Category: Philippine Star

‘Is there such crime as character assassination – or even ‘attempted’ character assassination?’

That’s Atty. Ruy Rondain’s reply when asked about a purported plot by his law firm to do a hatchet job on Executive Secretary Ralph Recto.

Rondain told this writer yesterday he is one of four lawyers linked by the NBI to the plot. He said he and partner Atty. Orlando Mendiola have been subpoenaed to the NBI-National Capital Region on Friday.

Rondain declined to identify his two junior associates implicated by the NBI: ‘Kawawa naman sila, mga bata pa, hindi pa sanay sa ganito.’

‘In deference to the NBI’ he also would not say what statement to give to investigators. ‘I will just talk to news reporters afterwards.’

In the headlines is news about Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste’s supposed scheme to smear the reputation of political archfoe Executive Secretary Ralph Recto.

It started with the arrest on July 28 by NBI agents of a pimp and five trafficked women in an elite Manila hotel. During investigation, the pimp alias ‘Ken’ and one of the women alias ‘Jen’ asked if their arrest had to do with their planned smear job.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag then told the press about the plan of Ken, Jen and three of the four arrestees to execute affidavits linking Recto to drugs and illicit trysts in a Makati condo from 2022 to 2025.

Matibag said ex-congressman Jacinto ‘Jing’ Paras met with Ken and Jen thrice – July 11, 15, 26 – to polish the tale.

Paras supposedly told Ken and Jen that Leviste will pay them P5 million – P1 million each for Ken, Jen and the three other women. Another P500,000 is supposedly Paras’ commission, Matibag told Sapol-dwIZ Saturday.

Matibag said four lawyers were present in the July 15 and 26 meetings. In a sworn statement on Aug. 6, Ken identified the four lawyers through photographs.

Ken swore that the two junior associates brought laptops to take the false testimonies.

The smear job was supposed to have come in series, starting Aug. 2 or 3, Matibag quoted Ken and Jen.

Matibag said one of the charges against Leviste, Paras and the four lawyers could be subornation of perjury.

Subornation of perjury is the criminal act of persuading, inducing or forcing another person to lie under oath. It can be through bribery or coercion.

But to carry weight, subornation of perjury must have been consummated via an actual false testimony.

Leviste and Paras have denied NBI’s allegations. Through their respective lawyers, Karen Danielle Fajardo and Mark Tolentino, they have also asked for specific charges before showing up at NBI-NCR yesterday, Tuesday.

The NBI announced, however, that Leviste flew to Hong Kong Aug. 2 with no given return date.

Rondain said his associate Fajarda and his lawyer-daughter Gabrielle appeared at the NBI in Leviste’s behalf. He said Leviste engaged their services only this week.

Rondain and Mendiola have prominent – controversial – political clients. Foremost is ex-congressman Zaldy Co, reportedly hiding in Europe from criminal charges related to the P1.7-trillion flood control scam. Also from supposed death threats, since he linked President Bongbong Marcos, son Rep. Sandro Marcos and ex-speaker Martin Romualdez to the flood works scandal.

Rondain was also counsel in 2021 of then-energy secretary Alfonso Cusi in the latter’s controversial transfer of $565-million Chevron shares in Malampaya gas field to then-president Rody Duterte’s campaign contributor Dennis Uy.

Rondain was also counsel in 2006 of then-first gentleman Mike Arroyo, whom 36 journalists sued for P12.5-million damages.

Reports are that Leviste and Paras are targeting five other prominent officials for character assassination: Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla, DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon, DICT Sec. Henry Aguda and Secretary to the Cabinet Benhur Abalos.

Paras and the Remulla brothers are members of the UP-Diliman fraternity Upsilon Sigma Phi. They joined in 1971, 1979 and 1987, respectively.

Paras’ lawyer is Mark Tolentino. A lex talionis frat brother of Duterte in San Beda Law, Tolentino was assistant secretary of Transportation in 2017. Paras and Tolentino could not be reached for comment.

Tolentino was removed in 2018 when linked to a 1.9-billion-euro or $2.1-billion scandal of German payments processing firm Wirecard. The NBI investigated the case.

Matibag said it was ‘dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be reopened whenever new evidence so warrants.’

The Philippine government’s outstanding debt is expected to surpass P21 trillion next year amid the depreciation of the peso, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

At the same time, the Marcos administration raised its borrowing to P3.3 trillion instead of P2.73 trillion.

