Category: Philippine Star

Several areas remain under Signal No. 1 as Tropical Depression Ramil continues westward, according to state meteorologists on Friday, October 17.

In its 5 p.m. weather bulletin, PAGASA said that Ramil has maintained its strength, with the eye of the cyclone last recorded 640 kilometers east of Juban, Sorsogon.

Ramil is packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kph.

PAGASA has raised Signal No. 1 (winds of up to 61 kph in the next 36 hours) warning over the following areas:

Luzon

Southeastern portion of Isabela (Dinapigue)

Eastern and southern portions of Quirino (Maddela, Nagtipunan)

Southeastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya (Alfonso Castañeda)

Aurora

Eastern portion of Nueva Ecija (Pantabangan, Bongabon, Laur, Gabaldon, General Tinio, Rizal, General Mamerto Natividad, Palayan City, San Jose City, Llanera, Cabanatuan City, Santa Rosa, Peñaranda, City of Gapan)

Eastern portion of Bulacan (Doña Remedios Trinidad, Norzagaray, San Miguel, San Ildefonso)

Northern and eastern portions of Quezon (Tagkawayan, Perez, Alabat, Quezon, Atimonan, Padre Burgos, Unisan, Gumaca, Plaridel, Agdangan, Pagbilao, Mauban, Calauag, Guinayangan, Lopez, Pitogo, Macalelon, General Luna, Catanauan, San Narciso, Buenavista, San Francisco, San Andres, Mulanay, General Nakar, Infanta, Real, Sampaloc) including Pollilo Islands

Camarines Norte

Camarines Sur

Catanduanes

Albay

Sorsogon

Burias Island

Ticao Island

Visayas

Northern Samar

Northern portion of Eastern Samar (San Policarpo, Arteche, Oras, Dolores, Maslog, Jipapad, Taft, Can-Avid)

Northern portion of Samar (Matuguinao, San Jose de Buan, Calbayog City, Gandara, Santa Margarita, Pagsanghan, San Jorge)

Strong waves as high as 4 meters are also anticipated in the northern and eastern seaboards of Catanduanes, as well as the northern seaboard of Camarines Sur.

The rest Catanduanes’ seaboards and the northern seaboard of Northern Samar may expect waves as high as 3.5 meters.

Lastly, the seaboards of Batanes, Babuyan Islands, mainland Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quezon including Polillo Islands, and Camarines Norte, the eastern seaboards of Albay and Sorsogon, the rest of the seaboards of Camarines Sur; the northwestern seaboard of Ilocos Norte; the northeastern seaboard of Eastern Samar, and the eastern seaboard of Northern Samar may expect rough waves as high as 2 meters.

Projected landfall

PAGASA said that Ramis is expected to move westward for the next 24 hours before turning westward towards Central and Southern Luzon. The cyclone is forecast to make landfall in Catanduanes in the afternoon of October 18 before passing through the Bicol Region.

Ramil is expected to make another landfall in Aurora or Quezon by Sunday.

After landfall, Ramis is expected to traverse Northern or Central Luzon and emerge over the West Philippine Sea by Monday morning.

State meteorologists said that Rami; may further intensify into a tropical storm within the next 12 hours.

Four years after his escape from the clutches of The Grabber, Finn (Mason Thames) carries the trauma of the ordeal with him. In “Black Phone 2,” Finn, along with his sibling Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) relive the nightmare.

Writer-producer Robert C. Cargill explains how they want to unpack Finn’s burden as a survivor and how it plays into the sequel.

‘Finn went through something horrific, and while he came out of it strong, the weight of what happened has not left him,’ writer-producer C. Robert Cargill says.

‘He is haunted by the Grabber. He sees him everywhere, and he is using drugs to try to numb the fear. He wants nothing to do with the spirits, with the phone, with any of it. He is trying to shut it all out and live in denial. So, as Gwen starts uncovering this new mystery, Finn is doing everything he can to stay out of it. But of course, life does not let you run forever. Eventually, he will have to face what he has been avoiding.”

“Black Phone 2” sees Finn and Gwen revisiting their nightmare as The Grabber vows vengeance from beyond the grave. Gwen starts to see visions of an eerie winter camp, along with three boys being stalked by The Grabber. Determined to end the cycle of pain, the siblings set off to confront a killer who has grown stronger in death.

