Category: Philippine Star

From singing about undying love and being charmed in Marahuyo, singer-songwriter Waltz shares a tale of affection that slowly burns and vanishes in the latest single, Cold Soup.

As his publicity team teases, the Ant Savvy Artist Management talent will deliver ‘a soulful heartbreak’ in it and will ‘tug at (one’s) heartstrings with its raw emotion and introspective storytelling.’

‘They are different in terms of flavor,’ Waltz compared Cold Soup to previous releases like Marahuyo in a recent brief chat with The STAR. ‘This time, it’s Motown. The song is about people who are experiencing emotional fatigue with their partners.’

It is the commonplace situation where people argue and agree to stop the tension for a moment but do not resolve anything. Cold Soup may also be taken as a glimpse into the changing emotions that, besides being in love, one experiences in a romantic affair.

Available online information describes Motown as a music genre or style that is a combination of pop and soul and became popular in the ’60s and ’70s.

‘It’s the genre that I wanted to present and return to, the ’70s feels,’ added he. ‘While I was writing the song, I already knew what was going to be its genre, including the time signature, the melody, the chord progression at that moment.’

Regarding his creative process for Cold Soup, Waltz recalled, ‘Nasulat ko po ang kantang ito ng walang music instrument (I wrote and composed it without a musical instrument). I was in Thailand, and I was writing on my notes. And then, I was hearing it in my mind like how it should be (or should be written).’

‘Parang binulong lang ni universe sa akin na parang, ‘Ito dapat ang song’ through vibration (it was like the universe whispered it to me through vibration). Sobrang bihira lang mangyari yun at iba talaga ang inspiration ko nun (it rarely happens and my inspiration was very different at that time),’ added he.

Waltz was on a vacation with his friends in Phuket when the artistic muse came to him. With that, he considers the place, a paradise in itself with beaches and awe-inspiring landscape, special. What a productive breather it was.

Given his notes and the constant play of the song in his head, Waltz sang its entirety for recording, and Cold Soup is now available on all digital streaming platforms.

As a creative, Waltz said his sources of inspiration are everyday life experiences. Thus, his songs are personal.

At first listen, one may think that Cold Soup is about a romantic pair, but it could also be about friendship, as Waltz suggested, ‘Let your imagination play while listening to the song or the lyrics.’

So far, he has Paano, 100 Dahilan, CINDY, Marahuyo and Cold Soup tucked under his recording belt.

What can music fans and enthusiasts look forward to from him before the year ends and the next one begins?

Waltz said, ‘Hopefully, I’ll be able to release another song by the end of this year, Sansinukob, I hope. It’s the title of the song, (which means) the universe (in Tagalog).’

It’s a fitting title since it was the universe that gifted him the idea to compose Cold Soup for people who, at some point in their lives, need to reflect on their present relational plight or situation.

Devoting his time to music and performing, Waltz said, ‘Ang nagpapasaya talaga sa akin, bonus na lang din talaga sa akin na ginagawa ko ‘to (what really makes me glad and it’s a bonus that I’m able to do it), ang nagpapasaya sa akin ginagawa ko yung gusto ko (what makes me happy is doing what I want to do). Gusto ko po talaga ito, yung pagsusulat (it is what I want to do: songwriting),’

‘Minsan may mga times talaga na nakakapagod pero ito talaga yung calling ko (there are times when I feel weary, but it’s really my calling),’ shared he, adding that part of his role as an artist is to share light (of inspiration) with people.

‘I feel like the more I perform in front of everyone, the more I replenish the light (they have) within themselves. Kahit papano ‘pag natapos nila akong mapakinggan o mapanood, may maiiwan akong light sa kanila (after I perform, I hope I leave light to them),’ concluded he. ‘I feel it’s my calling.’

Television presenter Kuya Kim Atienza and his wife Felicia confirmed that their daughter Emmanuelle has passed away. She was 19 years old.

Los Angeles authorities confirmed that Emmanuelle, more popularly known by her nickname Emman, died last October 22. Felicia announced Emman’s unexpected passing on social media the morning of Oct. 24 with a carousel of photos in a joint post.

‘She brought so much joy, laughter, and love into our lives and into the lives of everyone who knew her,’ said Felicia. ‘Emman had a way of making people feel seen and heard, and she wasn’t afraid to share her own journey with mental health. Her authenticity helped so many feel less alone.’