Data from the latest Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) released yesterday showed that the debt stock is projected to rise by 8.7 percent to P21.48 trillion by end-2027, up from the revised P19.77 trillion this year.

Of the projected debt next year, P14.28 trillion will be sourced from domestic creditors, while P7.2 trillion will come from external sources.

Budget Assistant Secretary Romeo Matthew Balanquit said that foreign exchange (forex) movements and the slowdown in the fiscal consolidation program would pad the government’s outstanding debt next year.

‘So many of our loans were contracted during the pandemic. During that time, forex was just around P49.60 to a dollar. Now, it’s around P60. With that, we can say the peso has depreciated by almost 20 percent. That led us to incur higher costs,’ Balanquit told reporters.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government’s debt amounted to P19.07 trillion as of end-June, equivalent to 66 percent of gross domestic product, the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in 22 years.

The June debt stock was already equivalent to 96.5 percent of the government’s full-year 2026 projection.

‘Our old loans were contracted at a lower interest rate. Now they are maturing. So we have to refinance using new loans. But worse because this will be at a higher interest rate,’ he said.

The government expects its debt-to-GDP ratio to settle at 64.9 percent this year before easing to 64.4 percent in 2027, 64.2 percent in 2028, 64 percent in 2029 and 63 percent in 2030.

Balanquit said the debt level remains below the 70 percent debt-to-GDP benchmark used by the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, general government debt is projected to decline to 58.4 percent of GDP in 2027 from 58.7 percent in 2026, before falling to 58.3 percent in 2028, 57.8 percent in 2029 and 56.4 percent in 2030.

‘It’s not bad debts because you are able to make use of this money for something productive and for long-term investment like infrastructure. We are not borrowing for aid. We are borrowing for program loans, project loans, official development assistance. These are mainly for infrastructure projects,’ he said.

The government’s decision to accommodate a higher deficit trajectory also contributed to the increase in borrowing requirements, he said.

The Philippines sees its budget deficit-to-GDP ratio improving to 5.1 percent 2027, 4.8 percent in 2028 and 4.2 percent in 2029.

Meanwhile, the government plans to borrow P3.3 trillion next year, nearly 21 percent higher than this year’s revised P2.73 trillion borrowing plan.

Of next year’s borrowing, P2.39 trillion will come from domestic sources and P915 billion from foreign creditors.

Gross borrowing is also projected to rise further to P3.65 trillion in 2028 and P3.55 trillion in 2029.

Higher debt levels will also push up debt servicing costs, as debt service bill is seen rising to P2.7 trillion in 2027, a 32.2-percent increase from P2.05 trillion this year.

The government said it would allocate P1.6 trillion on principal amortization and P1.11 trillion for interest payments next year.

The Philippine economy could regain some momentum in the second half, but the strength of the recovery will depend heavily on a revival in infrastructure spending, easing price pressures and a pickup in household demand.

In a report, Deutsche Bank said it expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth to accelerate to 4.4 percent in the second half from just 2.6 percent in the first six months, supported mainly by faster infrastructure spending and government subsidies that could help cushion consumers from elevated prices.

Still, the bank lowered its full-year growth forecast to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent, placing it at the bottom of the government’s revised 3.5 to 4.5 percent target.

Bank of America (BofA) Global Research is more cautious, maintaining its 2.5-percent growth forecast for 2026 and expecting economic expansion in the second half to remain broadly similar to the first.

BofA said lower fuel prices and higher minimum wages could eventually support industrial activity and consumption, although these may not emerge as meaningful growth drivers until late in the year.

The contrasting outlooks reflect uncertainty over how quickly domestic demand can recover after GDP growth slowed to 2.3 percent in the second quarter from 2.8 percent in the first quarter. First-half growth settled at 2.6 percent.

At the heart of the uncertainty is continued weakness in the economy’s traditional growth engines, particularly household consumption and investment. Private consumption grew by just 2.8 percent in the second quarter.

Deutsche Bank said households turned more cautious following the spike in inflation and cutback on discretionary spending.

Investment spending also contracted by 9.2 percent in the second quarter.

Domestic demand, which includes consumption, government spending and investment, grew by only 0.9 percent from 2.1 percent in the first quarter.

Manulife Investments Philippines head of equities Elle Jamil said its checks with companies and distribution channels likewise point to soft household demand.

‘Channel checks with different consumer companies and distribution channels show that domestic consumption continues to be tepid,’ Jamil said.

Jamil noted that banks have continued to see strong consumer loan growth, particularly in credit cards and personal loans, suggesting that borrowing is already supporting some consumption.

