Category: Philippine Star

Women and children’s rights groups have backed the extradition of Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy to the United States, saying the move marks a significant step toward accountability for women and girls who have accused him of trafficking and abuse.

Thirty organizations and 21 individuals also praised Sen. Risa Hontiveros for pursuing what they described as justice for women and children and for helping bring the allegations against Quiboloy to public attention through a Senate investigation.

In a joint statement, the groups said the Senate findings that Quiboloy ‘trafficked women and girls from around the world’ were based on sworn testimonies, documentary evidence and accounts from multiple victims and witnesses.

They rejected arguments that the findings should be disregarded because the criminal cases against Quiboloy have yet to reach final judgment.

‘The absence of a conviction at this stage does not erase the evidence that has already been presented or the testimonies of the women who have identified him as their trafficker,’ the groups said.

They noted that Quiboloy remains entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence, including the opportunity to challenge the accusations and present his defense before a court.

‘Justice demands that we uphold both the presumption of innocence in court and the right of survivors to have their voices recognized in the public sphere,’ the groups said.

The groups also pointed to Quiboloy’s 2021 indictment by US federal prosecutors and his inclusion on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most-wanted list as part of the basis for the continuing legal proceedings against him.

They said due process should not mean silencing or disregarding the women who have come forward.

‘The women who courageously came forward deserve to be heard, not erased,’ the statement said.

The organizations urged continued support for lawful efforts to hold accountable those who exploit or traffic women and children.

Quiboloy, who has been detained in the Philippines since September 2024, faces criminal cases in the country as well as US charges involving sex trafficking, conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling.

The US government has sought his extradition, as confirmed by the US embassy, to face trial there.

Henri Schoeman rediscovered his winning form in Cebu, overcoming a punishing course before fighting through cramps in the closing run to reclaim the men’s professional crown at the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu yesterday.

The 34-year-old South African clocked 4:08:52 over the demanding 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run battlefield, returning to the top two years after his breakthrough triumph in the same race presented by Megaworld. He won his first Lapu-Lapu 70.3 in 2024 in 4:02:31.

But this victory carried far more weight for Schoeman, who has endured two difficult years trying to regain the form that once made him one of the world’s elite triathletes.

‘This win means so much. I’ve had a really tough two years, struggling to find my form,’ said Schoeman, who described the victory as a major confidence boost and a sign that there is still more to come.

While Schoeman celebrated a triumphant return, Australian Olympian Natalie Van Coevorden delivered an equally impressive performance, capturing the women’s professional crown in the race organized by Sunrise Events, Inc., which drew more than 1,400 triathletes from 48 countries, with the majority competing for top honors in various age-group divisions.

The enhanced southwest monsoon caused flooding in several parts of Metro Manila yesterday, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.

In Quezon City, 351 families or 884 people were evacuated in seven barangays.

The affected residents were staying in nine evacuation centers in the city.

Most of them – 151 families or 494 people – were staying at the evacuation center in Barangay Bagong Silangan in District 2.

Other affected barangays include Sta. Cruz in District 1, Bagumbayan in District 3, Doña Imelda and Roxas in District 4 and Gulod and Sta. Lucia in District 5.

The city government has mobilized personnel to respond to the effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon.

In Marikina, 342 families or 1,961 people took shelter in evacuation centers.

Pasig also reported flooding, particularly in Barangay Dela Paz.

Three evacuation centers in two Pasig barangays were open, sheltering 101 families or 320 people, according to the city government.

In Malabon, 20 areas were flooded.

Valenzuela also recorded flooding in several areas, although major portions of MacArthur Highway were passable to all types of vehicles.

The San Juan River remained at the alarm level, with water reaching 12.84 meters at 12:20 p.m. yesterday.

Mayor Francis Zamora said 27 evacuation centers were on standby, including the Pinaglabanan Elementary School.

In Muntinlupa, 31 families or 132 people were evacuated.

Parañaque also reported floods in parts of San Dionisio, San Isidro, BF Homes, San Antonio and Sun Valley. The flooding subsided in the afternoon.

Las Piñas said major roads, including Zapote Junction, were passable to all types of vehicles.

Public warned vs leptospirosis

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) urged the public to take precautions against leptospirosis.

The DOH reminded the public to seek medical consultation after exposure to floodwaters.

It seems that fatigue and injury have finally caught up with Alex Eala.

Eala bowed out of the fourth round of the Canadian Open after getting swept by Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 0-6, Monday morning (Manila time) in Toronto, Canada.

The World No. 20 was simply outclassed by the Swiss tennister, who got the win in just over an hour.

