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SM RETAIL, INC. plans to open at least 200 Alfamart branches in 2026 as it boosts its footprint in communities and deepens its reach among value-seeking shoppers.

SM Retail President Jonathan H.

Ng said the company is preparing for another year of expansion as demand for convenience formats remains firm nationwide.

“For Alfamart, we’re expanding somewhere between 200 to 250 stores next year,” he told reporters last week. He sai

d the minimart chain has room to grow in both urban and underserved areas, where its small-box format is positioned to attract daily shoppers. Alfama

rt Philippines, a joint venture between SM and Indonesia’s PT Sumber Alfaria Trijaya Tbk, offers a mix of basic groceries, SM Bonus items, fresh and frozen goods, snacks and personal care staples. The chai

n ended September with about 2,337 stores across the country, making it one of the fastest-growing minimart operators in the Philippines. Minimart

s have become an important complement to bigger grocery stores as consumers buy food and household items in smaller, more frequent trips. This has

helped chains like Alfamart expand rapidly even in markets where traditional supermarkets are already present. For Alfa

mart, the push to add as many as 250 stores next year signals confidence that demand in the community retail space will endure despite economic uncertainties. The chai

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GUNNERS.

Ray Parks (right) and Jamie Malonzo in action for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.

MANILA, Philippines – Defending champion Gilas Pilipinas recovered from a slow start to extinguish Malaysia, 83-58, in its 2025 Southeast Asian Games opener at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, December 14. Ra

y Parks showed the way with 18 points, half of which came in a blistering 20-0 run to end the first half that paved the way for the Philippines to improve to 1-0 in Group A. Ro

bert Bolick backstopped Parks with 17 points, while Thirdy Ravena added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the hastily-assembled squad that underwent multiple lineup revisions due to the hosts’ flip-flopping on eligibility rules. Gila

s trailed by as many as 7 points in the opening quarter, 15-22, but flipped the switch in the second period, where it outscored Malaysia 26-4 to take a 42-26 lead at halftime. That

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MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives and the Senate will continue to reconcile disagreeing provisions of the 2026 national budget on the second day of bicameral conference committee (bicam) meetings on Sunday, December 14. Af

ter reconciling the budgets of the agriculture, education, and health sectors on their first day, the bicam is expected to tackle funding for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and unprogrammed appropriations on the second day. DP

WH Secretary Vince Dizon earlier appealed to the Senate for increased funding, saying that the upper chamber’s version of the budget only reflected estimates for construction material costs. “The

motion for reconsideration is made to ensure that the detailed process of applying the new CMPD (Construction Materials Price Data) will be followed to avoid inaccurate costing and potential project unimplementability which may lead to underspending and related legal and administrative issues,” the DPWH wrote in a statement. Bookmark

this page to watch Rappler’s livestream of the second day of bicam deliberations at 3 pm. – Rappler.com

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CONSISTENT.

Agatha Wong of the Philippines wins the wushu gold in the women's taijiquan-taijijian in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.

CHONBURI, Thailand – Agatha Wong has made it a habit of reigning supreme in the Southeast Asian Games. Th

e Filipina wushu star struck gold for the fifth consecutive edition of the regional showpiece as she topped the women’s taijiquan-taijijian event at the Chaeng Watthana Government Complex in Bangkok on Sunday, December 14. Wong

earned 9.773 points in taijiquan and 9.783 points in taijijian for a total of 19.556 points to capture her sixth SEA Games gold overall. The

aspiring doctor has not failed to win a SEA Games gold since topping the taijiquan event in 2017, going on to claim both the taijijian and taijiquan crowns on home soil in 2019, and then defending her taijijian title in 2021. Even

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Rappler’s Life and Style section runs an advice column by couple Jeremy Baer and clinical psychologist Dr. Ma

rgarita Holmes. Je

remy has a master’s degree in law from Oxford University. A ba

nker of 37 years who worked in three continents, he has been training with Dr. Holm

es for the last 10 years as co-lecturer and, occasionally, as co-therapist, especially with clients whose financial concerns intrude into their daily lives. Toge

ther, they have written two books: Love Triangles: Understanding the Macho-Mistress Mentality and Imported Love: Filipino-Foreign Liaisons. I wa

