Category: Philippine Star

Bataan and Pasig dispute the seventh playoff seat in the North Division play-in stage at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Camaya Events Place Center in Mariveles, Bataan.

The Pasiguenos crawled out of a 15-point hole to beat the Bataan Risers, 97-96, in overtime on May 12, and are looking for a repeat to advance to the quarterfinal round with the six outright qualifiers and whoever will become the eighth and last survivor.

If Bataan – ranked No. 7 after the round-robin elimination phase – exacts revenge, the Risers will advance to the playoff, leaving eighth-ranked Pasig to tackle the winner between No. 9 Quezon City and No. 10 Valenzuela City in the 5 p.m. opener.

The loser between the Quezon City Black Bulls and the Valenzuela Darkhorse ends their stint in this year’s 26-team tournament.

Pasig will be led by MPBL All-Star Warlo Batac, Jacob Galicia, Jerome Garcia, Michael Lambino, Jhapz Bautista and Ahron Estacio, who forced overtime and delivered the lethal points against Bataan in their first encounter.

Speedsters Alfred Flores and Robbie Darang, Chris Javier, homegrown Yves Sazon, Hubert Cani, Migs Corteza, Mitchelle Maynes and Joshua Gallano will power Bataan.

Valenzuela beat Quezon City, 90-83, on May 14, but the Black Bulls eventually emerged as No. 9 with an 11-4 record, surpassing the Darkhorses’ 10-15.

The Darkhorses will bank on veterans Jay Collado and Ian Melencio, along with Shaq Alanes, CJ Alattica, Geremy Robinson, JR Olegario, JR Ongteco and Angelo Obuyes.

Quezon City draws firepower from All-Star MJ Joson, Kobe Monje, Jake Agoncillo, Val Chauca, Ryan Costelo, Pat Buena and Rey Publico.

What’s better than two Taylor Lautners? Three of them, officially.

Actor Taylor Lautner and his wife, also named Taylor but goes by Tay to avoid confusion, are now parents to a baby girl they have named Lennon Taylor.

The baby was born last September 16 but Tay only revealed she had given birth a week later, posting a picture on her Instagram account.

“One week loving our sweet little Lenny,” Tay wrote in the caption of a photo of her daughter, her face hidden but laying behind an embroidery of her name.

Among those who congratulated the couple were Alex Cooper, Mackenzie Foy, Christina Perri, Daniella Monet, Chandler Kinney, and the official account of the “Twilight” franchise.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and SandP Global Ratings slashed the economic growth forecasts for the Philippines due to the prolonged impact of the Middle East crisis and weaker investments. The multilateral lender’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO) September 2026 report released yesterday showed that it now expects the Philippines to grow by 3.3 percent this year, down from 3.8 percent provided last July.

If realized, this year’s economic growth would fall below the government’s revised 3.5 to 4.5 percent growth target for the year and last year’s 4.4 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

While the ADB expects Philippine economic growth to rebound next year, it also trimmed its growth forecast to 5.1 percent for 2027 from 5.3 percent, previously.

ADB’s revised 2027 growth forecast is within the government’s revised five to six percent growth goal.

ADB Philippines senior economics officer Teresa Mendoza said in a press briefing that the lowered growth forecasts are due to persistent external and domestic headwinds.

In particular, escalating geopolitical tensions have heightened inflation pressures and uncertainty, weighing more heavily on 2026 growth than expected.

ADB also cited weaker investments in the first half and soaring prices of imported fuel and other vital commodities such as fertilizers.

Likewise, SandP has sharply cut its Philippine growth forecast for this year to 2.9 percent, the steepest downgrade among the Asia-Pacific economies it covers, as weak government investment, high energy costs and elevated food prices weigh on domestic demand.

SandP lowered its 2026 GDP growth projection from its previous forecast of 4.1 percent. GDP measures the value of goods and services produced by the economy after adjusting for inflation.

It also trimmed its 2027 growth forecast to 5.4 percent from 5.8 percent and its 2028 projection to six percent from 6.2 percent. It expects growth at 5.8 percent in 2029.

‘Growth for the first half was below expectations at 2.5 percent year over year, amid a series of headwinds for the economy,’ SandP economist Vishrut Rana said.

‘The economy is facing a sharp pullback in public capital expenditure, a steep energy price shock and elevated food prices, partly due to El Niño conditions,’ Rana added.

