Eve Ridley brings Filipino pride to DC Universe with 'Supergirl' breakthrough

By Neil Ramos

Published Jun 14, 2026 05:00 pm

At A Glance

• Filipina-British actress Eve Ridley makes her DC Universe debut in "Supergirl" as Ruthye Marye Knoll, marking a notable moment for Filipino representation in Hollywood.

Filipina-British actress Eve Ridley is set to make her mark in the DC Universe as part of the cast of “Supergirl,” one of the most anticipated films in DC Studios' new era.

The 14-year-old actress will portray Ruthye Marye Knoll, a young alien farmhand seeking justice after her father's murder at the hands of Krem of the Yellow Hills, played by Matthias Schoenaerts. The film stars Milly Alcock as Supergirl and Jason Momoa as the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo.

While Ridley may not be the first person of Filipino descent to be associated with DC, her casting represents a milestone for Filipino representation on the big screen as one of the few actresses with Filipino heritage to land a major role in a live-action DC feature film.   

Born in Tyneside, England, to British father Matthew Ridley and Filipino mother Monalisa Ridley, the young actress has openly embraced her Filipino roots and expressed a desire to visit the Philippines and learn the Filipino language.

“I really want to go to the Philippines someday,” Ridley said. “It looks like such a beautiful island country. I really want to go to one of the beaches there. They look so tropical and gorgeous. I really want to learn Tagalog as well because, you know, I get to communicate with family over there.”

Ridley's breakthrough adds another chapter to the long-standing connection between Filipinos and the DC Universe.

Filipino representation in DC extends beyond its films and television projects. In the comics, characters with Filipino heritage have appeared over the years, including Manuel Lago, one of the earliest recurring Filipino characters in DC Comics and a friend of Barry Allen, also known as The Flash. Another notable example is Captain Steel, whose Earth 2 incarnation was revealed to have Filipino roots.

The Philippines has also played a significant role behind the scenes in shaping DC Comics through generations of artists and writers.

Among the pioneers was Tony DeZuniga, the Filipino comic book artist who became one of DC's most influential contributors in the 1970s. He co-created the popular antihero Jonah Hex and the character Black Orchid, helping open doors for Filipino talent in the American comic book industry.

Following DeZuniga's success, acclaimed Filipino artists such as Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo and Alex Niño became prominent contributors to DC Comics, bringing their distinctive artistic styles to titles that helped define the publisher's visual identity.

In more recent years, Filipino artists have continued to leave their mark on DC.

Carlo Pagulayan worked on major titles featuring characters such as Wonder Woman and Deathstroke, while the late Gerry Alanguilan contributed his celebrated inking work to projects including “Superman: Birthright.”

Against that backdrop, Ridley's arrival in the DC Universe reflects the continuing presence of Filipino talent within one of the world's biggest superhero franchises.

For “Supergirl,” the young actress underwent two months of intensive stunt training that included martial arts, boxing, sword fighting and wire work.

“It was the most fun,” she said.

Ridley also developed a close friendship with Alcock during filming.

“She is the best. She’s like a big sister to me,” she said.

PhilHealth receives ₱60 billion from treasury following SC ruling

By Derco Rosal

Published Jun 15, 2026 12:00 am | Updated Jun 13, 2026 04:05 pm

At A Glance

• Government subsidies to state-run firms surged by 150.8 percent to ₱93.1 billion as of end-April, driven by a massive one-time release of funds to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PHIC)

Government subsidies to state-run firms surged by 151 percent to ₱93.1 billion as of end-April, driven by the massive, one-time fund release to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

According to the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), total subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) jumped from ₱37.1 billion during the same period in 2025. This expansion was fueled by a record ₱66.3 billion in support in April alone, dwarfing the ₱14.5 billion released in the same month last year.

Notably, the massive April spike was driven by a ₱60 billion subsidy for PhilHealth. This represented the return of fund balances from unutilized subsidies following a Supreme Court ruling.

Treasury data showed that the National Electrification Administration (NEA) also boosted growth, receiving ₱3 billion as of April, compared to no subsidy in the first four months of the previous year.