Felicia asked that people honor Emman’s memory by ‘carrying forward the qualities she lived by’ which were ‘compassion, courage, and a little extra kindness in your everyday life.’

Emman is survived by Kim, Felicia, and siblings Jose and Eliana. The family did not disclose a cause of death for the teenage content creator who addressed mental health topics and socio-political issues on her platforms.

Brilliant – the gambit of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla.

Thursday morning (Oct. 23), he gave an extended interview with Karen Davila on ANC. He disclosed he was drafting a letter to Senate President Tito Sotto asking the Senate to implement Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales’ dismissal of Senator Joel Villanueva. On Nov. 14, 2016, Morales had ordered Villanueva’s dismissal from public service for ‘grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service’ over alleged misuse of his P10-million PDAF.

Thursday afternoon, Villanueva disclosed he had actually been cleared, by Morales’ successor, Samuel Martires. ‘To my surprise, when I got to the office, I was confronted with a decision signed by former ombudsman (Samuel) Martires dated July 2019,’ Ombudsman Remulla told reporters.

Martires reversed Carpio Morales’ 2016 decision. But nobody knew about the reversal, until late Thursday. The implication: Joel Villanueva and the unlamented Martires had a secret deal.

Ordinarily, if you are cleared or acquitted of a crime, especially graft or thievery, you announce it to the whole world. Hallelujah! Instead, you keep it a secret. For six years! Why?

By telegraphing his intention to write a letter to SP Sotto, Remulla was able to unearth a pact with the devil.

Result: Joel Villanueva seems cleared, for now. But the Bible-quoting senator struts into the Senate hall with a cloud of doubt over his head. He is what Pinoys would call ‘bahag ang buntot’ – he cannot face the truth (hindi makaharap sa problema or kaharap).

By his gambit, Remulla in effect indicted both Martires and Villanueva before the court of public opinion.

Who believes Martires? The worst ombudsman; zero credibility. Who believes Villanueva? By now, in the eyes of an angry public, a recidivist. A repeat offender.

Villanueva was implicated by dismissed DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara when he testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing in September 2025. In 2022, Villanueva asked for a multi-purpose building costing P1.5 billion but was only given P600 million from flood control funds in the unprogrammed funds.

Villanueva was first entangled in the pork barrel scam of 2016, called the Napoles PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scandal. PDAF was a P10-billion lump-sum discretionary fund granted congressmen for priority projects. But the money was laundered into private pockets, stolen. A party-list congressman (2002-2010), Villanueva received a P10-million PDAF but the money went to a non-existent project, then Ombudsman Morales found out.

Ombudsman Martires reversed Morales’ decision on two grounds – Villanueva’s signatures were forged, allegedly, and the P10 million was credited to the wrong party-list.

C’mon. Carpio-Morales (ombudsman from 2011-2018), 84, is not stupid nor incompetent. A UP law graduate, she spent eight years at the Court of Appeals (1994-2002) and nine years at the Supreme Court (2002-2011) before President Noynoy Aquino named her ombudsman. She won the Magsaysay Award for being a ‘fearless and indefatigable ombudsman whose integrity and dignity restored the people’s faith in the rule of law.’

Martires became a judge in July 2000, in Agoo, La Union. In 2002, a fellow La Union judge filed an administrative complaint against Martires for ‘gross ignorance of the law, incompetence, abuse of authority and dereliction of duty.’ Martires allegedly refused to issue a warrant of arrest for a murder suspect despite the presence of evidence and the urgings of the prosecution. The complaint was dismissed for lack of merit.

Meanwhile, the Senate wants to make the Independent Commission for Infrastructure a permanent structure – to fight graft.

SP Sotto and Senators Erwin Tulfo and Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Bill 1215 creating a five-person Independent People’s Commission to investigate anomalies in all government infrastructure projects. ‘IPC will be a permanent non-partisan government agency focused on investigating graft and anomalies in infrastructure projects – in public works, education, agriculture, flood control, disaster resilience,’ explained Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, chair of the Senate committee on justice and human rights. The bill in effect strengthens the present Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

The bill grants ICI the power not just to investigate but also to prosecute cases, offer witness protection, freeze assets, put suspects under preventive suspension and impose hold departure orders, explains SP Sotto.