Still, the Filipina’s run was something to remember.

Prior to Monday, she won 10 of her past 11 matches, dating back to Wimbledon.

In Toronto, she defeated Alycia Parks and Caty McNally in the second and third rounds after getting a bye in the first round.

Traffic along EDSA was snarled after a portion of a wall in Makati’s Forbes Park collapsed amid heavy rains on Saturday.

Inspecting the wreckage, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon discovered that the structure was made of drywall instead of standard reinforced concrete and steel.

‘This is not concrete. It is just drywall and tubular framing made to look like a solid wall,’ Dizon said. ‘There’s soil and if it continuously rains, it will be filled with water and collapse.’

Dizon has ordered an investigation into the incident.

‘We have to probe where this wall came from and who built it, whether it was the government, homeowner or Forbes Park. We will also summon the local building official since this kind of construction cannot be allowed,’ Dizon said.

Pedestrians could have been killed by the substandard wall, he stressed.

Debris occupying two lanes of EDSA was cleared by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

Broken pumping station

Meanwhile, Marikina Mayor Maan Teodoro has urged the Department of Public Works and Highways to repair a broken pumping station in the city.

Floods inundated parts of Barangays Malanday and Tumana after the facility broke down, Teodoro said.

Dizon sent technicians to the pumping station.

Two measures seeking to overhaul the country’s agricultural support systems and empower farming cooperatives are now priority measures of the Marcos administration.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, author of the bills, said the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council has officially added Senate Bill 1991 (Agricultural and Fisheries Extension Services Act) and SB 1990 (Agricultural Cooperatives Act) to the administration’s priority legislative agenda.

The measures aim to provide farmers and fisherfolk with direct institutional support, modern technology and stronger cooperative structures to ensure long-term food security and stabilize commodity prices.

Pangilinan welcomed their inclusion, stressing the urgency of translating government promises into tangible grassroots services.

Under SB 1991, a coordinated national extension system will provide agricultural workers with technical assistance, research-based technologies, and training on climate-smart farming.

Meanwhile, SB 1990 seeks to reestablish the Bureau of Agriculture Cooperatives to help rural workers consolidate resources, improving their access to financing, heavy equipment and direct markets.

Pangilinan noted that Filipino food producers are currently battered by soaring production costs while being left behind by global technological advancements.

By modernizing the sector, the measures ultimately aim to lower market prices for basic goods, thereby increasing the purchasing power of ordinary consumers.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday advised mariners in Cagayan to take precautions as China is scheduled to launch another rocket today.

In a social media post, the PCG informed the public that China will be launching a Long March 7A from Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan from 7:54 p.m. to 9:16 p.m.

The Coast Guard warned the public that parts of the rocket might fall within two identified drop zones: 62 nautical miles from Dalupiri Island and 71 nautical miles from Sta. Ana town. Both places are in Cagayan province.

‘All mariners operating within the area are strongly advised to take extra precautionary measures and carry out appropriate safety actions when navigating near or within the identified drop zones before or during the rocket launch window,’ the PCG said.

It urged people to immediately report any sighting or unusual observations in the areas.

‘We also advise the fisherfolk and coastal residents to avoid handling unidentified floating objects and to immediately report similar sightings to the nearest local authorities,’ PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Guirao-Cayabyab said.

Over eight million Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers may see lower electricity bills this month as the utility giant begins rolling out its P9.5-billion refund.

Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said the refund, equivalent to P0.59 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for residential customers, should cushion the impact of other upward adjustments in the month’s billing.

‘We are hoping that the downward adjustment will bring relief to Meralco customers, especially with the lower overall demand observed in the Luzon grid,’ Zaldarriaga told reporters yesterday.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) earlier ordered the country’s largest power utility to return P9.5 billion in overcollections to customers over six months.

The refund stemmed from a true-up calculation that reconciled Meralco’s actual weighted average tariff during the 2025 lapsed period with the ERC-approved final distribution rate for the same period.

However, other ERC-approved adjustments will partly offset the refund, including a higher feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All) and the collection of P8.7 billion in underrecoveries from customers.

The underrecoveries, covering generation and transmission charges, system loss and taxes, will be collected at P0.08 per kWh each month over three years.

Meanwhile, FIT-All, a uniform charge that supports renewable energy projects, will rise to P0.3359 per kWh this month from P0.2011 per kWh.

Adding to the upward pressure, prices of power reserves procured by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines have also increased significantly, Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco is expected to announce its August rate adjustment today.

BIR urged: Waive VAT on system loss

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) should lead the way in removing the 12 percent value-added tax on system loss charges, Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc said.

