Category: Philippine Star

All eyes will be on two rings today – one in Temecula and one here.

The boxing draw for the 2026 Asian Games will be held today in Aichi-Nagoya, interestingly just hours after Eumir Marcial’s crucial pro bout against American Omar Huerta in California.

And from there, the big question: Will Marcial make it here?

The condition of the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist after the Huerta fight will determine whether he will be good to fly in and carry the fight for Team Philippines in the 80kg class starting Sept. 23.

‘Mahirap umasa. Very stressful umasa,’ admitted Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines president Marcus Manalo.

‘I think malabo na. Mabigat din ang kalaban niya. If he wins, ano ang condition niya? Kung makahabol siya, may jetlag pa siyang haharapin,’ he added.

Huerta is no pushover, with the 30-year-old Mexican-American knockout artist toting a solid 15-1-1 card built on 13 KOs.

Marcial, unbeaten in seven pro outings, has his own concerns to deal with – his brittle hands.

‘Laging na-i-injure, at matagal ang recovery,’ said Manalo.

In the end, it’s all up to Marcial. If he can catch up with the team here, his name goes into the draw for what would be his third Asiad stint, following a bronze in 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and a silver in 2023 Hangzhou.

With or without Marcial, though, ABAP is confident of finally ending the long gold drought.

Team Philippines is bringing a crack crew bannered by Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas and Carlo Paalam – all aching to deliver.

Their routes to glory will be known today.

In our Gospel today (Matthew 20:1-16a), a landowner goes out at dawn, nine o’clock, noon, three o’clock, and five o’clock to hire day laborers for his vineyard. That’s already very strange. Why doesn’t the landowner delegate this task to his foreman? (We know he has one because later in the story, a foreman does enter the scene.) Stranger still is how all the laborers get the exact same pay no matter how long they worked.

A lady I study the Bible with commented, ‘If you do this in the corporate world, you are asking for trouble.’ She’s right… but this Gospel passage isn’t meant to be a blueprint for HR policy. This is a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. Even so, this can challenge us to make our workplaces look a little more like God’s reign.

Many corporations in the SandP 500 index have CEO-to-worker pay ratios in the hundreds-and even thousands-to one. Based on publicly available data which SandP firms are required to file, one restaurant leader earned 31 million dollars in 2025 while a median employee received only around 17 thousand dollars. (I leave it up to you to search the Internet to find out what company this is and who its CEO is.) To put that into perspective, for every dollar a member of the frontline staff was compensated, the top executive got $1,794. And that’s not the worst figure. One automotive manufacturer has a pay gap in the millions to one. (You can probably guess what car company this is.)

Now, I can understand why a CEO is given a higher salary. The responsibility is immense, the pressure is constant, and there is competition for talent. But paying somebody in the corner office thousands-or even millions-of times more than those who keep the business running daily feels scandalous. The more that flows to the top, the less remains for those at the bottom.

I mentioned SandP above. A bit of trivia that would be funny if it weren’t so tragic: SandP stands for Standard and Poor.

The economic landscape I just described was not the situation during Jesus’ time, but the reality back then was no less dire. There were day laborers standing at street corners, enduring the blistering sun, and worrying about getting work. If no one hired them, they would have no food for their families that night.

Why did the vineyard owner in our parable pay everyone the full daily wage regardless of how many hours they toiled? It was because no matter how long they labored, they and their families still needed to eat. The master was not measuring their output; he was providing for their daily bread.

The early-morning crew grumbled against both the owner and the late arrivals. To paraphrase their grievance: ‘How are we equal to those who put in only a single hour? We bore the day’s burden and heat!’

But the landowner recognized that each person he called was equal in need. Another member of my Bible study group realized, ‘I would rather be under the sun working than under the sun but not working.’ I couldn’t agree more. Those left waiting until five o’clock might not have been carrying heavy baskets of grapes, but they bore an even heavier burden: the agonizing anxiety of having no food to bring home that night. They weren’t lounging around lazily the whole day. In my imagination, they were pacing up and down the street, desperate to offer their strength, if only someone would give them a chance.

