Category: Philippine Star

Argentina stands ready to provide critical expertise and technology to ensure the Philippines safely launches its first operational nuclear power plant, according to its embassy.

In a statement to The STAR, the Argentine embassy reaffirmed Buenos Aires’ commitment to supporting Manila’s nuclear energy program, including the potential revival of the long-dormant Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

‘By working together, our countries can lay the groundwork for a Philippine nuclear program that is not only technically sound but also socially beneficial, economically inclusive and aligned with the highest international safety standards,’ it said.

Argentina, one of the leading nuclear players in Latin America, is set to take center stage – alongside eight other countries – at the second Philippine International Nuclear Supply Chain Forum (PINSCF) this week.

Through this participation, the embassy said, Argentina is expected to offer over five decades of nuclear expertise, providing a practical roadmap to help the Philippines advance its nuclear energy goals.

Currently, Argentina has three operating nuclear plants: the 340-megawatt Atucha 1, the 693-MW Atucha 2 and the 608-MW Embalse facility, latest data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) showed.

According to the Argentine embassy, the completion of the Atucha 2 facility, whose construction was halted for over 12 years, presents a compelling parallel to the issues the Philippines faces in the possible BNPP rehabilitation.

‘The Philippine case with Bataan is comparable: it involves the challenge of assessing a long-stalled nuclear project, updating it to current international safety standards and rebuilding confidence in its viability,’ it said.

Last year, Argentina’s engineering and technology development firm INVAP was said to have presented a number of initiatives to the Department of Energy to support the Philippines’ nuclear push.

This included support in reviewing proposals for the BNPP revival, technical cooperation for required licensing activities and assistance in establishing a dedicated nuclear regulatory body.

‘Looking ahead, Argentina’s participation in the PINSCF signals a new chapter in bilateral nuclear dialogue, one rooted in trust, mutual learning and shared vision,’ the embassy said.

‘Ultimately, this partnership demonstrates the power of international collaboration in shaping emerging nuclear energy landscapes and ensuring that nuclear power contributes to development in the 21st century,’ it said.

Apart from Argentina, nuclear experts from China, Finland, France, Hungary, Japan, Russia, United Arab Emirates and United States are also set to participate in this year’s PINSCF.

Recently, the Philippines’ nuclear ambitions gained further momentum after President Marcos signed a landmark measure establishing the country’s first independent nuclear regulatory body.

This bodes well for the country’s target of unlocking at least 1,200 MW of nuclear power into the energy mix by 2032 and scaling this up to 4,800 MW by 2040.

The Philippines has also returned to the 35-member Board of Governors, one of the IAEA’s two policy-making bodies, after being elected for the term 2025 to 2027. Its previous stint was from 2015 to 2017.

Cebuano beauty queens Beatrice Luigi Gomez and Gazini Ganados and Cebu-based actress Kaye Abad called for prayers and assistance after the province was struck by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake last night.

Kaye, who is married to fellow celebrity and Cebuano Paul Jake Castillo, updated her fans that her family is safe from the earthquake.

‘To my friends who are asking kung kamusta kami, we are ok. Me and the kids are in Manila. My family in Cebu are ok,’ she said.

Kim Chiu shared a post with a groufie taken from a shooting in Cebu City.

‘Medyo blurred lang, may aftershock pa ata ‘tong phone ko sa lindol,’ Kim said.

Miss Universe Philippines 2019 Gazini Ganados and Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez also shared their experience from the quake.

‘Watch out for aftershocks. Pag-amping intawn sa mga naa sa Cebu karon,” Beatrice said, reminding people to take care.

The Miss Universe Philippines Organization also extended its deepest sympathy and solidarity to the people of Cebu and the entire Visayas region affected by the earthquake.

‘Our hearts are with the communities, especially our Cebuano partners, delegates, and their families, who are navigating the aftermath of this natural disaster,’ the group said.

When Malian center Mo Diassana went down with an ACL injury in NU’s first game, it became difficult for the Bulldogs to stay competitive the rest of the last UAAP season. NU battled without a Foreign Student Athlete (FSA) until the end and finished seventh of eight.

To address a similar situation handicapping any team in the future, the UAAP Board of Trustees asked for a solution from the Board of Managing Directors and the proposal that was made is to allow two alternating FSAs so that in case one goes down, the other can still hold the fort. Unfortunately, the proposal is the wrong solution to the problem. If the idea is to keep a level playing field, the right solution is to eliminate FSAs all together because they undermine the integrity of college sport. The NCAA saw the light, bit the bullet and did it in 2021.

The reality is FSAs are simply imports who are peddled from school to school with agents bowing to the highest bidder. They come with signing bonuses, big salaries and fat bonuses, turning UAAP into a virtual commercial league. This leads to local players demanding more from their schools and the spiraling effect is dangerously inimical to the purity of college sport.