PHILIPPINE SHARES may sustain their momentum and continue to climb this week following the bellwether’s return to the 6,000 level on Friday after both the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the US Federal Reserve delivered rate cuts to provide economic support. On

Friday, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 0.78% or 46.72 points to end at 6,036.72, while the broader all shares index declined 0.53% or 18.49 points to close at 3,434.94. Th

is was the first time that the main index closed at the 6,000 level in two weeks or since it ended at 6,022.24 on Nov. 28

. We

ek on week, the PSEi increased by 87.5 points from its 5,949.22 close on Dec. 5.

“T

he local bourse reclaimed the crucial 6,000 level as investors cheered the ‘double rate cut’ catalyst from both the BSP and the US Fed,” 2TradeAsia.com said in a market note. “The local

market is back above the 6,000 level again, attributed to the rebound driven by the Fed and the BSP’s monetary policy easing. Sustaining pos

ition above the said level remains questionable, however amid lingering concerns and challenges over our economic growth outlook,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager

Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said

Proving that its stellar run two seasons ago wasn’t a fluke, University of Santo Tomas (UST) put on a roaring 79-64 statement victory over champion National University (NU) in Game 3 to reclaim the throne in the UAAP Season 88 women’s basketball on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. The

UST Growling Tigresses, who ended the NU Lady Bulldogs’ seven-year reign in Season 86 before being dethroned right away the next season, returned the favor once again in their trilogy to still get the job done after being denied of a perfect season. It’s t

he 13th tiara for Santo Tomas, the most in the women’s division, slowly but surely reclaiming its lost glory after dynastic NU lorded it over with eight championships in 11th straight finals appearances. Graduating

ace Kent Pastrana led the way for Santo Tomas, which swept the elims for an outright finals berth but lost in Game 1 for a dominant 16-1 campaign, with 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals and one block in only 25 minutes of play. With an al

l-around average of 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 3.8 steals, Ms. Pastrana e

arned the Finals MVP plum for a fitting swan song of her storied UAAP career marked by two titles and four Elite Team (Mythical Team) citations. And she wa

sn’t alone this time around, drawing ample support from Nigerian center Oma Onianwa (15), Karylle Sierba (10) and CJ Maglupay (10). Eka Soriano,

the Season 85 MVP and also a graduating Tigress, chipped in 10 points, six assists and five rebounds for a sweet exit with Ms. Pastrana. Sa

nto Tomas

rode on its convincing 95-70 win in Game 2 to avenge a close 84-79 win in Game 1, running away in the middle quarters to frustrate NU once again. After a flat

CHONBURI — At 11, girls are usually into drawing, dancing, gaming, watching movies, mingling with friends, exploring personal style and the likes. It

’s most of this stuff for Mazel Paris Alegado, too, but add in skateboarding with passion and bringing honors to the Philippines in major, senior-level international competitions. When

she was 9, Ms. Aleg

ado skated for the country at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou — the youngest in the contingent and possibly the whole joust — and made it through to the women’s skateboarding park finals, finishing seventh out of eight. She’s back

at it here at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG). And with her

dazzling display of skills and tricks, Alegado roared to victory in the same event, becoming possibly the youngest-ever Philippine SEAG gold medalist. “It feels cr

azy because it’s my first SEA Games and I’m proud to represent the Philippines,” said the California-based skater, who also made sure to enjoy this stint like “tweeners” do. “It was hyped. Everyone’

s hyping me up. I

t’s so fun, dancing, making

new friends and making TikTok,” she said. Ms. Alegado’s triumph was made m

GILAS PILIPINAS bucked a slow start to hammer Malaysia, 83-58, for a rousing debut in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) men’s basketball on Sunday at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. Bo

bby Ray Parks, Jr. posted 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals as Gilas recovered from a six-point deficit in the first quarter en route to 1-0 slate in Group A. Ni

ne more players racked up the scoring board with team captain Robert Bolick and Thirdy Ravena scoring 17 and 13 points, respectively, for the Nationals, who will face Vietnam next in a bid to sweep the group play and book an outright ticket. A

