China envoy: We don’t want to fight, use force
China envoy: We don’t want to fight, use forceMANILA, Philippines — China is not picking a fight and does not want to use force in resolving its maritime dispute with the Philippines, according to Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan. If we want to fight, we would have done that earlier,” Jing said during a visit to The STAR yesterday. Jing said Manila can pursue an “independent, balanced” approach to foreign relations, being friendly with both China and the US. “We want to achieve something, declare that’s our diplomatic achievement, and we want to finish,” he pointed out. Theresa Lazaro earlier said ASEAN would try to finish by this year the negotiations for a long-sought code of conduct in the South China Sea between the region and China.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
House panel junks 2 impeach raps vs Marcos Jr.
House panel junks 2 impeach raps vs Marcos Jr. Lawmakers vote yesterday on the merits of the impeachment complaints filed against President Marcos as protesters (photo below) gather outside the House of Representatives in Quezon City. MANILA, Philippines — Through votes from overwhelmingly administration allies, the impeachment complaints against President Marcos have been scrapped for “insufficiency in substance” by the House of Representatives’ committee on justice. ‘Policy critique’Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., of Ako Bicol party-list, observed that the second impeachment suit was essentially a policy critique that does not meet the constitutional standards required to proceed as an impeachment case. “For an impeachment complaint to be declared sufficient in substance, the recital of facts should constitute the impeachable offense charged,” she said.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Big, Bold
Big, BoldWe are all waiting with bated breath for the “big, bold” reforms the Marcos administration promised. The GDP growth rate of 4.4 percent reported last week was even lower than the most meager market forecasts. Whatever “big, bold” reform package the administration will unwrap must be dramatic enough to turn the tide. Short of this, the promise of “big, bold” reforms is just words strung together. The promise of “big, bold” reforms is encumbered by falling trust ratings.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Palace: SC ruling on ICI vindicates Marcos Jr.
Palace: SC ruling on ICI vindicates Marcos Jr.“With the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the formation of the ICI, the President has shown the people his good intentions to conduct an in-depth investigation into anomalous flood control projects,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a Viber message to reporters yesterday. MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos was vindicated by a Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure. The high court dismissed the petition filed by lawyers Jacinto Paras, Manuelito Luna and Ferdinand Topacio questioning the constitutionality of EO 94, which created the ICI. Created in September last year, the commission was tasked with investigating anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects over the past 10 years. In December 2025, the Office of the Ombudsman filed cases against the Discayas and others over a P96.5-million ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Time to move forward, says Palace
Time to move forward, says PalaceMANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday called on those behind the efforts to impeach President Marcos to move forward as it expressed elation over the dismissal of the complaints, which it described as “weak” and “without merit.”“We are happy that the process was followed. We saw that the complaint has no merit,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told Palace reporters. “Even the President was confident that he did not commit an impeachable offense. So he said, let us move forward,” she added. That’s what the President wants, for the process to be followed and for the truth to be seen,” the Palace press officer said.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Koreans pace Ladies Masters
Koreans pace Ladies MastersMANILA, Philippines — Yunseo Lee and Jisun Kang shrugged off strengthening afternoon winds and slick putting surfaces to card flawless rounds, spearheading a bristling Korean charge in the opening round of the ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters 2026 at Summit Point Golf and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas yesterday. Both took advantage of early tee times on opposite nines, but it was Lee who delivered the day’s most impressive effort. 3, 6 and 9 to turn in three-under, then showed composure as conditions toughened, picking up birdies on Nos. 11 and 14 while narrowly missing chances to go even lower. Lee managed just one birdie at the back, but once she made the turn, she caught fire.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Digital platform workers’ rights tackled at ASEAN forum
Digital platform workers’ rights tackled at ASEAN forumMANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is leading a regional push to improve working conditions for platform economy workers. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday opened a three-day forum in Cebu, bringing together labor officials from ASEAN countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as Australia, Japan and South Korea. The forum follows the National Tripartite Conference, wherein local labor councils adopted a resolution aimed at enhancing safeguards for platform workers or those engaged in gig and digital works. Panel discussions will focus on issues such as employment classification, working conditions, skills development, labor governance and access to social protection. The discussions aim to explore practical solutions while allowing ASEAN member-states to exchange ideas without imposing a regulatory model.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Why not PSC under DOT?
Why not PSC under DOT? Let’s not forget repeat competitions like the World Games, Asian Games, SEA Games, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and Asian Beach Games. The campaign was capped by the hosting of the SEA Games that welcomed over 9,000 athletes from 10 nations. In the Philippines, broad strokes of integration were etched in the formation of the National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee headed by PSC chairman Patrick Gregorio, the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving as an attached Department of Tourism (DOT) agency and the DOT Office of Film and Sports Tourism, a dedicated golf tourism office to position the country as a premier golfing destination in Asia. Why not place PSC under DOT?
