The Philippine Star - December 26, 2024

In this issue

December 26, 2024

Pope Prays: Be Pilgrims of Hope

Vatican City - Pope Francis said yesterday the Jubilee year should be a time for \"every individual, and all peoples and nations to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions.\"

2 mins

Pinoys Thankful for Good Health – SWS Poll

As in previous years, Filipinos remain most thankful for good health this holiday season, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showed.

2 mins

Rains to persist due to 4 weather systems

Four weather systems are bringing cloudy skies and rains over many parts of the country after Christmas Day, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

1 min

BBM-Sara UniTeam: A tandem not meant to last

Just like many other political tandems, the UniTeam alliance between President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte didn’t last.

5 mins

Duterte to join Sara's legal team vs impeachment

Former president Rodrigo Duterte will help in defending his daughter the Vice President in the legal storm she is expected to face next year, including three impeachment complaints.

2 mins

Xylarium: A national treasure on Makiling's foothills

On the foothills of Mt. Makiling sits a national treasure – a wood collection representing more than 90 percent of Philippine tree species – an important reference for archaeologists, foresters, researchers and students.

3 mins

PNP: Christmas Eve Festivities Peaceful

The celebration of Christmas Eve in the country was relatively peaceful, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.

1 min

Duterte

Alyansang Makabayan sought to hold Duterte accountable for her alleged misuse of confidential funds and her alleged betrayal of public trust for refusing to cooperate with Congress in its inquiries.

1 min

DOH: Firecracker-related injuries rise to 43

New cases of firecracker-related injuries stand at 18, bringing to 43 the total number of such injuries recorded nationwide from Dec. 22 to 25, according to the Department of Health.

1 min

Advincula: Be agents of hope

Be agents of hope this Christmas.

3 mins

2024 a 'perfect storm' for agriculture – DA chief

The year 2024 has been a \"perfect storm\" for the agriculture sector amid the destruction brought by various calamities in the country, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

2 mins

Gov't agencies, SUCs flagged over P242-B delayed, defective projects

The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out 15 national government agencies (NGAs) and 34 state universities and colleges (SUCs) over delayed, unimplemented, and defective infrastructure projects for 2023 totaling P242.19 billion.

2 mins

Palace mum on Imee's tirades on 2025 budget

Malacañang was mum on Sen. Imee Marcos' tirades against the proposed 2025 national budget, which is under review by the administration because of \"insertions\" and other items not in line with President Marcos' policies.

2 mins

DSWD eyes nearly 1.2 M additional households for 4Ps

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is looking into the eligibility of almost 1.2 million households to be enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

1 min

Quad comm's remedial bills to help solve POGO flaws

The quad committee of the House of Representatives has filed five remedial measures aimed to correct flaws in the country's laws that have allowed anomalies such as allowing foreigners to acquire spurious birth records, according to Surigao 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

1 min

3 Phl natural parks included in Heritage Parks list

Three Philippine parks known to be rich in biodiversity were included in the list of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Heritage Parks, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

1 min

PNP Heightens Security for CPP Anniversary

Police stations have beefed up security in anticipation of possible attacks by New People's Army (NPA) rebels as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) marks its founding anniversary today.

1 min

Inmates' kin get holiday stay-in privileges - BuCor

Families of inmates across the country are allowed to visit prisons under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) during the holiday season to foster solidarity and promote the morale of prisoners.

1 min

Mary Jane Celebrates Christmas With Family

After 14 years on death row in Indonesia, Mary Jane Veloso celebrated Christmas with her family yesterday.

1 min

Phl logs over 4,000 measles, rubella cases

Over 4,000 cases of measles and rubella (MR) have been recorded across the country, the Department of Health reported on Tuesday.

1 min

MMDA Records 40 Road Crashes on Christmas

Forty road accidents were recorded from Dec. 24 to 25 by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

1 min

Home

EYES WIDE OPEN

3 mins

Laggard in justice

Here's a subject for New Year's resolutions in one branch of government: Prosperity Data360 drawn up by the World Bank for 2024 showed that in terms of access, efficiency and overall quality, the Philippine justice system is below par both regionally and globally.

1 min

Illicit

Just as this administration was trying to impress the public about its seriousness in curbing economic sabotage, the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) dismissed on a technicality a case involving tax evasion through illicit tobacco products.

