Category: Philippine Star

Their undefeated start will be a huge boost for the Ateneo as it takes on rival La Salle this Sunday in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tourney, former Blue Eagles star Kai Ballungay said.

Ballungay, who played two seasons for the Katipunan-based squad and was part of the Blue Eagles squad that won the Season 85 championship, said he believes the unscathed start of the Blue Eagles thus far will help them against their bitter rivals.

‘I’m excited, man. I mean, we’ve been looking forward to this [Ateneo-La Salle matchup] since last year,’ he told Philstar.com during the release of the new Nike LeBron XXIII at the Titan Fort earlier this week.

‘You know, this is a brand new team. We started off 3-0 so far, so I think we’re going to do this one with a lot of confidence. I just want to see them come out with a win for sure,’ he added.

Ateneo, which managed to win just four games last season, has now won its first three contests. The squad has defeated Far Eastern University in overtime, University of the East by two points, and Adamson by a blowout.

Now, the real test begins for the Blue Eagles, as they take on the 2-1 La Salle squad that will now feature former Ateneo big man Mason Amos.

Ballungay also voiced confidence that the current Blue Eagle team has what it takes to go all the way.

‘Yeah, for sure. I mean, they have all the pieces. From the player standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, they’ve always been set. Coach Tab’s guided them always in the right direction,’ he said.

‘I think it’s going to take adjusting while other teams are making adjustments to them. So I think as long as they overcome every challenge throughout the way, I think they’ll be fine.’

Through three games thus far, the Blue Eagles are led by one-and-done forward Kymani Ladi, who, like Ballungay, is a tall wing – at 6-foot-7 – and has 3-point range.

Ladi is leading the team in scoring with 19.3 points per game. He is also norming 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest.

Ballungay said he sees the similarities between him and the Vallejo, California native.

‘Yeah man. I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. You know, I definitely see the similarities for sure. And you know, I feel like Ateneo has always produced great stretch fours,’ he said.

‘From Will Navarro, you know, I fit that same role in Kymani. I feel like, like I said, Coach Tab has always been able to develop those type of players and it’s good to see it continue,’ he added.

‘He has everything that it takes. You know, he’s a great player just from the outside looking in and with the guidance of Coach Tab and the Ateneo system around him, I think he’s going to do well.’

Ballungay was among the athletes that was present during the Forever King event at the Titan Fort, where, aside from the release of the new LeBron sneakers, his “Legacy Wall” was also unveiled.

The LeBron XXIII “Uncharted” colorway was released during the event, which “salutes his stand-alone status as the greatest scorer of all time, because when you step into uncharted territory, it’s best to show up prepared.”

The Ateneo-La Salle matchup will be held this Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has received two air quality monitoring units from the Republic of Korea as part of the Clean Air for Sustainable ASEAN (CASA) Project.

The turnover coincided with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and Seoul National University (SNU), formalizing South Korea’s technical assistance to the country.

The ASEAN funds the CASA Project and will run from 2025 to 2026.

The two air quality monitoring units will be deployed in Pasay City and Quezon City to measure key pollutants such as PM2.5 and ozone.

These stations will expand the EMB’s air quality monitoring network and provide real-time data to support national and regional environmental programs.

According to the DENR, the upgraded monitoring capacity will help formulate targeted interventions to address air pollution sources, particularly in densely populated urban centers.

The agreement was signed by DENR Assistant Secretary Jacqueline Caancan and SNU Graduate School of Public Health Professor Kiyoung Lee.

‘By bringing together scientific research and international teamwork, the CASA Project will create better data and monitoring systems, laying the groundwork for smarter, evidence-based policies,’ Caancan said.

Armed with a tourism degree from UP Diliman in 1990, Marie Antonette de Ocampo wasted no time in pursuing her first career opportunity.

De Ocampo, more commonly known as Anette, applied as a ground flight attendant for an airline company, hoping to get a job aligned with her degree in tourism. However, the economic conditions in the 1990s had different plans for her. The airline company was affected by the financial crisis, which put any hiring processes on hold.

Her path eventually led her to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), where she began doing administrative work for an assistant branch manager at Manila Pavilion. She quickly rose through the ranks, later becoming executive assistant to the senior branch manager when a position opened due to internal transfers.

It was 1991 – a year that, more than three decades later, remains a distant memory for this top executive of Maynilad Water Services Inc., one of the country’s largest water utility firms.

