Category: Philippine Star

Mon Confiado is set to play Emilio Aguinaldo for the third time in “Quezon,” the latest Bayaniverse movie that centers on the politician that ran against Quezon in the 1935 elections.

Viewers last saw Confiado’s Aguinaldo at the end of 2018’s “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral” in Malacañang as a prisoner of war of the Americans. The film’s mid-credits scene teased his and Quezon’s campaigns.

The face of TJ Trinidad was used in those posters but for the upcoming movie, Jericho Rosales steps into the role of Quezon after the former retired from acting.

“Quezon” sets up an interesting rivalry between the country’s first and would-be second presidents.

During the press conference for “Quezon” held at the historic Manila Hotel last October 7, Confiado was asked to describe the upcoming film in one word and the actor went with “pulitika.”

“Mula noon, hanggang ngayon, makikita niyo dito sa ‘Quezon’ walang pinagbago ang pulitika natin,” Confiado said, adding that politics keeps revolving around the wealthy, powerful, and social elite.

The actor also said that the current political climate is all about vilification and ambition for power, themes that will be explored in the film.

He echoed the popular Filipino saying: “Kung hindi ka marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi ka makakarating sa paroroonan.” The prolific actor said that this is the reason why movies like “Quezon” should be seen.

“Alam naman natin na ang kasaysayan ay napakahalaga,” Confiado ended. “Hindi tayo natuto sa kasaysayan natin, kaya ‘yung pulitika [noon] nandito pa rin.”

Starring with Rosales and Confiado in “Quezon” are Karylle, Romnick Sarmenta, JC Santos, Angeli Bayani, Bodjie Pascua, Joross Gamboa, Ketchup Eusebio, Jake Macapagal, Therese Malvar, and “Game of Thrones” star Iain Glen as Leonard Wood.

Benjamin Alves will reprise his role as a younger Quezon, while Arron Villaflor and Cris Villanueva will once again play the fictional character Joven Hernando at different ages.

“Quezon,” directed and co-written by Jerrold Tarog, will hit Philippine theaters nationwide beginning October 15.

Here’s what to expect in the PBA’s Golden Anniversary season by the numbers.

5- FIBA World Cup Asia qualifying windows starting November this year up to November next year to impact the PBA’s 50th season. The PBA will take a break during the windows. There will also be a sixth window on Feb. 25-March 1, 2027 but that will be during the PBA’s 51st season.

9- rule changes. A key change is it is now legal to reverse a referee’s call and make the correct call in situations of third party contact/blocking and/or charging, foul/out-of-bounds or last touch and all kinds of foul, including charging and blocking provided it took place on the same play phase. Previously, only a call that is challenged will be determined to uphold or not. Another change is in the last two minutes of every quarter, penalty is called after two team fouls. This was done only in the fourth quarter in past seasons. Still, another change is in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or OT, there will be a deadball after every made basket where referees may review validity of the conversion. If no review is made, the basket may no longer be reviewed.

14 -rookies on opening day rosters, namely Ginebra’s Sonny Estil, Blackwater’s Dalph Panopio and Jack Dumont, Converge’s Juan Gomez de Liaño, Mark Omega and Kobe Monje, Magnolia’s Gab Gomez, Phoenix’ Dave Ando, San Miguel Beer’s Chris Miller and Royce Mantua, Terrafirma’s JM Bravo and Ira Bateller and Titan’s Chris Koon and Mario Barasi. The list will increase when draftees from the MPBL and NCAA join, including Geo Chiu, Will Gozum, Jason Brickman, LJ Gonzales and Yukien Andrada.

31- players from last season not on current lineups, including Jvee Casio, Mark Borboran, Chris Exciminiano, Terrence Romeo, Jackson Corpuz and Justin Chua. The list includes William Navarro, Jamie Malonzo and Arvin Tolentino who are now playing abroad.

27 – players who switched teams this season, including TNT’s Jio Jalalon, Tyrus Hill and Kevin Ferrer, Terrafirma’s Jerrick Ahanmisi, Paul Garcia and Prince Rivero, Titan’s Ato Ular, Aljun Melecio, Jeo Ambohot, Von Pessumal and James Martinez and Rain or Shine’s Stanley Pringle.

