Category: Philippine Star

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has issued a show-cause order to the driver of a Toyota Innova Zenix and its motorcycle escort after a viral video showed the vehicles using unauthorized blinkers and sirens while passing through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway.

The driver and motorcycle rider were directed to attend a hearing at the LTO’s Intelligence and Investigation Division on Nov. 3 and to submit a sworn explanation on why they should not be charged with unlawful use of blinkers under Presidential Decree No. 96.

Pending investigation, the LTO imposed a 90-day suspension on the driver’s licenses of both the car owner and the motorcycle rider. They were ordered to surrender their licenses to the LTO.

‘Using blinkers and escorts is not a privilege. The law sets clear limitations. Anyone who violates these rules will be held accountable,’ LTO chief Markus Lacanilao said.

Venezuela’s Fernando Toro came to Manila, charging his way to a dream victory against former champion Marlon Tapales in their super bantamweight bout in the Thrilla in Manila II card at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

But ‘The Nightmare’ struck.

Tapales, who has held world titles at bantamweight and super bantamweight, stopped Toro in the sixth round of their eight-round matchup Wednesday at the Big Dome.

With Toro already wobbled by the volume of punches received from the Filipino slugger, Tapales landed huge body shots and a booming right hook with less than a minute remaining.

The home bet sent the Venezuelan to his knees, and the referee started the 10-count.

But ‘El Indio’ was unable to beat the count as the referee called a stop to the contest at the 2:31 mark of the round.

Tapales thus rose to a 25-4 win-loss record with 22 knockouts, while Toro slipped to 11-3.

The two boxers traded huge shots in the first round, with Tapales even rocked momentarily.

But the pride of General Santos City started to build some momentum, landing clean and crisp punches much to the delight of the crowd.

In the fourth round, Tapales kept on hunting his opponent, landing counters and hooks, but Toro was too slippery to send off to dreamland.

But Toro showed some signs of slowing down, as Tapales continued landing punches. He kept the pressure on, but his opponent’s activity made him hard to catch.

All changed in the sixth round though, as Tapales’ shots became too much to handle.

Jhuniel dela Rama hit the game-winning jumper with 3.4 seconds remaining to push San Sebastian over the Letran Knights, 82-81, in their NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball matchup Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Dela Rama spun his way to a midrange jumper and sank it to grab the upset victory.

Cuajao tied things up at 80-all after a 3-pointer by Deo Cuajao.

Kevin Santos, then, split his freebies with 11.2 seconds left to go up by one, 81-80.

On the other end, dela Rama danced with the defense of Letran’s Mark Omega. He spun to the right, giving him a bit of separation as he took a fadeaway jumper. His shot rattled up before going in, giving the Stags the lead for good.

Deo Cuajao then had one shot to go for the win, but he hit the back of the rim and out.

San Sebastian thus rose to a 2-7 win-loss record, while Letran dropped to 5-4 in Group B.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law a measure banning Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

The measure, officially titled as Republic Act 12312, effectively repealed the law that taxed POGOs-the measure that recognized offshore gaming in the Philippines in the first place.

‘It shall be prohibited for any person or entity to conduct or offer offshore gaming as defined under this law,’ the measure stated.

Acts considered punishable by this law include the establishment of POGO operations, the acceptance of bets in offshore gaming, the creation of physical POGO hubs in the Philippines and more.

The measure also punishes those who aid and abet perpetrators.

The licenses of POGO hubs that were operating before the law have also been effectively revoked, including those that are in special economic zones.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. is officially no longer allowed to issue POGO licenses.

Special work permits issued for POGOs have also been revoked and authorities are no longer allowed to issue such documents to possible offshore gaming employees coming into the country.

Under the new law, the Department of Labor and Employment is tasked with transitioning Filipino workers affected by the POGO ban into new jobs.

Those found violating the law can face imprisonment of up to eight years and a fine as high as P15,000,000. The second offense can get offenders up to 10 years in prison, with a maximum fine of P30,000,000.

