Category: Philippine Star

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing will open applications for electronic visas (eVisas) to Chinese nationals starting in November, in a move it hopes will encourage more visits from one of the country’s largest sources of tourists.

In a statement on Wednesday, October 15, Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz said the online visa system will initially cover travelers from mainland China and its Special Administrative Regions applying for short-term stays of up to 14 days for business or tourism.

This will “[make] the visa application process more convenient for those making a temporary visit to the Philippines,’ FlorCruz said.

Applications may be filed online and are valid for entry through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila or the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The eVisa program will be implemented by the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and the consulates in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and Xiamen.

The embassy will announce detailed procedures and website information soon, following the signing of a memorandum of agreement on October 15 between FlorCruz and Kishen Singh, VFS Global’s CEO for Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Mongolia.

The rollout is being conducted in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and VFS Global.

Who are eligible? The embassy said Chinese nationals who intend to stay in the Philippines for more than 14 days, as well as other eligible foreign residents in China, may continue to apply for conventional visas through newly opened Visa Application Centers in Beijing, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

‘The implementation of the eVisa comes at an opportune time,’ FlorCruz said. ‘Under the leadership of Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, the Department of Foreign Affairs met with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July 2025 for the Joint Consular Consultations, which discussed the importance of people-to-people exchange.”

Diplomatic tool. FlorCruz said the eVisa launch coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China, noting that people-to-people exchange remains central to bilateral cooperation.

In 2023, the DFA suspended the operations of its e-visa system in China, after three months of beta testing.

Bansot is a Tagalog word that means stunted, often used to describe a person, animal or plant whose growth or development has been arrested. It can refer to being physically short, but it can also imply mental or psychological growth has stopped.

Can a country be considered economically bansot? A country we are familiar with is probably a good example. It stopped growing as fast as it should have due to wrong policies and overwhelming corruption. Its neighbors overtook it and it doesn’t look like it is doing much to reverse the trend.

Before this country can stop being the regional bansot, it must save its next generations from the curse of being bansot. It must pour the resources needed to provide mothers the prenatal care they need and thereafter, to make sure their children get the nutrition required for normal physical growth and mental development.

The Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) held a lecture last week with the theme: ‘Bata, bayan, bukas: Reducing childhood malnutrition and stunting through economic freedom.’ The lecture highlighted the urgent need to treat nutrition not merely as a health and nutrition issue, but as an agricultural and economic policy challenge.

It is an agricultural and economic policy issue because our policies have kept food expensive, a reason why there’s a lot of malnutrition.

Low-income families spend about 60 percent of their meager income on food, half of that on rice because rice is cheap and filling. Households that can’t afford more diverse foods often have diets low in protein, vitamins, minerals.

The lecture opened with FEF’s award-winning short documentary on stunting, malnutrition and agricultural policy, which recently won the Atlas Network’s Public Policy Impact Award in New York.

The film underscored how child undernutrition and agricultural inefficiencies are intertwined challenges requiring urgent national action. ‘Malnutrition is not only a public health issue – it is an economic freedom issue,’ said FEF president Calixto Chikiamco in his opening remarks.

Child malnutrition is every Filipino’s concern. There is substantial scientific evidence showing that inadequate nutrition in early childhood (especially before age five) can compromise both physical and intellectual (cognitive) development.

Children who are malnourished (or stunted – meaning chronic undernutrition leading to low height-for-age) often score lower on measures of cognition (IQ, attention, memory, language skills).

The problem is huge. One in four Filipino children under five is stunted. That irreversibly limits physical growth, brain development and lifetime earning potential. That’s a tragedy.

DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara told me that he wants to be involved in child feeding programs now under DSWD. Sec. Sonny said that unless the feeding programs are done right, by the time the children are in elementary school, it becomes more difficult for the school system to make them learn the basics of math, reading and science.

The World Bank declared that the Philippines’ learning poverty rate is at an alarming 91 percent. This means nine out of ten 10-year-olds cannot read and understand a simple text.

The World Bank warned that ‘If this situation is not addressed, the country risks having a less skilled workforce in the future.’ And that’s putting it kindly.

The FEF estimated that undernutrition costs the Philippines $8.5 billion (P496 billion) annually – around two to three percent of GDP – through lost productivity, higher health care costs and diminished human capital.

In her presentation, Atty. Benedicta ‘Dick’ Du-Baladad, a Fellow of the FEF, reframed nutrition as a strategic business investment.

Numerous Filipino children, she said, are ‘born with promise’ but whose potential is ‘diminished before their second birthday. [This] is a lifelong economic penalty,’ she said.

