News & Stories

THE San Beda University Red Lions, just a day after claiming a 24th NCAA senior basketball championship and reestablishing itself as the greatest in the grand old league, is not done yet.

“There’s a third and fourth coming,” said San Beda coach Yuri Escueta when asked what will happen after he sealed his second championship as mentor of the Benedictine school. He kne

w he would have enough materials to walk his talk. Never

mind that he would lose two key cogs in that memorable championship run in valiant skipper Yuki Andrada and Finals MVP winner Bryan Sajonia, who will both play in the PBA after their college sojourn. And on

e of those important pieces San Beda will have come next season is super rookie Agjanti Miller, who had already committed to return the red-and-white squad next season that quashed nasty rumors of a potential transfer to other schools. “I wou

ldn’t do this with anybody else,” said Mr. Miller, who

posted the most points and made the Mythical First Team in NCAA Season 101. “If we’re ab

le to run it back here in the NCAA, I’ll run it back,” he added. Another key part sho

uld be Nygel Gonzales, who was clutch and outplayed Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s own fantastic neophyte in Titing Manalili in the finals series including Game Two where the former poured in all his 19 points in the second half that helped seal the deal. “I’m just happy to hel

p my team win a second championship. We’re hoping for a third,”

CHONBURI — Worry not Team Philippines, Agatha Wong got your six. Th

e Pinay wushu star who’s been dominating the region since 2017 gave Team Philippines a smashing triumph in the late morning sessions — a welcome change after the long wait for gold until dusk the past three days — in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. A five-t

ime winner in the four previous SEA Games, Ms. Wong was

in her element again, delivering a dazzling performance in the culminating sword part of the women’s taijiquan-taijijian event to extend her reign and put that glowing sixth mint in her bag. With her c

ombined 19.556 points built around a rock-solid 9.773-point performance in the taijiquan last Saturday and a strong 9.783 closeout in Sunday’s taijijian, Ms. Wong bested

her challengers and ensured the playing of the “Lupang Hinirang” by noontime at the Rattha Prasasan Bhakdi Building in Bangkok. It was a sweet v

ictory for Ms. Wong, who’s now

splitting her time between her athletic career and med school. “This has been the

hardest year for me,” said the comely six-time SEAG gold medalist, who delivered Team Philippines’ 16th gold overall in the Thailand meet. “I really just tried to

do my best because it’s not everyday you get an opportunity to represent your country. So now that ended my year wi

THE ENERGY REGULATORY Commission (ERC) has proposed P10.3859 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as the ceiling price to guide participants in the fifth green energy auction round (GEA-5) for offshore wind next year.

The green energy auction reserve (GEAR) price will be used in the auction for fixed-bottom offshore wind projects, which will have an installation target of 3,300 megawatts (MW).

At a briefing last week, ERC Director for Market Operations Service Sharon Ocampo-Montañer said the commission took into consideration some proposed offshore wind projects in Manila Bay, San Miguel Bay, Guimaras Strait, and southern Mindoro in setting the price. “

We have also considered the costs of various wind turbine suppliers,” she said. The G

EAR price serves as the maximum price in pesos per kWh, which will guide bidders during the auction. The p

ublic can comment on the proposed GEAR price for offshore wind energy by Dec. 19. T

he E

RC will conduct public consultations on Jan. 5 and 6. “This

auction for offshore wind is a milestone in achieving the Philippine Energy Plan set by the DoE,” ERC Chairmann Francis Saturnino C. Juan said

.“This techno

Twelve people have been killed and at least 11 others, including two police officers, injured in a shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday.

Footage captured by an eyewitness shows a man grappling with an alleged gunman, before wrestling the weapon off him.

In a press conference, the New South Wales Police Premier Chris Minns said that one of the gunmen had been killed and another was in custody.

The BBC's Katy Watson was in the courtroom as Erin Patterson was sentenced to life.

Veteran MP Bob Katter, 80, said he had previously punched people for mentioning his Lebanese heritage.

Thirty-four teams from all over the world are competing to win the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Video shows the aircraft flying over the golf course before crash landing, as the pilot and passenger escaped without major injuries.