Meanwhile, corporate and middle-market loans have been concentrated largely in working capital aside from major infrastructure projects, reflecting continued caution among businesses.

The weak operating environment is also weighing on corporate earnings expectations.

‘Against a very volatile backdrop, both oil prices and interest rates could remain elevated and continue to be an overhang to the full recovery of consumption and business confidence this year,’ Jamil said.

Jamil expects big-ticket consumer spending to remain weak, keeping interest rate-sensitive sectors such as property under pressure. However, consumer companies with strong brands and pricing power could remain resilient, while banks with strong deposit franchises could still grow if they contain deterioration in asset quality.

The weak domestic economy is also complicating the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s policy outlook as it balances subdued growth against inflation that remains above target.

Manulife Investments Philippines head of fixed income Jean Olivia de Castro expects the BSP to shift toward a measured 25-basis-point hike followed by a hawkish pause rather than faster tightening.

The People’s Ville Housing Project in Davao City was implemented under the Marcos administration, Malacañang clarified yesterday as it refuted claims by what it described as ‘pretenders’ who are trying to grab credit for the initiative.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said the project, which seeks to build 7,200 condominium units across 72 residential buildings, is part of President Marcos’ Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino or 4PH program.

‘Some pretenders are trying to grab credit for this project even if they did not contribute to the efforts of President Marcos and the DHSUD. They want to mislead our countrymen by claiming that they are behind the People’s Ville project,’ Castro said, referring to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.

She did not identify the supposed credit grabber, but some netizens posted a video of Vice President Sara Duterte claiming the project was hers, initiated when she was mayor of Davao.

Marcos visited the project site on July 28.

The GenSan Warriors kept their poise after yielding control and bested the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, 85-82, on Tuesday in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Caloocan Sports Complex.

Staring at a 75-81 deficit after leading 73-68 early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors tightened their defense and bundled six points to knot the count at 81, with 45.1 seconds left.

GenSan’s Joshua Fontanilla, however, converted two charities, and Larry Rodriguez scored on a fast-break play for the final count, as Caloocan’s Jeff Manday missed a hurried 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds to go.

The Warriors raised their record to 15-4 in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament and occupied the fourth spot in the South Division, behind Batangas City (15-3), Quezon Province (13-3) and Binan (17-4).

Fontanilla, former star of St. Clare College of Caloocan, notched 20 points, five assists and three rebounds to earn Best Player honors over Adi Santos, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

“We just did our best as we have only one goal (winning),” said Fontanilla.

Rodriguez wound up with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists, followed by Hesed Gabo with eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals; and Kris Porter with nine points.

Caloocan, which dropped to 17-3 and third place in the North Division, drew 19 points, including a perfect 12-of-12 free throws, nine assists, two rebounds and two steals from Kean Baclaan; 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals from Manday; 14 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals from Kymani Ladi; and 11 points from Jeramer Cabanag.

Zamboanga nips Valenzuela

The Zamboanga SiKat leaned on Brandon Wilson to nip Valenzuela City, 76-73, and rev up its playoff drive with an 8-12 slate.

Wilson tallied 25 points, nine rebounds and two assists, followed by Paeng Are with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals; and Jayson Puray, with 10 points and three rebounds.

Exploiting its rebounding edge, 59-45, Zamboanga pulled away at 44-27 and foiled Valenzuela’s repeated rallies.

The Valenzuela Darkhorse tumbled to 9-13 despite Shaq Alanes’ 32 points, five rebounds and two assists; Jay Collado’s 10 points and 11 rebounds; and Nico Mamaradlo’s 14 points plus three rebounds.

Bataan trounces Sarangani

The Bataan Risers trounced the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins, 90-73, in the opener to remain in playoff contention.

With homegrown Yves Sazon and Lerwin Flores providing firepower, Bataan led as far as 79-53 early in the fourth quarter before cruising to its ninth win against 12 losses.

Sazon posted 23 points, two rebounds and two assists to capture the Best Player honors over Flores, who posted 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Other Risers who delivered were Jamil Gabawan with eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists; and Joey Barcuma with nine points plus two rebounds.

Leland Estacio drilled in three triples; Carl Bryan Lacap added five points; and Paul Sanga added one triple to push Sarangani closer, 70-86.

Sarangani, which skidded to 3-22, got 18 points and four rebounds from Lacap, 14 points, five rebounds and three assists from Estacio; and 12 points plus three rebounds from Ralph Tansingco.