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Sea pair wows ’em
The SEA duo took the victory in one hour and 33 minutes, setting up a clash against either Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla (WTA doubles No. 63) Kichenok or the second seed tandem of Chinese Shuai Zhang (doubles No.7) and Spaniard Cristina Bucsa (doubles No. “We are the SEA sisters. Let’s go SEA,” added Tjen, 23. 45 and 47 in the WTA singles but sit lower in the doubles division at No.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
EDITORIAL - Back to the gray list?
EDITORIAL - Back to the gray list? Monetary authorities are hoping that the global dirty money watchdog will not think so, even as they acknowledge the risk of the Philippines being returned to the gray list of countries under close monitoring by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force. Inclusion in the FATF gray list makes financial transactions with the Philippines more difficult because of additional checks for dirty money. Weakness in regulating casino junkets, among other factors, kept the country in the FATF gray list for a long time. Such selective treatment of lawbreakers was among the factors that brought the country to its current mess, and a renewed risk of increased monitoring for dirty money.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
SWS: Marcos satisfaction rating stays neutral
SWS: Marcos satisfaction rating stays neutralMANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos remain dissatisfied with the performance of President Marcos, based on the Social Weather Stations (SWS) 2025 fourth-quarter survey. Those who were dissatisfied with Marcos hardly moved from 44 percent in September to 43 percent in November. The latest survey resulted in a net satisfaction rating of “neutral” -3, almost similar to the “neutral” -5 that Marcos obtained in September. Marcos had a net satisfaction rating of “moderate” +10 (46 percent satisfied, 36 percent dissatisfied) in June 2025. The President’s average net satisfaction last year was zero, down from +25 in 2024 and +51 in 2023.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
The deadly cost of insider trading
But insider trading is just as bad and dangerous. The way I look at this is that the SEC – at last, one hopes – is finally taking insider trading seriously. But it is a big and bold step when our regulators start looking into possible insider trading cases. We all know that in the history of the Philippine stock market, only a handful of insider trading incidents have actually been flagged and investigated. The post-BW stock market scandal led to the passage of the Securities Regulation Code, which tightened the rules on stock market transactions.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
UCAL unwraps with 4-game bill
UCAL unwraps with 4-game billMANILA, Philippines — The PG Flex-UCAL Season 8 Basketball Tournament unwraps today at the Paco Arena with a four-game bill headlined by Olivarez College starting its title defense versus Immaculada Concepcion College at 2 p.m. The other matches pit Diliman College versus PCU-Dasmariñas at 12 noon, Lyceum-Batangas opposite Centro Escolar U at 4 p.m. and PWU against University of Batangas at 6 p.m.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Battle royale: SEC vs Manny Villar
Battle royale: SEC vs Manny VillarThe Securities and Exchange Commission under its chair, blue chip lawyer Francis Lim, is going hammer and tongs after former speaker and former Senate president Manuel Bamba “Manny” Villar Jr., once considered the Philippines’ first brown Filipino billionaire. The SEC’s case involves Manny’s Villar Land Holdings Corp. (formerly Golden MV Holdings, Inc.), a publicly listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). The disclosure was approved by the directors of Villar Land for release to the public before its external auditor, Arnulfo and Punongbayan, officially approved the financial statements, the SEC said. Following the premature disclosure of Villar Land’s financial statements, there was a heightened trading activity of HVN shares. The PSE suspended the trading due to the delayed filing of Villar Land’s audited financial statements.”In November 2025, Villar Land’s audited financial statements were finally disclosed.
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC
Almeniana leads Lady Altas to 4th straight win
Almeniana leads Lady Altas to 4th straight winMANILA, Philippines — University of Perpetual Help continued to show impressive form as it repulsed Mapua, 25-20, 25-21, 25-11, yesterday to remain unscathed in NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball at the San Andres Gym. Cyrille Joie Almeniana unloaded a match high 18 points including 16 on spikes as the Lady Altas claimed their fourth win in a row. One of those wins came at the expense of reigning four-peat titlist St. Benilde in an epic 25-21, 18-25, 25-23, 17-25, 16-14 win last Jan. 25. And it looked like there’s no stopping the UPHSD freight train as it starts to test Pool B rivals, battling Emilio Aguinaldo (0-3) Saturday at the same Manila venue. Then the Sandy Rieta-mentored Las Piñas-based spikers tackle the Letran Lady Knights, who like them are immaculate in four starts, the San Beda Red Spikers (3-1), the Arellano U Lady Chiefs (1-2), and the Lyceum Lady Pirates (1-3).
Source:Philippine Star
February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC