Category: Philippine Star

Typhoon Rosal, the most powerful cyclone this year, has stepped out of the Philippine area of responsibility on Saturday morning, October 24.

No tropical cyclone wind signals remain in effect but strong winds and dangerous seas may still affect parts of the country, PAGASA said in an advisory.

In its 11 a.m. bulletin, the state weather bureau said Rosal was 525 kilometers north-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, outside PAR.

The typhoon had weakened further, with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 150 kph.

It was moving east-northeastward at 20 kph toward the East China Sea.

Earlier Saturday, Rosal had maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and was moving southwestward after making a counterclockwise loop over the sea east of Taiwan.

Strong gusts may persist

Despite Rosal’s exit from PAR, its periphery may continue to bring strong to gale-force gusts Saturday over Batanes, the Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, Aurora, northern Quezon, Polillo Islands, the Bicol Region, Romblon, Capiz, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

Strong to gale-force gusts may also affect Batanes, the Babuyan Islands and Ilocos Norte on Sunday.

PAGASA said local winds may be stronger in coastal, upland and mountainous areas exposed to the prevailing winds.

Dangerous seas over Northern Luzon

The cyclone may be gone, but its expansive wingspan has lingering effects. A gale warning remains in effect over the seaboards of Northern Luzon.

Very rough seas with waves reaching as high as 5.5 meters are forecast along the northern seaboard of Batanes, while waves may reach 4.5 meters along the northern seaboard of the Babuyan Islands.

PAGASA said sea travel is risky for vessels of all types and tonnage in these areas. Mariners were advised to remain in port or seek safe harbor until winds and waves subside.

Rough seas are also forecast over several coastal waters of Northern Luzon.

Waves may reach 4 meters over the remaining seaboards of the Babuyan Islands, the northeastern seaboard of mainland Cagayan and the northern seaboard of Ilocos Norte.

Waves of up to 3.5 meters are forecast over the remaining seaboard of Ilocos Norte and the seaboard of Ilocos Sur.

Up to 3-meter waves may affect the remaining seaboards of mainland Cagayan, the western seaboard of Pangasinan, the seaboards of Isabela and northern Aurora, and the northern and eastern seaboards of Catanduanes.

Mariners of small vessels, including motorbancas, were advised not to venture out under these conditions.

The temporary procedural pause in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which is set to resume on November 9, gives us time to reflect on two seemingly opposing views. I think this discussion must continue through the 2028 polls because it concerns the very survival of our imperfect democracy.

Discussing whether enough senators would vote to convict the vice president, political strategist Malou Tiquia pointed to the 32 million people who elected her. Speaking on DZYT Radyo 765, she asked: ‘Paano mo masisikmura na i-convict sa isang charge ang bise presidente na nahalal ng 32 million? Paano?… And yet, yung survey tumataas.’

I take her remarks to mean that removing the vice president could carry a heavy political cost, given her electoral mandate and what Tiquia described as the vice president’s rising survey ratings.

The other view comes from impeachment prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan. Asked early on why he had joined the prosecution team, he gave an answer that struck me as simple yet powerful. He recalled the case of a school principal in Virac, Catanduanes, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for pocketing P5,000.

‘If we can send to jail somebody for pocketing ?5,000, why can’t we remove from office the sitting vice president for misusing millions of pesos of public funds?’ Ligutan said.

Tiquia’s view belongs to realpolitik and is valid in that respect. Serious political consequences and the real pressures surrounding a decision cannot simply be brushed aside.

On the other hand, Ligutan’s argument carries equal, if not greater, weight because accountability, even on the sole remaining charge of unexplained wealth, comes with being elected to office. An electoral mandate operates within constitutional limits. That is a lesson Ligutan and I, like other lawyers, took to heart in Law school.

Neither of us comes from the political elite. We are mere lawyers who have little to lose politically in this battle.

The two views can therefore be acknowledged without being placed on equal footing. Political consequences, on the one hand, must be understood and effectively addressed. Constitutional mandates, on the other hand, must be fulfilled through a fair proceeding whose outcome rests on evidence and constitutional grounds, even when doing so carries a heavy political cost.

This priority matters because the Constitution binds us as a republic despite our different backgrounds, interests, and political loyalties. I highly doubt we can survive for long as a republic if the impeachment trial turns up strong evidence of the vice president’s culpability, yet the senator-judges acquit her because realpolitik dictates it.