The economy expanded by just 2.3 percent year on year in the second quarter, bringing the growth in the first half to 2.6 percent, with SandP identifying the Philippines as the ‘most notable exception’ to the resilience in regional domestic demand as investments plunged.

Rana said the weaker first-half performance and expectations of a more gradual recovery prompted the downgrade.

‘It will take some time for the economy to recover its footing. We expect public capital expenditure to normalize gradually as various public infrastructure works are initiated,’ he said.

‘Given strong reforms in the space to increase transparency and efficiency, it will take time for disbursements to ramp up. Elevated energy and food prices, together with the resulting tighter monetary policy, will continue to weigh on domestic demand.’

SandP nevertheless expects medium-term growth drivers to remain intact, supported by the competitive business process outsourcing sector, private investment in special economic zones and expansion in energy, electronics and other industries.

Despite inflation pressures, ADB kept its Philippine inflation forecast at 5.9 percent this year.

However, the multilateral lender hiked its 2027 inflation forecast to 4.4 percent from the 3.9 percent provided in July due to the anticipated impact of the El Niño phenomenon on agricultural output.

SandP expects inflation to average 5.5 percent this year, up sharply from 1.7 percent in 2025, before easing to 3.6 percent in 2027, 3.2 percent in 2028 and 2.9 percent in 2029.

With inflation remaining high, SandP expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to deliver another 25-basis-point rate increase before yearend, bringing the policy rate to 5.25 percent. It then sees the rate declining to 4.5 percent in 2027 and four percent in 2028.

‘The BSP is likely to remain focused on the inflation mandate and, as such, we expect modest further monetary policy tightening this year,’ Rana said. ‘We expect interest rates to be lowered in 2027 as inflation eases following dissipation of the energy and food price shocks.’

Inflation slowed to 6.1 percent in August from the previous month’s 6.2 percent. This brought the average in the eight-month period to 5.2 percent, above the government’s two to four percent target band for the year.

When it comes to monetary policy, Mendoza said that ADB expects the BSP to continue its tightening at a gradual pace as inflation remains above target.

‘The economy continues to feel the impact of the Middle East conflict, but business indicators point to expected improvements in economic activity, with the industry sector still looking to expand next year,’ ADB Philippines country director Andrew Jeffries said.

‘For the Philippines to ride through the effects of external and domestic shocks in the near term, timely government spending on planned investments especially in the social sector and critical infrastructure projects will be important,’ he said.

Mendoza said that the ADB expects gradual investment recovery in the latter part of this year, which would support the country’s growth.

‘We’re expecting it gradually to improve starting fourth quarter of 2026. This is in line with the government’s move to accelerate ongoing flagship infrastructure projects, particularly railway projects,’ she said.

As the government has been pursuing programs to mitigate the effects of the Middle East conflict and El Niño phenomenon, the ADB is preparing assistance through a countercyclical support facility.

‘What it hopes to accomplish is it fills a budget gap that was created because of the Middle East crisis and because of the government’s UPLIFT (Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport) Program,’ Jeffries said.

He said the government had about a $7 billion increase in spending because of the fuel subsidies and assistance to help those affected by the impact of the crisis.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Office of the Vice President over its inconsistencies, deviations from orders and missing or incomplete documents in relation to the OVP’s P168 million worth of relief operations in 2025.

In a 273-page report on the 2025 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, the COA said it found discrepancies in the situation reports prepared by the OVP and the validation prepared by local government units for relief operations involving P19.67-million welfare goods.

Discrepancies were found in the reported number of affected families while some LGUs did not indicate a beneficiary count.

Auditors also questioned 24 relief operations involving welfare goods worth P39 million that did not follow the OVP mission order without documented approval.

The COA said the deviations included changes in schedules, distribution locations, quantities of relief items and the amount of rice distributed.

‘While management cited operational adjustments due to changing field conditions, the absence of documented approvals weakened assurance that the changes were properly authorized and supported,’ the report read.

Auditors also said they found eight mission orders for OVP relief distributions worth P84.12 million with no specified target beneficiaries, only indicating that the relief goods will be distributed to ‘affected or displaced families.’

‘Although management explained that this provided operational flexibility during emergencies, the absence of defined beneficiary targets weakened the basis for determining the quantities of relief goods requested and distributed,’ the report read.

The COA also flagged ‘missing, incomplete or non-submission of required documents’ to support relief operations involving P25.27 million in relief goods that supposedly went to 33,980 beneficiaries.