Now, wouldn’t the vineyard owner have avoided trouble if he had paid those he hired at dawn first? They would have left after getting their wages and would have never known how much the others were paid. But the master wanted them to see what he was doing because he was also a teacher.

What did the landowner want these workers to learn?

The version of the story we hear at Mass has the master asking the disgruntled laborers, ‘Are you envious because I am generous?’ A more literal translation of the original Greek can be, ‘Is your eye evil because I am good?’ The ‘evil eye’ was a Jewish idiom about feeling envious or begrudging another person’s good fortune. Why weren’t the early-morning hires happy for the late arrivals? Why didn’t they just say, ‘Thank God you and your families will eat tonight!’

Envy begins when you see what others have. Behind envy lurks the insidious attitude of ‘I deserve more.’ The ‘evil eye’ is also an eye that blinds. It prevents you from seeing what you have. It blocks you from realizing what others need. We see the same ‘evil eye’ rolling in resentment in the parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15: 11-32) when the older son confronted his father angrily, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.’ The older son couldn’t see what he already had. The father had to remind him, ‘My son, you are here with me always.’ The older son couldn’t see what the younger son needed after being hungry for so long-not just a fattened calf but a reassurance of the father’s love.

The ‘evil eye’ of the grumbling workers couldn’t see that they had already received what they were promised. The ‘evil eye’ focused more on what they thought they were entitled to. The ‘evil eye’ was blind to the hunger of the other workers.

Our parable today ends with the vineyard owner telling the disgruntled laborers, ‘Take what is yours and go.’ But in my mind’s eye, the next day, the master himself, not just any foreman, will call them again at dawn. Why not a foreman? A foreman looks for labor, but the master seeks relationships. He will hope that they come to him at once and see that being with the master is already a reward in itself. The longer you are with him, the more blessed you are. If they refuse-because they have realized they can come later and still get the same pay-the master will try to call them again at nine o’clock, at noon… and so on…. The master will try to call them not just five times, but, as we learned last week, seventy-seven times. My proof for this: When the ungrateful workers grumbled against the master, how did the master address them? ‘My friend.’

Your prayer assignment this week:

The original audience of the Gospel according to Matthew were Jews who had long lived under the Law and borne the responsibility of keeping the covenant. They probably saw themselves as the workers who started laboring at dawn. The workers hired at the ‘eleventh hour’ represented the Gentiles who were entering the Kingdom late. But no matter when they were called to the vineyard, now they were all saved. No one was ‘more saved’ than another. There are no first class or economy seats in the Kingdom. There are no tiers in Heaven.

You probably just guessed our reflection song this week: Eric Clapton’s ‘Tears in Heaven’. But change ‘tears’ to ‘tiers.’

Now, imagine the people you have yet to forgive: ex-friends who have hurt you and abused your trust or even politicians who have stolen your taxes and betrayed public trust. If they repent, because of God’s mercy, they can be welcomed into Heaven. Imagine meeting them there.

Imagine them asking you now:

Would you hold my hand

If I saw you in Heaven?

Would you help me stand

If I saw you in Heaven?

If you cross paths then choose to turn away or ignore each other, I think that is not yet Heaven. Why?

Administrative charges have been filed against three municipal police chiefs in Cavite in connection with a shooting incident in Maragondon, which resulted in the death of a policeman and an aide of a mayor.

Majors Ian Lexter Loyola, Melvin Isidro and Henry Salazar of the Maragondon, Ternate and Magallanes police, respectively, were charged with neglect and simple irregularity in the performance of duty along with a master sergeant, three staff sergeants and a patrolman.

Seven others including two executive master sergeants, a chief master sergeant, two staff sergeants and two corporals were charged with grave neglect of duty.

The charges were filed before the Cavite police Internal Affairs Service.