According to Du-Baladad, uncurbed malnutrition ‘directly undermines economic freedom’ by limiting individual capacity, fostering people’s dependency on social safety nets and distorting the labor market.

Du-Baladad urged the private sector to integrate nutrition into business strategies, workforce development and food system reforms, warning that failure to act risks reversing hard-won gains in malnutrition reduction.

Here’s a thought: for a start, can the highly profitable manufacturers of cup noodles infuse their products with nutrients? Can we have a rice variety with vitamins?

Indeed, the difficulty that our business sector is having in hiring qualified staff is traceable to our failure to provide proper nutrition to our children. Stunted development as it affects the brain means the current generation of potential workers will be difficult to educate, train and make economically productive.

We are missing the train again. We are not likely to benefit from a demographic dividend which we should be enjoying because we have a large working-age population. Malnutrition and stunting among children under five significantly undercut the potential upside.

This is such a pity because more people in the productive age range (roughly15-64) means more potential workers, which can support faster economic growth, especially if the ratio of dependents (young and old) is lower.

A larger labor pool can mean more specialization, greater innovation, higher aggregate output and more capacity to invest in infrastructure, education, health etc.

If education, health, skills training and jobs are available, the large working population can boost consumption, tax revenues and economic dynamism.

Instead of a demographic dividend, we will have the burden of a large unemployable working age population requiring hand-outs or ayuda from the government. This may be a source of political strength for our political dynasties, but bad for the nation.

Dr. Mildred Guirindola of the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) in her lecture before the FEF said ‘Malnutrition, particularly stunting, is not only a health issue but also a barrier to human capital, productivity and national progress.’

Guirindola pointed out that stunted children are more likely to drop out of school, earn less as adults and face lifelong health risks, with their economic productivity as adults clipped by more than 10 percent in their lifetime.

‘Reducing stunting is not just saving lives. It is securing our nation’s future,’ Guirindola added.

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) saw its total assets fall by 18 percent to P278 billion in 2024 after remitting over P117 billion in funds and dividends to the national government under the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

In its 2024 Annual Report, the state deposit insurer said total assets declined by P61.6 billion from the previous year’s P339.6 billion.

‘The drop in net assets is primarily attributed to remittances to the Bureau of the Treasury aggregating P107.2 billion fund balance under the GAA and P10.7 billion dividends, P1.2 billion operating expenses and P300 million payment of insured deposits,’ the PDIC said.

PDIC president and CEO Roberto Tan said the remittance supports ‘the fiscal strengthening and consolidation initiative’ of the national government and helps fund its priority programs.

‘PDIC remitted a total of P10.7 billion in regular dividends to the national government in 2024. This is in support of the fiscal strengthening and consolidation initiative as well as to help fund various priority programs of the national government,’ Tan said in his report.

The decline in assets, however, was partly tempered by the inflow of fresh resources, including P38 billion in assessment collections, P17.3 billion in income from investments and P2.9 billion in income from financial assistance and other sources.

PDIC’s cash and investments also declined by 18.5 percent to P273.1 billion in 2024 from P335.1 billion a year ago, comprising 98.2 percent of the insurer’s total assets. Most are in government securities and money market placements.

Total investment portfolio is composed of P256 billion corporate funds and P12.1 billion earmarked funds for the loan obligations of the PDIC.

PDIC’s total deposit insurance fund (DIF), which is the deposit insurer’s capital, fell by 23.6 percent at P236.9 billion in 2024 from P310.1 billion in 2023.

The DIF includes a P3 billion permanent insurance fund provided by the national government, P226.1 billion reserves for insurance losses and P7.8 billion in retained earnings.

Despite the decline, the PDIC maintained a DIF to estimated insured deposits (EID) ratio of 7.83 percent, surpassing its 6.5-percent target and exceeding the international benchmark for deposit insurance adequacy.

‘This accomplishment underscores the PDIC’s commitment to maintaining a robust financial safety net for depositors,’ the report said.

The PDIC reported a total income of P58.2 billion in 2024, a 12-percent increase from P52.3 billion the previous year, driven largely by assessment collections from member banks and investment income.

Assessment income accounted for 65 percent of total revenues, while investment income contributed 30 percent.

Investment income rose by 7.3 percent to P17.3 billion, reflecting higher returns from government securities and placements. Assessment income also climbed by 8.5 percent to P38 billion due to the banking sector’s continued expansion.

The PDIC assured the public that despite the decline in assets, it remains financially sound and well positioned to protect depositors in case of bank closures.