Conversely, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) saw its allocation drop to ₱2.5 billion from ₱8 billion in 2025, even as it continued to receive funding under the Murang Kuryente Act.

In the agricultural sector, the government balanced food security needs with varying fiscal allocations. The National Food Authority (NFA) saw its four-month support more than double to ₱6.3 billion from ₱3 billion in 2025.

Meanwhile, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), typically the largest recipient of state support, recorded a one-third decline in its total, falling to ₱7.8 billion from ₱11.8 billion last year.

Other GOCCs logged notable changes in funding. The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) received ₱1.8 billion, up by four-fifths from ₱975 million a year ago.

Additionally, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PRRI) saw its subsidy grow by 64 percent to ₱1.3 billion from ₱799 million. Among financial institutions, Small Business Corp. (SBC) saw its funding double to ₱1 billion from ₱502 million a year earlier.

Funding for specialized health centers remained a priority but showed mixed trends. The Philippine Heart Center (PHC) saw its support rise by nearly a tenth to ₱808 million.

Meanwhile, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) saw its four-month support drop by more than a quarter to ₱504 million from ₱688 million.

Infra damage at P1 billion

 

Infra damage at P1 billion, quake death toll climbs to 61 as gov't responders race to reach isolated communities in Mindanao

ROAD clearing operations in Glan, Sarangani following the earthquake. (Photo from OCD-12)

Rescue responders intensified efforts to reach isolated communities in Sarangani and Davao Occidental as the death toll from the earthquake reached 61 while damage to infrastructure amounted to P1 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Sunday, June 14. Read more

The Hidden Trap of Worry

 

Learning to stop worrying involves training your brain to recognize that worry is merely a misguided habit. By actively managing your mindset with techniques like scheduled worry periods, radical acceptance, and mindfulness, you can break the anxiety cycle and take back control of your life.

Worrying is generally unhelpful because it traps your brain in a loop of "what-ifs" without producing actionable solutions. While moderate worry can briefly motivate you to prepare for a specific event, excessive worrying impairs decision-making, reduces creative problem-solving, and harms your physical health.

Some feelings of worry can be healthy, pushing us to find solutions to real and present problems. However, chronic worry, even about things out of our control, can severely impact our mental health.

The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke put it well: “Life is not even close to being as logically consistent as our worries; it has many more unexpected ideas and many more facts than we do.” Worrying is pointless not only because it rarely makes things better, but also because you're rarely ever worried about the right thing!

We hardly count our blessings. We enjoy counting our crosses. Instead of gains, we count our losses. We don't have to do all that counting - computers do it for us. Information is easily had.

Facebook to and fro, back and forth, there and back - how many posts and comments have been posted already with sadness, loneliness, boredom strikes, problems, worries ... .

Just remember this: Opportunity doesn't just knock - it jiggles the door-knob. and "your social media online-friend" - the warrior is with you day and night, at every corner, following your every step. Complaining and grumbling are good excuses, right?

Seniors may experience more anxiety-inducing situations than younger adults, and they may not have as many resources for support. Some people may notice that their anxious thoughts get stronger or more frequent with age, but anxiety is a treatable mental health disorder.

Is social media bad for us? Four billion people, around 50% of the world’s population, use online social media – and we’re spending an average of two hours every day sharing, liking, tweeting and updating on these platforms, according to some reports. That breaks down to around half a million tweets and Snapchat photos shared every minute. Stress, mood, anxiety, depression, sleep (or better non-sleep), self-esteem - Overall, social media’s effects on well-being are ambiguous, according to a paper written last year by researchers from the Netherlands. However, they suggested there is clearer evidence for the impact on one group of people: social media has a more negative effect on the well-being of those who are more socially isolated.

The whole world is an awful place filled with dreadful and horrible negativism. Yes, I confess, I'm also surrounded by many worriers who put their fears into me. Politicians, i.e., many times love to search for some grave alarm that will cause individuals to abandon their separate concerns and act in concert, so that politicians can wield the baton. Calls to fatal struggles and fights are forever being sounded.

The overbearing person, who tyrannizes the weak, who wants to domineer and to bluster, is simply nothing else than a worrier, who claims to be a friend. But he isn't. Really not! The bullying of fellow citizens by means of dread and fright has been going on since Paleolithic times. The night wolf is eating the moon. Give me silver and I'll make him spit out.