‘Consumers should not be paying VAT on electricity that never even reaches their homes,’ Dagooc said, adding that the BIR should do this without waiting for new legislation.

System loss is the electricity lost during transmission and distribution that power companies pass on to customers, but the government charges the standard 12 percent VAT because system loss counts as part of the utility company’s taxable income.

‘For the information of the (Department of Energy), I have no objection if consumers are made to pay it. But kindly replace the term line rental because that is an insult to the intellect of the Filipino people. Call it what it really is – a generation charge,’ Dagooc said.

Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Mark Cojuangco compared the issue to the thermal efficiency of a vehicle’s internal combustion engine, where only 30 percent of energy is utilized, with the remainder lost as heat.

The Philippine economy is now seen growing by only three to 3.9 percent this year, with analysts tempering their outlook after a sharper-than-expected second-quarter slowdown exposed persistent weakness in investment and household spending.

Nomura Global Markets Research slashed its 2026 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 3.8 percent from 4.6 percent, while ANZ Research maintained its 3.9-percent projection. Capital Economics was the most pessimistic, forecasting growth of around three percent this year.

The outlooks followed the economy’s disappointing 2.3-percent expansion in the second quarter, slower than 2.8 percent in the first three months and 5.4 percent a year earlier.

Nomura economists Euben Paracuelles and Nabila Amani said the second-quarter slump likely reflected the lingering effects of the flood control corruption scandal compounded by the economic shock from the war in the Middle East.

Taking the weaker outturn into account, Nomura cut its full-year forecast to 3.8 percent, although this remains within the government’s revised 3.5 to 4.5 percent growth target.

The Japanese investment bank still expects some improvement in the latter half of the year, with GDP growth seen accelerating to 4.9 percent in the second half from 2.6 percent in the first six months.

Nomura said the recovery would be supported by favorable base effects and an expected push by the government to catch up on infrastructure spending after prolonged fiscal underspending.

However, it flagged considerable uncertainty surrounding the recovery, including political risks from the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, lingering uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and limitations to the boost that artificial intelligence-related demand could provide to Philippine electronics exports.

Capital Economics senior Asia economist Gareth Leather has an even more downbeat assessment, forecasting GDP growth of around three percent this year before improving to 4.5 percent in 2027.

He said growth should recover slightly from current levels as lower oil prices help ease inflation and restore some household purchasing power. However, he expects the improvement to be gradual as the anti-corruption drive continues to weigh on investment while higher borrowing costs restrain economic activity.

Leather also said the weakness of the economy contrasts with much of the region, where several economies managed to withstand higher energy prices and post stronger second-quarter growth.

Domestic demand was the biggest source of weakness in the second quarter. Household consumption growth slowed further to 2.8 percent, the weakest since the pandemic and well below the 5.9-percent average recorded from 2010 to 2019.

Investment was an even bigger drag, with gross fixed capital formation contracting by 13.7 percent as public construction continued to deteriorate.

ANZ similarly said the recovery in investment would be critical to the economic outlook, particularly after public infrastructure capital outlays had been declining since July last year.

‘A recovery in infrastructure spending from the third quarter, as indicated by the authorities, will be a key determinant of whether growth can regain momentum,’ ANZ said.

The research firm maintained its 2026 growth forecast at 3.9 percent, saying moderating inflation should provide some support to household demand while stronger exports and government consumption could partly offset softness elsewhere in the economy.

Still, ANZ warned that the country faces elevated inflation and external headwinds, with food prices potentially coming under renewed pressure from El Niño.

‘With inflation moderating in July and growth slowing, the pressure on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to hike rates at this month’s monetary policy meeting will reduce,’ ANZ said.

Despite the weak GDP figures, the research houses generally expect the BSP to remain cautious about abandoning its tightening cycle while inflation stays above its two to four percent target.

Nomura maintained its call for two more 25-basis-point rate hikes in August and October, saying the central bank remains focused on bringing inflation back toward target and preventing inflation expectations from becoming unanchored.

Capital Economics expects only one final 25-basis-point increase at the BSP’s Aug. 27 meeting before the tightening cycle ends, followed by possible rate cuts from early 2027 if inflation continues to ease.

Filipinos around the world are now singing the personal mantra of international tennis star Alexandra Eala. And for that matter, the tennis world is now listening and learning also in their hearts and minds the melody of Eala’s motto: ‘Kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto.’ And it’s beginning to sound like a nation’s hymn to Eala’s feats achieved in this lifetime.