Amateur astronomers captured the moment it streaked over Victoria on CCTV and dashboard cameras.

Footage of police interviewing convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson has been released by the Victorian Supreme Court.

Parts of New South Wales were blanketed with the heaviest snow in 20 years.

A PHILIPPINE senator on Sunday called China’s coast guard use of water cannons against Filipino fishers at a disputed South China Sea shoal last week as escalatory, urging the government to fast-track security agreements with other nations to widen Manila’s web of allies. Sena

tor Risa N. Hont

iveros-Baraquel said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) should deploy more vessels to accompany fishers in the South China Sea to prevent further harassment at sea. “Our

fisherfolk must not be left defenseless,” she said in a statement. “This es

calating violence must compel our government to immediately fast-track defense treaty negotiations with like-minded countries.” “China seems

intent on getting what she wants at the cost of not only our territories, but also our people,” she added. The Chinese Emba

ssy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment. Manila’s coast g

uard on Saturday said that three Filipino fishermen were wounded as two fishing vessels suffered “significant damage” when China Coast Guard ships used water cannons near Sabina Shoal. “This is an escalation

beyond the usual water cannoning of PCG vessels,” House Deputy Minority Leader and Party-list Rep. Leila M. de Lima said in a

separate statement. “This is utterly outrageou

THE PHILIPPINES’ long-delayed attempt to ending political dynasties risks amounting to little more than a symbolic gesture unless it meaningfully disrupts family-based succession in power, analysts said over the weekend, as President Ferdinand R. Ma

rcos, Jr. urged lawmakers to prioritize the passage of such the measure. Ed

erson DT. Ta

pia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said the proposed anti-political dynasty bill, filed by House Speaker Faustino G. Dy

III and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander A. Ma

rcos III, both scions of political families, appears deliberately cautious — a sign, he said, of the political constraints imposed by a Congress dominated by dynastic interests. “Whe

n I read the anti-political dynasty bill, my reaction was not excitement but recognition,” Mr. Tapia sa

id via Facebook Messenger. “The lan

guage felt careful, almost cautious, as if written with a clear awareness of the institution it must pass through.” Political dy

nasties have long shaped Philippine politics, with power concentrated in families that dominate national and local offices through successive or simultaneous terms. House Bill (

THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has approved a minimum wage increase of P35 for private sector workers, effective Dec.

30.

This brings the region’s minimum wage to P505 from the initial P470, according to Wage Order No. CA

R-24 shared by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) on its Facebook page. Un

der the new wage order, the daily minimum wage applies to all private sector workers in the region, regardless of their position, designation, or method of wage payment. Th

e rate is based on a standard eight-hour workday. Th

e wage adjustment follows a review of socio-economic conditions in the region, including the Gross Regional Domestic Product growth of 4.8% for 2023-2024, average inflation rate of 2.41% from December 2024 to October 2025, and the latest poverty threshold is in the amount of P435 per day based on Philippine Statistics Authority data. Th

e RTWPB also issued Wage Order No. CA

R-DW-07, increasing the minimum wage rate for kasambahays, or domestic workers in the region by P600 to P6,600. Th

e NWPC said on its Facebook page that both wage orders will take effect on Dec. 30

THE PHILIPPINE government can harness the United Nations’ (UN) anti-corruption treaty to track down a former congressman linked to the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, a senator said. In

a statement on Sunday, Senator Panfilo M. La

cson said that the government can utilize the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to locate and arrest ex-Party-list Rep. El

izaldy “Zaldy” S. Co. “O

ne o

ption the Philippine government may explore is to tap the UNCAC, where we are a signatory,” he added. “If we tap

the resources of 191 other countries, you can imagine how our efforts to locate and arrest Co will be easier.” Mr. Co’s legal

cou

nsel did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment. Mr. Co, a former