It said these were not supported by complete pre-operation documents such as situation reports, mission orders and verified master lists.

‘In one instance, the required RDS (relief distribution sheet) was unavailable due to records reportedly lost during typhoon Kristine and was replaced with explanatory and certification documents,’ the audit report noted.

Auditors also found that there were irregularities in relief operations that were documented.

Irregularities include master lists not bearing agency certification; relief distribution sheets not bearing the same names as on the master lists; only partial information on individuals who received the relief items; duplication of entries and submissions of documents that did not comply with those prescribed for Relief for Indigents and Individuals in Crises and Emergencies.

‘The use of different documentary requirements resulted in inconsistent application of established procedures and reduced assurance on the completeness, accuracy and verifiability of beneficiary records and the propriety of relief distributions,’ the COA said.

A copy of the report was submitted on Aug. 28 to the office of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, the concurrent chairperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Sport rom-com series “Love At First Spike” headlined by Emilio Daez is a nominee at this year’s International Emmy Awards.

The awards, presented by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, recognize excellence in television programs produced outside the United States.

The Ivan Andrew Payawal-helmed digital show was nominated in the Kids: Live Action category, given the series is centered around a high school volleyball team.

It follows Daez’s Uno Santillan, the school’s basketball team captain who joins the volleyball team to retain his scholarship amid apprehension knowing he’ll be surrounded by queer company.

Also starring in the digital series that aired last year are Reign Parani, Sean Tristan, River Joseph, Andi Abaya, Sky Quizon, Lance Reblando, Nick Deocampo, Gio Alvarez, Alwyn Uytingco, Luis Alandy and Meryll Soriano.

“Love At First Spike” will be up against Chile’s “31 Minutos: Calurosa Navidad,” the Netherlands’ “De Achterblijvers (Those Left Behind)” and the United Kingdom’s “Dexter Procter the Ten-Year-Old Doctor.” Notable nominees in other categories include Park Eun-bin’s “Hyper Knife” in TV Movie/Mini-series, Rowan Atkinson’s “Man vs. Baby” in Comedy, “A Thousand Blows” in Drama, “You and Everything Else” star Park Ji-hyun in Best Performance by an Actress, and “My Melody and Kuromi” in Kids: Animation.

“The International Emmy Awards are as competitive as ever, with an outstanding range of entries from around the world vying for a coveted Nomination,” said International Academy chief Bruce L. Paisner. “We look forward to bringing the global television community together to celebrate these exceptional programs and performances.”

Nominees will gather in New York at the International Emmy World Television Festival for a welcome cocktail as well as panels and presentations from November 20 to 22 ahead of the 54th International Emmy Awards Gala on November 23.

The Philippines has a history in the International Emmys. A decade ago, the soap opera “Bridges of Love” starring Jericho Rosales, Paulo Avelino and Maja Salvador was nominated for Best Telenovela while Jodi Sta. Maria was nominated for Best Actress for her role in “Pangako Sa ‘Yo.”

In 2022, “On the Job” was nominated at the ceremony for Best TV Movie or Miniseries, leading to director Erik Matti later serving as a juror. Past Filipino jurors include Dimples Romana and Nessa Valdellon.

Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo has formally endorsed Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to be the next chief justice.

‘Leonen is the most senior among all the justices of the (Supreme) Court. He has proven to be way beyond the constitutional requirements of competence, independence, probity and integrity,’ Robredo said in a letter to President Marcos on Sept. 11.

She commended Leonen for his ‘clear writings that provided wisdom and depth in all legal fields,’ as well as for having one of the lowest dockets in the Court.

Robredo said Leonen has a ‘unique ability to solve the most difficult conflicts’ including the creation of a framework agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Leonen has been ‘invited’ to apply as chief justice by the Judicial and Bar Council chaired by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who retires on Nov. 6. Robredo’s letter was also addressed to the JBC.

Appointed to the SC by the late president Benigno Aquino III, Leonen drew flak as the author of the SC ruling that invalidated the first impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, in which he incorrectly cited a news report.

Junmilardo Ogayre refused to blink and punched out an escape win.

Under relentless fire from Mongolia’s Gantumur Lundaa, the 27-year-old Filipino stood his ground, countered with surgical precision and gutted out a hard-earned 3-2 split decision in the men’s -60kg preliminaries yesterday in this city 50 kilometers south of Nagoya.

Ogayre drew the nods of judges from Guatemala, Bulgaria and Argentina while losing those from Uzbekistan and Mauritius in the slam-bang fight – a needed boost for Team Philippines after Aira Villegas’ fall the previous day.

