Nominees for 37th Star Awards for Movies revealed

by Robert Requintina, Manila Bulletin

The most awaited showbiz awarding ceremony is back with the Star Awards for Movies, organized by The Philippine Movie Press Club, Inc. (PMPC).

Considered a prestigious event in the entertainment industry, the 37th edition shall honor and recognize the hardworking men and women of Philippine cinema who have worked the extra mile to produce and show their movies on various platforms available in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.

Alongside commending the winners, the 37th Star Awards for Movies shall also confer special awards to veteran actor Ronaldo Valdez for the Nora Aunor Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award, and to internationally-acclaimed director Brillante Mendoza for the Ulirang Alagad ng Pelikula sa Likod ng Kamera Lifetime Achievement Award.

This year’s presentation is headed by current PMPC President Fernan de Guzman together with immediate past president Roldan Castro as overall chairman for the 37th Star Awards for Movies.

The awards night date and other pertinent details shall be announced very soon.

Here are the nominees:

MOVIE OF THE YEAR     

·         “Fan Girl” (Black Sheep, Globe Studios, Epicmedia Productions, Project 8 Projects, Crossword Productions)

·         “Four Sisters Before The Wedding” (Star Cinema)

·         “Isa Pang Bahaghari” (Heaven’s Best Entertainment)

·         “Love Lockdown” (Dreamscape Entertainment and iWantTFC)

·         “Nightshift” (Viva Films, Aliud Entertainment, ImaginePerSecond)

·         “On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets” (Viva Films)

·         “Untrue” (Viva Films, IdeaFirst Company, October Train Films)

·         “Us Again” (Regal Entertainment)

MOVIE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

·         Mae Cruz Alviar (Four Sisters Before The Wedding)

·         Joy Aquino (Us Again)   

·         Sigrid Andrea Bernardo (Untrue)

·         Noel Escondo, Manny Palo, Andoy Ranay, Darnel Joy Villafor (Love Lockdown) 

·         Antoinette Jadaone (Fan Girl)

·         Joel Lamangan (Isa Pang Bahaghari)        

·         Yam Laranas (Nightshift)              

·         Irene Emma Villamor (On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets)                                                                                                                                     

INDIE MOVIE OF THE YEAR

·         “Coming Home” (ALV Films and Maverick Films)

·         “He Who Is Without Sin” (Sinag Maynila and Solar Pictures)

·         “Lahi, Hayop” (Sine Olivia Pilipinas)

·         “Magikland” (Brightlight Productions and Gallaga-Reyes Films)

·         “Suarez, The Healing Priest” (Saranggola Media Productions)

·         “Tagpuan” (Alternative Vision Cinema)                  

·         “The Boy Foretold By The Stars” (Clever Minds, Brainstormers Lab, The Dolly Collection, Purple Pig)

·         “Watch List” (BRON Studios, State of Awe, Reality Entertainment)

INDIE MOVIE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

·         Christian Acuña (Magikland)

·         Mac Alejandre (Tagpuan)            

·         Adolfo Alix, Jr. (Coming Home)  

·         Lav Diaz (Lahi, Hayop)                   

·         Dolly Dulu (The Boy Foretold By The Stars)                           

·         Jason Paul Laxamana (He Who Is Without Sin)                                                    

·         Ben Rekhi (Watch List)                                                  

·         Joven Tan (Suarez, The Healing Priest)                   

MOVIE ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

·         Nora Aunor (Isa Pang Bahaghari)              

·         Iza Calzado (Tagpuan)                   

·         Alessandra De Rossi (Watch List)                                                              

·         Charlie Dizon (Fan Girl)                 

·         Lovi Poe (Malaya)                                                                           

·         Cristine Reyes (Untrue)                                                

·         Sylvia Sanchez (Coming Home)                                                  

MOVIE ACTOR OF THE YEAR

·         John Arcilla (Suarez, The Healing Priest)

·         Paulo Avelino (Fan Girl)

