Category: Philippine Star

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.

Around 150,000 residents participated in Marikina City’s simultaneous earthquake drill yesterday to prepare for a possible major temblor or the ‘Big One.’

Mayor Marjorie Ann Teodoro said the drill aims to promote a ‘family- and community-based’ approach to disaster readiness, with about 100,000 participants from schools and 50,000 from communities and the private sector.

‘The safety of everyone is a shared responsibility. This whole-of-community approach ensures we are united in protecting lives,’ Teodoro said.

The citywide drill simulated the effects of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake along the West Valley Fault, which passes through Marikina.

Teodoro inspected disaster response equipment, including ambulances, fire trucks as well as urban search and rescue tools such as vibroscopes for locating trapped victims.

The city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) identified open spaces across 16 barangays as designated safe zones during calamities.

DRRMO chief Dave David urged families to determine nearby open spaces as part of their own preparedness plans.

Malacañang yesterday welcomed calls from business groups to expand the powers of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which is investigating anomalous flood control projects even as it stressed that the administration is working vigorously to fight corruption.

More than 30 business groups called on President Marcos over the weekend to give ICI full legal authority to undertake a swift and independent probe into corruption in infrastructure projects.

Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President would support any moves to provide additional powers to the commission as long as it would benefit the public.

‘It would be better if ICI would have more teeth. But for now, we can see that the ICI is effectively performing (its mandate),’ the Palace press officer said at a briefing.

In a joint statement on Sunday, major business organizations representing members across all sectors – large, medium, small and micro enterprises – urged the Marcos administration ‘to address, without delay, the historic, massive and unprecedented corruption scandal crippling our flood control and infrastructure projects.’

Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice has also called on the President to call for a special session of Congress to pass a bill that will give more powers to the ICI.

Castro enumerated the ongoing initiatives by the administration to address corruption, including the launching of the Sumbong sa Pangulo website and the creation of ICI to investigate anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects.

She also cited the freeze orders on the assets of those implicated in corruption cases, alongside the issuance of Immigration Lookout Bulletin Orders and the recommendation to file charges against former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co.

‘The President and the administration feel the sentiments of the businessmen that’s why investigations are ongoing and the government is acting swiftly to hold those responsible accountable,’ Castro said.

‘US visit just a courtesy call’

Meanwhile, Castro also clarified the visit of a US embassy official at the ICI office last week, saying it was ‘just a courtesy call.’

Castro was asked about the visit of US embassy acting Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Kelleher at the ICI office in Taguig.

‘I talked to Attorney Hosaka and asked him what they discussed. According to him, that was just a courtesy call and they just asked what the mandate of ICI was – just a courtesy call,’ the Palace official said, referring to ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka.

Asked whether the embassy official discussed foreign funded projects in the country, Castro said these matters were not tackled.

When pressed further on whether the US offered assistance to the ongoing probe, Castro said, ‘There was no discussion about that. He just asked about the methodology and mandate of the ICI.’

Hosaka also defended the ICI yesterday against criticisms of foreign influence: ‘There is no interference. They’re just asking questions about the ICI.’

‘We didn’t divulge anything and nothing was tackled outside of what we already informed the public,’ he added.

Hosaka also denied that the commission is being used to spread a version of the story on corruption that President Marcos, who created the ICI, wants.

At a press conference after her pilgrimage to Basilica Minor of Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan, Vice President Sara Duterte accused the commission of ‘legitimizing the government narrative’ on the flood control mess.

‘The government opened the ICI so that whatever its investigation report is will be the official story on the corruption issue,’ Duterte said Saturday. ‘And that’s what they’ll feed to the people.’

‘The commission will go where the evidence leads us, regardless of the personalities involved,’ he said.

The ICI will refer cases to the Ombudsman this week, but Hosaka has not yet divulged either their scope or respondents’ identities.

Additionally, the ICI is still waiting for the Department of Budget and Management to approve its staffing pattern and budget. Hosaka said the commission needs around 180 people for its operations.

Jonvic: Jail ready for corrupt

According to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, there is enough room in the New Quezon City Jail for personalities who will be put behind bars by the Sandiganbayan and the Office of the Ombudsman in connection to the flood control scandal.

‘Based on what I have seen on TV, and the documents shown in the Senate hearings… we assume that the first round of the indictments will come in the next three weeks,’ Remulla said in a press conference after conducting an inspection of the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas yesterday.

‘In my opinion… there will be up to 200 people who can be ordered imprisoned from the ‘floodgate’ scandal,’ he added, stressing he has no internal knowledge of undertakings at the Office of the Ombudsman headed by his brother, Jesus Crispin Remulla.

The interior secretary stressed that the court has the prerogative on where to detain the accused.