2- provincial games in the Philippine Cup. The first will be Converge against TNT at the Chavit Coliseum in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on Oct. 18 and the second, Rain or Shine against TNT in Cagayan de Oro on Nov. 15.

3 – out-of-the-country games in the first conference. The first will be San Miguel Beer against Ginebra in Dubai on Oct. 26. Two games will be played in Bahrain, the first Magnolia against Rain or Shine on Dec. 15 and second Rain or Shine against Ginebra on Dec. 17.

23 – referees to open the first conference, three of whom are rookies. Last season, there were 24 in the referees’ start list.

The Supreme Court (SC) is launching an inventory of all infrastructure projects within the judiciary that may have been contracted to or undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen said this in a message to newly appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla during a speech before administering his oath of office on Thursday, October 9.

Leonen said that the Supreme Court en banc has agreed to create a working committee to inventory judiciary projects that are possibly tied to DPWH projects, if there are any.

“Already we are installing the reforms needed not only to digitally transform, but to ensure integrity also within our ranks. We have a public email address integrity@judiciary.gov.ph that we have made available to all stakeholders including litigants as their avenue to inform us even confidentially of any corruption within our ranks,” Leonen said.

“The Court en banc has also agreed to create a working committee to inventory any and all projects within the judiciary that might have been contracted to and undertaken by the DPWH if any, and to report soonest to the Chief Justice as their status,” he added.

Leonen, however, did not mention any specific projects.

On Thursday, Remulla took his oath of office before Leonen at the Supreme Court.

He succeeds former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, whose term expired on July 27.

Remulla’s former office, the Department of Justice (DOJ), along with other agencies such as the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, is probing government officials and contractors over alleged corruption in flood control projects.

The DOJ is currently evaluating several contractors and district engineers on their eligibility to be possible state witnesses.

Kapuso actress Carla Abellana will reportedly get married by the end of the year, according to talent manager and vlogger Ogie Diaz.

On the latest video of Ogie’s YouTube channel series “Showbiz Update,” a source told him that Carla will tie the knot with a non-showbiz partner.

The lucky man, according to his source, is a chief medical officer of a private Quezon City hospital.

The doctor reportedly dated Carla in high school and recently rekindled their friendship and romantic relationship. “Guwapo raw ito in person, ha. At chinito!” Ogie quipped.

Carla did confirm last August she was currently seeing someone, saying at the time she was opening herself to dating and meeting people.

“I decided to try it,” Carla said then. “Yes, there’s a second date. We’ll see if there’s gonna be more dates.”

The actress was previously married to Tom Rodriguez but their union only lasted a few months, eventually ending in divorce. Tom is now a father to an infant son, Korben, also with a non-showbiz partner.

Ogie reiterated in his video that it is up to Carla to confirm, deny, or give details about a supposed partner and wedding.

Perpetual Help sustained its hot start in NCAA Season 101 basketballl tournament, stunning title-holder Mapua, 75-65, at the Filoil EcoOil Arena yesterday.

It was the third win in a row for UPHSD that put the team on top in Group A.

But despite their early success, UPHSD coach Olsen Racela was quick to caution his players that they still have a long way to go.

‘It’s a big victory but the league is just starting and anything can happen,’ said Racela.

The Altas did it with defense as they held former league MVP Clint Escamis to just six points while completely shutting down the Cardinals in the last five and a half minutes to steal the win.

During that scintillating stretch of defensive brilliance, UPHSD managed to score 10 points, half of which came from JP Boral, who ended up with a team-best 15 points.

In the other game, St. Benilde clobbered Letran, 95-80, to improve to 2-1. The Knights dropped to 0-3.

A groundbreaking P2 million purse – the richest in Philippine tennis history – will be up for grabs when the Gentry National Tennis Championships fires off tomorrow at the Colegio San Agustin in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

This landmark tournament not only raises the bar in terms of prize money and prestige, but also signals a major leap in support for Philippine tennis, drawing a full 64-player draw in the men’s Open singles division alone.

Headlining the star-studded field are the country’s top two players – AJ Lim and Eric Jed Olivarez – battling for supremacy and the whopping P300,000 champion’s prize. The runner-up receives P150,000.