·         Enchong Dee (Alter Me)

·         Nanding Josef (Lahi, Hayop)        

·         Xian Lim (Untrue)

·         Phillip Salvador (Isa Pang Bahaghari)       

·         Alfred Vargas (Tagpuan)                                               

MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

·         Kakai Bautista (Four Sisters Before The Wedding)             

·         Angeli Bayani (Watch List)

·         Agot Isidro (Death Of Nintendo)

·         Sanya Lopez (Isa Pang Bahaghari)

·         Shaina Magdayao (Tagpuan)                                                      

·         Hazel Orencio (Lahi, Hayop)

·         Sue Ramirez (Love Lockdown) 

MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR

·         Art Acuña (Watch List)

·         Michael De Mesa (Isa Pang Bahaghari)                                   

·         Edgar Allan Guzman (Coming Home)                                      

·         Micko Laurente (Watch List)                                                       

·         Zanjoe Marudo (Isa Pang Bahaghari)                                       

·         Enzo Pineda (He Who Is Without Sin)                                     

·         Dante Rivero (Suarez, The Healing Priest )    

  SPECIAL AWARDS:

Nora Aunor Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award

MR. RONALDO VALDEZ

Ulirang Alagad ng Pelikula sa Likod ng Kamera Lifetime Achievement Award

MR. BRILLANTE MENDOZA

DARLING OF THE PRESS Nominees

·         Gretchen Barretto

·         Christian Bautista

·         Mayor Joy Belmonte

·         Liza Diño-Seguerra

·         RS Francisco

·         Niño Muhlach

·         Piolo Pascual

·         Alden Richards

·         Alfred Vargas

MOVIE LOVETEAM OF THE YEAR

·         Ronnie Alonte and Loisa Andalio (James And Pat And Dave)

·         Joao Constancia and Alexa Ilacad (Four Sisters Before The Wedding)

·         Jameson Blake and Julia Barretto (Block Z)

·         Donny Pangilinan and Loisa Andalio (James And Pat And Dave)

·         Jeremiah Lisbo and Belle Mariano (Four Sisters Before The Wedding)

·         JC Santos and Bela Padilla (On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets)

No ‘destructive’ tsunami threat to PH after 7.2-magnitude quake hit Taiwan — Phivolcs

by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz, Manila Bulletin

There is no tsunami threat to the Philippines following the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 18, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Phivolcs said the earthquake struck at around 2:44 p.m. The quake occurred at a shallow of 10 kilometers (km).

Although hazardous tsunami waves are possible along coasts within 300 km of the earthquake epicenter, Phivolcs said that there is no destructive tsunami threat to the Philippines from this earthquake.

It defines a tsunami as a series of sea waves commonly generated by under-the-sea earthquakes and whose heights could be greater than 5 meters.

Tsunami is erroneously called tidal waves and sometimes mistakenly associated with storm surges, it added.

NTC urges public to report scam messages

By Francis Earl Cueto, Manila Times

September 19, 2022

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) over the weekend encouraged the public to report scam text messages.

Those who will file complaints need to submit their complete name, address, email and contact number as well as the cellphone number that received the messages, a screenshot of the text scam message with the sender's mobile number, and a photo of any of their government-issued IDs to kontratextscam@ntc.gov.ph.

"Your personal data will be kept strictly confidential in accordance with the Data Privacy Act," the NTC said in a statement.

Reports can also be sent to the NTC's website through a text scam complaint form.

According to the regulator, the text message coming from an unknown mobile number that contains a job offer, promises cash and discounts, and may contain a clickable web link is considered a "text scam message."

Numerous text blasts warning consumers about the scam were sent by the telecom companies upon the prodding of the NTC.

Meanwhile, the NTC continued to remind the public to simply ignore the messages by not replying to it or clicking the web link, if there is.

"Once reported to the NTC, immediately block the number and delete the text scam message," it said.

Bigger price cut for diesel seen

By Richmond Mercurio - The Philippine Star 

Unioil, in its fuel price forecast yesterday, said diesel could go down by P3.80 to P4.00 per liter, while gasoline could either have no price change or a rollback of P0.15 per liter.

MANILA, Philippines — Motorists may see a bigger reduction in diesel prices than previously expected, as well as a slight rollback in gasoline prices this coming week.

Unioil, in its fuel price forecast yesterday, said diesel could go down by P3.80 to P4.00 per liter, while gasoline could either have no price change or a rollback of P0.15 per liter.

The expected decrease in diesel is higher than the earlier forecasted reduction of between P2.50 to P3 per liter as of Friday.

As for gasoline, Friday’s estimates of industry players pointed to no adjustment to a P0.50 per liter increase.

This would be the third consecutive week of rollbacks if the projected decline in prices of fuel products pushes through.

Oil firms will announce tomorrow the final price adjustments, which will take effect on Tuesday.

Last week, oil companies implemented a P0.45 per liter decrease in gasoline, P1.45 per liter for diesel and P1.70 per liter for kerosene.

These has resulted in a year-to-date net increase of P16.50 per liter for gasoline, P34.80 per liter for diesel and P29.90 per liter for kerosene, based on data from the DOE.

A NOBLE HEART AND MIND

To be noble one must not only be honest. One must act bravely and decisively in even the most dire of circumstances. Maybe at the end of this piece, I'll tread the footsteps of other fellow columnists and commentators. So it will be!

If you say that someone is a noble person, you admire and respect them because they are unselfish and morally good

Pride comes before a fall - but never magnanimity. The dictionary defines magnanimity as in greatness of mind and generosity of heart especially when it comes to forgiveness, Often times, Filipinos are really magnanimous people. They seem to have the quality of being high souled, rising above pettiness or meanness and the generosity in overlooking injury or insult.

The late Harry Emerson Fosdick, a famous Protestant teacher wrote, "No man ever saved anybody, or served any great or left any enduring impression, who was not willing to forget indignities, near to grudges. The world's saviors have all, in one way and another, loved their enemies and done them good!" Would you agree with this?

Magnanimity, applied to relations between nations and people, transforms hostility into helpfulness. Maybe, once upon a time. Maybe even nowadays. Consider the massive assistance of the United States provided to its former enemies following World War II, enabling them to rebuild their blasted cities and shattered economies.

"Once upon a time", no West Berlin inhabitant will forget the U.S. airlift during the East German-Russian blockade, when the so-called "Raisin Bomber Planes" kept West-Berlin and its people alive.

What quality in human character do you consider the most admirable of all? How about tolerance toward another's point of view without smugness? How about refusing to judge another's action and motives without knowing first what lies behind him?

U.S. writer Clarence W. Hall voiced: "Magnanimity must be developed and habitual by practice, but it's a virtue that sweetens and glorifies life!"

People with a noble heart and mind are fond of day dreams. Of course, fantasies don't have to become a flight away from reality. In fact, psychologists are discovering that they can play a creative role in self-development and a better mutual understanding. It's also one of the best things for the well being of a whole nation.

BINI to make blooms ‘Feel Good’ in album launch showcase this Oct. 1

by Manila Bulletin Entertainment

The BINI fever is officially on as the all-female P-Pop act is returning with a new album this month and an album launch showcase happening on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the SM City North EDSA Sky Dome.

Dubbed “Feel Good,” the intimate event will give BINI’s fans called BLOOMs the chance to spend an exciting night filled with electrifying performances, fun games, and unforgettable bonding experience with the girls.

Regular (P500), VIP (P1,200), and SVIP (P1,800) tickets for the album launch showcase are now available via SM Tickets, which all comes with an entrance pass, a physical copy of BINI’s upcoming album, and a poster.

Meanwhile, VIP and SVIP ticketholders have a chance to play games with BINI members Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena, while those with SVIP tickets will also enjoy a meet and greet with them.