Thames, returning from his breakout role in the first film, aims to portray a Finn who has grown more experienced and complex.

‘In this film, we see that Finn has changed,’ Thames says. ‘He has been holding all this anger inside, and he is not the same kid we met in the first movie. Back then, he was already complex, but now he is even more layered. Instead of facing his trauma, he smokes weed to cope. The moment he feels any of that PTSD creeping in, he shuts it out. This film becomes a question of whether he is ready to confront the Grabber again or keep running from him.’

Madeleine McGraw also returns to take on the role of Finn’s younger sister. Haunted by chilling visions, she’s left feeling isolated and anxious about a growing sense of danger.

‘In the first film, we hinted that the kids inherited different parts of their mother’s abilities of speaking with the dead and having prophetic dreams,’ writer-producer C. Robert Cargill says.

‘Gwen got the dream side of it. She can glimpse the future and communicate with the dead through her dreams. Finn, meanwhile, has the ability to hear the dead through the phone, but in this film, he is trying to shut it all out. He is numbing himself and refusing to engage with his ability, but Gwen is embracing hers. She is exploring it, evolving and growing stronger. By the end, she is not just receiving messages, she’s communicating back, asking questions, controlling her dreams, even interacting with spirits inside them.’

McGraw also wanted to transform her performance for Black Phone 2, understanding that Gwen has changed after the events of the previous film.

‘One of the most exciting parts of this film was exploring Gwen’s dreams and how much she has changed,’ McGraw says.

‘In the first movie, she was fiery and fearless. Now she feels like an outcast. She is beaten down, getting bullied at school and carrying a lot of pain. It was harder to get into her head this time. In the first film, our personalities were alike. Now, we are kind of opposites. She has become quiet and introverted, and I am more extroverted. But that made it even more interesting to explore who she is becoming.’

A drug suspect and his companion were killed while two police officers and a Marine soldier were wounded in an alleged shootout in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on Wednesday.

Police identified the fatalities as Samsudin Usman and his aide Piong Mindo.

Reports said that members of the Datu Odin Sinsuat police were serving an arrest warrant on Usman in Barangay Semba when the suspect and his companions allegedly fired at the officers, triggering a shootout.

Capt. Samy Paning, municipal police deputy chief, and his companions Cpl. Marson Quijano and Marine Pvt. Alex Bajoyo were wounded in the shootout.

Usman’s other companions fled, but one of them, identified as Barry Usman surrendered to the police.

President Marcos met with Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grli? Radman as well as the new ambassadors of Belgium and the United Kingdom on Tuesday, reaffirming his commitment to deepen ties with the three nations.

This was the first official visit to the country of Radman, according to the Presidential Communications Office.

Marcos underscored the importance of Radman’s visit as a new chapter in the long-standing friendship between the Philippines and Croatia.

Radman cited Croatia and the Philippines’ shared values and mutual respect for international law.

He was in the Philippines from Oct. 12 to 14. He met with government officials, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac as well as leaders of Congress.

In separate ceremonies at Malacañang on Tuesday, Marcos received the credentials of Ambassadors Vladislava Iordanova of Belgium and Sarah Hulton of the UK and Northern Ireland.

The local stock market gathered further steam, buoyed once again by bargain hunters capitalizing on cheap prices.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) improved by 0.29 percent or 17.88 points to close at 6,094.10, extending its winning streak to three.

The broader All Shares Index also inched up by 0.06 percent or 2.25 points, settling at 3,670.88.

‘The PSEi continued to correct slightly higher for the third straight trading day amid some bargain-hunting activities,’ Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said.

AP Securities said the market continued to track higher, but trimmed its gains after profit taking kicked in when the index touched an intraday high around 6,100.

‘The PSEi extended its gains as market sentiment turned positive, supported by the peso holding its ground against the greenback, nearing the 57 mark. Moreover, bargain hunting continued to be one of the key drivers of trading activity throughout the week,’ Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

Trading was strong with total value turnover rising to P7.9 billion from the previous day’s P6.17 billion.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with mining and oil posting the largest increase at 1.15 percent, while property suffered the biggest decline at 0.87 percent.

Market breadth, however, was negative as decliners edged out advancers, 107 to 95, while 56 issues were unchanged.

The session’s top traded stock was still ICTSI, which surged by 2.42 percent to P550 per share. It was followed URC which jumped by 1.05 percent to P77 and Manila Water which fell by 2.9 percent to P36.80.