It was no masterpiece. It was survival in a fight enjoyed by the loud crowd at the Nishio Gymnasium.

Lundaa came out like a freight train from the opening bell – pressing, crowding, pinning Ogayre to the ropes and daring him to brawl.

Ogayre didn’t.

The former Asian Championships bronze medalist kept his cool, snapped his jab and punished every reckless charge with clean counters inside.

The Filipino was effective and efficient, enough to steal the first two rounds on four of five judges’ cards and build the cushion he needed.

Then came the scare.

Slowing down in the final round, Ogayre got caught and the referee stepped in with a standing eight-count as Lundaa hunted for a knockout.

The Mongolian took the last round, 10-9 across the board, but the math was already done. Ogayre had done just enough.

With the split win, Ogayre advanced to face Nepal’s Roka Magar, pushing the six-man Philippine boxing team to 2-1 – bouncing back from Villegas’ tough opening loss, with Norlan Petecio earlier delivering the first win.

Climbing into the ring in the next few days are Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio (women’s -60kg) and Carlo Paalam (men’s -55kg), plus Riza Pasuit (women’s -54kg).

Total vehicle sales in the country are projected to reach the 600,000-unit mark by 2030, according to leading automotive firm Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP).

Sherwin Chua-Lim, senior vice president at TMP said that the projection is based on the firm’s forecast of around five to six percent annual growth in vehicle sales starting next year until 2030.

While the country’s vehicle sales are expected to post five to six percent growth per year starting next year, TMP expects total automotive industry sales to dip this year due to the Middle East crisis.

‘Initially, when we started the year, we were looking at around one percent growth (in total vehicle sales). But because of the Middle East (crisis), it dropped,’ Chua-Lim said.

Ongoing tensions in the Middle East have disrupted global oil supply, leading to higher fuel prices and other costs, which have affected consumption.

Chua-Lim said that Filipino consumers are also highly vulnerable and easily affected by sudden changes or disruptions.

As such, he said that TMP now expects total automotive industry sales to decline by around two percent this year.

Total vehicle sales in the country hit a record high of 491,395 units last year, up by 3.7 percent from the previous record of 473,842 units set in 2024.

While overall vehicle sales are expected to decline this year, electrified vehicles (xEV) such as battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, continue to defy the trend and see growing demand amid high fuel costs.

‘Based on what we see, next year is the recovery year. How fast is the question,’ Chua-Lim said.

‘Once you recover you can have stable growth year-on-year. But without that, you cannot really project a close to accurate number,’ he said further.

Latest data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that their combined sales from January to July reached 241,725 units, 10 percent lower than the 269,207 units sold in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, CAMPI and TMA’s xEV sales in the seven-month period surged by 136 percent to 38,286 units from 16,195 units in the same period a year ago. The sales figure does not include other industry players such as BYD.

A viral image purporting to show former President Rodrigo Duterte with members of his family at an airport falsely claims that he has returned to the Philippines.

The image, which appears to use Duterte’s appearance during his recent International Criminal Court (ICC) hearing, shows him alongside Vice President Sara Duterte, Honeylet Avanceña, Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte and Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.

Two Facebook posts shared the image with captions claiming that the former president had returned to the Philippines. One post was published on September 17, while another was posted on September 19, days after Duterte made his first in-person appearance before the ICC on September 16. He had previously appeared before the court via video link during his initial appearance in March 2025.

One post’s caption read:

The image also circulated on TikTok, where some posts garnered thousands of views.

TikTok posts similarly shared the image with claims that Duterte had returned to the Philippines.

Rating: This is fake.

Facts

Duterte has not returned to the Philippines. He remains in ICC custody in The Hague, Netherlands. On September 16, Trial Chamber III ordered that he continue to be detained after finding “no notable change” in circumstances that would warrant his release, with or without conditions.

The chamber said the prospect of Duterte facing trial, and a lengthy prison sentence if convicted, had increased the risk of him absconding or obstructing or endangering court proceedings.

As of the September 16 detention ruling, the chamber’s decision on Duterte’s fitness to stand trial remained pending. The judges said reports submitted by a panel of three court-appointed medical experts did not contain information warranting a change in his detention.

‘The Chamber finds that the prospect of the Accused facing a trial, and (in the event of a conviction), a lengthy prison sentence, has increased. There is, therefore, a likelihood of the Accused absconding and/or obstructing or endangering the investigation or the court proceedings,’ the five-page decision read.

