Category: Philippine Star

The Philippines joins the 3rd Asian Youth Games opening rites at the Exhibition World Bahrain Thursday hoping it could finish what pencak silat’s Kram Airam Carpio had started – with a gold medal.

‘I hope our countrymen will continue to pray and rally behind our whole Philippine team,’ said Carpio, who on Monday night delivered the 141-strong delegation its first gold in this 45-nation, 11-day meet in the Bahraini capital.

The Asian Championship silver medalist struck gold in the girls’ 51 to 55-kilogram class with an emphatic 33-19 win over Qiken Dwi Tata Olifia of Indonesia – the cradle of this martial arts discipline that has made its debut in this quadrennial competition.

That precious gold sent the country into third in the medal count, behind only Uzbekistan with five golds and a bronze and Southeast Asian rival Indonesia with a gold and a silvers.

And it could have been two golds if Carpio hadn’t intervened and snatched it.

‘I felt a little nervous because I know I’ll be fighting against an opponent from Indonesia, which I know was the place where pencak silat started,’ said Carpio.

‘I just focused on what I needed to do to finish the job,’ she added.

It was also a feat that the Filipinos badly needed as they embarked on a mission to eclipse the country’s two-gold, three-silver in the last edition in Nanjing, China 12 years back.

The two mints came from golfer Mia Legaspi and taekwondo jin Pauline Lopez while the silvers were from Princess Superal of golf, Francis Aaron Agojo of taekwondo and Jurence Mendoza of tennis.

And Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino has high hopes it would be surpassed.

‘The team’s morale is high because of this,’ said Tolentino. ‘Definitely, this will be far different from the previous one when we had two gold medals. With this opening salvo, there is a big chance we could outdo it.’

After the grand parade, the Philippines plunges back into action in volleyball, teqball, golf, triathlon, mixed martial arts, taekwondo, muay, athletics, boxing, cycling, weightlifting, table tennis, badminton, wrestling, swimming, jiujitsu and kurash.

Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Ahtisa Manalo shared to Philstar.com her preparations for the upcoming Miss Universe pageant next month.

“Ngayon I’m slowing down with preparation na, since I believe that all the preparations have been done months before,” Ahtisa said, sharing she was in a relaxation period.

“Now is the time to get into a good mindset knowing that this competition is going to be a marathon and knowing that it’s time to let all the hardwork do the talking. Kasi at this point, it’s all muscle memory from here.”

The Filipina is one of the most popular candidates in this year’s edition and despite the pressure of winning the fifth Miss Universe crown, she expressed gratefulness to her fans.

“You know of course, big appreciation to those everyone who have been supporting me ever since,” said the beauty queen, who was a Binibining Pilipinas batchmate of Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.

Ahtisa shared that fans’ support and love mean a lot to her and is a motivating factor for her to join pageants.

“I really value the rallying behind me everytime I go out and do something. It really means a lot to me,” Ahtisa ended.

The 74th Miss Universe finals will be held in Bangkok, Thailand – where Catriona won her crown – on Nov 21, 2025 with more than 130 delegates competing.

The NBA has crowned seven different champions since Toronto ascended the throne in 2019 and Oklahoma City, with no veteran additions, hopes to break the trend by repeating this season. The Thunder has the tools to make it two titles in a row but if the road was rough against Indiana in the last Finals that went the distance, the obstacles will be even harder to hurdle in the league’s 80th year.

Lindy’s Pro Basketball 2025-26 has picked OKC to do it again with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tipped to claim a second straight MVP award. It chose OKC’s Mark Daigneault as Coach of the Year, Dallas’ Cooper Flagg as Rookie of the Year and Thunder enforcer Lu Dort as Defensive Player of the Year. Clearly, OKC made quite an impression on Lindy’s last season and why not? Despite an average age of just a little over 25, the Thunder became the first team in NBA history to lead the league in most turnovers forced (17 a game) and least turnovers committed (11.7). Additionally, OKC was No. 1 in steals. That’s a testament to Daigneault’s ability to get the troops to buy into his system where defense is a priority.

While Dort is OKC’s main defender, Alex Caruso contributes more than his share of stops. In last season’s playoffs, the 6-5 Caruso did his part defending anyone Daigneault put in front of him from Ja Morant to Nikola Jokic. ‘Caruso used his guile plus his sneaky athleticism to slow down some of the league’s biggest stars,’ wrote David Friedman in Lindy’s. ‘It was remarkable to see him frustrate Jokic in the post, looking like Jokic’s pesky younger brother in a backyard game but having an impact in a tightly-contested seven-game playoff series.’