When we studied the Constitution in Law school, we were taught that it restrains the exercise of power, including power backed by a majority. Constitutional historian Charles McIlwain identified legal limits on government as an essential feature of constitutionalism. A government remains subject to those limits even when its decisions enjoy popular support.

There is nothing strange about a people at a saner and more peaceful time imposing restraints on themselves. Political theorists call this arrangement precommitment, a sort of safety measure that shall save us from our future impassioned selves or our transient impulses.

James Madison, an American statesman and Founding Father, understood the difficulty. In The Federalist Papers, a series of essays arguing for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Madison warned that appeals to the people over constitutional disputes could become contests of partisan passion. He explained why dependence on the people needed additional safeguards. Those elected to govern must themselves be controlled. Without constitutional restraints, democratic government cannot survive the excesses of its own mob.

And with today’s information ecosystem easily made murky by sophisticated disinformation networks and targeted propaganda, it is much easier to manipulate electoral choices and turn the system against itself. This can happen without the kind of genuine revolution that once overturned systems that no longer served the people.

Yes, constitutions are open to criticism and lawful reform, even revolutions. We don’t pretend that their authors possessed wisdom beyond their generation. What we cannot accept is that just because a leader is popular he or she is already exempted from the constitutional rules governing his or her office.

Ligutan understands that upholding the Constitution may be all that stands between the republic’s survival and its destruction by an electoral mob caught in a murky information ecosystem. Its restraints must hold even when survey polls seem to demand that they be set aside to protect a popular political brand.

Motorists should brace for another increase in diesel prices next week as escalating hostilities in the Middle East threaten to further disrupt global oil supplies.

Based on the first four days of trading in the Mean of Platts Singapore, the regional benchmark for refined petroleum products in the Asia-Pacific, diesel prices are projected to rise by P2 to P2.50 per liter.

Gasoline prices, meanwhile, could drop by P1 to P1.50 per liter.

The projected adjustments remain preliminary as they do not yet account for week-on-week changes in freight costs.

Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said oil prices rallied amid mounting supply concerns following intensified Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and vessels.

‘Loadings outside of the Arab Gulf are now threatened as well, jeopardizing Gulf crude loadings and ship-to-ship transfers that helped support regional loadings,’ Bellas said.

Market anxiety has also been fueled by fears of further escalation in geopolitical tensions following the US midterm elections.

For refined petroleum products, diesel prices have come under additional upward pressure from declining oil flows and intensified Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

‘Meanwhile, rising gasoline inventories in Singapore pointed to an improving product availability in Asia,’ Bellas said.

He added that persistent tightness in diesel supplies has encouraged refiners to maintain crude processing rates, potentially helping sustain gasoline supply even as demand weakens.

The Department of Energy is expected to announce the prescribed pump price adjustments on Monday.

Strategic oil reserves

Amid continuing oil price volatility, lawmakers are pushing for the creation of a Philippine Strategic Petroleum Reserve System to help shield consumers and businesses from supply disruptions and sharp price increases.

Camarines Sur Reps. Migz Villafuerte and Luigi Villafuerte urged yesterday their colleagues in the House of Representatives to support House Bill 9367, which seeks to establish the reserve system.

The measure was also authored by Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon.

The lawmakers explained that the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products leaves it vulnerable to global market fluctuations, underscoring the need for government-controlled fuel reserves.

‘Despite its heavy reliance on imported petroleum products, our country lacks a comprehensive legal framework establishing a government-controlled strategic petroleum reserve that will protect Filipinos and businesses from wild swings in the prices of diesel, gasoline and other petroleum products,’ Luigi said.

Migz, meanwhile, noted that countries with established strategic petroleum reserves could draw on their stocks during supply disruptions and periods of severe price volatility.

‘The Philippines has no comparable government-controlled strategic petroleum reserve to draw from during a major supply disruption and thus remains largely exposed to market volatility, relying instead on commercial inventories and external supply conditions,’ he said.

The proposed framework would cover the acquisition, storage, maintenance, rotation and emergency release of petroleum reserves. It would also allow the Department of Energy to work with private entities through public-private partnerships to develop and operate reserve facilities.

The push for legislation comes as Maharlika Investment Corp. and the Philippine National Oil Co. have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate the development, financing and operation of a strategic tank farm in Bataan.