‘I do not publicly share it, because my stint was short-lived at PAGCOR,’ De Ocampo tells The STAR. ‘But that is where everything started for me.’

Indeed, her tenure at PAGCOR was quite a short stint. De Ocampo knew back then that the political nature and structure of the state-run gaming firm might hinder her career growth. Plus, it was clear to her that she dislikes shifting duties, most especially an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work schedule.

The long drives from her residence in Pasig to Manila Pavilion – a 13-kilometer ride – made it untenable for her. She scoured the job market before encountering an opening at the soon-to-be constructed Edsa Shangri-La, Manila.

The job? Guest relations. The concern? It was on a shift duty. De Ocampo immediately turned down the offer and stayed a little bit longer at PAGCOR. Until one day, she said: enough was enough.

‘I went back to (Edsa) Shangri-La and to the human relations director and asked him: ‘Do you remember me?’ ‘ De Ocampo shared.

‘No, I do not,’ the human relations director told her.

‘Well, I applied a few weeks ago and you offered me a position at the restaurant,’ De Ocampo responded.

‘We have an opening now for the front desk,’ the director answered. De Ocampo took the job.

She took it as quickly as she could without realizing that it was an eight-to-five job. She eventually left the job. However, a few weeks later, she received a phone call from the hotel, informing her that a vacancy had opened up in the reservations unit. Learning that it was not a job on a regular shift, De Ocampo returned to Edsa Shangri-La, from which she rose through the ranks.

She progressed from supervisor to manager, events director, front office manager, and ultimately director of sales during her 11-year tenure at the posh hotel. She left the company as a full-time employee in 2003. However, for the next eight years, until 2011, she worked on projects for the hotel, but on a larger scale, involving the related properties.

And then she got a call from Patrick ‘Pato’ Gregorio, a known personality in the hotel industry. The call was a job offer. Gregorio wanted De Ocampo to join him at Maynilad.

‘Is it an eight-to-five job?’ De Ocampo asked Gregorio.

‘Yes,’ Gregorio responded.

‘I do not like an eight-to-five work,’ she said.

‘Why don’t you give it a try? It is just near your house.’ That was music to De Ocampo’s ears. And she gave it a try.

De Ocampo started her career at the water utility firm as the head of key accounts management, overseeing the firm’s Top 200 clients, before spearheading a new department known then as Business Solutions and Sales (BSS).

At BSS, she began promoting not only Maynilad’s primary operations but also other services, such as pipe repair and leak detection.

In 2017, Maynilad established a government relations department, and De Ocampo was tasked with overseeing it.

In 2021, she assumed the position of vice president for corporate affairs and communications, which was left vacant by Gregorio in 2018. Today, she oversees Maynilad’s corporate communication affairs, government and community partnerships and corporate marketing.

‘I do not work for ambitions but for passion. If you have a passion for what you do, it will truly shine through in your work. It will come naturally,’ De Ocampo says.

De Ocampo admits that the training and experience she got at Edsa Shangri-La helped her transition to the corporate world of Maynilad. She may no longer handle hotel clients, but government and private stakeholders of the water utility firm are no different at all. After all, they are humans at the end of the day, just holding titles and ranks.

‘I do not treat people relations as a business or a transactional deal. I treat them as friends. Because if I do not treat them as humans, then it will show in my work and interactions with them,’ she says.

In fact, De Ocampo has always been fond of interacting with people.

If De Ocampo met her past ‘Iska’ self, she would tell her one thing: go out and mingle.

‘I realized that there are UP graduates, now in various positions in government or private practice, who were my batchmates, but I did not get to know a lot of them on a personal level while in school,’ she shares.

If there is one thing that makes Anette, Anette, then it is the fact that ‘she cannot lie,’ according to her husband. De Ocampo says that it is perhaps because of her upbringing. She grew up in a Catholic family residing very near the church. She attended Catholic schools for her education. She observed Catholic traditions and attended church regularly with her mother.

Today, De Ocampo is one of the four women in Maynilad’s top management – and is one of the few who is not related to the firm’s water operations. For her, having a seat at the table in an industry traditionally dominated by men is both a privilege and a source of pride.

‘This does not mean that we get less to say in the boardroom,’ she says. ‘In fact, my presence gives not only a different, but a fresh perspective during discussions,’ she adds.

And her presence convinced other top management officials to see the corporate affairs and communication division in a different light. It is a valuable unit in Maynilad’s line of business.