The Supreme Court (SC) has reversed the ruling of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice from running in the 2025 elections.

In a ruling made public yesterday, the SC granted Erice’s petition, which challenged the Comelec resolution disqualifying him for allegedly spreading false and alarming information meant to disrupt the electoral process.

The high court also dismissed the disqualification petition filed by Raymond Salipot against Erice.

In December last year, the Comelec affirmed the decision of the poll body’s Second Division to disqualify Erice for questioning the credibility of South Korean firm Miru Systems’ automated election system.

The SC said the Comelec ‘went beyond’ its jurisdiction when the poll body ruled that Erice was guilty of violating the Omnibus Election Code and imposed the penalty of disqualification.

Community leaders, including ethnic Blaans, and employees of a private firm have joined forces to provide health services to marginalized villagers in a remote community in the hinterland town of Tampakan, South Cotabato.

Ferdinand Encia, chairman of Barangay Buto in Tampakan, told reporters on Thursday, October 16, that personnel of the Sagittarius Mines Incorporated (SMI) delivered to his office on Friday, October 10, medicines for common ailments and other medical provisions to boost the current joint medical service program of the firm and their barangay government.

Encia and municipal officials separately told reporters on Thursday that barangay leaders, community health workers, the SMI and Blaan tribal leaders in Tampakan are cooperating in pushing forward their community health and medical thrusts in all of the barangays in their municipality.

The SMI was contracted by the national government to soon operate the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, which shall cover adjoining Blaan domains in Tampakan, Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, in Malungon in Sarangani and in Kiblawan in Davao Del Sur.

Encia and his constituent barangay leaders said the SMI has not extracted copper and gold yet in their hometown, but has already spent big amounts of money for community empowerment, health and education programs in the four municipalities in the past 10 years.

‘We are thankful to the management of this mining firm for its support for the health services of our barangay government and all the other barangay governments in Tampakan,’ Encia said.

The vice mayors of Malungon and Kiblawan, Maria Theresa Constantino and Joel Calma, respectively, said some of the health workers in their municipalities, including members of the indigenous Blaan community, finished midwifery and nursing courses through the SMI’s college scholarship program.

A Mandaluyong court has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel the passports of former Philippine Sweepstakes general manager Royina Garma and former police commissioner Edilberto Leonardo in connection with the 2020 killing of Wesley Barayuga.

In an order dated October 15, the Regional Trial Court also directed the cancellation of the passports of Santie Mendoza, Nelson Mariano and Jeremy Causapin, all facing murder and frustrated murder charges.

‘As holders of valid Philippine Passports, there exists serious risk that they will flee from the jurisdiction of the court to evade trial and punishment,’ the court’s order read.

The court granted the prosecutors’ request two take two preventive legal steps, namely a hold departure order that prohibits the accused to leaving the country without permission, and a passport cancelation.

It also noted that all accused except Mendoza and Mariano remain fugitives from justice.

Arrested suspects in NBI custody. Garma and Leonardo’s bid to halt proceedings was also rejected, as the court directed that Mendoza and Mariano to remain in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Both Mendoza and Mariano had entered not guilty pleas, and the court set a pre-trial conference on November 12.

Alleged masterminds. Garma and Leonardo were previously tagged as alleged masterminds in Barayuga’s killing during House Quad Committee hearings. Barayuga, who served as Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board secretary, was shot dead in Mandaluyong City in 2020.

In September, former Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Garma had been deported from the United States after her asylum application was denied and was reportedly set to testify before the International Criminal Court against detained former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Facebook and YouTube remain the most popular social media platforms in the Philippines, with Filipinos emerging as the most frequent users of these sites globally, a report released yesterday showed.

The Digital 2026 report – released by media, social and consumer intelligence company Meltwater and creative agency We Are Social – found that 83.3 percent of the Philippine population are using the internet.

While this is far from almost universal access already achieved by some countries, the report showed that adoption of internet in the Philippines is above the global average of 73.2 percent.

At least 99.5 percent of internet users in the Philippines said they used at least one social media or messenger platform in the past month.

Based on the report, an average Filipino user spends 13 hours and two minutes per week browsing social media (excluding videos), second to Kenya that reported an average of 14 hours and 18 seconds.