The PNOC is targeting the facility’s operations to begin by 2028, with an initial capacity of one million barrels that could eventually expand to 15 million barrels.

Illegal fuel

Meanwhile, Metro Manila police have intensified operations against illegal fuel trading amid concerns that unscrupulous sellers could exploit supply uncertainties.

Metro Manila police officer-in-charge Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano ordered police intelligence units and station commanders to strengthen monitoring and validation of unauthorized fuel trading.

The directive followed the arrest of four individuals by Quezon City police on Tuesday for allegedly selling 172 liters of petroleum products illegally beside a gasoline station in Payatas.

‘We will not allow illegal traders to take advantage of the situation for their own gain,’ Abrahano said.

After years of waiting for housing security, 160 beneficiaries of the GMA Ville Lot 110 Housing Project in Barangay Carreta, Cebu City, moved a step closer to land ownership after receiving Certificates of Entitlement during a ceremony at Cebu City Hall last Thursday, October 22.

The certificates formally recognize the beneficiaries’ rights under the government’s housing program and identify them as qualified occupants who may eventually obtain ownership of the lot they occupy, subject to compliance with housing program requirements.

The awarding ceremony was led by Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling and attended by Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival.

“Salamat kaayo and hinaot pa unta we could have more documents of titles to come in the near future,” Archival said.

Also present were DHSUD Region-7 Director Mark Anthony Lindugan, National Housing Authority (NHA) Region-7 Officer-in-Charge Regional Manager Dante Estrobo, Department of Welfare for the Urban Poor (DWUP) Head Marie Joan Loreto, and Cebu City Local Housing Board Chairman Atty. Irish Dwight Remedio.

The initiative was undertaken through the DHSUD, NHA and Cebu City Government, with the DWUP facilitating local coordination for the housing beneficiaries.

Officials described the distribution of certificates as a significant milestone for the families, many of whom have long sought security of tenure over the properties they occupy.

Archival congratulated the beneficiaries and reminded them that the documents carry both opportunities and responsibilities as they work toward securing ownership of their lots.

For beneficiary Daisy Tañajura, the awarding represented more than a document.

“Ang kalampusan nagdala og dakong kalipay ug paglaum sa mga benepisyaryo tungod kay kini usa ka importanteng lakang padulong sa mas sigurado nga mga pamuyo ug mas maayong kaugmaon alang sa tagsa-tagsa ka pamilya,” she said via the city’s PIO.

A Certificate of Entitlement is not yet a land title. Rather, it serves as proof that a family has been recognized as a qualified beneficiary of a government housing program and is entitled to pursue eventual ownership under the terms and conditions of the project, as additional requirements must still be met before titles can be issued, housing officials described the award as a step toward, rather than the completion of, the ownership process.

The awarding forms part of the government’s continuing efforts to provide secure tenure to low-income families and informal settler households through socialized housing programs.

The Benedicto College (BC) Cheetahs will not only seek to extend their lead but also exact revenge on the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars when they clash anew in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Season 26 basketball tournament today (Saturday, October 24) at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Cheetahs, who are currently on top of the college division standings with an 8-1 record, suffered their first and only loss of the season at the hands of the Jaguars, 62-60, in overtime during their first-round encounter exactly a month ago.

BC will be out to avenge that defeat when it takes on the 5-3 USJ-R squad at 3:30 p.m.

In the other collegiate showdown, the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters will aim for a repeat victory over the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors in the 5 p.m. main game.

The Webmasters routed the Warriors, 81-63, in their previous meeting on September 10.

Both teams enter the rematch with identical 5-4 records.

In high school play, reigning five-peat champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles and the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) will try to stretch their unbeaten runs.

The 5-0 Magis Eagles will face the 3-3 Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons in the 10:30 a.m. opener, while the 6-0 UCLM squad will take on the 7-2 UC Junior Webmasters at 12:30 p.m. in an intriguing duel between sister teams.

In the other featured match, the 6-2 Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Junior Wildcats will tangle with the 1-4 University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers at 2 p.m.

The Monetary Board last Thursday administered the equivalent of shock therapy – the sort given to patients whose hearts stop beating. Our economy is in intensive care.

Policy rates were increased by 50 basis points. That is a lot, considering that this event was preceded by a sequence of rate increases. It is as if our economy has been put into a chokehold.

The large interest rate increase was not expected. In a poll of economists, the expectation is that the rate hike would be 25 basis points – as usual. Our business community is still in shock.