Pangilinan said the bill was prompted by the news that the biggest of the corrupt contractors, the spouses Curlee and Sarah Discaya (they bagged P207 billion of DPWH contracts and P180-billion cash went to their bank accounts), called a presscon to announce they would not cooperate with the ICI. They thumbed their noses at ICI, heckling it as toothless.

‘The Discayas are hustlers,’ harrumphed Ombudsman Remulla.

‘We need this body (IPC) because of the unrest that we feel in our midst and the need to restore the faith of our people in our democratic system of government,’ former Senate president and justice secretary Franklin Drilon told the Senate committee.

Before the committee, ICI chair Andy Reyes complained that ICI during its first month had only three lawyers attending to hundreds, if not thousands, of flood control scam cases. Reyes asked that ICI be given the power to check bank accounts and scan text messages of culprits. ICI commissioner Babes Singson wants ICI commissioners to be immune from suits.

‘There is nothing in the Senate bill that protects the members of the Commission from harassment suits, especially after their term of office expires,’ notes former Chief Justice Reynato Puno. He also asks that the commission be empowered to ‘subpoena bank records, tax returns, SALNs, data from the AMLC and, especially, if they belong to such personalities as the president, the members of Congress or the justices of the Supreme Court and other independent bodies.’ And lower courts, except the Supreme Court, should be prohibited from issuing TROs on the ICI.

Over P1 trillion of the DPWH was stolen disguised as flood control money, the biggest syndicated stealing ever. Jailed so far: Zero.

Former Manila congressman Harry Angping has been summoned by the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for allegedly financing the Sept. 21 violent anti-corruption protest in Mendiola.

In a subpoena dated Oct. 21, CIDG director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II ordered Angping to appear at the CIDG office at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Oct. 29.

‘Failure to comply without valid justification shall be a ground for the filing of a complaint for indirect contempt,’ Morico said.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno earlier said a former local politician is among the personalities who are being investigated in connection with the unrest that marred the Trillion Peso March.

Angping, a former Manila 3rd District representative, has denied he funded the group that sowed violence during the rallies.

‘I will never be a financier of any movement that seeks to destabilize the government or plunge our society into anarchy,’ Angping said in an interview over dzRH.

UPLB: Hands off student leaders

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) condemned the alleged police crackdown on student leaders who participated in protests calling for accountability and transparency.

The UPLB sought the withdrawal of the subpoenas issued to student leaders.

‘Hands off our student leaders. Hands off our right to dissent,’ the UPLB said.

The past month has been a renaissance of billiards, a gargantuan jump reminding the world that the best players on the planet are Filipino, male or female. Chezka Centeno battled Rubilen Amit for the Predator WPA Women’s 10-Ball championship (again). Django Bustamante leads a strong Team Asia to a dominating defense of the Reyes Cup against a powerhouse Team Rest of the World. Along the way, AJ Manas upended world No. 1 Fedor Gorst. Then all the stars gathered again for the ongoing Philippine Cup.

In November, the fourth season of the Amit Cup gets underway. After some tremendous struggles along the way, now there is an over-abundance of women pool players knocking on the door to get in.

‘In the beginning, we only had 24 players,’ recalls Amit Cup co-founder and tournament director Ren de Vera. ‘Now, there are so many inquiries, they’ve exceeded the maximum number for our chat group!’

To what do we owe this accelerated evolution? Perhaps it’s because there has been a change in perception. Gone are the days when billiards was considered purely the province of small, seedy, low-class dens of wrongdoing, where everyone smoked and drank, and it was generally unsafe. With the pioneering blaze set by Efren Reyes, Amang Parica, Bustamante and their generation, the sport has become respectable, a family affair even. Venues are bigger, better run and more wholesome.

‘There’s been a shift in the culture,’ explains De Vera. ‘Before, it was considered a place of vices, and women feared for their safety. Now, whole families go to play and make it a bonding experience. There are so many women who play for fun, and a lot of them even have their own pool cues.’

Wisely, event organizers also schedule tournaments consecutively, lowering the cost of traveling to and from tournaments. Most significantly, there is a culture of sharing, of teaching, of sharing wisdom, at a much higher level than found in other sports. And this transfer of technology is even more intense among women.