The tournament returns to the Batangas City Coliseum on Wednesday, featuring games between Bulacan and Abra at 3 p.m.; Ilagan Isabela and Cebu at 5 p.m.; and Batangas City and Imus at 7 p.m

EY Global Delivery Services (GDS) recently launched its advanced Cybersecurity Center in Cebu, expanding the organization’s global, AI-driven cyber operations network and reinforcing the Philippines’ role as a hub for cybersecurity, AI talent and intelligent cyber defense. The center is designed to support continuous threat detection and response at global scale through advanced analytics, automation and AI-led operations.

‘Cebu combines a deep cyber talent pipeline, a high-velocity delivery culture and a rapidly maturing technology ecosystem, forming the critical conditions for a scaled cyber innovation hub,’ said Maez De Guzman, EY GDS Philippines Cybersecurity Leader and EY Cybersecurity Managed Services Emerging Markets Leader.

‘This Cybersecurity Center strengthens the Philippines’ role as a strategic hub in EY’s global, AI-native cyber operations fabric while systematically developing Filipino talent to operate and engineer the next generation of cyber resilience.’

As the initiative strengthens EY GDS’ platform-driven cybersecurity services, it creates pathways for Filipino professionals to work on global cyber challenges. It also marks a continued investment in Cebu as an emerging center for cyber innovation, AI-led security operations and future-ready digital talent.

Paris-born fashion retailer Kids Around made its Philippine debut, gathering premium and luxury childrenswear from partner brands as well as its own fashion line into one store.

The maiden branch of the concept store opened in Makati’s Greenbelt 5 with items from Boss, Chloe, Givenchy, Kenzo, and Kids Around itself.

A majority of the selection offers clothings from children between four and 16 years old. Select brands have items for infants and toddlers up to three years old.

“More than bringing these brands under one roof, we wanted to create an experience that celebrates children’s individuality and gives kids the freedom to discover their own sense of style,” said Sabrina Miranda, group general manager of Adrenaline Group, in a statement.

Adrenaline Group is the operator of Kids Around in the Philippines. Miranda later explained to Philstar.com in an exclusive interview after the store’s opening that a common theme among the retailers over 85 boutiques in 29 countries is that each branch features luxury brands that are the most popular in a given country.

She added that Kids Around branch can only carry partner brands that its host mall also carries – with the exception of standalone stores like in Paris.

Miranda teased that more brands are coming in when the retailer opens its next two Philippines stores in Rustan’s branches at Makati and Shangri-La Plaza.

The Philippines’ first Kids Around store currently features the Children’s Spring/Summer 2026 collections of Boss, Chloe, Givenchy, Kenzo, and Kids Around. The selection will be added with pieces from the Autumn/Winter 2027 collections.

Asian food conglomerate Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is scaling down some of its operating assumptions, as well as its planned store network expansion and capital expenditures for the year, as the group’s first-half profitability declined despite a strong second-quarter showing.

The Jollibee Group has revised its gross new store opening target for 2026 to a range of 1,000 to 1,100 stores from 1,200 to 1,300 stores originally, while the capex range has been adjusted to P13 billion to P15 billion, from the previous range of P13 billion to P16 billion.

Full-year same-store sales growth guidance has likewise been lowered to a range of three to four percent from four to six percent.

Operating income growth guidance, meanwhile, is now eyed to range from 10 to 15 percent, down from the previous 15 to 18 percent, reflecting the updated same-store sales assumptions, the revised expansion assumptions, continued transition-related costs for China and Smashburger, as well as the still-dynamic cost environment.

The Jollibee Group, however, is maintaining its guidance for system-wide sales growth of eight to 12 percent and store network growth of five to 10 percent, supported by continued demand across key markets and disciplined execution across its global brand portfolio.

Despite the lower gross opening target, the group said it continues to expect overall store network growth to remain in line with its previous guidance, reflecting ongoing portfolio optimization and the timing of store openings and closures. The Jollibee Group saw its net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company drop by 13.3 percent to P4.87 billion in the first half, while net income fell by 16.7 percent to P4.93 billion.

JFC expanded its global store network by 6.4 percent year-on-year to 10,767 stores.

This reflected 461 gross new store openings and the addition of 172 stores from the acquisition of Shabu All Day, which was partly offset by 207 store closures during the first half.

JFC’s second quarter results, however, showed a recovery from first quarter cost pressures, with the group delivering record quarterly net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company, stronger revenue growth and improved margins.

Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company during the second quarter reached P3.4 billion, up by 5.7 percent from P3.2 billion in the same period last year.

