Philippine News

MANILA, Philippines, October 16 ------ Well-rested Barangay Ginebra stomped rival TNT down a huge first-half hole before hanging on to a 92-77 blowout breakthrough win in the 2025-2026 PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. Ten days after their lackluster Manila Clasico conference debut against another rival in Magnolia, the Gin Kings this time fired on all cylinders, led by their big-man battalion of Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario, and Norbert Torres to mount a 24-point l

October 16 ------ The Philippine Girls Under-17 National Team moved one step closer to securing a berth in the 2026 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup after edging host nation Tajikistan, 2-0 in the qualification tournament at Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe. The win kept the Philippines atop Group A with six points after back-to-back victories and a +7 goal difference. Malaysia sits in second place after a 1-0 triumph over Syria earlier in the day, matching the Filipinas on points but tra

MILWAUKEE, October 16 ------ Relying on an old-school pitching strategy has the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers two wins from returning to the Fall Classic. As long as their star-studded rotation can continue working deep into games, they don’t need to worry about their inconsistent bullpen. Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a three-hitter for the first postseason complete game in eight years as the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1 to extend their lead in th

MANILA, Philippines, October 16 ------ Carl Tamayo and the defending champions Changwon LG Sakers pushed their winning streak to three in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). Tamayo continued his stellar play as Changwon swept its weekend games against the Goyang Sono Skygunners and Suwon KT Sonicboom. Tamayo recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds against Kevin Quiambao and the Skygunners to power the LG Sakers to an 80-74 win on Friday. He followed that up wi

October 16 ------ Former Sexbomb Girls member Sugar Mercado is officially an international beauty titleholder after she was crowned as Ms. Universe Official 2025 at the Mrs. Universe Official 2025 pageant. Aside from Mercado, delegates from Bulgaria and Northern Australia were crowned Mrs. Universe Official 2025 and Elite Mrs. Universe Official 2025, respectively. The Mrs. Universe Official 2025 is different from the Mrs. Universe pageant that was also held in the Philippines

October 16 ------ Thailand’s Chayathanus Saradatta was crowned The Miss Globe 2025 at the conclusion of the pageant’s “world final” in Tirana, Albania, on Wednesday evening, Oct. 15 (early morning of the 16th in Manila), while the Philippines’ Annabelle McDonell finished at the Top 11, sustaining the country’s placement streak in the global tilt. Saradatta entered the semifinals by amassing the most votes as the People’s Choice, and bested 49 other aspirants from around the g

October 16 ------ The iconic barkada of “Bagets” is back — this time to conquer the theater stage. Four decades after the 1984 film defined youth culture for a gene­ration, “Bagets The Musical” is bringing the story of friendship, growing pains, and self-discovery to life at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in 2026. Andres Muhlach, the son of original “Bagets” star Aga Muhlach, will portray Adie, the character that first launched his father to fame. “It’s a surreal feeling

October 16 ------ Nashville-based singer-songwriter Caleb Hearn visited the Philippines for the first time, performing at the Venice Grand Canal Mall. The artist, known for his viral hit “Little Bit Better,” recently released new singles including “Play It Safe,” “Bite the Bullet,” and “The Lows.” Music Geek had an exclusive interview with the artist ahead of his performance, where he shared that it was his first time visiting and performing in front of a Filipino audience. S

MANILA, Philippines, October 16 ------ The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is hiking power rates by P0.2331 per kilowatt-hour this month due to higher generation costs, bringing the overall rate to P13.3182 per kWh. The adjustment translates to an increase of about P47 in the electricity bills of typical households consuming 200 kWh. At a press briefing, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said the rate hike was due to a P0.19 per kWh rise in generation charges, or the cost of po

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales, October 16 ------ Another earthquake was felt in this province in the early hours on Thursday, October 16. In its bulletin, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said a magnitude 5.0 earthquake was recorded in this province at 2:09 a.m. The earthquake’s epicenter was located 8 kilometers (km) northwest Masinloc town with a depth of 24 km. Intensity IV was felt in the capital town of Iba, Intensity III in Masinloc and Cabangan tow