3 mins

Christmas and compassionate soul

Christmas Day comes and goes, but its spirit lingers, bringing reflection, joy, and hope.

4 mins

US takes aim at China's production of essential computer chips

World view

1 min

Looking back to 2024

In 2024, there were events that have been considered as seismic in their effects on the Philippines and the world.

3 mins

Excess liquidity

VIRTUAL REALITY

4 mins

Go Attends Turnover of 8 Ambulances for Davao

After pushing for the funds for a health care project in Davao Oriental, Sen. Bong Go on Monday attended the ceremonial turnover of eight ambulances for Mati City and the province's Baganga, Boston, Caraga, Cateel, Manay, Tarragona, Lupon and San Isidro towns.

1 min

Duterte's Yuletide Gift-Giving Draws Thousands

Thousands flocked yesterday to the annual gift-giving activity hosted by the family of former president Rodrigo Duterte at their old residence along Taal Street, Royal Valley Subdivision in Barangay Bangkal here.

1 min

Kanlaon Aggressive Ash Emissions Continue

Aggressive ash emissions continued at Kanlaon Volcano, with seven events recorded in 24 hours since Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.

1 min

Biliran Bridge sways, creates wave-like movements

Crossing the Biliran Bridge in northern Leyte was limited to pedestrians and light vehicles after the 48-year-old structure was shown in viral online posts to be swaying and creating wave-like movements since Monday.

1 min

Impeached South Korean president defies Christmas summons

South Korea's suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol refused a summons to appear for questioning on Christmas Day, the second time he has defied investigators' demands in a week.

1 min

Trump blasts Biden over death sentence commutations

Donald Trump hit out Tuesday at US President Joe Biden for commuting the sentences of almost every American federal prisoner on death row, as the president-elect prepares to replace the Democrat in the White House.

1 min

Ukraine reports massive attack by Russia

KYIV (AFP) - Russian missiles killed at least one person and damaged energy infrastructure across Ukraine, according to officials, who reported a massive Christmas attack.

1 min

Azerbaijan plane crashes in Kazakhstan; 42 dead

An Azerbaijan Airlines plane has crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Atktau, with Kazakhstan's emergency ministry saying 42 people are dead.

1 min

Israeli Military Intercepts Missile Launched From Yemen

Israel's military intercepted a missile early on Wednesday that was launched from Yemen and crossed into Israeli territory, the army said.

1 min

Bethlehem marks somber Christmas under shadow of war

Christians gathered at the Church of the Nativity in the holy city of Bethlehem on Tuesday to mark a solemn Christmas overshadowed by war, as Pope Francis led mass in the Vatican.

1 min

Affleck Gives Estranged Wife J-Lo Sentimental Christmas Gift

LOS ANGELES - Ben Affleck put some thought into his Christmas gift for Jennifer Lopez this year despite their ongoing divorce, according to US celebrity website Page Six.

1 min

More Christmas wishes

Here are the five more Christmas wishes in our list of 10. The first five wishes were in yesterday's column.

2 mins

Wemby, Edwards Get Feel of Christmas on Court

Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards will play Christmas Day games for the first time on Wednesday as the NBA delivers its 77th year of contests on the holiday.

1 min

Quiambao all dressed up, ready to go

Kevin Quiambao has started his preparations for a new chapter in his rising legend.

1 min

Camiguin netter shines in Naga

Camiguin's Zita Zeena Clarke achieved a rare feat at the Dagitab Festival National Junior Championships in Cebu, clinching three titles in the girls' singles categories at the City of Naga courts over the weekend.

1 min

CONVERGE RINGS XMAS BELLS

Converge put a bow on a perfect Christmas week run with a 110-94 topping of Meralco in the

1 min

Bacojo, Mejia join Phl chess team

Mark Jay Bacojo and Cherry Ann Mejia claimed berths to the national team after conquering the Philippine Sports Commission-National Chess Federation of the Philippines selection tournament grand finals at the PACE Monday.

1 min

BIR, Customs Face Steep Targets in 2025

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are set to tackle ambitious double-digit revenue growth targets for 2025, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.

1 min

Metro Manila office rents seen declining further next year

Office rents in Metro Manila are projected to further decline in the coming year mainly due to an oversupply of vacant space, according to a global commercial real estate services firm.