‘You cannot be in my position if you are not humble enough. Humility is key. At the same time, you need to have some confidence – that fine balance between showing authority and being humble,’ De Ocampo explains.

De Ocampo describes herself as an incurable optimist. ‘I always see things in a positive light.’

‘If there is any task given to me, I always think that I can do it,’ she explains.

Maynilad’s upcoming initial public offering also opens a new chapter and milestone not only for the utility firm but also for De Ocampo’s storied corporate career.

De Ocampo currently oversees efforts to ensure that Maynilad’s story is communicated clearly and consistently to stakeholders, building confidence in the firm while highlighting its achievements and future growth.

‘It’s a story of who we are as a company, our purpose and the value we bring to the market,’ she said.

De Ocampo also hopes for the day when the Maynilad Foundation will be established, allowing the water utility firm to expand and scale up its philanthropic activities.

As De Ocampo looks back on the story of her career so far, she may stumble upon two things – two phone calls, to be exact – one with the human relations director of Edsa Shangri-La and that call from Mr. Gregorio.

‘Somebody wrote in our yearbook that I am going to make it in life and in my career – that I will become successful,’ she recalls.

I’m putting the finishing touches on my updated four-volume book, One Day at a Time. This time it will be offered as a set of four books and will not be sold individually.

Each volume follows a season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall.

However, our country has a different kind of four seasons. What we have is: Hot. Hotter. Hottest. Flood.

While our weather is basically a sweat-and-splash festival, our lives still pass through all four classic seasons. We don’t live in a permanent spring and summer. We also have our fall and winter phases.

It’s a full calendar on rotation. Some days you’re blossoms and birdsong; other days you’re a windchill with opinions. That’s not a bug – it’s the operating system.

We forget this because spring is such a persuasive salesperson: Hope! Buds! Fresh starts! Spring is the motivational poster of seasons. But trying to keep life in permanent spring is like trying to keep a balloon perfectly helium-ed forever: adorable for six minutes, wilted by afternoon.

The philosopher George Santayana nailed the mindset: ‘To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.’

There’s your fork in the road. One lane is attachment and nostalgia. The other is curiosity and growth.

There is no such thing as ‘forever spring.’

When we replay ‘the good old days,’ the struggle gets cropped out. There’s a Russian quip that ‘the past is more unpredictable than the future’ because memory is a sneaky editor – it knows how the story ends. As writer Morgan Housel puts it, ‘It’s hard to remember how you felt when you know how the story ends.’ We survived, so the brain slaps on a warm filter and calls it vintage.

New seasons ask for faith, experiments, and occasionally, some reading of the instructions along the way.

Life is a river. Whether you splash, float, or attempt the heroic backstroke to yesterday, and either way, the current moves on. Refusing to move with it is how we miss the prime-time moments of later seasons:

The quiet flex of growing old with your favorite person and discovering attraction has more chapters than you thought.

Dancing at your children’s weddings.

Discovering new muscles: patience, perspective, the ability to order soup without checking your phone.

Feeling grief – and with it the reminder that love was here, real and luminous.

These aren’t consolation prizes. They’re headline acts – if you’re willing to show up.

A greenhouse environment with constant spring weather sounds appealing at first, but it becomes a humid, controlled space that leads to mental exhaustion. The absence of contrast makes joy lose its vibrant colors and become dull and uninteresting. The hot summer weather helps people understand the value of finding cool spots to rest. The cool temperatures of autumn help people become more alert. The cold winter weather forces people to engage in meaningful conversations because they cannot escape or hide from the chill.

I learned from business philosopher Jim Rohn many years ago how to live through the different seasons of our lives.

Label your season. Are you planting (spring), compounding (summer), harvesting/ curating (autumn), or recovering/ retooling (winter)? Naming it kills the panic that comes with trying to do everything at once.

Match the metric to the season. Spring isn’t for perfect outcomes – it’s for reps. Summer celebrates momentum. Autumn measures quality over quantity. Winter tracks rest, repair, and relationships=wrong metric, wrong misery.

Update your identity like software. Versions are allowed. ‘Who I was at 25’ doesn’t have to run your 45-year-old hardware. Retire features. Keep the essentials.

Curate your companions. Spring needs cheerleaders. Summer needs collaborators. Autumn needs editors. Winter needs friends who bring soup and unhurried questions.