Prior to the showcase, BINI will drop its pre-album release single “I Feel Good” and its music video on September 22 (Thursday) followed by its sophomore album along with its comeback single and music video on September 29 (Thursday). The album will have five original and two bonus tracks, including the previously released single “Lagi.”

This September, the ‘nation’s girl group’ also collaborated with global cosmetics brand Maybelline New York by releasing the empowering single “Made For All,” which serves as a confidence booster for those who feel ashamed to embrace their own beauty. The song topped iTunes PH upon its release and was also included in Spotify Philippines’ New Music Friday editorial playlist.

Don’t miss the chance to finally witness BINI’s talent in person! Buy your tickets now for their “Feel Good” album launch showcase and watch out for their upcoming album. Get regular updates by following BINI_ph on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, and subscribing to their official YouTube channel, BINI Official.

‘Nanmadol’ intensifies into a typhoon; ‘Habagat’ affects most of PH

by Charie Mae F. Abarca, Manila Bulletin

The weather disturbance outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) has intensified into a typhoon, the state weather bureau confirmed on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 15.

Typhoon Nanmadol was last spotted 1,655 kilometers (km) east northeast of extreme Northern Luzon outside PAR with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph), and gustiness of up to 150 kph.

It is moving northeastward at 15 kph and it remains less likely to directly affect the country. However, PAGASA warned that this weather disturbance is expected to further enhance the southwest monsoon, locally called “habagat.”

(PAGASA / Himawari)

The typhoon-enhanced southwest monsoon will then bring scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in Palawan, Mindoro provinces, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi within the forecast period.

Residents of these areas were advised to remain vigilant against possible flash floods and landslides that may occur during moderate to heavy rains.

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers may prevail over Metro Manila and the rest of the country due to the southwest monsoon and localized thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, the latest forecast track for typhoon Nanmadol showed that the cyclone will still enter the Philippine boundary.

“Posible pa rin itong pumasok ng PAR bukas, ngunit ito ay [inaasahang] dadaplis lamang dito sa northeastern na kanto ng ating PAR. Pagpasok nito bukas ng umaga ay lalabas [din ito] either hapon o gabi (It may still enter PAR tomorrow, but it is expected to just pass in the northeastern corner of the country’s area of responsibility. When it enters tomorrow morning, it will also exit the Philippine boundary either in the afternoon or evening),” said Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather specialist Raymond Ordinadio.

“Halos isang araw lang itong mananatili sa ating area of responsibility kaya wala itong magiging direktang epekto sa anumang bahagi ng bansa (It will only stay in our area of responsibility for almost one day so it will not have a direct effect on any part of the country),” he furthered.

Nanmadol will be given the domestic name Josie once inside the Philippine boundary.

GCash users hit 66 million

By Francis Earl Cueto, Manila Bulletin

DIGITAL wallet GCash reached another milestone as it breached the P3-trillion mark in gross transaction value (GTV) in the first half of the year and hit 66 million users.

The value nearly matched its P3.8 trillion full-year GTV in 2021.

GCash expects to end 2022 with P6 trillion GTV.

The company announced that its user base has grown to 66 million, with four out of five adults in the Philippines having a GCash account.

"We've seen higher user engagement now that things have started to normalize, further proof that GCash has become embedded in the everyday lives of Filipinos," Martha Sazon, GCash President and CEO, said in a statement.

GCash also doubled down on its merchant acquisition efforts and partnerships resulting in a merchant and social seller base of 5.2 million, 1.9 times higher than the same quarter of last year.

This makes GCash the largest digital ecosystem in the Philippines.

It also expanded its cash-in and cash-out outlets to 339,000 - 5.7 times higher year on year. In addition, its lifestyle portal GLife has 520 merchants and is introducing new categories such as content, health, insurance and e-government.

With all these developments, GCash said it continues to be the number one finance app in the country.