The women’s singles draw is equally competitive.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to issue the suggested retail price (SRP) for Noche Buena products by mid-October.

‘In the next two weeks, we should put them out,’ Trade Secretary Cristina Roque told reporters on the sidelines of the Federation of Philippine Industries Business Summit 2025 yesterday.

She said the DTI is encouraging manufacturers not to implement price increases to make the products affordable for consumers.

One ham manufacturer, Roque noted, has committed to reduce its prices.

Meanwhile, the secretary is hopeful other manufacturers will keep their prices steady.

To help consumers make informed choices, the DTI issues a list of SRPs for Noche Buena products during the holiday season.

Last year’s Noche Buena price guide showed that over 100 stock keeping units (SKUs) posted price increases.

Meanwhile, 121 SKUs maintained their prices and 13 had price reductions.

Despite recent calamities that affected the country, the Department of Finance emphasized its commitment to keeping the prices of basic commodities affordable.

The second most wanted person in Metro Manila was apprehended in Barangay Upper Bicutan, Taguig on Tuesday.

Jomar Salik, 21, was arrested based on a warrant for murder issued by the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 266, city police chief Col. Byron Allatog said.

No bail was recommended for Salik’s temporary liberty.

Salik is said to be a member of a car theft ring operating in Metro Manila.

Prior to the arrest, police said intelligence operatives had been tracking Salik’s whereabouts through surveillance and background verification.

The suspect is being held at the Taguig police station.

A Filipino tourist – the mother of journalist Gretchen Ho – was refused a currency exchange at Oslo’s main airport after a money changer wrongly claimed the Philippines was still on a global ‘money-laundering’ watchlist.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday, October 9, that the stall at Gardermoen Airport in Norway had been using an outdated list that continued to tag the Philippines as a high-risk country, months after it was cleared by international regulators.

The Philippine Embassy in Oslo has since sought clarification from Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Financial Supervisory Authority, according to the DFA.

‘It was found out that the forex stall at Oslo airport is following an outdated list which still includes the Philippines in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list,’ the DFA said.

The FATF list identifies countries with weak safeguards against money laundering and terrorism financing. The Philippines was removed from the list in February 2025, and from the European Union’s version in August, after it adopted stricter oversight measures for banks and financial institutions.

According to the DFA, Norwegian officials have committed to coordinating with their financial regulator to update the lists used by forex operators and delist the Philippines from countries tagged as ‘high risk.’

The clarification came after Ho posted on X (formerly Twitter) that her mother had been turned away while trying to exchange $300 at the airport.

The DFA said the refusal stemmed from outdated information, not from current policy, and stressed that the Philippines is no longer under FATF monitoring.

The Philippines’ removal from the FATF grey list earlier this year ended nearly four years of increased international scrutiny on the country’s “deficiencies” in fighting money laundering and terrorism financing. It was a development that was hailed by the Marcos administration as proof of reforms meant to clean up the country’s financial system.

The local stock market climbed for a second straight session, buoyed by the country’s August labor market data.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.25 percent or 14.91 points to end at 6,098.74 yesterday.

The broader All Shares index also advanced by 0.31 percent or 11.43 points to 3,684.65.

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said the market was boosted after a generally better local employment data.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported yesterday that unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in August from 5.3 percent in July.

Ricafort said investors also continued to digest the better-than-expected local inflation data at 1.7 percent, which was below the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s inflation target range and could still support a possible 25-basis-point rate cut.

Economists are divided on whether the BSP will deliver another rate cut today or hold fire, against a backdrop of subdued inflation and still-soft growth momentum.

The BSP has so far cut policy rates by a total of 150 basis points since August 2024, bringing the benchmark rate to five percent.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with mining and oil posting the highest jump at 4.91 percent, while financials lost the most with a 1.09-percent decline.

Total value turnover thinned to P6.38 billion from the P10.35 billion recorded the previous day.

Market breadth stayed positive as advancers edged out decliners in a tight contest, 94 to 92, while 65 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was again the session’s most actively traded stock, rising by 3.02 percent to P528 per share, followed by Philex Mining with a 12.22-percent increase to P10.10.