‘As of 2024, the financial position of the corporation is stable and adequate to safeguard against the risks in the banking system and the interests of the depositing public,’ the PDIC reiterated.

Kira, err, Kara David now has her hands on ‘Death Note’, and her followers could not help but poke fun and give suggestions on how to use it.

The award-winning journalist received a surprise gift from her fellow University of the Philippines faculty member.

”Kara’ po ang pangalan ko hindi ‘Kira.’ Thanks Ronin for this cool gift. Shinigami ‘yarn?’ Kara wrote on her Facebook caption with her holding the ‘Death Note’ notebook.

Her post has generated over 217, 000 reactions, 6,000 comments and 24,000 shares.

Her followers immediately flooded her post with comments – from witty barbs to an explanation of the famous Japanese manga-turned-anime show.

‘Lista n’yo na po please,’ one user commented.

‘Ma’am Kara, List every corrupt official alphabetically, chronologically, or by the size of their kickbacks. We might need extra pages, though,’ another one wrote.

Social media pages also shared the post with their own quips.

‘May nangyayari na,’ one social media page wrote about Kara’s post.

One user, who goes by the Facebook name Jayson Hipol, explained the lore of the popular early 2000s manga.

‘When a human picks up a Death Note, they automatically enter into an agreement with the Shinigami (death god) who owns it. This agreement gives the human the power to kill anyone simply by writing the person’s name in the notebook while picturing their face,’ the user explained.

He shared that there are strict rules to follow in using Death Note. These include the cause of death must be written within 40 seconds or the person will die of a heart attack; it cannot kill someone in an impossible or unrealistic way; and once someone uses the Death Note, their soul is neither allowed in Heaven nor Hell after death.

The social media user also talked about how the human in possession of the notebook can strike another deal that gives him the ability to see the names and lifespan written on it in exchange of his remaining days of living.

‘In short, the Death Note agreement grants immense power – but at the cost of the user’s soul and humanity,’ the user wrote.

‘Death Note’ is a serialized manga published by Weekly Shonen Jump from December 2003 to 2006.

It tells the story of genius high school student Light Yagami, who comes across and comes into possession of the Death Note, which he discovers grants anyone the ability to kill a person whose name is written on its pages. Light uses it under the alias Kira to eliminate people he deemed immoral in his desire for a crime-free society.

‘Death Note’ has been adapted into various media, including a 37-episode anime in 2006 and various video games. It also has live-action adaptations via a mini-series and four films released in 2006, 2008, 2015 and 2016.

Moderate aftershocks of magnitudes 5.8 and 5.2 yesterday rocked the town of Manay in Davao Oriental, where a powerful ‘doublet earthquake’ occurred last week, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Phivolcs said the magnitude 5.8 aftershock occurred at 10 a.m. with its epicenter located 101 kilometers northeast of Manay.

Instrumental Intensity 1 was registered in Davao City and Digos in Davao del Sur, Malita and Sta. Maria in Davao Occidental, Nabunturan in Davao de Oro and Malungon (Sarangani).

The second aftershock occurred at 10:39 a.m. with its epicenter located 25 kilometers northeast of Manay.

Instrumental Intensity 2 was recorded in Nabunturan.

As of noon yesterday, state seismologists had recorded 1,303 aftershocks, 618 of which were plotted and 18 felt, with magnitudes ranging from 1.2 to 5.8.

President Marcos on Monday visited Davao Oriental, bringing with him additional relief assistance to the earthquake victims.

Marcos assured local chief executives that aid would continue until every earthquake-displaced family recovers, according to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

Marcos and Gatchalian checked the condition of families staying in evacuation centers in Tarragona.

Aside from food packs, some families received P10,000 each in cash assistance.

Gatchalian gave assurance that the DSWD would continue to assist all people affected by quakes and typhoons that recently battered several areas in the country.

Meanwhile, entry into one of the oldest buildings of the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) has been restricted as a safety precaution.

‘Following an assessment conducted by ADDU structural engineers and officials of the Office of the City Building, Finster Hall has been placed under restricted use as a safety precaution,’ the Ateneo de Davao said in a statement.

Finster Hall is one of the university’s oldest and most storied buildings. It has withstood several disasters.

‘This temporary restriction gives us the chance to care for and ensure the continued safety of Finster Hall so it may remain as a space for learning, formation and community life for generations of Ateneans to come,’ the university said.

Results of the assessment showed that the structural integrity of the building remained intact. The ongoing work would focus only on repairs to architectural and auxiliary components of the hall, it added.