OKC topped the league with a 68-14 record in the last regular season and in the playoffs, downed Memphis, 4-0, Denver, 4-3, Minnesota, 4-1 and Indiana, 4-3. There were anxious moments in the Denver and Indiana duels but somehow, the Thunder held on in the clutch to pull through. It’s the grit, maturity and poise that eventually got OKC to the pedestal. And the Thunder is shooting to become the first back-to-back champion since Golden State in 2017-18.

The NBA opens the new season tonight (tomorrow morning, Manila time) with OKC hosting Houston and Golden State battling the LA Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena. In the preseason, OKC posted a 4-2 record but SGA, Chet Holmgren, Dort, Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein sat out the losses to Dallas and Indiana. The five stalwarts were in harness to lead OKC to a 94-91 win over Denver in the Thunder’s last preseason engagement last Saturday.

They come quietly, sometimes in person, sometimes through intermediaries, seeking not political advice but forgiveness and counsel.

Kalookan Bishop Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David said some lawmakers involved in corruption have turned to the Church, troubled by their conscience amid public outrage over government scandals.

In an interview on the ‘KC After Hours’ podcast released October 18, David revealed that several legislators from both the Senate and House of Representatives have approached him and other members of the clergy for spiritual guidance.

‘Some of them seek counsel from us. Kasi mga Katoliko din sila, and at some point, they get bothered by their conscience also. They seek our some counsel,’ the cardinal said. (Some of them seek counsel from us. Because they’re also Catholics, and at some point, they get bothered by their conscience too. They seek out some counsel.)

‘We will not turn down people who, in all honesty, are really seeking our spiritual and moral advice… kahit ano pang reputasyon nila.’

(We will not turn down people who, in all honesty, are really seeking our spiritual and moral advice.no matter what their reputation is.)

‘They justify it… for their constituents’

David said he was struck by how some lawmakers rationalize the politics of patronage, convincing themselves that their misuse of public funds is acceptable if it benefits their constituents.

‘Kung minsan na-justify nila, ibibigay naman ito sa mahihirap o sa mga constituents nila, and of course, some of it land in their pockets,’ he said. (They sometimes try to justify it by claiming the funds will go to the poor or to their constituents, but naturally, some of it is diverted into their own pockets.)

The prelate described corruption as a systemic moral illness, worsened by a political culture that normalizes personal gain under the guise of public service.

‘There is something really systemic about our problem,’ he said, adding that the lawmakers’ guilt is often amplified by public criticism and online backlash.

Need for ‘moral recovery’

David said those who approach the clergy seem aware that what the country needs is not only political reform but moral recovery.

“It’s like our country is sick. And I think we have to call a spade a spade,” he said. (It seems they recognize that the country needs moral recovery, and it’s like our nation is sick, and I believe we have to call a spade a spade.)

David, who was formally installed as cardinal of his titular church in Rome on Sunday, October 19, is known for his outspoken stance against injustice and corruption.

He was among church leaders who joined the Trillion Peso March, a massive anti-corruption rally in September, standing alongside civic and youth groups demanding government accountability.

He was appointed to the College of Cardinals by the late Pope Francis in October 2024.

Leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the Bangsamoro region are mourning the passing of former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, whom they described as their ‘bridge’ to the national government during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The 90-year-old Ermita passed away on Saturday, October 18, according to his family.

‘He was a friend of the Moro National Liberation Front. Through him, there was easy access for us to national government officials when he was executive secretary under the Office of the President,’ said Muslimin Sema, Bangsamoro labor and employment minister and chairman of the MNLF central committee, on Tuesday, October 21.

Sema recalled Ermita as approachable and attentive to issues affecting MNLF communities that were brought to his attention during his time as executive secretary in Malacañang and in his brief tenures as presidential peace adviser and acting defense secretary.

Sema, who served as mayor of Cotabato City – now the capital of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) – during Ermita’s term, described him as ‘a very smiling person’ who acted promptly on their concerns, particularly those involving the MNLF’s peace and development agenda with the national government.