A criminal complaint was filed against Cpl. Rolando Periodico Jr. of the Trece Martires police, the alleged gunman in the killing of S/Sgt. Junmark Sisante of the Magallanes police and Arjay Mojica, aide of the mayor of Maragondon.

Records showed that Periodico allegedly shot dead Sisante and Mojica during an argument at a resort in Barangay San Miguel A on Aug. 12.

Periodico is also facing administrative charges.

National Police Commission-Calabarzon chief Owen de Luna ordered Cavite police director Col. Ariel Red and Trece Martires police chief Lt. Col. Bryan Merino as well as Loyola, Isidro and Salazar to submit a comprehensive report and the names of officers implicated in the incident.

PayMongo continues to strengthen payment reliability to help businesses avoid lost sales and transaction disruptions, resolving 75 percent of system incidents before they affect merchants.

The company also reported cutting its average service restoration time from hours to minutes after consolidating its monitoring and security tools through technology provider Datadog.

In an interview with The STAR, PayMongo chief product and technology officer Jose Dalino Jr. said delays in processing payments can drive customers to abandon purchases or switch to another merchant.

Failed transactions can also create uncertainty over whether a payment went through, requiring businesses and payment providers to coordinate on refunds, disputes or another attempt to complete the purchase.

‘Uptime and transaction reliability are absolutely mission-critical for us,’ Dalino said. ‘Every second of downtime means real money lost for the thousands of businesses that rely on us to collect payments from their customers.’

Dalino explained that a digital payment passes through several systems, beginning with a merchant’s website or mobile application before reaching the payment gateway and the bank or electronic wallet involved.

These steps include verifying the transaction and checking whether sufficient funds are available. A bottleneck along the way can delay or interrupt the payment.

PayMongo brought its monitoring tools together to allow engineers to trace transactions across these systems and identify where problems occur.

Dalino said the company extended this monitoring to more than 60 software services that handle different parts of its operations. This allows engineers to spot rising errors and address capacity constraints before they develop into disruptions visible to customers.

According to the company, its systems can also detect when a payment partner becomes unavailable, notify merchants and automatically suspend the affected payment method.

PayMongo has also introduced safeguards allowing unsuccessful transactions to be retried without charging customers twice, Dalino said.

The improvements address a business concern for the payments provider itself. Dalino said reliability problems had previously prompted some merchants to move to competing platforms.

Alongside operational monitoring, PayMongo uses tools to identify unusual transaction patterns and scan application code for security weaknesses. Dalino said merchant and customer education remains part of its efforts to protect account credentials.

‘Reliability is what earns trust in payments,’ he said.

The country’s overall water use efficiency (WUE) declined in 2025, representing a 4.3-percent drop, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The PSA reported that the country’s WUE in 2025 fell to P221.48 per cubic meter of water used, down from P231.42 the previous year.

The WUE measures how effectively an industry utilizes water resources by dividing its value-added with the volume of water it consumes.

The services sector accounted for the highest WUE in 2025 at P1,553.61 per cubic meter of water used.

This was followed by the industry sector with a WUE amounting to P261.47, a decrease of 33.4 percent from P392.86 in 2024.

‘This decline contributed to the decrease in the overall WUE,’ the PSA said.

On the other hand, the agriculture sector remained with the lowest WUE at P16.48 in 2025.

The PSA also reported that total freshwater withdrawals rose to 101.61 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2025 from 93.08 bcm in 2024, while the level of water stress reached 31.1 percent.

‘The annual level of water stress from 2016 to 2025 consistently fell within the low-level classification range set by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which is 25 to 50 percent,’ it added.

The allocation for emergency loan assistance for members and pensioners of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) displaced by flooding in Luzon and Mindanao has been increased to nearly P8 billion.

The state-run pension fund said the program covers 16 areas affected by the southwest monsoon and Typhoons Luis, Maymay and Neneng.

The expanded loan program applies to GSIS members and pensioners working or residing in areas declared under a state of calamity.

Deadline of application will be from Sept. 20 to Nov. 16, depending on affected areas.