Well, when will we start counting our courage and not our fears, or enjoy instead of our woe? Worrying itself is pointless.Of course, no society has achieved perfect rules of law, never-ending education or unique responsible governments. Let's seek out the worries but avoid the warriors, because they try to avoid liberty.

Worry, that sense of insecurity, unease, and fear over what negative events may happen – as unrealistic as these concerns may be – is one of the most unpleasant emotions that you can experience as a human being. It is also one of the most common. While everyone has worried at some point, many people suffer from chronic worrying in the form of anxiety. In Australia alone, 2 million people will suffer from anxiety in any one year.

If you worry often, you’re far from alone. In fact, it may comfort you to know that many of us tend to worry about the same issues. All of those anxieties and stressors that may plague your life also affect a huge chunk of the rest of the world as well.

Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., is a practicing psychologist, author, speaker, and life/business coach, with more than 20 years of experience as a clinician, professor, and researcher. She says:" One of the most helpful things you can do instead of worrying is problem-solving. Problem-solving means defining the problem in a way that you can do something about it (e.g., "How do I prepare for a possible loss of income?" or "How can I learn to accept that my ex has moved on?"). Once you have a defined problem, you can generate some possible solutions and think through the likely consequences of each (e.g., "What is most likely to happen if I do X?"). Finally, you can implement your favorite solution, whether it involves taking action, discussing the situation, finding out more information, or working to accept something you cannot change".

If you are still worrying right now about something, try to read Jeremiah 29:10-14 or Revelation 21:1-8, just to mention these two. It works.

Weltweiter Bierkonsum leicht gestiegen – aber nicht überall

Stand:14.06.2026, 18:15 Uhr

Von: Lucas Sauter Orengo

Der Bierkonsum weltweit steigt leicht, allerdings nicht in den Industrienationen. Hier ist das Gegenteil der Fall, was die Hopfenbauern spüren.

München – Deutschlands Hopfenbauern spüren den Rückgang des Bierkonsums unmittelbar. Die Anbaufläche für Hopfen ist 2026 um rund 1.101 Hektar gesunken – das entspricht einem Minus von knapp sechs Prozent. Wie der Hopfenpflanzer-Verband in Wolnzach bekanntgab, umfasst die gesamte deutsche Hopfenanbaufläche damit noch 17.861 Hektar.   

Der Bierkonsum weltweit steigt leicht, allerdings nicht in den Industrienationen. Hier ist das Gegenteil der Fall, was die Hopfenbauern spüren. ©  IMAGO / Shotshop

Bierkonsum steigt weltweit an: Deutsche Bauern dennoch in Krisenmodus – Grund ist offensichtlich

Nicht nur die Flächen werden kleiner – auch die Zahl der Betriebe geht zurück. 62 Hopfenpflanzer haben ihr Geschäft aufgegeben, sodass bundesweit nur noch 904 Betriebe übrig sind. Damit ist die Branche erstmals seit Langem unter die Marke von 1.000 aktiven Erzeugern gerutscht. Dabei ist Hopfen im Vergleich zu Massenkulturen wie Mais oder Weizen schon in besseren Zeiten eine Nischenkultur gewesen – gemessen an der Anbaufläche. Trotzdem nimmt Deutschland eine herausragende Stellung auf dem Weltmarkt ein. Verbandspräsident Adi Schapfl betont, dass die Bundesrepublik nach wie vor die Nummer eins beim globalen Hopfenanbau ist. Mehr als ein Drittel des weltweit produzierten Hopfens stammt aus Deutschland – die USA und Tschechien folgen auf den Plätzen zwei und drei. Der überwiegende Teil der deutschen Ernte geht in den Export.   

Weltweiter Bierkonsum leicht gestiegen – aber nicht überall

Berechnungen der japanischen Großbrauerei Kirin zeigen ein differenziertes Bild: Global betrachtet ist der Bierkonsum in den vergangenen Jahren zwar marginal gewachsen. In vielen wohlhabenden Industriestaaten ist er jedoch rückläufig. Für das Jahr 2025 liegen noch keine Zahlen vor – für 2024 ermittelte Kirin einen weltweiten Bierkonsum von rund 194 Milliarden Litern. Grundlage sind Umfragen bei Brauerverbänden weltweit sowie Daten nationaler Statistikbehörden. (Quelle: dpa) (lso)

What should we eat on an empty stomach in the morning to stay healthy?

When we wake up in the morning, our body needs something light, clean and full of energy.. So it's better to start the day with some simple food..

Here are few things which you can consider :

• Warm water with lemon : it will clean your stomach and helps with digestion.
• Banana or few soaked almonds : provides good energy and are easy to eat.
• A simple fruit : like apple, papaya etc.. Don't go for sour fruits.
• Coconut water : you will feel fresh and it's good for body..

Many people takes coffee or tea as soon as they wakeup.. That's not suggestible.. First take a simple food and then you can have tea or coffee.

What are some interesting facts about the German language?

 

In German, the excess weight gained from emotional overeating after a bad breakup translates literally to "grief bacon."

While famous for these staggering compound words, German operates with a highly logical, almost modular precision that is fascinating to unpack.

One of the most defining features of German is its approach to noun capitalization. Unlike English, which reserves capital letters for proper nouns and the beginnings of sentences, German requires every single noun to be capitalized. If a word represents a person, place, concept, or thing, it gets a capital letter. This visually structures written text and actually aids in reading comprehension, as the core subjects and objects of a sentence instantly stand out on the page.

Beyond grammar, the vocabulary itself is famously literal. German frequently relies on Komposita—compound words—to describe things by combining existing words rather than inventing entirely new roots. This creates a highly descriptive, building-block language. For example:

• A turtle is a Schildkröte (shield toad).
• A glove is a Handschuh (hand shoe).
• A slug is a Nacktschnecke (naked snail).
• A vacuum cleaner is a Staubsauger (dust sucker).

This same compounding ability allows German to create highly specific emotional vocabulary that requires entire sentences to explain in English. Fernweh, for instance, translates literally to "farsickness"—the exact opposite of homesickness, describing a deep ache to travel and explore places a person has never been.

Finally, German possesses a letter completely unique to its alphabet: the Eszett or scharfes S (ß). It is the only letter in the Latin alphabet used exclusively by a single language. It represents a sharp "s" sound and, because it never appears at the beginning of a word, it did not even have an official capital version until 2017. When the language underwent a major spelling reform in 1996, the rules for using the ß were strictly standardized, yet it remains a distinct typographical hallmark of written German today.

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Loving enemies as mark of Christian perfection

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THIS is what we can gather from that gospel episode (cfr. Mt 5,43-48) where Christ told his disciples: “You have heard that it has been said, Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy. But I say to you, "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you.”

And then he gave the reason for this incredible commandment by saying, “That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who makes his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and rains upon the unjust and the unjust.” Then, at the end, he concluded by saying, “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.”

As we can see, the love we ought to have for one another should have no boundaries, since it has to include our enemies. We are asked to love without keeping score. Everything has to be done gratuitously. And our love would be more perfect, more meritorious the more unlovable our enemy would be.

Said another way, we can say that loving our enemies can only show how mature our faith is, how complete our discipleship to Christ is, and how we are more identified with God who created us as his image and likeness, sharers of his life and nature.

Loving our enemies is not merely a human moral improvement. Rather, it is a living participation in the divine manner of loving, shaping us into the likeness of God’s fatherly goodness. Loving our enemies, therefore, constitutes the perfection of charity.

Still, we have to clarify that we love our enemies for who they are, children of God as we are, and not for whatever evil or mistake they have done.

We just have to understand that we can only manage to love our enemies if we truly are with God through Christ in the Spirit. He, after all, is the source, the power and the pattern of how this kind of love can take place.

So, the challenge to face and the task to do is how to immerse ourselves in God, practically identifying ourselves with him, since we are meant to be his image and likeness. Our true and ultimate dignity and identity is that of being children of God. 

In other words, the fullness and perfection of our humanity is when we finally become like God which can only take place in heaven. But while here on earth, we just have to do our best to pursue that ideal. 