Schedule nostalgia; don’t live in it. I refuse to join the group chat of old friends from high school days that post nothing but songs from the ’60s and ’70s, harping on the ‘Good old days’ and how bad the world has become today. Be excited about today and the possibilities tomorrow brings. Letting go of past seasons doesn’t mean they weren’t beautiful. Keep the lessons; retire the costume. Mourn (briefly) what won’t return and still be thrilled about what’s next.

So, let’s meet whatever knocks next – with gratitude for what was, courage for what is, and curiosity for what’s coming.

Pack light: keep the lessons, ditch the costumes. Dress for the weather – umbrella and boots for rain and flood, sunscreen for the heat, a sweater for the soul.

Step into the day you’ve been given, one day at a time.

Choose interest over nostalgia, growth over comfort, faith over fear.

Open the door, smile at the season waiting there, and make it beautiful.

A special matchup for a special kickoff.

The PBA raises the curtains on its golden season tonight with fireworks from Manila Clasico, the fabled rivalry born during the late ’80s era of old-school hoops, short shorts, barreling drives and kalawit rebounds that stays burning in the hearts of the current generation.

Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia, archrivals with a large, passionate fan base, re-engage tonight to fire the opening salvo for the Season 50 Philippine Cup wars at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

And what makes the 7:30 p.m. tiff at the Big Dome – where the first PBA game was played back on April 9, 1975 – even more interesting are the men at the helm. It’s the Gin Kings’ multi-titled coach Tim Cone against his long-time player and coaching pupil LA Tenorio, who has jumped over to the Hotshots as mentor and reserve player after their Season 49 collaboration.

‘He’ll be a great coach because he is a great communicator and great with relationships,’ said Cone of Tenorio, with whom he has won seven PBA championships.

Amid all the hoopla, the debuting Tenorio is keeping his focus.

‘Yes, it’s the Manila Clasico. But at the end of the day, it’s just an ordinary game. It’s the same game we’re going to play the next day. It’s just a game. We just have to play it the right way,’ he told One Sports.

Both master and student are leading teams on a redemption tour.

Cone and the Gin Kings had their chance to win the Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup trophies last season, but were foiled by TNT each time.

Tenorio’s new charges, meanwhile, failed to get past the quarterfinals of the last four conferences to see their title drought extended to a seventh year or since the 2018 Governors’ Cup.

‘We were right there. We’re not too upset where we are as a team at this point. We know we can contend, we know we can compete,’ said Cone. ‘I think those things that happened to us last season will make our team stronger this season.’

Apart from clutch player Tenorio, Ginebra also lost wingman Jamie Malonzo (now in Korea) in the off-season.

The Small Basketeers Philippines-Passerelle Twin Tournaments organized by the BEST Center blasted off last week at the Claret School of Quezon City with 12 teams competing.

Milo Sports Head Carlo Sampan and Fr. Victor Sadaya, Claret School Director, helped usher in the long-running competition for grade school basketball hopefuls that has been recognized in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.

Vying for the SBP crown are Claret School of QC, Colegio San Agustin, La Salle College Antipolo, La Salle Greenhills, Lourdes School Queon City and Lourdes School Mandaluyong

Competing in the Passerelle Division are Claret School of QC, Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati

La Salle Greenhills, Lourdes School of Mandaluyong, Paref Southridge School and University of Santo Tomas.

The twin tournaments are sponsored by Milo.

Cagers 9 to 11 years old are playing in the SBP while their 12 to 15-year old counterparts play in the Passerelle.

The government has waived the auction requirement for the Philippines’ first commercially developed nuclear power plant (NPP), allowing it to directly forge supply deals with distribution utilities (DUs).

In a landmark move, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin signed a department circular establishing a comprehensive framework for the integration of nuclear energy into the country’s power generation mix.

Under the circular, DUs are required to ensure a ready market for the available capacity of the pioneer nuclear power plant (NPP), which will be exempt from the conduct of a competitive selection process (CSP).

The CSP is a government-mandated bidding mechanism that requires DUs and electric cooperatives (ECs) to procure their power supply from generation companies offering the most cost-effective rates.

Consumer group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore), however, expressed ‘grave concern’ on the CSP exemption of the pioneer NPP.

‘This provision is blatantly contrary to law and jurisprudence,’ Nasecore president Pete Ilagan said in a statement sent to The STAR, saying the move violates the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and the Supreme Court rulings on CSP.

By allowing the power supply procurement without a CSP, Ilagan said the Department of Energy would ‘effectively (deny) consumers their legal right to least-cost power and undermine the regulatory safeguards that EPIRA established.’