"It just goes to show that the Filipinos' shift to a more digital lifestyle is not limited to those during lockdowns.We continue to see the adoption increasing, and even the everyday use and use case diversity are growing. I think the adoption is here to stay and we're not seeing it plateauing in the near future," Sazon said.

Air pollution worse in Metro Manila

COVERED IN HAZE Smog blankets parts of Metro Manila as seen from a spot in Antipolo City on June 29 2021. Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said the haze is caused by pollution from vehicles and not from Taal Volcano, which has been emitting thick smoke as high as three-kilometers from its main crater over the last few days. FILE PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE

By Bella Cariaso, Manila Times

Air pollution in Metro Manila has worsened with the opening of businesses, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Friday.

The DENR's Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director William Cuñado said that during the implementation of Covid-19 restrictions, all the monitoring stations in the National Capital Region (NCR) registered green which meant good air quality.

Because of the lockdowns, only 10 percent or 35,000 of the 350,000 vehicles in the NCR were allowed to operate.

"During the pandemic, there was a reduction of 90 percent in volume of the vehicles plying within Metro Manila. Because of this, there was a dramatic reduction on air pollutants. There was a good quality of air because of the small volume of vehicles. Almost all the stations had green color, meaning to say, that we had good quality of air within Metro Manila," Cuñado said.

However, as pandemic restrictions eased, a gradual change in the air quality was noticed.

"Now that the vehicles allowed outside are almost the same compared to the volume we have prior to the pandemic, from green, we have monitored yellow or even orange colors," Cuñado said.

Yellow signifies fair air quality while orange means air quality can be unhealthy for sensitive groups such as those with respiratory problems like asthma.

"The air pollution could aggravate their ailments," Cuñado said.

He added that air pollution is high during heavy traffic in a particular area.

"This is the accumulation of gases discharged in a certain area, especially if there is a high concentration of people that are moving and there is heavy traffic. There is an increase in the particulate matters and other substances," the official said.

More Filipinos feel better off – survey

By Kaithreen Cruz, Manila Times

MORE Filipinos felt better off in June this year than they were a year ago, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The number of respondents who said their life was better jumped to 29 percent from 18 percent in 2021.

The percentage of respondents who said their quality of life worsened dropped by 18 percent from 49 percent.

The resulting net gainer score — the percentage of respondents who were better off minus those who were worse off — was -2, which the SWS considers as fair. In the previous year, the net gainer score was -31 (very low).

Despite the increase, the net gainer score was still 20 points below the pre-pandemic level of +18 (very high) in December 2019.

"The net gainer score was generally negative until 2015 when it rose to positive numbers until the drastic deterioration beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. It has since trended back upwards but still has not reached the positive range," the SWS noted.

By geographical area, the net gainer score was highest in Metro Manila at +6 (high), followed by Balance Luzon at +5 (high), Mindanao at -7 (fair), and Visayas at -17 (mediocre).

Compared to last year, the net gainer score was up in all areas — by 36 points in Metro Manila, 32 points in Balance Luzon, 23 points in the Visayas, and 24 points in Mindanao.

Among students, the net gainer score was at -12 among non-elementary graduates, -7 among elementary graduates, +3 among junior high school graduates, and +2 among college graduates.

The SWS said the survey results also showed that hunger was significantly higher among those who got worse off (tagged as "losers") than those who were better off ("gainers") in the past 12 months.

Involuntary hunger was 14.9 percent among losers and 9 percent among gainers.

The net gainers were -11 (mediocre) among the "poor," +8 (high) among "borderline poor," and +6 (high) among "not poor."

The "poor" have more "losers" and fewer "gainers" than the "borderline poor" and "not poor."

SWS conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adult respondents nationwide for the survey, 600 from Balance Luzon and 300 each from Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao, from June 26 to 29.

The poll results have a sampling error margin of ±2.5 percent for national percentages, a sampling margin error of ±4 percent in Balance Luzon, and a sampling margin error of ±5.7 percent in Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The SWS said the survey was not commissioned.