Qualified borrowers with existing emergency loans may avail themselves of up to P40,000, with the outstanding balance of their existing loans to be deducted from the proceeds. Those with no existing emergency loan balance may borrow up to P20,000.

The loan is payable within 36 months and carries a corresponding interest rate of six percent.

Members and pensioners may apply through the GSIS Touch mobile app or check the state insure’s website for areas covered by the loan assistance program.

From bus terminals to provincial hospitals, strategic government facilities in Cebu are being eyed as sites for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations under an ordinance approved on third and final reading by the Provincial Board.

Ordinance No. 004, authored by Board Member Stanley Caminero, seeks to establish the Cebu Provincial Green Mobility Roadmap and EV Charging Network, with the Cebu South Bus Terminal, Cebu North Bus Terminal, and all provincial hospitals among the priority sites.

The Provincial Board approved the measure on third and final reading during its regular session on Monday, Sept. 14.

Aside from charging infrastructure, the ordinance provides for a socialized charging fee system, public-private partnerships, a phased adoption by component cities and municipalities, a Cebu Green Mobility Trust Fund, and an oversight committee that will supervise the program.

“Existing and future Provincial Government facilities shall establish publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations,” a portion of the ordinance reads.

Under Phase I of the ordinance, existing and future provincial government facilities will establish publicly accessible EV charging stations, with high-priority anchor sites identified for public utility vehicles, health services, and frontline public transport.

These include the CSBT, CNBT, and all provincial hospitals managed by the provincial government.

Other potential sites include Capitol compounds, provincial transport terminals, sports complexes, tourism gateways, government motor pools, government-owned parking facilities, provincial educational institutions, and strategic public service centers.

The ordinance also encourages component cities and municipalities to establish at least one publicly accessible EV charging station in a strategic government facility within one year from the ordinance’s effectivity.

However, the provision describes the adoption by component local government units as being “strongly exhorted and encouraged” through their respective Sanggunians, making the Phase II rollout a voluntary and harmonized effort.

P20M initial fund

To support the initial rollout, the measure creates the Cebu Green Mobility Trust Fund, which will finance the installation, maintenance, expansion, and upgrading of charging stations, as well as climate reporting and subsidy programs.

“An initial allocation of Twenty Million (Php 20,000,000.00) Pesos shall serve to jumpstart the establishment of a dual charging station,” the ordinance stated.

An initial allocation of P20 million is proposed to jumpstart the establishment of dual charging stations, including fast direct-current (DC) and standard alternating-current (AC) charging units, at the Capitol Compound, north and south bus terminals, and other suitable areas.

The trust fund may also receive revenues from charging fees, public-private partnership concession fees, national government grants, climate adaptation and environmental grants, carbon credit mechanisms, external financing, and lawful donations.

The ordinance allows four operating models for the charging stations: province-owned, public-private partnership, hybrid concession, and renewable energy integration.

Under the hybrid model, the provincial government may own the infrastructure while allowing qualified private entities to operate and manage the facilities.

Charging rates

The measure also sets different charging arrangements depending on the user.

Private EV owners will be charged the full commercial rate, while provincial government employees will receive a discounted rate of at least 20 percent.

“Private and premium EVs are strictly excluded from free charging incentives,” it added.

Official government vehicles will be allowed free charging, while selected utility electric vehicles, including registered modern public utility vehicles and electric tricycles, may receive free or subsidized charging.

Ambulances, rescue vehicles, fire trucks, and emergency response vehicles will also be allowed free charging.

The measure specifically excludes private and premium EVs from free charging incentives. Public utility vehicles and government units seeking subsidized or free charging under the program will have to register under a proposed Provincial Green Mobility Local Registration System.

The ordinance also creates a permanent Provincial Green Mobility Implementation and Oversight Committee that will oversee the implementation of the program.

The committee will be tasked with drafting the implementing rules and regulations within 90 days from the ordinance’s effectivity, as well as establishing technical and operational guidelines, local EV registration protocols, tariff formulas, and connector specifications.