‘Our second quarter results demonstrate the continued strength of the Jollibee Group’s global brand portfolio and the resilience of consumer demand across our key markets,’ JFC chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said.

‘We delivered healthy system-wide sales growth across all regions, supported by strong contributions from both our Philippine and international businesses, continued same-store sales growth and ongoing expansion of our global store network,’ he said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is moving to scrap the value-added tax (VAT) on system loss charges, with consumers estimated to save around P6 billion annually.

Under a draft resolution, the ERC is proposing to exclude system loss charges from the taxable gross receipts of generation companies (gencos) and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

The proposal will require distribution utilities to separately identify the system loss charge on consumers’ bills as a government-mandated pass-through cost not subject to VAT.

Once finalized and confirmed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the move will effectively remove the 12 percent VAT on system loss charges, delivering immediate relief to households and businesses nationwide.

‘The exclusion of the allowable system loss charge from the VAT base of gencos and NGCP will directly reduce the cost of electricity charged to consumers,’ the ERC said, citing its mandate to ensure access to affordable power.

System loss refers to electricity that has been generated and paid for but is lost during transmission and distribution to end-users. The cost is currently recovered through a separate line item on consumers’ power bills.

With system loss charges estimated at around P50 billion annually, ERC chairman and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan said removing the corresponding VAT could save consumers roughly P6 billion.

Juan, however, noted that the proposal still needs the BIR’s acceptance of the ERC’s characterization of system loss charges as a government-mandated pass-through cost.

Implementation will also depend on the BIR issuing its own rules to operationalize the proposed VAT removal.

‘Imposing VAT on top of a charge for electricity that was never delivered to consumers is fundamentally at odds with the nature of VAT as a tax on the value of goods and services actually rendered,’ Juan said.

For an average Metro Manila household consuming 200 kilowatt-hours, system loss charges amounted to P0.8751 per kWh in July.

‘Removing the VAT corresponding to that system loss charge alone would translate to approximately P21 in potential savings for that household,’ Garin told a media briefing yesterday.

‘It may be one component of the electricity bill, but it reflects a larger principle: consumers should not be made to shoulder costs that can and should be addressed through greater efficiency and accountability,’ she added.

This follows President Marcos’ directive during his State of the Nation Address last month to eliminate electricity charges that do not reflect actual services rendered to consumers.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA), meanwhile, said 89 of the country’s 121 electric cooperatives could face financial losses if they are required to absorb the cost of removing system loss charges from power bills.

‘If they are made to answer for technical systems losses, they will eventually not be able to pay their suppliers,’ NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said. ‘The continuing partial payments will eventually lead to indebtedness without source of repayment.’

Senate impeachment presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero said he is set to issue a ruling regulating public statements made by counsels in the ongoing impeachment trial, citing repeated violations of the court’s rules on decorum.

The issue came to a head during a recent court session when Sheila Sison, the chief lawyer of the defense panel, raised concerns over a social media post by lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan, a private prosecutor.

“Quite frankly… I asked the clerk of court to monitor the public statements of the counsels of the parties this past week. And one side has been crossing the line many, many times,” Escudero said.

Sison decried Ligutan’s social media post from 11:29 a.m., which she claimed took passive-aggressive jabs at laywer Kristine Ferrer, who had earlier cross-examined Commission on Audit witness Xylene del Campo.

During the cross-examination, Ferrer and private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan clashed over whether a witness could be forced to answer with a simple “yes” or “no.”

When Kapunan argued that misleading questions are not allowed on cross-examination, Ferrer responded, “They are allowed.’

Ferrer was cross-examining Del Campo about a joint circular governing confidential and intelligence funds.

She then asked whether the circular limited the use of confidential funds to apprehending people.

Following the incident, Ligutan’s Facebook post read as follows:

A principle ALL lawyers and law students know by heart:

Misleading questions are NOT allowed even on cross-examination.

However, Ligutan did not mention any names in his post.

Sison clarified in court that Ferrer was referring to leading questions being permissible on cross-examination, not misleading ones.

In an ambush interview with reporters, Ligutan said his post was without malice.

‘Hindi po allowed ang misleading questions. Hindi ko ‘yan (post) buburahin dahil ‘yan po ay nakasaad sa ating Rules of Court,’ Ligutan said.

(Misleading questions are not allowed. I will not delete that [post] because that is stated in our Rules of Court.)

Section 10 of Rule 132 of the Rules of Evidence does not allow misleading questions to witnesses.