Is it discriminatory or racist to ban FSAs? Of course not. Foreigners are free to enroll as students but it’s a school’s prerogative whether or not to allow them to join varsity sport. UAAP bans FSAs to vie for MVP honors. Is it discriminatory? The PBA excludes imports in the Philippine Cup. Is it discriminatory? Dissenters argue that schools abroad don’t ban Filipinos or foreigners from joining varsity teams. But how many schools are there in UAAP? Eight. How many schools are there in the US NCAA D-1? More than 350. Then, there are about 300 D-2 and some 450 D-3 schools. If a Filipino player is good enough to play D-1 basketball, the door will always be open for him. US schools couldn’t care less if UAAP bans FSAs.

In UAAP, a dominant FSA can tilt the balance of competition so the challenge is to recruit the best possible import. That comes with a price. Schools with big budgets will bring in the best talents while schools with lean budgets will suffer. That’s not levelling the playing field. The standard of competition becomes a function of how much a school can afford to pay an import. With the proposal of two FSAs, imagine at what cost they’ll come.

Varsity sport is supposed to engender loyalty to the school. But except for Ange Kouame, no FSA has shown identity with his school. Not even Ben Mbala who ended up playing as an import in Mexico, Korea, Spain, Turkey and France. After finishing their UAAP eligibility, FSAs are gone with the wind. It›s not a good example to local players and surely, not something UAAP would like to foster.

Some self-minded local players – who must be reminded to think league first, not think me – contend that FSAs make them better and prepare them for international competition. But FSAs also take away opportunities for coaches and players to improve. With a dominant FSA, the easiest thing to create a winning program is to focus the offense and defense on him, leaving the locals to play second fiddle. The place to learn from imports is the pro league not UAAP and the recipe is certainly not to make UAAP a de facto commercial league.

UAAP has to put a stop to turning players into pros with some earning allowances bigger than the average PBA player. The first step is to eliminate FSAs or imports who provide imbalance, not balance, to the league and are mostly a poor example of players who enroll not to study but to play for pay.

Tycoons Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala recently had a chance encounter with Vice President Sara Duterte in Davao.

A video of the Ayala Corp. chairman and the vice president exchanging pleasantries has since circulated on social media.

Duterte led the ribbon-cutting event for the opening of Matcha Tokyo’s first branch in Mindanao at the Azuela High Street, which is located at the 25-hectare Azuela Estate, a joint venture development of Ayala Land Inc. and the Alcantara Group.

Azuela High Street last Friday marked a milestone with a ceremonial opening and Christmas lighting, gathering valued merchants alongside key members of the Zobel, Alcantara and Floirendo families.

The event welcomed new shops that add to Davao’s lifestyle scene, which included Matcha Tokyo.

‘Azuela High Street represents our commitment to creating vibrant community destinations in Davao, where commerce, culture and everyday living come together. With every new shop and experience, we bring people closer to the vision of Azuela Cove as Davao’s premier seaside lifestyle estate,’ Ayala Land head for Central Luzon and Vismin estates Yeng Tupaz said.

‘For the Alcantara Group, Azuela is about building on our family’s legacy in Davao while looking ahead to the city’s bright future. This milestone is not just about new shops or festivities, but about creating spaces where families and communities thrive,’ Alsons Land president and CEO Edith Alcantara said.

More than 60 people were reported dead following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Cebu, with the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) warning that the toll could still rise as search and rescue operations continue.

At a press briefing on Wednesday morning, October 1, OCD Officer-in-Charge Asec. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said the death toll from the deadly quake had climbed to ‘as high as 60,’ with many of the fatalities reported from a hospital in Bogo City.

He said the country remains in the ‘golden hour’ of the earthquake’s aftermath – a critical period when swift response can still save lives.

With red alert status raised and full staffing deployed, authorities have prioritized search and rescue operations as many remain trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Cebu Gov. Pam Baricuatro earlier confirmed that most of the casualties were from Bogo, the area closest to the quake’s epicenter, where roughly 90,000 people reside.

As of 9:30 a.m., the Joint Operation Center in Bogo City, led by Baricuatro, reported 53 deaths and 154 injuries, which include 30 in Bogo, 10 in Medellin, 11 in San Remigio, and one each in Sogod and Tabuelan.

Authorities are still assessing the extent of the destruction, but the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) earlier reported damage to at least 22 structures, six roads and bridges.

Several homes, establishments and even churches were reduced to ruins due to the earthquake.

Cebu has been placed under a state of calamity, allowing the province to tap 30% of its local quick response fund for rehabilitation efforts.

The 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck north of Bogo late Tuesday night, September 30, at a shallow depth, registering its strongest shaking at Intensity VII.

The quake’s strength is close to the anticipated ‘Big One,’ a 7.2-magnitude quake projected along the West Valley Fault in Metro Manila.

Gunmen beheaded a Teduray chieftain in another attack in a state-recognized non-Moro tribal domain in Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao del Sur, on Tuesday afternoon, September 30.

Teduray representatives to the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament and officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region told reporters on Wednesday, October 1, that Ramon Lupos, a timuay, or chieftain, was to harvest bananas in his farm in Sitio Kulab in Barangay Limpongo when gunmen flagged him down, hit him with pieces of wood on the head and then one of them cut his neck with a machete.

Citing reports by his subordinate officers in Maguindanao del Sur, Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said the armed men behind the atrocity immediately escaped, now the subject of an extensive manhunt.