win by Gilas against Vietnam on Monday would propel the squad straight to the semifinals with the second and third-ranked squads still needing to go through the qualification under the new SEAG basketball format. “I

t’s a good win but we gotta work harder,” said coach Norman Black, still working on the chemistry of the hastily-formed unit with only a little practice together. “We have

to get better as the tournament goes on. It’s actua

lly our first game as a group and when I say first game, it’s really a first game. We’re trying t

o give it a chance to grow but obviously, this is our first game together so will try to learn from this and grow and become a better team as the tournament goes on.” Gilas, filled with

last-minute replacements due to injuries, new rules and unavailability of some key players, found Malaysia a tough nut to crack with a 16-22 deficit in the opening frame only to flip the switch in the second period on a torrid 26-4 tear to take a comfortable 42-26 lead at the turn. There was no looki

ng back for the Nationals from there, on their way to a 25-point win. Chun Hong Ting and

WORLD tennis sensation and Team Philippines flag bearer Alexandra “Alex” Eala shifts her focus to her own battle in the highly-anticipated singles tournament after securing a bronze medal in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) women’s team division. Ms. Ea

la,

the highest ranked tennister at Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 52 in the entire biennial tourney, will face Malaysian Shihomi Li Xuan Leong in the quarterfinals starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, looking to move closer to her first-ever gold medal at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand. “So prou

d of our team for showing up and giving their all. All sights

on the individuals,” said Ms. Eala after t

he Philippine team that also featured Stefi Aludo, Alexa Milliam, Tennielle Madis and Shaira Hope Rivera fell short against Thailand in the team semifinals. As the No. 1

seed, the 20-year-old Filipina gained a first-round bye for an automatic Top 8 ticket while Ms. Leong swept

Laos’ Aliya Vongdala, 2-0, in their first-round duel. With all of he

r international feats in the WTA Tour and tennis majors, Ms. Eala looms as

the undisputed title favorite with the 18-year-old Ms. Leong miles be

At first glance, the Colts’ Week 15 quarterback news reads like a plot twist from an alternate universe: Philip Rivers, a candidate for the rocking chair at 44, has been added to the Colts’ 53-man roster and is expected to start today against the Seattle Seahawks. He h

asn’t taken a snap in more than five years; his last game in the National Football League was a January 2021 playoff loss, and now he’s being tapped to lead a postseason push that has taken on an air of desperation. The Colt

s’ quarterback cupboard suddenly became bare when Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending Achilles injury and rookie Riley Leonard continued to suffer from a knee issue. Scrambling

for affinity amid uncertainty, they turned to a familiar face with deep experience and a historic resume. Never mind

that a lifetime’s worth of football intelligence came with questions about mobility and rust. Rivers was a

bout to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. Instead, he

accommodated their entreaties and now finds himself not just in the spotlight, activated from the sidelines and elevated from practice squad to starter. He knows he’

s being asked to play hero, and he believes he can deliver on his promise. To be sure, Co

lts’ head coach Shane Steichen has been careful to frame Rivers’ role sans any expectations. He declined to dec

lare a starter all week, but his praise for his new charge’s command in the huddle and responsiveness in practice was unmistakable. “Fired up for the ch

ALAS PILIPINAS will not be snapping out of a 32-year Southeast Asian Games women’s volleyball gold medal drought after absorbing a stinging 25-17, 25-14, 25-17 mauling at the hands of Vietnam in their semifinal duel on Sunday at Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok, Thailand. Bu

t the Filipinas though will have a chance to end another dry spell as it shoots for its first podium finish since copping a bronze two decades ago back home versus the loser of the Thailand-Indonesia duel. Th

ere were notions before the confrontation that the Nationals could put up a fight since the Vietnamese were without of their top players in Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, who withdrew months before the games due to personal and family reason and alleged over new FIVB player eligibility rules regarding gender testing. It

didn’t happen as Vietnam was in total control from start to finish after riding on the back of its long-time captain Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who presided over the carnage with 15 points. At t

he very least, Alas, whose last gold came in 1993 in Singapore, could console itself with a shot at a bronze on Monday. — Joey Villar var bw

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