Sema was referring to the MNLF’s Sept. 2, 1996 peace agreement with the national government, brokered by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of more than 60 Muslim states, including petroleum-exporting nations in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hatimil Hassan, the MNLF’s representative in the 80-seat Bangsamoro Parliament, said they remember Ermita as a national government official who often reached out to the front when seeking support for Malacañang’s peace and security initiatives in Moro areas in Southern Mindanao.

‘He was a non-Moro who actively supported, in various capacities, the national government’s peace overtures with the Moro National Liberation Front,’ Hassan said.

The Philippines posted a smaller balance of payments (BOP) surplus in September, reflecting subdued external inflows compared to last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The country recorded a BOP surplus of $82 million in September, sharply lower than the $3.5-billion surplus in the same month a year ago.

The BSP said the surplus reflected the central bank’s net income from its investments abroad and the national government’s net foreign currency deposits with the BSP.

Despite the weaker monthly surplus, the figure helped narrow the year-to-date BOP deficit to $5.32 billion from $5.4 billion in the January to August period.

‘The smaller BOP surplus reflects fewer one-off inflows and a still-wide trade gap, but the external position remains manageable with steady remittances, strong services exports and solid reserves,’ SM Investments Corp. chief economist Robert Dan Roces said.

Preliminary BSP data showed that the shortfall was largely due to the country’s continued trade in goods deficit, which reached $32.4 billion as of end-August, lower than the $34.3-billion deficit in the same period last year.

‘As global rates ease and regional demand recovers, investment inflows may return and support liquidity and credit conditions, which should help firms with deep local roots and diverse sources of growth,’ Roces added.

Security Bank chief economist Angelo Taningco noted that the shortfall was likely offset by sustained net inflows from personal remittances of overseas Filipinos, trade in services, foreign direct and portfolio investments as well as foreign borrowings by the national government.

‘For the last three months of the year, we expect the BOP surplus to be maintained with our full-year BOP deficit forecast pegged at $4.5 billion,’ Taningco said.

The BOP records all economic transactions between the Philippines and the rest of the world, serving as a key indicator of the country’s external position.

The BOP position mirrored the movement in the country’s gross international reserves (GIR), which increased by 1.9 percent to $109.1 billion as of end-September from $107.1 billion a month earlier.

The BSP said the latest GIR level remains an adequate external liquidity buffer, sufficient to cover 7.3 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It is also about 3.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

These foreign-denominated securities, foreign exchange and other assets including gold help finance imports and foreign debt obligations, stabilize the currency and provide a buffer against external economic shocks.

While the September surplus signals manageable external conditions, the lingering deficit underscores persistent trade challenges and the need to sustain inflows from remittances and investments to support the country’s external stability.

The Philippines is facing a growing wave of health risks as heavy rains and flooding fuel a nationwide spike in influenza, leptospirosis, and dengue – diseases expected to worsen with the onset of La Niña later this year.

Drawing from internal data collected in recent months from clients across the country, leading health maintenance organization provider PhilCare warned that persistent monsoon rains, poor sanitation, and crowded public transport have created “a perfect storm” for disease transmission.

The company’s medical team reported that pneumonia and influenza-like infections are rising sharply, with leptospirosis and dengue cases climbing in tandem – showing how extreme weather is compounding public health risks.

PhilCare’s surveillance data, drawn from 11,597 flu and pneumonia-related claims nationwide, shows the highest concentration of cases in urban centers.

Region IV-A accounts for 32.91% of cases and the National Capital Region for 31.40%, representing nearly two-thirds of all reported cases.

“What we’re seeing is not just a seasonal flu outbreak, but a convergence of environmental, infrastructural, and public health factors that are creating ideal conditions for multiple infections to spread simultaneously,” said Dr. Eilyn Evora-Ayuste, PhilCare Medical Director.

She explained that heavy rains and flooding since June have increased exposure to respiratory illnesses due to cooler, damp conditions, while stagnant floodwaters have created breeding grounds for mosquitoes and sources of leptospirosis infection.

This situation is expected to worsen as the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA) forecasts a 70% chance of a La Niña event from October 2025 to February 2026.

Historically, La Niña brings heavier rainfall, cooler temperatures, and spikes in respiratory and waterborne diseases.

PhilCare’s data also shows that 73% of flu and pneumonia cases involve dependents – mostly children and the elderly covered by their principal members – highlighting the vulnerability of high-risk populations.

“Our data shows that it’s not just the workers getting sick, but their families, particularly children and elderly parents who may have weaker immune systems,” Dr. Ayuste noted. “This affects both household health and workplace productivity, as employees take time off to care for them.”