Nasecore also warned that implementing the provision could lock consumers into costly long-term contracts and weaken transparency and public trust in the energy sector.

For the power supply contracts, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is mandated to establish a minimum 25-year term starting from the pioneer NPP’s commercial operation, with an option to extend for another 25 years.

‘Consumers deserve a power supply that is safe, lawful, affordable and procured through open and transparent bidding – not imposed by executive fiat,’ Ilagan said, urging Congress and the Judiciary to strike down the provision.

Energy Undersecretary Mario Marasigan, meanwhile, told The STAR the least-cost principle for nuclear integration could still be maintained even in the absence of competitive bidding.

‘Our (circular) provides that the ERC has to determine and promulgate a rate determination mechanism that will ensure viability of nuclear power generation, especially the pioneer project that may be contracted by DUs/ECs,’ Marasigan said.

‘The price-setting rules and guidelines will also consider the consumers,’ he said.

What was supposed to be joyous occasions last September 28 during the arrival of then Archbishop-designate Alberto Uy in Cebu and later on during his installation as archbishop on September 30 were marred by alleged violence by a group of parish volunteers against members of the media.

According to the Cebu Federation of Beat Journalists, members of the Kabalikat 940 Metro Cebu Chapter harassed and forcefully removed members of the media who were covering the events. They also allegedly struck them with instruments and took pictures of their Press ID cards.

“What should have been a solemn and historic occasion for Cebu was tainted by the shameful treatment of media workers, including those affiliated with the Church. Instead of being recognized as professionals documenting a milestone for the Catholic faithful, they were treated as security threats. This incident occurred despite an existing agreement with Church officials that designated coverage protocols and media areas were already in place,” the federation said in a statement published on social media.

We have yet to hear the side of the parish volunteers in this story. But from what we are seeing for now, they either became too zealous in their assigned duty or some of them developed a grudge against members of the media.

It could have been chalked up as a one-time event if this only happened during Uy’s arrival on September 28. But since it reportedly happened again two days later during his installment as Cebu archbishop, we can’t help but think there was some grudge involved.

Granted that the group wasn’t familiar with the coverage protocols or didn’t know the reporters regularly covering the Church beat, there was still no reason for them to behave like they were duly deputized to attack and harass others.

But then again, like we said, it would seem the group hasn’t issued any statement yet regarding the said incidents. Not that we can compel them to, but perhaps it would help if they explained to clear up the issue.

Motorcycle-riding assailants shot dead a barangay kagawad in Alaminos town in this province on Thursday night.

Darwin Tolentino, 55, was tending his shop in Barangay Poblacion when two men on a motorcycle pulled over at past 6 p.m.

Probers said one of the riders barged into the shop and shot Tolentino at close range.

Relatives rushed Tolentino to the San Pablo Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival.

Witnesses said the gunman was wearing a red shirt, white shorts pants and a black cap.

Probers have yet to determine the motive for the killing.

Almost 6,000 aftershocks have been recorded in Northern Cebu, state seismologists Phivolcs said on Sunday, October 5.

According to Phivolcs, there have been 5,982 recorded aftershocks from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake, which occurred on Sept. 30, 2025.

The latest number of plotted aftershocks reached 1,219 and 25 were felt by the public, according to state seismologists.

The strongest aftershock on Sunday, as of writing, was recorded at a magnitude of 4.4, with a depth of 10 kilometers in the City of Bogo, Cebu.

Reported intensities included Intensity II in Daanbantayan, Cebu, and Intensity I in Villaba, Abuyog, and Carigara, Leyte.

Geologist Mahar Lagmay, the director of Project Noah, explained that a large earthquake typically triggers many aftershocks because the fault is still adjusting.

He noted that these aftershocks may last for a month or more, but with a weakening trend.

‘Nag-aadjust pa ang fault. It may last for a month or more, but with a weakening trend,’ Lagmay said in an X (formerly Twitter) post.

(The fault is still adjusting. It may last for a month or more, but with a weakening trend.)

Death toll. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recorded a death toll of 71 individuals and 559 injured due to the powerful quake.

Affected individuals and damaged properties. There were also 455,631 individuals, or 128,464 families, affected by the quake across 15 cities and municipalities.

Evacuated individuals reached 26,542, with 25,291 outside evacuation centers and 1,251 inside them.

Additionally, there were 713 reported cases of infrastructure damage, along with 18,154 damaged houses.