from close range,” said the 24-year-old Bregente in Filipino after surviving one of his toughest matches of the week.

Suzuki, meanwhile, continued his steady march through the knockout phase, using his powerful drives and match play savvy to frustrate the 15-year-old Batican, whose giant-killing campaign included a stunning 4and2 quarterfinal victory over runaway Stroke Play champion Jet Hernandez.

The 18-year-old Suzuki controlled the match from the outset and never allowed Batican to build the momentum that fueled his upset of Hernandez.

Bregente expects another stern test in the final.

“It would really be an interesting match,” he said of Suzuki. “He outhits me by a considerable distance. It’s going to be a tough match.”

In the women’s division, Precious Zaragosa rallied over the closing holes to defeat Lisa Sarines, 2-up, and arrange a championship duel with top seed Grace Quintanilla.

Like Bregente, Zaragosa is seeking her first Match Play crown and first national title, but faces a daunting challenge against the in-form Quintanilla, who recently captured the Singapore Amateur Open championship.

“I am super excited to play in the finals,” said the 15-year-old Zaragosa, who seized control by winning three straight holes starting at No. 15 to spoil Sarines’ bid for a rare double after the latter captured the Stroke Play Championship at Pradera Verde last week.

Zaragosa delivered the decisive blow with a pinpoint tee shot on the demanding par-3 17th, converting a birdie from pin-length range to move 1-up before closing out the match on the next hole.

Quintanilla, meanwhile, turned in another commanding performance, routing Nicole Gan, 4and2, to stay on course for yet another major amateur title and complete the women’s championship pairing.

Political dynasties are thriving not only in Congress and local governments, but also in barangay offices.

This has to be one of the biggest reasons for both Congress and Malacañang to repeatedly postpone the barangay elections, from the administration of Rodrigo Duterte to the current one.

Even as a bill that effectively institutionalizes dynasty-building has breezed through the House of Representatives and now awaits the counterpart measure from the Senate, both chambers are moving for yet another postponement of the barangay elections, already delayed by a year.

Not only that, since the latest scheme to circumvent the Supreme Court prohibition on repeated poll postponements worked last year, the sponsors of the current move are using the same tactic to reward their relatives and political leaders: by giving them an even longer regular term of five years, from the just approved four years.

Those hoping to challenge the incumbents this November must be wondering: what fantastic job did the current set of barangay officials do to deserve such a reward? Investors, for one, have long cited barangay red tape, meant chiefly for fund-raising, as one of the top hindrances to doing business in this country. For another, barangay officials failed to flag ghost or substandard flood control projects in their jurisdictions.

Commission on Elections officials have warned that every poll postponement costs taxpayers billions in additional expenses. But lawmakers have a dismal track record in the judicious use of public funds.

So here we are again, just three months before the next barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, and right on cue, bills have been filed in both chambers of Congress, seeking a postponement of the BSKE by not just one but two years.

The SC had struck down as unconstitutional the repeated postponement of the BSKE. But lawmakers saw a loophole: the law gives Congress the power to fix the terms of BSK officials. So they used this power to effectively postpone last year’s BSKE, by tacking it on to resetting the BSK officials’ term from three to four years.

If they could do it for the 2025 BSKE, why not for this year? This time, the proposal is to give BSK officials a five-year term.

This move is just the latest manifestation of lawmakers’ inability to resist any opportunity to abuse power, perpetuate their dynasties or reward their supporters. If they could have their way, they would allow their relatives and political leaders in the barangays to serve forever.

In declaring BSKE postponement unconstitutional, the Supreme Court had emphasized the importance of genuine periodic elections in exercising the right of suffrage and proper representation in a democracy.

But since when did the Constitution stop the abuse of power in this country?