The sharp increase brings policy rates to 5.50 percent. This is the fourth consecutive increase and it is met mainly by dismay.

The objective of the rate hike is two-fold: arrest the depreciation of the peso and calm the galloping inflation rate.

The peso did gain a little after the interest rate decision was announced. But the currency resumed its fall the rest of the trading day Thursday, breaking a new record at about $1:P63.5. It now seems unlikely that interest rate policy alone could break the peso’s fall.

Our inflation rate rose to 7.2 percent in September, up from 6.1 percent in August. Raising interest rates is an effective tool if inflation is driven by economic hyperactivity. Our economy is not heating up. It is sluggish. Higher prices are due to cost spikes, such as oil prices.

It is doubtful if a higher interest rate regime will rein in the cost-driven inflation rate. It will certainly drain the vitality of our equities market as savings go to government bonds instead of private stocks.

Ironically, a higher interest rate regime adds to the cost factors pushing up prices. Every enterprise inputs the cost of financing to the price of its products. Higher interest rates is a higher cost factor.

The Monetary Board decides according to its mandate. Its mandate is to manage inflation. Its control over policy rates is the main weapon. Perhaps the only weapon its has in its hand. Fiscal policy is beyond its reach.

But our fiscal policymakers have been passive while all the problems mount. Our budget deficit is yawning. Our trade balance is tilted against us. Our balance of payments is horrifying.

Over the last four years, our propensity to borrow has been unrestrained. When Marcos Jr. assumed the presidency, our debt was at about P12 trillion. The debt, in peso terms, will likely be double that by the time he exits – making him the most debt-addicted president in our history.

Strangely, he tells us the debt is just a meaningless number in the air. How did he come to see it that way?

Our debt is growing because government needs more cash each day to give away as subsidies. This is the only way it could buy legitimacy for itself.

Then there is the massive looting. The Supreme Court finally stepped in and declared the unprogrammed allocations unconstitutional. Our legislators used this device to remove funding for regular projects and throw money at congressional insertions. They effectively skirted the constitutional ban against enacting a budget larger than what the executive branch proposed.

Under this scheme, hundreds of billions in additional spending was inserted into the budget over the last three years. A lot of that was lost to the syndicate of legislators and executive officials. A lot of that was borrowed money.

The massive looting and the looming debt crisis are not unrelated phenomena. One feeds the other. Both require a treasonous degree of mismanagement.

The Supreme Court proved itself the last bulwark against our democracy being overwhelmed by a perilous combination of incompetence and greed. All the looting that happened involved the criminal connivance of officials from both the executive and legislative branches.

In the wake of the Court’s dramatic ruling, some are now arguing that impeachment proceedings against Marcos Jr. must now be initiated. He should ultimately be held responsible for the widespread and systematic looting that happened. His signature was indispensable for making the flawed budgets law.

But who will impeach him? The mafia of legislators who crafted the deeply flawed budgets?

Remember that all the money that was looted includes borrowed funds. The next generations of Filipinos will bear the burden of repaying the loans that funded ghost projects. The pain will be borne a century hence.

Raising interest rates now will not cure the flawed fiscal policies that brought us to where we are now: a nation with a wilting economy and intolerable inflation. The third quarter GDP numbers will likely deliver yet another shock: our economy is deader than we dared to imagine.

Each day the peso depreciates and prices outstrip wages, ordinary Filipinos suffer increasing misery. The mismanaged economy takes its toll – especially on our young. This is what the debt number means. It not a meaningless thing hanging in the air. It is a noose squeezing out our nation’s life.

The increase in interest rates will raise the costs of doing business. It could finally bring our economy to recession. It certainly will not create new jobs or open more economic opportunities.

Our economy is like a dead horse. Our monetary policy is kicking it even more. That will not return it to life. It will only inflict greater cruelty on a plundered country.

Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list) said Rep. Paolo Duterte’s libel and cyber libel complaints against GMA Network send a “chilling” message to journalists.

De Lima criticized Duterte’s complaints in a social media post Friday, October 23, saying journalists should not face punishment for reporting allegations of corruption.

“Filing a libel case against a media network and its journalists for doing their job of reporting allegations of corruption sends a chilling message to other media practitioners,” De Lima said.

She said attacks against GMA Network and other media outlets following the filing could also be read as a warning to journalists that they “could be the next to be sued.”