Hou

THE LEGAL counsel for Senator Ronald “Bato” M. Dela

Rosa said they have had no recent communication with the lawmaker, whose month-long absence from the Senate coincides with reports of an alleged International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. Isra

elito P. Torr

eon, a Davao-based lawyer speaking on behalf of the senator’s legal interests, gave a brief “No” when asked whether Mr. Dela Rosa

had been in contact with him recently. The admiss

ion comes amid reports the senator has not attended plenary sessions or committee hearings since Nov. 11, when word came out that the ICC had allegedly issued an arrest warrant against him. The Depart

ment of the Interior and Local Government said on Friday that it has tapped local authorities to monitor the senator’s movements, saying it is “trying to be steps ahead” in anticipation of a possible warrant. However, Mr. Tor

reon said any

potential enforcement of an ICC warrant is “legally premature and constitutionally infirm.” “Any action premised

on a supposed ICC arrest warrant remains legally premature and constitutionally infirm,” Mr. Torreon told BusinessWor

THE PHILIPPINES is set for generally stable weather this week, with no tropical cyclone expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility, according to the state weather bureau on Sunday.

In a 5 a.m. report, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said three weather systems will drive conditions nationwide: a shear line affecting eastern Luzon, the northeast monsoon, locally known as amihan, affecting the rest of Luzon; and easterlies influencing much of the country.

Luzon will see the most unsettled conditions early in the week.

The shear line is forecasted to trigger periods of rain over Aurora and Quezon provinces, with cloudy skies and light showers likely across Metro Manila and much of Calabarzon.

Northern and Central Luzon will otherwise experience mostly fair weather, punctuated by isolated light rains.

In the Visayas, skies will be partly cloudy to cloudy, with localized rain showers and thunderstorms developing intermittently, particularly in Eastern Visayas and nearby areas.

Across Mindanao, easterlies will bring more frequent rainfall to the Caraga and Davao regions, while the rest of the island will experience localized thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon and evening.

PAGASA warned of rough to very rough seas in Northern Luzon as the northeast monsoon strengthens.

A gale warning remains in effect over Batanes, the Babuyan Islands, and the northern coasts of Ilocos Norte and Cagayan, where small sea vessels are advised to remain in port.

Looking ahead to midweek, the shear line may shift northward, raising the risk of heavier rainfall over parts of Cagayan and Isabela from Wednesday to Thursday.

COTABATO CITY — Plainclothes policemen seized P13.6 million worth of crystal meth (shabu) from a male dealer entrapped in Barangay Gusa in Cagayan de Oro (CdO) City early on Saturday. Lo

cal executives and officials of the Police Regional Office 10 (PRO-10) separately told reporters on Sunday that the suspect was arrested by combined operatives from the City Drug Enforcement Unit of the Cagayan de Oro Police Office, led by Major Aldren Estrada Baculio, and anti-narcotics agents from different units of PRO-10 after selling two kilos of shabu during a tradeoff in Purok 4 in Barangay Gusa. Se

nior officials of PRO-10 and ranking members of the multisector Cagayan de Oro City Peace and Order Council said the operation that led to the detention of the 41-year-old suspect was premised on reports by confidential informants about his large-scale peddling of shabu and marijuana in Barangay Gusa and in nearby areas. Th

e suspect is now locked in one of the detention facilities of PRO-10, awaiting prosecution for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. — John Felix M. Unso

n var

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US actor and wrestler John Cena fought the final fight of his 16 match retirement tournament in Washington on Saturday night, bringing to a close an illustrious 24-year career that saw him become one of wrestling's biggest and most recognisable stars.

The 48-year-old announced his retirement back in July 2024, telling fans at the time that his "body hurts" and is "screaming to close the chapter".

It has been confirmed however that he will remain a part of the WWE family, after he signed a five-year deal to be an ambassador.

Fans gave Cena a standing ovation at the end of Saturday's match and he left the ring, for the final time, to thunderous applause.

The barge that wrecked in 1918, famous for a dramatic rescue, is now shifting closer to the falls as recent movements carry it further from its original resting spot.

A university professor and his students spent three years removing trash from the city's Peter Street Basin, now they're swimming in it.

Republican Matt Van Epps won, but his margin of victory was less than half of what it was just over a year ago for President Trump in the same district.

A man was hoisted to safety and uninjured after his truck partly skated off an icy bridge road in the US

The tree, named "Silver Belle", was hand-selected from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada.

Thirteen other people were also safely lowered to the ground after a power outage hit the Sunburst Ski Area in the US state of Wisconsin.