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The hunt for a dance partner continues for Manny Pacquiao.

Three months after his comeback fight against Mario Barrios, the Filipino icon is still in the process of finalizing his next gig.

Just yesterday, news came out that streaming giant Netflix is eyeing to stage a rematch between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2026 – or more than a decade since the two boxing superstars first fought.

Pacquiao confirmed that the retired Mayweather is indeed among those he considers for his planned ring return early next year.

‘There’s a lot of ongoing negotiations right now, so it’s hard to preempt what fight I’m going to push through,’ Pacquiao told the media Wednesday during a press conference announcing his entry into the International Boxing Association leadership as its vice president.

‘I’m waiting for the final negotiations,’ stressed Pacquiao, who fought Barrios to a draw last July in a failed bid to snatch the latter’s World Boxing Council welterweight title.

Another name that came up is Vasiliy Lomachenko, also a retired former champion who, like Mayweather, was once among the sports’ top pound-for-pound fighters.

‘There’s a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather, and also a fight with Lomachenko and other fighters,’ said Pacquiao, who is turning 47 this December.

Mayweather and Lomachenko thus add to the list of possible Pacquiao opponents that originally has reigning World Boxing Association welterweight Rolly Romero as the frontrunner.

Still, Pacquiao remains fixated on Mayweather, who handed him a decision loss in 2015, in what turned out to be among the richest fights in boxing history.

‘I’d love to have a fight, a rematch with Floyd Mayweather. I hope we can understand each other and we can negotiate well,’ he said.

But when will everything be signed, sealed and delivered?

‘Soon,’ said Pacquiao.

Kon nangita silang Kongresista Ahong Chan ug Mayor Cindi Chan og rason sa pag-undang sa pagpamugos sa puol na nilang mga nawong ug ngalan sa mga karatula sa hapit tanang poste sa suga ug mga sakyanan ug ubang kabtangan ug mga proyekto sa Lapu-Lapu City, mao na kini:

Pormal nang gitawag ang ilang atensiyon sa Armed Forces of the Philippines ug sa Philippine Navy sa seryusong hulga sa nasudnong seguridad nga nahimo sa iresponsable nilang pagpahibawo aron lang maka-epal sa nahimutangan sa gitukod nga missile storage facility.

Tungod sa pagbutang og higanteng tarp nga kumpleto sa ngalan sa barangay ug baseng militar ug pagpa-video ug pagpaletrato sa luna nga gihimoan sa groundbreaking niadtong Pebrero 21, si Mayor Cindi Chan (kongresista niadtong higayona) nibutyag sa top secret sa militar.

Nakatultol na karon ang China ug ubang kanasuran nga posibleng dunay daotang tuyo sa Pilipinas sa armas ug depensa pila ka kilometro gikan sa Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base, usa sa mga baseng militar nga makasulod-gawas ang mga sundawo ug mga armas sa Estados Unidos.

Giangkon ni Chan ang kredito sa proyekto. Bisan dili iyang kuwarta ang gigasto. Kon dili ang pundo sa Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad, hinugpong programa sa Department of National Defense, ug Department of Public Works and Highways.

Kon nagduda pang China ug ubang nangespiya unsa ka-importante ang sekreto nga iyang gibisto, gideklarar ni Chan sa iyang diskurso nga ang facility ‘would house valuable military assets and enhance the city’s role in supporting national defense infrastructure.’

Segun sa retiradong opisyal sa militar nga tigpaminaw sa among programang ‘Baruganan’ sa YouTube, ang mosunod nga mga kaso mahimong ipasaka batok ni Chan:

Paglapas sa Revised Penal Code, Article 229 (Revelation of Secrets by an Officer);

Paglapas sa Republic Act No. 3019, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Section 3(e), kay iyang pataka makadaot sa gobyerno;

Paglapas sa Local Government Code (Republic Act No. 7160), Grave Misconduct, Neglect of Duty, o Dishonesty; ug

Paglapas sa Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees), tungod sa pagbudhi sa nasudnong seguridad.

It has been months since explosive revelations of large-scale corruption dominated our headlines, and weeks since thousands took to the streets in protest, demanding accountability. Yet, tellingly, we are still waiting for anyone to be truly held accountable. This has happened too many times: each scandal ignites a surge of outrage, only for momentum to fade and our collective will worn down by silence and inaction. We find ourselves losing energy to care and eventually growing numb. The cycle is frightening.