October 16 ------ The Philippine Navy Western Naval Command and its navy counterparts from the United States, Canada, Japan, and France conducted a series of fleet maneuvers and live-fire exercises in waters off Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. Under Naval Task Group 44.1, the USS Cincinnati, HMCS Max Bernays, BRP Antonio Luna, BRP Ramon Alcaraz, BRP Valentin Diaz, BRP Lolinato To-Ong, and USS Sprua engaged in live-fire gunnery exercises. “Exercise SAMASAMA 2025 continues to

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines, October 16 ------ Two moderate ash emissions occurred at the summit crater of Kanlaon Volcano in Negros, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Phivolcs science research analyst Daryl Arro said the first emission occurred at 6:54 a.m. and lasted 46 minutes, while the second occurred at 7:50 a.m. and lasted 23 minutes. Arro said no ashfall was reported in any locality surrounding Kanlaon. Phivolcs said 17 volcanic quakes

October 16 ------ The merchant shipping industry continues to face the threats of piracy and armed robberies, but the ICC International Maritime Bureau, in its latest report, also points to progress, including the arrest of two gangs that were terrorizing the area around the Singapore Strait. With a slight increase in activity and areas of higher concern, the group says it must reinforce the need for vigilance and that there is no room for complacency. The ICC International M

October 16 ------ China’s reciprocal port fee program launched yesterday and is having an immediate impact as carriers report they are diverting ships, and others are receiving hefty bills. China continues its attacks in the media as it calls on the U.S. to meet it halfway in the current trade talks. Carriers Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd were the first to react, announcing “temporary changes” for two U.S.-flagged vessels on Asian routes. Maersk writes in a customer advisory, “We wi

October 16 ------ For reasons not yet apparent, Iranian flagged tankers have turned their AIS transmitters back on. For the past seven years, since 2018 when the United States re-imposed sanctions, most Iranian-flagged tankers have travelled the seas with their AIS transmitters turned off in a bid to disguise sanctions-breaking traffic. The phenomenon has been reported independently by several AIS signal aggregators, and is visible in location plots provided by VesselFinder.c

October 16 ------ Japan-based Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha (SNK), a NYK Group company, has obtained third-party certification for the environmental value representing the quantified greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduced through ammonia-fueled tugboat Sakigake‘s towage services. This certified environmental value can be allocated to purchasers through the book & claim method and is expected to contribute to the reduction of Scope 3 emissions by transportation service users in the fut

JAKARTA, October 16 ------ Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted shooting volcanic ash 10 km (6.2 miles) into the sky, the country's volcanology agency said, forcing authorities to raise the alert system to its highest level. Located in East Nusa Tenggara province, the volcano erupted on Wednesday at 1:35 a.m. (1835 GMT Tuesday) for around nine minutes, the country's Geological Agency said in a statement. It erupted again on Wednesday morning at 9:21 a.m. (0121 GMT), s

ISLAMABAD/KABUL, October 16 ------ Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a temporary ceasefire after airstrikes and ground fighting ramped up tensions between the South Asian neighbors, leaving more than a dozen civilians dead and 100 wounded. Wednesday's fighting along the volatile, contested frontier shattered a fragile peace after dozens were killed in weekend clashes, the worst between the two Islamic countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021. The recent fric

BRUSSELS, October 16 ------ NATO defense ministers will meet to try to drum up more military support for Ukraine amid a sharp drop in deliveries of weapons and ammunition to the war-ravaged country in recent months. The ministers will also debate a call from NATO’s commander to lift restrictions on the use of their aircraft and other equipment so they can be used to defend the alliance’s eastern border with Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine more effectively. A series of mysterious

WASHINGTON, October 16 ------ International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva intends to visit Ukraine at a time that has not yet been determined, an IMF spokesperson said. Ukrainian officials met with backer countries, the IMF and the World Bank on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington. Ukraine is in talks with the IMF about a new four-year lending program for the country that would replace the current four-year $15.5 billion pro