In a memorandum, Ateneo de Davao president Fr. Karel San Juan said that learning and work will remain asynchronous in all units from Oct. 11 to 18, to allow flexibility and recovery, especially for those whose homes or families were affected by the earthquake.

UAE aids Cebu quake victims

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sent assistance to approximately 40,000 families displaced by the 6.9 earthquake that struck the northern part of Cebu.

The delivery of relief assistance was facilitated by the UAE embassy in coordination with relevant agencies and local authorities, and in support of government efforts to mitigate the impact of the disaster.

‘The UAE’s response reflects the country’s humanitarian efforts and its global commitment toward communities impacted by natural disasters and crises. It also underscores UAE’s dedication to alleviating humanitarian suffering, accelerating early recovery and reinforcing stability,’ the embassy said.

The Aboitiz Group is exploring more opportunities to enter the public-private partnership (PPP) landscape in Mindanao, building on the success of its infrastructure contracts in the island.

At the Davao Investment Conference 2025, Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. (AIC) reported some of the gains made by the Laguindingan International Airport (LIA) since its turnover to the company in April.

AIC airports head of strategy and communications Christine Villanueva said LIA is now landing and sending off 337 flights weekly to some of the busiest metros in the Philippines like Manila, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao.

AIC is also planning to carry out infrastructure upgrades for LIA in the long run. It will expand the passenger terminal building to boost the airport’s prospects for international flights.

‘From trade routes to transport hubs, when we move better, we grow faster. Airports are not just travel terminals – they are engines of economic activity, and so developing world-class regional airports will be key to unlocking Mindanao’s potential,’ Villanueva said.

Further, Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. general manager Ronnie Lim said the development of the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP) improved Davao’s water situation.

The DCBWSP, undertaken with the Davao City Water District, is the country’s largest bulk water supply, delivering 300 million liters of water per day to more than one million customers.

‘Beyond households, this supports livelihoods, enables businesses to expand and gives investors the confidence that utilities can keep pace with growth,’ Lim said.

To date, Apo Agua, which is a subsidiary of AIC, has generated over P15 billion in investments for Davao City.

Lim said the project has given assurance to families and businesses in the city of consistent and clean water supply.

With these projects as PPP models, AIC first vice president for investments Frocks Roque said it is easy for the company to consider other projects in Mindanao. The DCBWSP, for instance, won as best PPP in the Philippines in 2024 as reviewed by the International Finance Awards.

Roque said PPPs tend to succeed when the government implementor and private partner work as one in achieving a set of goals.

AIC operates and maintains the country’s second, sixth and ninth busiest airports in Cebu, Bohol and Laguindingan, respectively, with interest in digital infrastructure, industrial parks and water projects.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $400-million loan to support reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of the insurance industry in the Philippines.

In a statement yesterday, ADB said the policy-based loan for the Insurance Reform Program, Subprogram 1 is intended to support reforms in regulation and supervision and to help strengthen the role of institutions in providing long-term credit for government infrastructure projects.

The new program will be implemented in three sequenced subprograms and in partnership with the Insurance Commission.

It will involve reforms including digitalization and climate finance to enhance resilience, as well as promote financial inclusion and consumer trust.

Through the loan, the aim is to have a more efficient, consumer-oriented and technologically advanced insurance market.

In addition, the loan is expected to help strengthen climate risk management and disaster resilience.

‘This program is a strategic investment in the Philippines’ sustainable and inclusive economic future,’ ADB country director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries said.

‘By modernizing the regulatory framework, we are not only strengthening the insurance industry itself – we are building a critical line of protection for the nation, mobilizing long-term capital for development and ensuring that the benefits of economic growth reach every Filipino entrepreneur and household,’ Jeffries said.

The loan is ADB’s first dedicated insurance reform program in the Philippines.

The multilateral lender has been providing support for the Philippine insurance industry and capital markets development through past initiatives including the Inclusive Finance Development Program and the Support to Capital Market-Generated Infrastructure Financing Program.

ADB is also providing support for related reforms such as parametric and indemnity insurance through the Second Disaster Resilience Improvement Program, agriculture insurance through the Climate Change Action Program and health insurance under the Build Universal Health Care Program.

Guided by the country partnership strategy for 2024 to 2029, ADB is providing support to the Philippines to enable the country to achieve greater inclusion, climate resilience and sustainable economic growth.

Parañaque City has received two major national awards for fiscal management and good governance, affirming its commitment to transparency, accountability and innovation.