At the recently concluded Wimbledon 2026, Eala was first noticed wearing her usual Nike cap. At 5’9′ height, taller than the average Filipina, she puts on her cap to keep in place her long black hair in a pony tail. But what makes it unique is that Eala’s mantra is embroidered on the back of the cap.

As Eala succinctly explained: ‘Every dream begins as a seed. Once it grows, it cannot be stopped.’ She posted this in her Instagram account after becoming the first Filipino to reach the third round at Wimbledon, where she beat reigning champion Iga Swiatek of Poland in a major third-round upset.

The 21-year-old Eala inspires all of us with her wisdom at such young age.

No wonder even President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (PBBM) could not help becoming a fan boy, gushing at Eala’s Wimbledon feat.

Eala was ranked No. 29 at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships. Thus, Eala made history as the first player from the Philippines ever to be seeded in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. Her historic run in the tournament ultimately ended with the fourth-round loss to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

But with her resilience and unrelenting pursuit of her campaign in the international tennis courts, Eala drew another first-time ever feat. She grabbed last week the Mubadala 2026 DC Open Championship for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). The Mubadala Open is a prestigious professional WTA 500-level outdoor hardcourt tennis tournament held annually in Washington, D.C.

Fresh from her DC rout of the world’s top-seeded women tennis stars, Eala continued sowing seeds of victories here and there in her tennis journey. From DC, she flew directly to Toronto, Canada where she drew another round of raves and chants from humongous Filipino communities in North America.

After her first game victory in Toronto, Eala spoke in Tagalog to the wild delight of Filipinos watching, cheering and waving the Philippine flag in the stands. Wearing the heart of sports heroine, she politely declined a fan’s request to sign her name over the Philippine flag as souvenir.

‘And the emotions continued to spill over when she turned to the crowd that had carried her through the latest chapter of what is now a seven-match winning streak, including the five victories that delivered her a historic WTA title in Washington last week.’ The STAR Sports Section capped its report on Eala’s struggle to defeat Caty McNally of the US last Saturday.

After the two-hour, 39-minute battle at Center Court of the Sobeys Stadium with McNally, Eala sought to assuage her fans. They saw her bothered by ankle injury in the middle of the game. ‘I’m OK,’ Eala told her fans. A few seconds of gathering her thoughts, she added: ‘Yeah, I think I survived. It was so tough.’

Another stellar event that has embraced and imbibed Eala’s mantra is the forthcoming launch of a ‘sounding rocket’ as proudly announced by PBBM. In his penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Congress last July 27, PBBM asked all Filipinos to watch out soon the rocket launching from our first-ever space port that will kick off our country’s journey into outer space.

Dubbed as the ‘Siklab’ rocket program, Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) director-general Gay Jane Perez took off from Eala’s mantra during our weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last week. ‘It is our goal to develop our local space industry so that Filipino talent takes the option to not only to stay but thrive here at home. Kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto,’ Perez waxed lyrical.

‘The phrase gives hope. Sometimes life is tough. Life knocks you down but the hope of achieving your dreams is what keeps you going. Whether it’s me, it’s you, I think everybody deserves to dream big. And everybody has the right to go for the dreams they have,’ Perez pointed out.

The PhilSA has been undertaking this project since 2022 under a public-private partnership (PPP) model involving private partners Ascend International Gateway Inc. and South Korea’s Perigee Aerospace Inc. Also involved are two other government agencies – the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) headed by administrator and chief executive officer Katrina Ponce-Enrile and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda. Both PhilSA and CEZA are agencies attached to the Office of the President.

Aguda said the country’s upcoming sounding rocket launching pad site is aimed at positioning the country as a major player in the global rocket launch industry, rather than just being an observer and consumer of space and satellite-based services and infrastructure. Aguda underscored the significance of locating our country’s first space port near the earth’s equator as the biggest come-on for the trillion-dollar space-related industry.

Enrile explained the areas around the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport in the municipality of Santa Ana fit the requirements for this purpose. She cited the decision of South Korea’s Perigee Aerospace to establish an assembly, integration and testing (AIT) facility on Philippine soil as concrete proof of international investor confidence in this ‘space corridor ecosystem’ that will grow out of this Siklab rocket launch.

Enrile added that space-based applications resulting from the corridor will directly benefit everyday Filipinos by providing precision agriculture data for farmers, accurate ocean monitoring and weather forecasting for fisherfolk, enhanced typhoon tracking for disaster preparedness and improved maritime domain awareness for our archipelagic nation.

She believes the geographic advantages and existing infrastructure of the CEZA freeport zone will enable the space corridor to sow the seeds across the world – and even into space – in propelling the Philippine economy.