“This is clearly an attempt to silence journalists and truth-seekers, depriving them of their freedom of the press,” De Lima said.

She linked the complaints to what she described as the Duterte family’s history of conflict with media organizations, citing actions involving Rappler, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

De Lima said journalists merely reported accusations made by witnesses and argued that seeking information about the allegations was part of their responsibility to the public.

The lawmaker, a former human rights commissioner and justice secretary, had led investigations into killings in Davao City. She was later detained on drug-related charges during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency, before courts determined insufficient evidence against her.

Duterte: Filing a case is a right

Paolo Duterte rejected De Lima’s criticism Saturday, October 24, arguing that seeking legal redress is not an attack on press freedom.

“Filing a case through the legal process is not an attack on press freedom, but a right available to every citizen,” Duterte said in a Cebuano social media post.

Duterte acknowledged the importance of press freedom to democracy but said journalists also have a responsibility to ensure their reports have sufficient basis.

“Reporting an allegation and proving that it is true are two different things,” he said. He added that allegations should be addressed through evidence and due process.

Duterte then turned personal in his response, bringing up past allegations against De Lima involving the New Bilibid Prison and saying an accused person has the right to defend himself.

He ended his post with a swipe at De Lima, telling her to stay in Congress, “just keep acting cute there” and “keep smiling for now.”

Some roads in Manila will be closed from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 for the commemoration of Undas, the Manila Police District announced yesterday.

The MPD said motorists will not be able to access Blumentritt Road, Dimasalang and Maceda Streets as well as Aurora Boulevard for the activities on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days.

According to the MPD, the Metro Manila Council has identified those roads as having a high concentration of foot traffic during Undas, especially those visiting the Manila North and South cemeteries.

Maj. Philipp Ines, MPD spokesman, said 1,000 police officers would be sent on a skeletal deployment by Oct. 28. They would be stationed at Manila North and South cemeteries and at La Loma and Manila Chinese cemeteries.

‘Do not bring firearms, alcohol, sound systems or other prohibited items inside,’ Ines said, as he reminded the public to observe protocols and safety guidelines.

Ines advised parents bringing small children to have them wear ID tags for easier identification, in case they get separated.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday rejected calls from the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives to recall the chamber’s budget bill for 2027, saying that the Senate would make the necessary corrections to ensure constitutional compliance without risking a reenacted budget.

House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio and his Makabayan colleagues recently urged Congress to pull the House-approved version of the 2027 budget from the Senate, arguing that it contains provisions that mirror elements struck down by the Supreme Court, including questionable triggers for unprogrammed appropriations and prohibited lump-sum allocations.

‘I think it’s important and necessary so that the House can clean up its own mess, because if you look at the budget passed by the House, there are significant parts that could be declared unconstitutional as well,’ Tinio explained. ‘We don’t want yet another budget that will be declared unconstitutional.’

However, Gatchalian dismissed the necessity of recall, explaining that the Senate is already positioned to correct these flaws during its consolidation and committee report process.

‘Not necessary because we are entering the consolidation of the budget here so we can do the correction ourselves,’ Gatchalian told reporters.

‘Rest assured, the 2027 budget will be compliant with [the] Constitution,’ Gatchalian said, adding that the 2027 budget would not mirror the unconstitutional provisions flagged by the high court in the 2024 and 2025 budgets.

Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson warned that returning the budget bill to the House would likely result in a reenacted budget – a scenario that he described as ‘worse’ because it operates on lump sums without itemized provisions.

‘That is not the solution. The solution is for the Senate to really scrutinize and cut all the fat sent in the GAB [General Appropriations Bill] of the House. That is the solution,’ Lacson said.

He suggested Makabayan bloc lawmakers should instead raise their concerns with their House colleagues who would eventually sit in the bicameral conference committee.

Senate budget cut

In a bid to set an example for fiscal discipline, Lacson revealed that the Senate plans to slash its own proposed budget by P2 billion.

‘In fact, we agreed with the Senate President the other day, me being the chairman of the committee on accounts, we will reduce our budget, the Senate budget, by about P2 billion from the NEP [National Expenditure Program],’ Lacson disclosed.

He pointed out the contrast between the two chambers, noting that while the House added P5 billion to its own allocation, the Senate is taking the opposite route.

Lacson gave assurance that the P2-billion cut – which will bring the Senate’s budget down to P5 billion from the proposed P7 billion – will not disrupt the chamber’s operations, as there are still unused funds available.