‘We now have three divisions, whereas before we only had one,’ Ren added. ‘Women players recruit others, and teach them. There is a sense of community, of being part of the sport’s growth. And Rubilen is hoping to organize events in the future where even the best women players will be able to compete here. They have something to look forward to now.’

It is true that Filipinos dominate billiards so much that it will likely never become an Olympic. And that’s okay. When you think about it, the next generations are well on their way to picking up where their predecessors are leaving off, and will continue to kick the world’s collective butt. The future is already here. And whether they admit it or not, the rest of the world is quaking in their boots.

The tandem of Alex Eala and Nadiia Kichenok bowed out of the Guangzhou Open doubles semifinals after absorbing a three-set heartbreaker against the pair of Poland’s Katarzyna Piter and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, 7-6(4), 3-6, 5-10, Saturday in China.

Piter and Tjen have won their third straight three-set match in the Guangzhou Open, but that did not deter them against the Filipino-Ukrainian duo.

After digging deep in the first set, Eala and Kichenok started off the second set hot, winning the first two games.

But Piter and Tjen found their rhythm, winning the next five to go up, 5-2.

The Filipino-Ukrainian pair, however, kept themselves alive, breaking their opponent’s serve, 3-5.

But the Polish-Indonesian team forced the 10-point tiebreak after winning the ninth game.

In the tiebreak, Eala and Kichenok got the first point, but their opponents were just too good to handle.

The Filipina, who also bowed out of singles’ play earlier in the week, had a promising partnership with Kichenok in Guangzhou.

They defeated Tang Qianhui and Emily Appleton in the round of 16, followed by a straight-sets victory over the Russian pair of Polina Kudermetova and Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday.

Piter and Tjen started off their campaign with a win against the duo of Kristina Mladenovic and Leolia Jeanjean, followed by a huge victory over the top-seeded team of Elena Pridankina and Quinn Gleason.

And including their match against Eala and Kichenok, they lost the first set before winning the next two.

The winning partners will take on Liang En-Shuo and Eudice Chong in the final on Sunday.

When the film ‘Quezon’ was seen for the third time by the former president’s grandson, it didn’t quite sit well with him. He mentioned how social media antagonized the memory of his late grandfather, who, in his view, sacrificed a lot for the country. His reaction drew thousands of responses, noting how the film had opened a ‘Pandora’s box.’ The term is an idiom used to indicate that many unforeseen problems can arise from a single action. In this case, a work of art that touched a collective nerve.

I have seen the film myself and read the disclosure prior to the scenes where the producers informed viewers that while the events were inspired by true stories, they had taken creative liberties in presenting them. I was one of many who laughed, felt sad, and grew frustrated while watching the film. By the end, the protagonist was portrayed as more human than a leader. He has his own flaws, ambitions, and agenda. It depicted the beginnings of a kind of leadership that relied heavily on partnerships with businesses, a pattern that still echoes in the present political landscape.

The grandson’s reaction is an indication that the film, as an art form, has disturbed him and his family, which is precisely the point. It is always the goal of any multimedia product to provoke, to challenge, and to evoke emotion. Indifference is the enemy of art. When something moves you to anger, reflection, or empathy, it means the work has done its job. For a family member to feel offended to the point of speaking harshly in public is, in itself, proof of the film’s effectiveness.

The creators of ‘Quezon’ are bound by their freedom of expression, protected by the same democratic rights that allow the grandson to speak his mind. Both sides are exercising what democracy is meant to safeguard. This includes the free exchange of ideas, feelings, and perspectives. That is the true beauty of living in a society where people are allowed to disagree, to debate, and to feel strongly about their own truths.

Art that disturbs is art that breathes. There are many such works within our midst today. In Cebu City alone, over a thousand paintings are displayed in the hills of Barangay Busay where each canvas tells its own story of joy, grief, protest, or resistance. The artists behind them use color and form as their language, some even confronting issues that society prefers to ignore yet they are not punished for it. In fact, their work is celebrated, sometimes even commercialized. We are fortunate to live in a time and place where we can still create and express ourselves without fear of imprisonment.

It is right that artists and producers continue their craft, even and especially when it disturbs people. The disturbance is not an inconvenience; it is a call to conscience. A person unsettled by art begins to think, to question, to demand change and that more than anything, is where real progress begins.