None of this is new, and those who remember Napoles and PDAF can attest that while the shapes and players may change, the story rarely does. But just because we’re familiar with the scandal does not make the pain less acute. Repeated failures of accountability have only paved the way for more egregious forms of plunder. If the estimate of P1 trillion siphoned from flood control projects alone is true, we could have fed millions of hungry Filipino children or delivered life-saving medicines and services to countless communities.

As medical doctors and public health practitioners, we are doubly outraged, given how limited the health care budget already is. The money wasted in corruption is the very lifeblood needed to keep patients alive, to staff our hospitals and clinics, to ensure every Filipino receives the care they deserve. As powerfully proclaimed at the Trillion-Peso March, ‘Libo-libong pasyente [ko] sa barrio na sana ang nagamot ng mga luxury cars niyo!’

But indignation is only the beginning. The real challenge is transforming outrage into action, and the health sector cannot afford to be a passive observer. What then can we do?

First, we must call attention to the ways in which corruption directly harms health and well-being. The failure to control floods due to siphoned-off funds, for instance, can lead to leptospirosis outbreaks and mosquito-borne diseases like dengue. Substandard roads are occupation hazards that also set back walkability, bikeability and their health-promoting effects. Less visible but no less damaging are medical assistance funds that, when funneled through politicians, become tools of patronage rather than mechanisms for strengthening health institutions. This perpetuates dependency and undermines universal healthcare.

Second, we must also confront how the health sector itself is involved in corruption. Like flood control, disease control has always been used to justify huge expenditures, and there are also allegations of ghost projects for health, not to mention ghost patients and ghost procedures. Demanding accountability for issues closer to home is the most difficult of all to do, because it will require confronting our peers, mentors and even friends to the same standard we demand of politicians and those in power. But if we wish to speak with moral authority, we must stop tolerating unethical practices in our own ranks, including the Department of Health and throughout medical leadership.

Third, we need to recenter communities in our practice. Both corruption and catastrophic health expenditures thrive when the health system is top-down, hospital-based and specialization-driven. By rightfully focusing our attention to actual community needs – including preventive and primary health care as well as the social and political determinants of health at the local level – we not only lower costs for everyone, but reduce opportunities for corrupt practices. Beyond token inclusion, true reform also means opening ourselves to other forms of expertise, such as patient advocates, barangay health workers and allied professionals. By doing so, we prevent power from becoming unchecked and ensure better outcomes for all.

Finally, as health professionals, we should stand with the rest of the country in protesting and resisting corruption. Some of us might be insulated from the worst effects of misgovernance because of our relative privilege, and the pressures of work can be an excuse for social disengagement. But thinking that medicine and politics do not mix is not only naïve but also dangerous. Silence makes us complicit. Our Hippocratic oath – to do no harm – rings hollow if we continue to allow our corrupt political system to harm our people’s health and well-being.

Thankfully, we are not alone in this struggle. As exemplified by Drs. Bobby dela Paz and Johnny Escandor, there is a long and proud history of courage within the health sector – of doctors, nurses and community health workers, both in and out of government – who understood that caring for the sick also means confronting our social ills. This is the kind of health care our people have long been denied – and the kind we must now fight for, together.

To get to the point without beating around the bush, the only way we can truly be sincere with everyone and with everything is when we are with God who, after all, knows all things and knows them always with charity, justice, mercy, prudence, and the like.

We have to understand that sincerity is a matter of having a proper relation first with God, since only then would we manage to be sincere with everyone and with everything.

When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would know that our relation with others and with everything else, to be true and sincere, would not just involve knowing them, which mean they are in us. It would also involve loving them which would enable us to be in them, just like God is in all of us. Like anything else in our life, to be sincere is a relational affair. It’s not just a personal, individualistic, or egocentric affair.

That’s just how the cookie crumbles in our life. We need to be in others, as well as the others need to be in us. We are meant for communion among ourselves. And this can happen if we give full and proper play to our knowing and loving, using our intelligence and will to reflect the inner dynamism of the life of God whose image and likeness we are.

God is in an eternal process of knowing and loving, giving rise to the three persons of the Blessed Trinity, with the Father as the knower, the Son as the known, and the Holy Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son.

With this inmost dynamism of his eternal knowing and loving, God also gets to know and love everything else outside of himself. There is nothing that exists that is outside his knowledge and loving, though in varying degrees and ways.

When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would be able to overcome whatever fear or shame we may have that would prevent us from being sincere. We would be able to know how to deal with our unavoidable biases and prejudices, our differences and conflicts in such a way that we would be sincere to each other.