The city’s Accounting Office was elevated to the Hall of Fame by the Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines (AGAP) after winning the Outstanding Accounting Office award for the third consecutive year.

The recognition was presented during AGAP’s 75th founding anniversary at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City on Oct. 7.

The award cited the office for its accuracy, timeliness, reliability and compliance with accounting and budgeting regulations.

‘This is not just an award. It is a proof of the culture of integrity and excellence that the city government strives to uphold,’ Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said.

‘This Hall of Fame status validates the hard work of our entire finance team and assures our constituents that their taxes are being managed with the utmost competence and care,’ he added.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government-National Capital Region conferred the 2025 Metro Manila SubayBAYANI Grand Award on Parañaque during a ceremony at the Manila Hotel on Oct. 7.

Parañaque was also cited for its Women Wellness and Crisis Center, a model gender-responsive facility that promotes women’s health, empowerment and safety.

Olivarez said the twin recognitions reflect Parañaque’s ‘systematic financial discipline and people-centered governance.’

It’s never an easy call for a referee to stop a fight. A premature ending will lead to a howl of protest particularly if a fighter is still able to defend himself and retaliate. But a late halt could be damaging and put a fighter’s life in serious danger. Referee Carlos Padilla recalled that in 1979, he waved off the bout between Sugar Ray Leonard and Wilfred Benitez with only six seconds left in the 15-round WBC welterweight title match at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Padilla said it didn’t matter how much time was left in the fight. His main concern was to protect the fighters in the ring. Leonard had floored Benitez with 30 seconds remaining. Benitez got up, fought back but after taking two more solid punches, Padilla stepped in. It’s often said that a second early is better than a second too late in stopping a fight.

Last month, WBA/WBO minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico was awarded a seventh-round TKO over Filipino challenger Jayson Vayson in Indio, California. Vayson’s chief second Allan Alegria signaled to referee Tom Taylor to call it off. Vayson took a mandatory eight-count in the first round and was badly behind on points when the end came.

It appeared that Vayson was running out of gas when Collazo began to step up his attack in the sixth round. Thrice, Taylor checked on Vayson in between rounds. The California State Athletic Commission representative in Vayson’s corner was worried about his condition. When Collazo put on the pressure in the seventh, Alegria waved the white flag even as Vayson wasn’t totally out of it.

A respected boxing authority, watching the fight on TV, said it looked like Vayson’s corner was ‘spooked’ by Taylor and the California State Athletic Commission. The corner could’ve panicked, the authority said. The promoter Golden Boy obviously wanted a big win by Collazo who’s Puerto Rican like its CEO Oscar de la Hoya, cheering at ringside.

Vayson’s corner insisted it did the right thing. Note that last August, two Japanese boxers Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28, died from brain injuries suffered from separate bouts on the same card in Tokyo. Last May, Ginjiro Shigeoka lapsed into a coma with a blood clot in the brain after losing on points to IBF minimumweight champion Pedro Taduran in Osaka. Only last week, Filipino Jino Rodrigo sustained a subdural hematoma after a 10th-round KO loss to Cain Sandoval in Santa Ynez, California. Rodrigo is now out of the hospital but remains under guarded observation.

Cornermen know their fighters better than a referee. Yet many hesitate to pull the plug, hoping there’s still a chance to win despite a heavy beating. The recent rash of boxing injuries and fatalities should remind cornermen that more than a referee, they’re the first line of defense to protect their fighters from serious injury.

A low-pressure area (LPA) east-southeast of Baler, Aurora is bringing cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over parts of Luzon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.

As of 4 p.m., the weather bureau said the LPA was spotted about 130 kilometers east-southeast of Baler. The weather disturbance, along with the prevailing easterlies, will affect the eastern sections of Luzon and the Visayas.

Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Isabela, Aurora, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Bataan and Camarines Norte will experience cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms due to the LPA.

The agency warned of possible flash floods or landslides, especially in areas prone to flooding or with steep terrain.

The Visayas, MIMAROPA and the rest of the Bicol Region will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms caused by the easterlies.

Similar conditions are expected in Mindanao and the rest of the country, where localized thunderstorms may trigger flash floods or landslides during severe episodes.

Meanwhile, extreme Northern Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains due to a northeasterly wind flow, but PAGASA said no significant impact is expected in the area.

Light to moderate winds blowing from the east to northeast will prevail over Luzon and the Visayas, with coastal waters ranging from slight to moderate, or 0.6 to 1.8 meters.

The same wind conditions are expected over Mindanao, with waves reaching up to 1.5 meters.