Food-to-infrastructure giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has listed close to P49 billion worth of preferred shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the first-ever preferred share exchange offer by a private company alongside a public offer in the country.

SMC’s P18.86-billion exchange covered its Series 2-P, 2-Q and 2-R preferred shares, allowing holders of its Series 2-J and 2-K shares to swap their investments.

The switch, however, was done on a one-for-one basis, instead of waiting for redemption in the future.

SMC said the exchange provides investors with greater flexibility and liquidity. It also introduces another innovation in a capital market that is traditionally limited to straightforward redemptions.

A total of 251.47 million shares were tendered during the exchange, composed of 173.76 million Series 2-J and 77.71 million Series 2-K shares. SMC still has 92.91 million Series 2-J and 106.19 million Series 2-K shares for redemption on Oct. 29 and Dec. 10, respectively.

Likewise, SMC launched a public offer of preferred shares worth P30 billion, made up of Series 2-S, 2-T and 2-U.

The offer is divided into P20 billion in base offer and P10 billion in oversubscription option, of which shares are priced at P75 a piece and which was fully subscribed.

SMC said the twin offer forms part of the conglomerate’s strategy to prepare its capital structure for long-term growth.

SMC said it wants to give investors more platforms wherein they can participate in its growth. SMC is one of the country’s largest conglomerates, with investments in industries considered critical to national development.

SMC will use the proceeds from the twin offer to refinance its short-term loans. It will also spend part of the gains for big-ticket projects, including the upgrade of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the construction of the New Manila International Airport (NMIA).

SMC’s project book is piled with capital-intensive projects like the P735.63-billion undertaking to put up the country’s largest airport, the NMIA, and the P170.6-billion rehabilitation of NAIA.

SMC handles some of the country’s biggest tollways such as the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and Skyway System, and is also engaged in food production and power generation, among others.

According to a report in this newspaper, Cebu 5th District Rep. Vincent Franco ‘Duke’ Frasco renewed his proposal for the construction of a secondary airport in Cebu, preferably in Sogod town, saying the recent earthquake exposed the province’s vulnerability and need for an alternative gateway aside from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

Frasco said a second airport in northern Cebu wouldn’t only serve as a crucial backup to MCIA during emergencies but also spark growth and investment in northern Cebu.

‘Hopefully, once it materializes, it will not only mitigate risks if something happens to our existing airport but also open up the economy in northern Cebu, providing new opportunities for our people in Sogod and even in the 4th District,’ he said.

Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro has called the idea ridiculous.

‘Naa pa gani wa nabayran diha sa airport sa Camotes, unya maghimo nasad siya sa Sogod. Ridiculous,’ she said, referring to the unresolved payment issues involving the Camotes Airport project.

We wouldn’t go as far as the governor to call the idea of a second airport ridiculous, rather we would label it as unnecessary, at least for now.

A second airport would be a good idea, but only if foot and air traffic at the MCIA has reached the point where the airport can no longer handle it.

In Metro Manila the need for more than one airport came after air traffic became congested. Planes that just landed at the airport sometimes had to wait up to 30 minutes on the tarmac or even longer before a gate could be assigned to them. The need for more airports also came after the number of passengers could no longer be handled in one airport, or because the facilities of an airport kept breaking down. We don’t see any of these happening at MCIA right now.

Building a second airport just because places like New York, London, and Tokyo have them isn’t really enough of a reason. These are world-class tourism and business hubs, after all. While Cebu can boast of being a business hub and favored tourist destination in its own right, we really aren’t up to their level just yet.

Perhaps the day might come when Cebu will need a second airport, but that day hasn’t yet come.

Two more cadets of the Philippine National Police Academy in Silang, Cavite have filed complaints of sexual abuse against a PNPA official who was arrested in July for a similar offense.

The complainants said the suspect, a police major and tactical officer at the PNPA, brought them to his quarters where the abuse happened.

They said the abuses also occurred in July.

PNPA chief Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon said one of the complainants is facing dismissal for violating the honor code while the other has academic problems.

‘The suspect offered to help cadets with problems in their schooling. By doing so, he was able to earn their trust, which led to abuses,’ Dizon said.