Gatchalian said the Senate is also addressing red flags in the House version, particularly concerning infrastructure insertions, with some farm-to-market road projects proposed by the House having been plotted in the middle of the ocean.

‘There are coordinates there that is in the Benham Rise or in the Middle East. So we have to check. I’m sure it’s a typo,’ Gatchalian said.

The Senate President added they have already flagged the Department of Agriculture regarding these errors and duplicate project entries.

Lacson noted that the Senate’s decision to invite civil society organizations as resource persons during the budget hearings has been instrumental in exposing these anomalies.

20 years ago, Kojie.san began with a single product and an entrepreneurial bet on an opportunity that had yet to be proven. Today, the homegrown beauty brand marks two decades in the market as Beauty Elements Ventures, Inc. (BEVi), the company behind Kojie.san, looks toward its next phase of growth.

What began with the iconic Kojie.san Kojic Acid Soap has grown into one of the Philippines’ most recognizable homegrown beauty brands. Alongside it, BEVi has expanded its portfolio, entered new categories and built capabilities across product development, manufacturing, distribution, e-commerce, and international markets.

For Jazz Burila, president and CEO of Beauty Elements Ventures, Inc., the journey is best understood not simply through the number of years the company has been in business, but through the decisions and relationships that allowed it to grow.

‘Those may seem like small moments. But millions of small moments, repeated over twenty years, become something much bigger. They become trust. And trust is something no company can manufacture. It has to be earned. Again and again.’

That trust became the foundation for Kojie.san’s continued evolution, allowing the brand to move beyond the product that started it all and respond to changing beauty, skincare, and personal care needs.

From one product to a broader portfolio

Kojie.san’s 20th anniversary offered a look not only at how the brand has evolved, but at the broader business BEVi has built around it.

The company unveiled developments across several categories, including the expansion of Defensil with new germ protection solutions and TV host Kuya Kim Atienza as its newest brand ambassador; Bio Camilo Hair and Scalp Care; botanical skincare line Cacay Cure Exponential Care; and fragrance collection Freshly Piqued.

Within the Kojie.san portfolio, Kojie.san Men revealed a new identity and expanded lineup, while Kojie.san Sun Protect, DreamWhite by Kojie.san, Kojie.san+, and Kojie.san Classic reflected the continued evolution of the brand across different skincare and personal care needs. Diamond Skin further expanded BEVi’s presence in premium skincare.

The company also introduced qloud, a new digital ecosystem and curated marketplace spanning beauty, fashion, wellness, lifestyle, and consumer products, signaling how the business is extending beyond traditional beauty and personal care into new consumer platforms.

Together, the developments point to a company that is no longer building around a single product or category, but across a wider portfolio of brands, businesses, and consumer opportunities.

Building the business behind the brands

Behind that portfolio is a broader group of capabilities developed to support continued growth.

Beauty Elements Ventures Manufacturing Inc. (BEVMi), led by President Reginald I. Burila, supports the group through its manufacturing capabilities, while other businesses across the group extend its reach into distribution, international markets, e-commerce, and business development.

The direction builds on a journey that has already taken Kojie.san beyond its home market. As Burila reflected in her anniversary address, what started small eventually found its way ‘beyond Manila, beyond the Philippines, into the hands and homes of people in other parts of the world.’

But reaching 20 years also raises a larger question for the business: what should the next 20 look like?

The next 20 years

With two decades behind Kojie.san, BEVi is looking ahead to a bigger opportunity: taking what it has built and creating the foundation for its next era of growth.

That next chapter means investing in new ideas, stronger manufacturing, new markets, and the people who will lead the business forward. It also means creating more ways for its brands to reach consumers, both in the Philippines and beyond.

The ambition goes beyond growing individual brands. BEVi is building an organization that can identify new opportunities, develop brands around evolving consumer needs, and help them grow at home and beyond the Philippines.

Kojie.san remains the clearest example of what that approach can build. What started with a single product has grown into a brand trusted across generations and markets. The opportunity now is to take the experience, partnerships, and capabilities built over the past 20 years and use them to create what comes next.

And as the business grows, so does the definition of legacy. For BEVi, the next chapter is not only about how far today’s brands can go, but about building an organization strong enough for the next generation to take further.

Twenty years built the foundation. What comes next is about how much further it can go.