Region III accounted for 14.40% of cases, Region XI for 5.38%, and Region VI for 4.81%. Other regions reported lower but still significant numbers.

PhilCare’s medical team identified key drivers of the surge: poor sanitation in flood-hit areas, overcrowded public transport, limited access to preventive care, and cooler weather that allows influenza viruses to survive longer.

“When you combine crowded jeepneys and buses with people soaked from the rain and unable to practice proper hand hygiene, you create the perfect environment for respiratory viruses,” Dr. Ayuste explained.

“Add to that the reality that many Filipino workers can’t afford to stay home when they feel unwell, and you have an ideal environment for community transmission.”

To address these risks, PhilCare urged corporate clients to revisit workplace health policies – offering flexible work-from-home options for symptomatic employees, improving health information dissemination, and expanding vaccination benefits to cover influenza and pneumococcal shots.

Citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PhilCare highlighted that flu vaccination can reduce ICU admissions by 82%, adult hospitalizations by 40%, and pediatric ICU admissions by 74%. Pneumococcal vaccines are 60%-70% effective in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease.

‘Despite strong evidence of vaccine effectiveness, we continue to see low uptake among Filipino employees – partly due to cost concerns and lack of awareness,” Dr. Ayuste said.

“We’re urging employers to see vaccination as a strategic investment in workforce health and business continuity, especially as we head into several months of challenging weather.”

PhilCare said this crisis underscores the value of its ongoing health surveillance and research programs, which help identify emerging health trends and guide both public and private sector response.

A new generation of regional golfers, including Filipinos Chris Remata and Shinishi Suzuki, is in Dubai this week, each with a dream in tow that was sparked by the heroics of Hideki Matsuyama.

The 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, set to begin from Thursday, will bring together 120 of the brightest young talents such as Japan’s Rintaro Nakano and China’s Zhou Ziqin, all eager to make their mark. They’ll be walking a path first cleared by Matsuyama, whose teenage breakthrough at the same Championship some 15 years ago became the first steps toward a Masters Green Jacket.

The Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course, which is set against the gleaming Dubai skyline, will host the region’s premier amateur men’s Championship, where at stake is not just the coveted silverware, but golf’s two golden tickets – an invitation to the 2026 Masters Tournament and an exemption into The Open Championship.

No figure looms larger over the Asia-Pacific Amateur than Matsuyama, who is now arguably the greatest male golfer Asia has produced. A two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, the 32-year-old parlayed his 2010 victory into a trophy-laden professional career that now boasts 11 PGA Tour victories and, most memorably, the 2021 Masters, where he became the first Asian man to slip on the prized Green Jacket.

‘Winning the 2010 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship gave me the opportunity to play in the Masters Tournament,’ Matsuyama recalled. ‘Making the cut that week helped me realise I could actually have a career playing golf,’ said Matsuyama.

‘I owe a great debt of gratitude to Augusta National and will be eternally grateful for the opportunity to play in the Masters and helping me reach my dream to play professional golf. Winning the 2010 AAC was life-changing for me.’

This will be Remata’s debut in the Championship while Suzuki will make his third start, with a T30 in Japan being his best finish last year. The 17-year-old Suzuki is coached by his father, Yukio, who moved from Japan to the Philippines to work at Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club where they live just off the eighth hole.

Suzuki’s drive for success in the Asia-Pacific Amateur has largely been inspired by another Japanese player, Yuto Katsuragawa, whom he grew up playing golf with him and is like a brother. He watched Katsuragawa on TV during the 2019 edition in China where he was the co-leader through 54 holes before finishing tied eighth. ‘I was also dreaming of playing in the AAC,’ said Suzuki.

Japan’s Rintaro Nakano, who will make his third start in the Championship, will spearhead his country’s seven-man charge where they hope to follow in Matsuyama’s footsteps, and also of Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

After finishing third at Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba last year and T28 at Royal Melbourne in 2023, the 21-year-old is fired up to win the prestigious Championship. ‘I think this will be my last AAC, so I want to enjoy it. Of course, I have winning in mind, and I want to play with my full effort while appreciating this tournament that has helped me grow,’ said Nakano, who was the 36-hole leader before finishing two strokes behind champion Ding Wenyi of China last year.