Duterte’s trial is scheduled to open on November 30. The ICC confirmed in April three counts of crimes against humanity brought against him and committed him to trial.

Why we fact-checked this

The viral photo is one of several AI-generated images and videos of Duterte that have circulated since his appearance at the ICC, with one video claiming to show Duterte thanking his supporters.

Duterte appeared in person at the ICC for the first time on September 16 for the third status conference in his case. He only previously appeared before the court via videolink during his initial appearance in March 2025.

The former president’s trial is scheduled to open on November 30, as he faces three counts of crimes against humanity over his administration’s war on drugs.

As of September 22, one of the Facebook posts has garnered more than 2,800 reactions, 300 comments, and 100 shares, while the other has obtained more than 2,100 reactions, 250 comments, and 100 shares.

One of the TikTok videos, meanwhile, has garnered more than 400,000 views, 19,600 likes, and 500 comments, while the other has gained at least 73,000 views, 5,000 likes, and 300 comments.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) expects its approved investments to reach over P100 billion this year amid strong investor interest.

‘If we count the whole year, we will breach P100 billion in investments,’ BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang said during a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

Investments approved by the BCDA surged by 535 percent to P49.96 billion in the first half from P7.87 billion in the same period last year, driven by investments of major international aviation and logistics companies including Lufthansa Technik Philippines, FedEx and UPS international, which are expanding operations in Clark.

Of the total approved investments, the aviation sector accounted for the biggest share of nearly 68 percent or P33.91 billion.

Meanwhile, the residential sector accounted for P5.9 billion in approved investments, while the government and sports sector accounted for P500 million and hospitality investments reached P30 million.

Agreements during the period included investments involving InfiniVAN, the Philippine Sports Commission, Sophia Real Estate Executives and Development Corp., Baguio Mountainscapes, Hann Philippines and ACWA Power Philippines, as well as a consortium composed of GTM Networks Asia and Volksbahn Technologies.

Bingcang said that the investment growth shows growing confidence in the Philippines as a location for long-term business expansion.

‘Global companies are making larger and longer-term commitments to the Philippines because they see the potential to serve both the domestic market and the wider Asia-Pacific region from here,’ he said.

He also said that the investment figures demonstrate how government-owned land and infrastructure can be used to attract private capital into strategic sectors while generating employment and economic activity.

The BCDA-approved investments in the first half are expected to generate 4,210 jobs.

Bingcang said that the BCDA’s approved investments may match the level approved by Board of Investments, the main investment promotion agency, in a few years.

The BCDA also expects investment activity as it continues work with its partners to develop infrastructure to support the development of the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC).

Launched by the Philippines, United States (US) and Japan in 2024, the LEC seeks to accelerate infrastructure investments and strengthen the connectivity of Luzon’s growth centers covering Subic, Clark, Manila and Batangas.

BCDA wants to leverage the LEC to position the New Clark City as a hub for strategic investments.

Bingcang said that planned infrastructure includes the construction of an additional runway, as well as taxiway and apron at the Clark International Airport to support the expansion of logistics firms in the area.

He said that the BCDA management committee approved last week the procurement for the P1.4 billion construction of the apron.

Meanwhile, the construction of taxiways and additional runway costs around P7 billion to 10 billion.

Bingcang said that the US Development Finance Corp. is interested in the Clark Airport’s expansion.

He also said that the National Commission on Indigenous People has given its letter of no objection to the proposed extension of the North South Commuter Railway until New Clark City.

He said that the proposed extension will be a game-changer for Clark.

BCDA is also set to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Home Development Mutual Fund for the development of economic housing units in New Clark City.

Meanwhile, the Science Park of the Philippines Inc.’s 106-hectare industrial park for mixed-use development in New Clark City is targeted to start construction in the fourth quarter of this year.

As for the artificial intelligence industrial hub being developed with the US in New Clark City under the Pax Silica initiative, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said that the government remains optimistic that the master lease agreement would be signed by the BCDA with the US government by November.

He also emphasized that there will be no diplomatic immunity for locators of the planned hub and this will be stated in the contract.

Outside of Clark, BCDA is looking to bid out the P40 billion development contract of the property near Market! Market! for mixed use by the first quarter of 2027.

Bingcang said that BCDA is looking at a joint venture for the development and will be meeting with three to four Japanese developers interested in the project.