The third offense can land an offender 12 years in prison with a fine of P50,000,000 maximum.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who led the Senate probe into POGOs, lauded the passing of the measure, thanking the POGO victims who came forward to share their stories.

‘From the minors who were forced into prostitution to serve Chinese POGO workers, from the magical tales of Mayor Alice Guo’s scam hubs, clearly, POGOs have harmed our country in more ways than we can imagine,’ Hontiveros said.

POGOs began to proliferate heavily in the Philippines during the time of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Authorities would regularly raid POGOs and find evidence of human trafficking and scam operations.

Marcos would eventually ban POGOs in an executive order, which is further solidified by the new law.

Filipino prospect Carl Jammes Martin recovered from a third-round knockdown and battered a tough Aran Dipaen of Thailand to grind out a unanimous decision win in the Thrilla in Manila 2 card Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Martin survived a scare in the third canto when Dipaen sent him down with a right hook to the face. He beat the count and still pressed on, often pinning the visiting fighter to the ropes with combinations to the head and the body.

Dipaen though remained dangerous throughout their 10-round bout, uncorking solid counter right hands each time Martin tried to pummel him on the ropes.

The pride of Ifugao, Mountain Province sweetened his recovery when he got back at Dipaen with his own knockdown in the ninth round.

Scores were 98-91, 97-92, 98-90 for Martin, who improved to 27-0 (with 24 knockouts) and annexed the World Boxing Organization international super bantamweight title in the process.

Dipaen fell to 21-5 (18 KOs).

Around 12,000 police officers and force multipliers will be deployed in Central Luzon as part of the implementation of the ‘Ligtas Undas 2025.’

The deployment includes 3,000 police; 1,000 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection and Philippine Coast Guard, and around 7,600 barangay watchmen and members of civic organizations and non-government volunteers.

The officers will assist in maintaining peace and order as well as crowd control during the observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, according to Brig. Gen. Ponce Rogelio Peñones Jr., Central Luzon police director.

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s surprise witness at the flood control probe, Orly Guteza, could not be found at his registered home address, Sen. Ping Lacson said Monday night.

Lacson explained that should he be reelected chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Guteza will be subpoenaed once the hearings resume.

The Manila Regional Trial Court may also be tapped to search for Guteza, who once worked as Rep. Elizaldy Co’s security aide.

Guteza was the one who claimed he had delivered cash-filled luggage to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez Co’s home.

Both will be invited to the hearings as well.

However, doubts remain to cloud Guteza’s testimony since the notary lawyer whose name appears on the affidavit said her signature was forged.

According to Lacson, the Manila RTC’s executive judge also found the lawyer’s signature on Guteza’s affidavit inconsistent with other documents she signed. A preliminary investigation for falsification may be underway soon.

However, Lacson said Guteza’s affidavit will still be considered despite the possible falsification and will attempt to verify his claims.

‘Ngayon, ‘pag ‘di siya makita, ia-appreciate na lang namin ‘yung kanyang sinumpaang salaysay on its face value,’ Lacson said in an interview on One News Storycon.

(For now, if we still can’t find him, we will appreciate his sworn statement at face value.)

Since Marcoleta, who had a short stint as the committee chair, was the one who introduced the resource person, Lacson said the panel will seek his help in locating Guteza. The Senate may also approach the Marines, given Guteza’s background.

‘We will send Guteza a subpoena through the office of Sen. Marcoleta and/or the residence or office of Defensor. They had a hand in presenting Marcoleta, so we hope they know how to contact Guteza,’ Lacson said.

The Senate pro tempore also revealed that Senate CCTV footage showed Guteza lounging at Marcoleta’s office for 30 minutes in the morning of September 25 before heading to the session hall for the committee hearing.

Lacson targets to resume hearings by November 14 should he be reelected as chair.