Nakano said the Asia-Pacific Amateur has pushed him to become better in the sport where he dreams of winning major championships. ‘I felt the high level of Asian golf during my first AAC in Australia, and last year, I was able to level up to compete for the win,’ he said. ‘I watch (Hideki’s) golf swing a lot, and he is a role model to me.’

China’s Zhou Ziqin, 19, will spearhead a seven-man China challenge, where he hopes to improve on last season’s runner-up finish to compatriot Ding. ‘The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship has provided players in the region with an excellent tournament experience. Over the past few years, especially with my performance last year in Japan, I’ve gained more confidence in myself,’ he said.

‘Now, I’ve matured a bit more both physically and mentally, and I’ve also made some technical improvements. I hope to be in good condition as last year. My biggest goal is, of course, to win the championship, but the key is taking it shot by shot,’ added the University of California, Berkeley student.

Over the years, Chinese golfers have enjoyed stellar runs at the Asia-Pacific Amateur with Guan Tianlang (2012), Cheng Jin (2015) and Lin Yuxin (2017, 2019), winning the Championship and enjoying appearances at the Masters.

Guan, in fact, has also inspired many through his historic feat when he became the youngest player to make the halfway cut at the Masters in 2013 at the age of 14 years, five months, earning the admiration of golf legend Tiger Woods. ‘It’s frightening to think that he (Guan) was born after I won my first Masters,’ said Woods, a five-time Masters champion, who had invited Guan to play a practice round together that year.

For many aspirants this week, they will look to Matsuyama, whose career rise began with a stroke of fortune. In 2010, Japan’s status as host nation in the Asia-Pacific Amateur gave him one of four extra spots in the field. He seized it, won by five shots at Kasumigaseki Country Club, and then claimed low amateur honours at the Masters in the following year. Eleven PGA Tour victories later, his legacy is etched not just in Japanese golf but in the heart and soul of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship itself.

A man died and three were injured yesterday after an elevator core wall collapsed at the construction site of a clothing company in Taguig.

Four steelmen were installing rebars at the second-level basement of Bench’s new headquarters in Bonifacio Global City when the accident occurred at past 11 a.m., according to a police report.

‘They were hurt and immediately brought to the hospital,’ Harley Tagatac, area manager of project contractor Monolith Construction and Development Corp. said. ‘They were alive during the rescue.’

One of the workers, however, was declared dead on arrival.

Tagatac said Monolith would cover the hospital expenses of the victims.

The contractor stopped construction work pending the probe’s result.

‘Our safety measures are in place,’ Tagatac said, adding, ‘We are investigating why the structure collapsed.’

Construction of the 28-story Bench’s headquarters started last year and will take two more years to complete.

More than 6,000 corporations have lost their Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) Platinum registration after failing to submit their beneficial ownership documents, according to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

With almost half of the firms unable to file such documents, PS-DBM executive director Genmaries Entredicho-Caong said that non-submission of ownership documents automatically suspends a company’s registration.

‘This ensures that only bidders with declared beneficial owners can participate in government bidding and those beneficial owners must have no conflict of interest with the procuring entity or with other participating bidders,’ the procurement service chief said.

She reported that out of the 12,769 corporations registered under PhilGEPS Platinum this year, only 6,766 have submitted their beneficial ownership documents as required by the PS-DBM.

This means that 6,003 firms, representing about 47 percent of all PhilGEPS Platinum-registered corporations this year, have failed to comply with the required submission.

‘The non-submission of this document automatically suspends their platinum registration, which is the only eligibility document required from bidders,’ Entredicho-Caong said.

In compliance with the provisions of the National Government Procurement Act (NGPA), the procurement service requires all bidders seeking PhilGEPS Platinum registration to submit beneficial ownership information as part of their eligibility documents for public procurement.

Further, the Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO) found that 65.8 percent of government project bidders have common owners based on a random sampling of 180 procuring entities.

‘We found out that 71.6 percent of bidders were related to government officials. With the disclosure of beneficial ownership in place, we can deter unfair competition in public contracts and improve our services to benefit our citizens,’ GPPB-TSO officer-in-charge Maria Dionesia Rivera-Guillermo said.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the disclosure of beneficial ownership is a key provision of the new law, aimed at preventing conflicts of interest in public procurement and curbing corruption and collusion in government bidding.

‘Under the NGPA, the old schemes of name-swapping, figurehead changes and dummy company owners will no longer work,’ she said.