Lupos was the 87th Teduray tribal leader killed brutally in Maguindanao del Sur since 2019, all unsolved.

A Teduray member of the Bangsamoro parliament, Froilyn Mendoza, and tribal leaders in two towns where they have bastions, Upi in Maguindanao del Norte and South Upi in Maguindanao del Sur, have urged the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office and PRO-BAR to exhaust all means of identifying the assailants of Lupos for prosecution.

He was the second tribal leader in Datu Hoffer, killed and decapitated by gunmen within just 11 months. Three others were killed in gun attacks in different areas in the municipality in the past three years.

Police shot dead a known longtime member of the Dawlah Islamiya terror group during a buy-bust operation that went awry on Monday, September 29, in Radjah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur. The suspect was the target of an entrapment operation involving the sale of shabu.

Local officials told reporters on Tuesday, September 30, that the target of the anti-narcotics operation, Moner Usman, pulled out a 9 millimeter Uzi machine pistol when he realized he was selling shabu to a police team in Barangay Sapakan in Radjah Buayan, provoking a gunfight that resulted in his death.

Capt. Joel Lebrilla, chief of the Radjah Buayan Municipal Police Station, said the incident left a member of the 44th Special Action Company of the Special Action Force, Cpl. Jeric Dela Cruz, wounded.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said on Tuesday that the entrapment operation that went awry was laid with the help of barangay leaders and municipal officials aware of Usman’s drug trafficking activities in Radjah Buayan and in nearby towns.

Senior officials from police and Army intelligence units under the 6th Infantry Division confirmed to reporters that Usman was on their list of members of the now-weakened Dawlah Islamiya and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, both wanted for high-profile criminal cases pending in various courts across Central Mindanao.

The Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF, both fomenting hatred for non-Muslims, are known for providing sanctuary to wanted persons and shabu and marijuana peddlers in exchange for money.

Local executives and traditional Moro leaders openly supporting PRO-BAR’s anti-narcotics operations had confirmed that Usman faced nine cases in local courts, including six counts of motorcycle theft, multiple murder, multiple frustrated murder and extortion.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Cebu citizens to remain alert as rescue and relief efforts continue following the killer quake.

A 6.9 quake last Tuesday night killed at least 26 people in the province, injuring dozens more and destroying vital infrastructure.

‘Hinihikayat ko ang lahat na manatiling alerto at makinig sa abiso ng inyong lokal na pamahalaan. Sama-sama nating itatawid ang ating mga kababayan at muling itatayo ang mga komunidad na naapektuhan,’ Marcos said.

(I urge all to remain alert and to listen to the local government. Together, we will get through this and uplift the affected communities.)

Marcos said the Department of Public Works and Highways has been tasked with inspecting road and bridge quality, while the Department of Energy is working to restore power to affected regions.

The Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development are also on the ground providing aid, Marcos said.

Both the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Philippine National Police are assisting in rescue and recovery efforts, the president said.

The death toll from the earthquake is still rising, with reports on the ground saying at least 50 have been reported dead.

The provincial government of Cebu has declared a state of calamity following a devastating 6.9 earthquake that killed at least 20 people.

Vice Governor Glenn Soco announced that after meeting with provincial leaders, they ‘officially declared the entire province under a State of Calamity.’

‘This declaration is necessary to give our provincial government the ability to respond quickly and effectively. It allows us to mobilize resources, extend immediate assistance to affected families, and implement rehabilitation measures as we begin our recovery,’ Soco said in a Facebook post.

Soco urged Cebuanos to remain cooperative and vigilant as disaster response continues.

Several other municipalities in Cebu have also declared a state of calamity, including San Remigio and Bogo City.

The earthquake struck the province on Monday night, destroying infrastructure and leaving dozens of casualties.

Actress Nadine Lustre described taking part in the protest last September 21 against corruption as her responsibility as a Filipino.

In an interview with ABS-CBN during partnership of her and partner Christophe Bariou’s coconut milk brand Dehusk with local beverage brand Pickup Coffee, Nadine shared she had a wonderful experience attending the rally.

“I think it’s my responsibility being Filipino to be one with everyone else,” Nadine said, adding she went not as a celebrity or a public figure but as one of the people.

“Parang na-feel ko lahat nang nandoon sa Ortigas, ‘yung nandoon sa EDSA, I felt like I was part of everyone,” the actress also said.

She even shared being impressed with her “Call Me Mother” co-star Vice Ganda, who gave an impassioned speech during the rally, as well as other public figures who showed up.

“This time, we really have to fight, fight for our rights, fight for our country and for our fellow Filipinos,” Nadine continued. “It’s just so nice to see everyone to be out and fighting for the same thing, for the same cause.”

Nadine and Christophe’s Dehusk is a plant-based coconut milk brand, and its partnership with Pickup Coffee sees two proud local brands working hand in hand.

The collaboration introduces an exciting line of four new beverages that combine Dehusk’s plant-based coconut milk with Pickup’s bold and trendy flavors: Nadine’s Coco Mango Matcha, Ube Coconut Milk, Pickup Coco Latte, and Strawberry Coconut Milk.