To get to the point without beating around the bush, the only way we can truly be sincere with everyone and with everything is when we are with God who, after all, knows all things and knows them always with charity, justice, mercy, prudence, and the like.

We have to understand that sincerity is a matter of having a proper relation first with God, since only then would we manage to be sincere with everyone and with everything.

When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would know that our relation with others and with everything else, to be true and sincere, would not just involve knowing them, which mean they are in us. It would also involve loving them which would enable us to be in them, just like God is in all of us. Like anything else in our life, to be sincere is a relational affair. It’s not just a personal, individualistic, or egocentric affair.

That’s just how the cookie crumbles in our life. We need to be in others, as well as the others need to be in us. We are meant for communion among ourselves. And this can happen if we give full and proper play to our knowing and loving, using our intelligence and will to reflect the inner dynamism of the life of God whose image and likeness we are.

God is in an eternal process of knowing and loving, giving rise to the three persons of the Blessed Trinity, with the Father as the knower, the Son as the known, and the Holy Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son.

With this inmost dynamism of his eternal knowing and loving, God also gets to know and love everything else outside of himself. There is nothing that exists that is outside his knowledge and loving, though in varying degrees and ways.

When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would be able to overcome whatever fear or shame we may have that would prevent us from being sincere. We would be able to know how to deal with our unavoidable biases and prejudices, our differences and conflicts in such a way that we would be sincere to each other.

With this kind of sincerity, we would be able to broaden our mind and heart in such a way that we can go beyond the here and now, the material, sensible and natural aspects of our life and enter into the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life.

To be sincere and to be in the truth goes further than mere facts and data. Much less is truth about a certain view or choice that may be supported by a majority of the people. Truth can only be found in God when the Spirit of Truth shows us what truth is.

We are reminded of this very important aspect of our life when in the gospel of St. John, Christ said that the Spirit of Truth ‘will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming.’ (Jn 16,13)

To know the truth and to be in the truth are a matter of being discerning of what the Holy Spirit tells and shows us. In short, we cannot know and be sincere and in the truth unless we follow what the Spirit tells us.

Eman Bacosa started off the 50th anniversary card of the Thrilla in Manila with a bang, as he won via unanimous decision against fellow Filipino Nico Salado in their lightweight division matchup.

Two judges scored the contest 58-55 in favor of Bacosa, while the third judge had it 60-53.

Bacosa, the pride of General Santos City, was aggressive from the get-go, connecting on combinations as he hunted his opponent throughout the match.

He also sent his opponent to the canvas with a left hook that landed square on the jaw in the fourth round.

And while Salado landed some punches on the cornered Bacosa in the sixth round, the eventual winner continued to keep the pressure on against the Boholano boxer.

‘Okay lang po. Saka gusto kong magpasalamat sa Panginoong Diyos natin dahil sa pagbigay Niya sa akin ng proteksyon at paggabay Niya sa akin ng tagumpay,’ he told reporters after the win.

‘Maraming salamat din po sa mga sumusuporta. Thankful ako kay God saka masayang-masaya,’ he added.

He underscored that while he was confident of getting the win, he made sure to be careful when the bell rang.

‘Confident ako na mananalo pero sabi kasi ng coach ko, wag masyadong gigil, wag masyadong habol kasi darating din po yun e.’

Bacosa rose to a win-loss-draw record of 7-0-1, while Salado dropped to a 2-2-1 slate.

Classes at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) were suspended yesterday after a series of mild earthquakes rocked several areas in Laguna.

The temblors, ranging from magnitudes 1.8 to 3.2, occurred in Alaminos and Los Baños, with intensities felt in Calamba, Carmona and San Pablo as well as in Cavite and Quezon province.

‘A magnitude 3.2 earthquake rocked Alaminos at 12:34 p.m. and was followed by a magnitude 1.8 in Los Baños at 1:12 pm,’ the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Philvocs said that earlier, earthquakes of magnitudes 2 and 1.5 rocked Los Baños at 11:31 a.m. and 11:28 a.m., respectively.