The average for Filipino users increased to 33 hours and 50 minutes per week if social media use included online video content such as TikTok, Reels and vlogs, among others. It also ranked second to Kenya, with 36 hours and 16 seconds.

Filipinos ranked highest globally among those who use YouTube, with 85 percent of internet users saying they accessed the platform at least once in the past month. The global average is 55.4 percent.

Facebook remains the most popular platform in the country, with 94.9 percent of Filipino online users saying they used the platform at least once in the past month. The global average for Facebook use is 56.9 percent.

Messenger also remains the most popular messaging application in the Philippines, with 90.6 percent saying they used it at least once in the past month.

Short-form video platform TikTok is also emerging as a popular platform, with 82.2 percent of Filipino online users saying they accessed it in the past month. The country ranked fourth in terms of TikTok use, after Nigeria, Thailand and Vietnam.

Less popular platform but still with sizeable usage in the Philippines included Instagram (71.2 percent), X (41.2 percent), Telegram (55.7 percent), Pinterest (40.5 percent), WhatsApp (37.6 percent), Reddit (32.4. percent), LinkedIn (25 percent) and Threads (24.3 percent).

The data were based on the broad survey of internet users aged 16 and above conducted by London-based GWI in the second quarter of 2025.

Globally, the report found over six billion individuals already using the internet, representing 73.2 percent of the total population.

The sky is the limit for Starboy.

Filipino billiard icons Django Bustamante and Carlo Biado heaped praises on 19-year-old billiards prodigy AJ Manas, who was included in the title-defending Team Asia for the Reyes Cup.

Manas, one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport, was handpicked by team captain Bustamante for Team Asia, who will take on Team Rest of the World for the Reyes Cup starting Thursday.

Bustamante said that Manas has what it takes to be world champion in the future.

‘Siya kasi yung pinakabatang player natin na gumagaling, e yung iba naman, nasa ranking naman sila, si AJ wala sa ranking, so binigyan ko siya ng wildcard, ako yung pumili sa kaniya. So, may tiwala naman ako kay AJ, kasi di ko naman kukunin ang isang player kung wala kang tiwala. So magaling na si AJ,’ Bustamante said.

‘Darating ang panahon, ito tandaan niyo, magiging world champion yung bata na yan. Kasi bata pa siya, magaling na. E lalo na pagka nabatak pa yan sa mga tournament at practice. Basta magiging world champion ang bata na yan,’ he added.

Biado seconded this.

‘Si AJ, future world champion natin yan. Napakalaking bagay niya sa Reyes Cup dahil siya yung tinututukan ng mga tao ngayon, lalo na sa mga kabataan dahil napakagaling ng bata na to,’ he said.

‘So napakalaking tulong sa kaniya itong exposure na ganito para mag-improve pa lalo yung game niya pero napakagaling ng bata na ito, hindi ako nag-aalala sa kaniya,’ he added.

Bustamante, though, underscored that he would defeat Manas if his 19-year-old self faced off against the prodigy.

‘Magaling na ko nun kasi nung araw naman kasi, puro pustahan lang e wala namang tournaments. Ngayon na lang dumarating yung mga tournaments. Compare mo ako kay AJ, talo ko siya nung araw na kasing edad ko siya,’ he said.

‘Mas malakas ang loob ko kasi nung bata ako, kahit saan ako pumunta dala ko yung tako ko at hindi ako nahihiya kahit kanino.’

WNT Nineball No. 1 Fedor Gorst and No. 17 Jayson Shaw seemingly tried to target Manas during the press conference, saying the youngster will ‘feel the heat’ in the competition.

But Manas, while admitting pressure, voiced readiness to clash with some of the best.

‘Siyempre po, nape-pressure ako kasi first time kong makasali sa ganitong event, lalo na reyes cup na dito gaganapin sa Pilipinas. Masaya ako na nakasama ako sa Team Asia, so gagawin ko yung lahat ng makakaya ko,’ he said.

‘Oo naman kasi magagaling din yung mga kalaban natin, so kailangan nating pag-igihan. Pakita natin kung gaano kalakas yung Team Asia,’ he added.

Manas also relished the opportunity to learn from the legends.

‘Napakalaking impact para sa akin kasi yung mga kasama ko, legend na e. Yung iba marami nang world title, so kailangan mabigyan nila ako ng tips or mga hindi ko alam na tira pero gagawin natin lahat.’

The Reyes Cup will run from October 16-19.