With this kind of sincerity, we would be able to broaden our mind and heart in such a way that we can go beyond the here and now, the material, sensible and natural aspects of our life and enter into the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life.

To be sincere and to be in the truth goes further than mere facts and data. Much less is truth about a certain view or choice that may be supported by a majority of the people. Truth can only be found in God when the Spirit of Truth shows us what truth is.

We are reminded of this very important aspect of our life when in the gospel of St. John, Christ said that the Spirit of Truth ‘will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming.’ (Jn 16,13)

To know the truth and to be in the truth are a matter of being discerning of what the Holy Spirit tells and shows us. In short, we cannot know and be sincere and in the truth unless we follow what the Spirit tells us.

NOTE: The Masked Banker is a top executive at a local investment house. Their identity was confirmed to my satisfaction through independent reference and credential checks, but has been withheld at their request.

MB: I’m so excited to talk to a high-level investment banker (IB) about IPOs! Thanks for putting aside some time to talk shop about the IPO process with a certified IPO fanboy like me.

Masked Banker: The pleasure is mine, and thank you also for the opportunity to provide your audience with insights on what happens behind the scenes on IPOs and the process. Hopefully your audience will have a better understanding of what goes on, and spot the actions that go behind certain moves during an IPO.

Merkado Barkada (MB): For most investors, the preliminary prospectus filing with the SEC is the first time they see an IPO, but that’s actually a huge milestone in a long process that probably started months (if not years) ago. How do IPO candidates and bankers first come into contact?

Masked Banker: Prospective IPO candidates are introduced to the Investment Bankers in one of several ways:

Creditor banks of the IPO candidates are one of the ‘first touch’ with the IPO candidates, who happen to be lenders to such companies. The creditor banks usually introduce such IPO candidates to their IB (investment bank) subsidiaries.

Audit and/or law firms that have such IPO candidates as their clients and refer them to their IB contacts. The quid pro quo is that the said audit or law firms are also engaged in the transactions.

PSE-LEAP – the PSE has a Listings Engagement and Assistance Program (LEAP) that regularly conducts roadshows and discussions with companies that express interest in listing on the PSE. During such engagements, the PSE will normally include an IB to provide context on the IPO process and underwritings.

Financial Advisers – IPO candidates may have their own respective financial advisers who are working with the company to prepare for its capital-raising activities, such as an IPO. These advisers then turn to their contacts among IBs to present and pitch their services.

IBs – we will also reach out to companies that we believe are IPO-ready and have a unique storyline to bring to market. We will usually try to find introductions to the company principals or even cold-call.

MB: Assuming either side can initiate, which (in your experience) is better for the potential performance of a future IPO?

Masked Banker: Generally, the IPO candidates that proceed to the offering are those that have an expressed interest/objective/goal for their planned IPO, and these are the companies that are ‘motivated’ and actually proceed with their IPOs. A motivated company would have an initial plan already and outlook on where they want to go. IBs provide the runway for these companies to achieve their goal of going public.

MB: What are the critical things that bankers and potential IPOs talk about in those first few meetings?

Masked Banker: Personally, it’s critical to understand the IPO candidate’s objective and purpose for going public. Candidates should be motivated, as it’s a long process that requires principals’ and senior management’s engagement. We also talk about the fundraising requirement (how much cash we need to generate from the transaction), and we check on the commitment level of the principals and senior management players who will be involved in the transaction. We also assess the familiarity of those players with the workings of the stock market to try and avoid any rude awakenings or misconceptions.

MB: How can retail investors get a feel for how involved and bought-in the IPO candidate’s principals and senior managers are to the deal?

Masked Banker: A good indicator of this is when the Principals are the ones front and center in Pre-Deal Investor Education (PDIE – this is an Investment Banker terminology) presentations, QIB briefings, and retail roadshow presentations. When these are ‘assigned’ to the investor relations team, the involvement is not really the same.

MB: What are the red flags that you look for that might signal a problem for an IPO candidate?

Masked Banker: There are several:

Governance and Reputational Considerations – Before we even speak with prospective IPO candidates, we will conduct research on the Company’s principals, the Company, its past performance, reputation in the industry and trade, manpower/labor matters. These areas provide a peek into the red flags, if any.

Unrealistic Price Expectations – We’re normally wary of IPO candidates that have unrealistic price expectations and who may not have thought through their bases for such price expectations.