It will also identify strategic deployment sites; monitor the technical, operational, financial and environmental aspects of the program; recommend tariff adjustments; and coordinate the voluntary adoption of the charging network among component LGUs.

The committee will be composed of representatives from the provincial government, Provincial Board committees, national government agencies, local government leagues, and various resource sectors.

The Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Climate Change Commission (CCC) will be represented in the body, while representatives from the academe, electric utilities, EV industry, transport cooperatives, climate finance institutions, and civil society may serve as resource members.

The Provincial Planning and Development Office will serve as the permanent secretariat, while the committee’s proceedings will remain recommendatory and will be referred to the governor for final approval.

Safety standards, battery disposal

The ordinance also requires EV charging infrastructure to comply with technical, electrical, and fire safety standards.

Charging stations must use standardized connector types and power capacities in accordance with standards promulgated by the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Philippine Standards, while charging infrastructure must comply with the Philippine Electrical Code and Bureau of Fire Protection guidelines for high-voltage DC fast-charging facilities.

For end-of-life EV batteries, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office will be tasked with establishing protocols for recycling and disposal.

Damaged or end-of-life lithium-ion batteries from provincial government-owned EVs must be handled by DENR-accredited hazardous waste treaters.

The ordinance also encourages, and where technically and financially feasible mandates, the integration of renewable energy sources such as solar panel canopies into charging stations to reduce grid dependency.

The measure cites Republic Act No. 11697, or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, Republic Act No. 9729 or the Climate Change Act of 2009, and Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code as among its legal bases.

It also aligns the provincial initiative with the 2026 Strategic Investment Priority Plan, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act, and several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Under the ordinance, qualified private partners and EV charging station operators may also benefit from streamlined provincial permitting and lease incentives, subject to applicable national rules, while EV charging station operators in Cebu will be required to register with the DOE’s central EV Industry Portal.

The ordinance will take effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation or posting as required by law.

With ube going global, the Department of Agriculture has banned the export of fresh purple yam to protect local planting materials.

Whether the ban comes too late will be known soon enough, if other countries with advanced agricultural and food processing industries begin selling ube products sourced from their own farms.

After taking the local tuber for granted for a long time, agriculture officials appear unprepared for the spike in global demand as Philippine ube attains international renown rivaling matcha.

Philippine production cannot keep pace even with domestic demand for ube – fresh, powdered, processed into paste and flavors for a wide range of food items. The tuber can become a major cash crop, but the government must provide the necessary aid to farmers, in terms of premium planting materials, technical assistance, financial and marketing support.

Incentives must also be given to those with the capabilities and know-how for production on a larger scale including tissue culture. The government must move quickly to obtain a Geographical Indication for Philippine ube and assist local governments in getting GI registration for specific regional varieties.

The Philippines is no stranger to GI registration; ‘Guimaras mango’ is now GI-protected in its export to Europe. The same can be done for ube.

Neighboring countries particularly Thailand and Vietnam have moved faster in seeing the market potential of their crops. The Philippines had to play catch-up with Thailand in exporting coconut juice and cream, and has yet to capitalize on expanding the production of the uniquely delectable macapuno.

Farmers need help in propagating the best varieties of other items that grow well in the Philippines or are unique to certain regions, such as pili, pungent Ilocos garlic, coffee and cacao.

There’s a huge global market for orchids and cut flowers, but in this region, the Philippines is trailing Thailand and Taiwan in orchid production, and Thailand and Malaysia in cut flowers.

Energizing the farms through the production of high-value crops such as ube and empowering farmers are infinitely better than any state-funded ayuda or subsidy. And such crops, like ube, also become a source of national pride.

Bank officials and employees found liable for serious violations could face suspension of up to one year for a first offense and removal or disqualification for repeat offenses under the proposed rules of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

In a draft circular, the BSP sets out procedures for administrative cases, which determine liability for violations of banking laws and central bank regulations, against BSP-supervised financial institutions and their directors, trustees, officers and employees.