2 mins

Cash Usage of State Agencies Hits 94%

State agencies improved their cash utilization rate to 94 percent as of end-November, slightly up from the previous year, as the government ramped up its cash allocation releases, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

1 min

Slower fiscal consolidation seen as gov't vows no new taxes

The start of 2024 confirmed a longstanding rumor of a significant change at the Department of Finance (DOF): a new secretary was coming.

4 mins

Phl has 2nd largest share of branded residences in Asia

The Philippines has the second largest supply of branded residences in Asia, according to a Thailand-based hospitality consultancy firm.

1 min

ERC sets P25/kWh cap on power reserve market price

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has set a ceiling price of P25 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) on the backup power that can be offered to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

2 mins

Aboitiz Construction bags Batangas cement project

The construction unit of the Aboitiz Group has bagged the site development works package for Taiheiyo Cement's upcoming cement plant in Batangas.

1 min

CLI Eyes P5B From Sustainability-Linked Bonds

Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), a listed property developer focused on the Visayas and Mindanao regions, is targeting to raise as much as P5 billion from the issuance of sustainability-linked bonds.

2 mins

PAL Resumes Cebu Flights to Osaka

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has reinstated its weekly flights between Cebu and Osaka in line with efforts to capture the steady demand for business and leisure travel to Japan.

1 min

DTI to Report on Cement Safeguard Probe in January

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will report on the progress of its probe into whether safeguard measures should be imposed on cement imports by January next year.

1 min

Phl dairy imports up 24% in 9 months

The country's dairy imports in the nine months through September rose by more than a fifth on an annual basis to over 2.7 million metric tons in liquid milk equivalent, driven by higher demand as world prices eased.

2 mins

PEZA, DOLE sign data sharing agreement to streamline visa processing

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) have signed a data sharing agreement to streamline the PEZA visa application process as part of efforts to improve ease of doing business.

1 min

Fisherfolk poverty to worsen if big fishers enter municipal waters

Non-government organizations assailed the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a Malabon Regional Trial Court ruling of allowing commercial fishers within the 15-kilometer municipal waters as it would accelerate depletion of fish stocks at the expense of small fishers.

2 mins

Energy security

Earlier this year, our country battled the El Niño phenomenon, which led to record-breaking temperatures and heat indices.

3 mins

Aboitiz, partners allot over P2 B for wind farm grid integration

Lihangin Wind Energy Corp. (LWEC), a joint venture of Aboitiz Renewables Inc., Vivant Energy Corp. and Singapore-based Vena Energy, is spending over P2 billion for the transmission connection of its massive wind farm in northern Samar.

1 min

Cost reduction, competitive pressure driving AI adoption in Phl

The need to reduce costs and pressure from competition are key drivers for artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among companies in the Philippines, but limited use cases and scalability challenges are obstacles to fully leveraging the technology, according to IBM.

1 min

ICTSI Receives Maiden Container in Indonesia

The International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has welcomed its first container call in East Java, showing the capability of its Indonesian project to handle different kinds of vessels.

1 min

HOW I ALMOST MISSED ZEROBASEONE'S TIMELESS WORLD' IN MANILA

As much as I love Zerobaseone, I have to admit that the Manila leg of their concert didn’t start off well — at least for me.

4 mins

COUNTDOWN TO SPLENDOR AT NEWPORT WORLD RESORTS

Newport World Resorts sets the stage for an unforgettable New Year celebration.

1 min

A TOAST TO LOCAL FLAVORS: FILIPINO FRUITS IN CRAFT COCKTAILS

A drinks menu caught my attention last Dec. 2 during chef Miko Calo’s AVEC Series at Makati Shangri-La’s Sage Bar, which ran from Nov. 18 to Dec. 9.

2 mins

PIOLO GRATEFUL FOR LOVE TEAM WITH JUDAY: THAT MADE ME BECOME MAINSTREAM

In the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) official entry “The Kingdom,” Piolo Pascual essays the role of an outcast farmer who is shunned by society but becomes an unlikely hero in the kingdom's quest for change.

3 mins

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The Philippine STAR is the flagship title of the country's largest and most successful print media enterprise, the Philstar Media Group. Owned and published by Philstar Daily Inc., The Philippine STAR is a vaunted pillar of Philippine journalism whose integrity is anchored on the Biblical motto, “Truth Shall Prevail”. The Philippine STAR is a two-time winner of the prestigious Newspaper of the Year award given by the Rotary Club of Manila.