Lack of Plans – If the IPO candidate does not know what it will do with the funds raised, I believe there is no reason for them to go public at this time.

Big Secondary Portion for the IPO – Unless the IPO involves a REIT or the secondary portion will be for the overall allotment/stabilization fund, we will usually advise against an IPO candidate doing a large secondary portion (greater than 20%) as it gives a wrong message to the market that the principals are cashing out.

Presence of PE Investors – While PE investors signal an initial group as having conducted a thorough due diligence review and their investment in the company presents a ‘seal of good housekeeping’ from a professional investor – our worry is the timing and extent of secondary selling that the PE Investor would undertake during the public offer and eventually during listing (what will they do after the lock-up period).

MB: How do investment bankers try to overcome those red flags?

Masked Banker: We usually will have a frank and candid discussion on the red flag matters and signal remedial actions on the part of the IPO candidate. If we believe that they will be sincere in addressing the red flags, then we proceed. Otherwise, we beg off on the deal.

MB: The topic of price must be an intensely emotional one for some owners. How do you work with potential IPOs to come up with a price range?

Masked Banker: The ‘science’ in pricing is that the IBs will go through a valuation process with the IPO candidate using one of a number of valuation methodologies: (a) asset-based, (b) market-based, and (c) cash-flow based. We also look at the IPO candidates’ intrinsic ‘valuables’ like the industry it is involved in, its industry standing/market share (is it a leader or a challenger), reputation, and potentials/prospectus. Finally, we look at overall market sentiment: bull or bear. Personally, a frank question I always ask the principals of my IPO candidates is this: At what price will YOU buy your company’s stock?

MB: Is the pricing day ‘discount’ used by some IBs as a way of framing the IPO price as a ‘deal’ relative to its maximum price from the prospectus?

Masked Banker: The discount is usually the actual price established during the book-building process, i.e, the price that clears the books (usually 70% of the offering).

MB: How is that maximum price from the prospectus arrived at?

Masked Banker: This is usually the HIGHEST JUSTIFIABLE PRICE IN A PERFECT MARKET, based on the higher end of comparables at the best times in the market, just in case the market and valuations move and approach this condition.

MB: How does the investment bank “test” the pricing during the book-building process?

Masked Banker: There is usually a small group of Institutional Investors (Fund Managers, Stock Broker Research Heads, and Institutional Investor Sales Heads) that we will hold in-depth presentations and discussions to get their candid comments, interest, and at what price levels in the IPO pre-deal roadshows. This initial canvas allows us to narrow the price range before going into the actual QIB briefings and book-building, where, if we did our job right, we should be getting stronger interest.

MB: The last few IPOs have performed very well relative to their IPO prices, but historically (since COVID), IPOs on the PSE have generally lost a significant amount of value relative to their IPO prices. What do you think is the cause of this historical underperformance?

Masked Banker: The historical under-performance was really due to companies coming out or getting caught in the middle of market disturbances that affected overall market sentiment. A few companies that went public also posted weaker-than-expected revenue and earnings growth, with some even posting earnings declines.

MB: What do you think is behind the overperformance of recent IPOs?

Masked Banker: The companies listened to market investors’ feedback and came to market with deep cuts in IPO pricing/valuation, and this was well received by investors. There was also better-than-expected earnings performance, and even post-IPO mergers and acquisitions activity.

MB: Ok, I’m going to have to stop myself there, because I could literally do this for hours. Thank you for answering my questions so directly and giving MB readers a look behind the IB curtain to gain a better understanding of the IPO process!

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala gave her well-wishes to fellow tennister Katie Boulter, who retired in their Hong Kong Open first round matchup Tuesday evening.

Eala punched her ticket to the next round of the WTA250 tournament after Boutler was forced to retire from the match due to injury, 6-4, 2-1.

After the match, the 20-year-old Filipina said she hopes the Olympian can ‘take this time to recover.’

‘I’m a little out of words, you know I think this time of the year is a tough moment for a lot of players physically and mentally it being the end of the season,’ she said in the post-game interview.

‘I hope that Katie can take this time to recover and just look back at her season proudly, yeah,’ she added

Eala took the first set after breaking a 4-all deadlock with two straight games.

The Filipina had the upper hand in the second set, before an emotional Boulter asked for the medical timeout.

Shortly after, she retired from the match.

Now, Eala, who has bowed out in the first round of her previous three tournaments, will be taking on 2025 Canadian Open champion Victoria Mboko in the second round. Mboko is ranked 21st in the world.