Stakeholders have until Sept. 25 to submit comments on the proposal.

Under the proposed schedule of non-monetary penalties, a first serious offense will carry a suspension of six months and one day to one year, with a stern warning. Disqualification can also be recommended to the BSP’s Monetary Board if warranted by the severity of the offense.

A second or subsequent serious offense will carry removal from office and/or disqualification.

Serious offenses include fraudulent acts, unsafe or unsound practices and violations of banking laws or Monetary Board directives that have or could have a material adverse impact on a financial institution, its depositors or other stakeholders.

The proposed schedule will apply to administrative proceedings covered by the draft and where the relevant BSP regulatory manuals do not already prescribe a non-monetary penalty. Fines and other sanctions can also be imposed under applicable laws and regulations.

For minor offenses, a first violation without aggravating circumstances will merit a reprimand and a warning against further violations. These offenses include procedural lapses that can be corrected immediately and acts that do not cause material harm or risk.

Second and subsequent minor offenses will carry suspension of one to six months, with possible disqualification if warranted by the severity of the offense.

However, several acts that individually qualify as minor offenses can warrant suspension even if each was committed for the first time.

The BSP will consider factors such as deliberate misconduct, concealment, fraud, significant harm and previous administrative liability in determining penalties. Good faith, cooperation, corrective measures and voluntary admission will be considered mitigating factors.

Beyond the sanctions, the draft lays down procedures for filing complaints, submitting evidence, deciding cases and seeking reconsideration or appeal.

‘These rules shall be liberally construed to promote just, inexpensive and speedy disposition of administrative cases filed with the BSP,’ the draft stated.

Proceedings will follow a simplified process without necessarily adhering to the technical rules of procedure and evidence used in courts. They will remain confidential, subject to disclosures allowed by law.

Complaints will have to be in writing, under oath and supported by evidence. Anonymous complaints would not be entertained.

Respondents will have 30 calendar days from receipt of the order and complaint to file a sworn answer. Failure to respond will allow the hearing officer to decide the case based solely on the complainant’s evidence or conduct proceedings without the respondent’s participation if necessary.

Once a case is formally submitted for resolution, the hearing officer will have 60 calendar days to render a decision. An extension will require good cause and approval from the director of the Consumer Complaints Resolution Office.

Decisions imposing only fines of up to P100,000 for each transactional violation or P30,000 per calendar day for continuing violations will be submitted to the BSP governor for approval.

Fines above those thresholds and decisions imposing non-monetary sanctions will require Monetary Board approval.

The Gilas women stamped their ticket to the quarterfinal round of the Asian Games women’s basketball division after blasting Hong Kong, 90-73, Sunday morning at the Aichi International Arena in Japan.

Gilas remained unscathed through two games after back-to-back huge wins. The squad first defeated Kazakhstan, 86-58, before the huge win over Hong Kong.

Stefanie Berberabe paced the Filipina dribblers with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists. Afril Bernardino added 17 markers, 11 boards and four dimes, while Jhaz Joson had 15 points.

The two teams were kept in a close game through the midway point of the third quarter, with a triple by Tsz Kwan Li making it a 59-57 lead by the Philippines.

But Gilas stepped on the gas and left Hong Kong on the rear-view mirror with a backbreaking 16-3 run capped by a deuce by Afril Bernardino to push the Philippines ahead, 76-60, with 7:37 remaining.

Li and Tong tried to rally Hong Kong back into the game, but Bernardino, Joson, Camille Malagar and Berberabe put the finishing touches in the dominant win.

Malagar tallied 14 points for the winning team, while Elizabeth Means chipped in 11.

Li carried the offense for Hong Kong with 30 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Tan Fung Ma had 15 markers.

The Philippines will take on Japan in their final Group B play on Tuesday. The home team is also holding a 1-0 record thus far, before facing Kazakhstan Sunday afternoon.