Manufacturers have committed to holding off price increases of basic goods until the end of the year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

‘There will be no price increase for basic necessities and prime commodities until the end of the year. All manufacturers have agreed to this,’ Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in a Viber message yesterday.

The DTI said in a statement that during the recent Consumer Welfare Month Stakeholders’ Appreciation Night, it called on manufacturers to help maintain current prices at least until the end of the year.

The agency continues to coordinate with manufacturers and retailers to maintain the current suggested retail prices in line with the directive of President Marcos to keep essential goods affordable during the holiday season.

While the DTI has secured the manufacturers’ support to keep prices of basic necessities and prime commodities stable, Roque said the agency is still in discussions with manufacturers of Noche Buena items, or those purchased for the Christmas Eve meal.

‘We are still in talks with the manufacturers, but we will inform the public next week,’ she said.

Basic necessities cover canned sardines, milk, coffee, bread, noodles, salt, detergent or laundry soap, bottled water and candles.

Meanwhile, prime commodities include canned meat products, condiments, toilet soap and batteries.

The boardroom of AB Capital and Investment Corp. has welcomed a familiar name from the insurance world: Alexander S. Narciso, former president of Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc., whose appointment as independent director was just approved by the BSP.

Narciso brings with him decades of leadership in life-insurance and financial services, having had full operational, financial and regulatory responsibility for Sun Life’s Philippine insurance business.

Under his watch, the firm posted P55.79 billion in total premiums and P10.0 billion in new-business annual premium equivalent (NBAPE) in 2023, earning it the top spot among Philippine insurers for 13 years running.

Narciso is credited with having reshaped Sun Life’s salesforce into a streamlined, high-performance team of around 21,000 advisors by the time of his retirement in 2023.

Over this period, the company earned the Trusted Brand Platinum Award in Life Insurance for 14 consecutive years and repeatedly produced the most Million Dollar Round Table qualifiers nationwide.

Beyond business metrics, Narciso channels his energy into social causes: he serves as an Independent Trustee for both the Jesuit Volunteers Philippines Foundation and the World Surgical Foundation.

He also holds a philosophy degree from Ateneo de Manila University, a master’s in industrial economics from the Center for Research and Communication and is a Fellow (with distinction) of the Life Management Institute.

Where Clint Escamis goes, the Mapua Cardinals follow.

Escamis rediscovered his touch as Mapua raced to an 85-78 victory over Emilio Aguinaldo College yesterday and revved up its Final Four drive in NCAA Season 101 at the MOA Arena.

After below-par performances, Escamis uncorked a 20-point effort as the reigning champions ended their alarming three-game slide and improved to 4-4.

St. Benilde trimmed Lyceum, 70-67, in the other game.

An online gaming platform certified by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation on Wednesday announced its collaboration with the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).

747 Live, which boasts over a million registered users, said the partnership with the MPBL is meant to fuel Filipinos’ passion for basketball, calling their collaboration ‘a natural fit’.

The partnership was sealed on Wednesday in a media launch attended by key figures from the global online gaming bookmaker and the country’s premier regional league.

Henceforth, the tournament, which began with 30 teams and is now down to 16, will be known as “742.live presents Manny Pacquiao’s 2025 Playoffs and Finals”.

Boxing icon and MPBL founder and president Manny Pacquiao signed the agreement with 747.live Chief Executive Officer Enrico Menghini.

“I am glad that 747.live has seen the MPBL as an emerging local gaming market, said Pacquiao. “This could usher in a long partnership as we share the same vision of transparency, expansion and innovation.”

“For 747 Live, this partnership represents an exciting opportunity to connect with local audiences on a larger scale, celebrating the Filipino spirit of competition, teamwork, and sportsmanship,” said Menghini. “747 Live looks forward to a long-term partnership with MPBL, continuing to grow side by side and deliver world-class entertainment for Filipino fans everywhere.”

Also present were MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, CEO Joe Ramos and Chief Legal Counsel Atty. Glenn Gacal.

747 Live promotes responsible gaming on a wide array of casino and online games, sporting events, esports, leagues and tournaments worldwide.

App users can view the MPBL players’ stats, odds, handicaps, totals and game results, and take their chances.

“It’s a good partnership with 747 Live. Hopefully, this would be a long and productive partnership,” said Duremdes.

Not only for financial gain, 747 Live assures gamers of efficient customer support, including fast payment methods.