To be sure, on God’s part, all the means are already made available. We are already given the doctrine of our faith so we would know what right and wrong are in our earthly pilgrimage. We are given the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, so we can truly be identified with Christ who is the pattern of our humanity. We have the Church and the accompaniment of angels, saints and holy people, etc.

On our part, we just have to learn to pray and to truly have a vital encounter with God, which is actually possible and doable, because God is already with us. Being our Creator who puts and keeps us in existence, he can never be absent from us. We just have to learn how to get in touch with him, for only then can we aspire to be in our ideal condition as man.

We have to understand that the commandment to love our enemies is due to the fact that we are meant to be truly one with God. And it is the fullness of love that can do that.

A VERY SPECIAL DEPARTMENT STORE

 

By Klaus Döring

When it comes to very special department stores, the world has a few legendary destinations, ranging from hyper-luxury flagships to local, one-of-a-kind treasures. These stores go far beyond basic shopping by offering iconic architecture, custom services, and massive entertainment features to create an unforgettable retail experience.

Once upon a time, I drifted back on my lifetime's way. That's not bad. That's sometimes really helpful. During my journey back, suddenly I saw a nameplate: Heavenly Department Store.

I came closer. The door opened itself wider and wider. A swarm of angels gathered together. One of them presented a shopping basket to me. "Enjoy your shopping, but do it carefully!" Everything that a Christian needs, could be bought in this department store. If one couldn't carry everything home, one could be back the next day, get the last bit and buy even more.

At first, I bought PATIENCE, the quality of enduring with calmness. LOVE, the human affection, was on the same shelf. A little bit deeper, I found SYMPATHY, the sharing of emotion, interest, and desire, and COMPREHENSION, the capacity of the mind to perceive and understand together with APPRECIATION, the setting of a valued one.

I added packages of WISDOM, the knowledge and the capacity to make use of it and additional bags of FAITH, the belief especially in a revealed religion. I relaxed a couple of minutes and then, I looked for STRENGTH, the important power or vigor and bravery and fearlessness. They should help me to continue my forward to the future. I thought to myself, that I shouldn't forget MERCY, the leniency shown to a guilty person, and REDEMPTION, the deliverance from sin.

My basket was already stuffed and I started looking for the cashier. One the way there, I found the PRAYER. I needed it to avoid running dead straight into a sin. An angel also advised me never to forget PEACE AND JOY, hymn of praise and chant.

Now it was really time to pay for all those things. But the angel smiled and told me, "Take everything with you, wherever you may go." I asked, "What do I owe you?" The angel answered, "Nothing, somebody already paid your bills a long time ago. His name was Jesus!"

I found this fabulous and wonderful fantastic story in my published columns from September 1988, during my time in Abra while writing a column for the mission oriented TINIG NG BAYAN - a magazine for Filipinos abroad. This here is a revised version, because my opinion is that, no matter where we are living on this globe, we should try to project this timeless legend onto our very personal daily life. You'll find out that it helps to survive in our life struggles. It's important to realize that we must be able to administer our valuable treasure of vital life energy, instead of frittering away with it such as knick-knacks.

Not against, but beyond

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THIS is about charity, the very essence of God. And as God’s image and likeness, we are supposed to also have this essence. It’s a charity that is not simply human and natural, but rather divine and supernatural. As such, it requires the very grace of God for us to have it.

But we have to understand that this charity does not go against our human nature. It simply goes beyond it, purifying and elevating our human love to make it also divine.

This truth of our Christian faith is illustrated in that gospel episode where Christ spelled out how we have to love. “You have heard that it has been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” he said. “But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him also the other; and if a man will contend with you in judgment, and take away your coat, let go your cloak also to him.” (Mt 5,38-40)

More than that, Christ also said, “And whosoever will force you one mile, go with him other two. Give to him that asks of you and from him who would borrow from you, turn not away.” (41-42)

It’s indeed a mind-blowing description of how our charity should be. We are asked not to retaliate from unregulated revenge while defending justice. We are directed toward patient endurance.

We are asked to train our hearts to respond with mercy and self-giving, refusing to escalate when struck, giving more rather than grabbing back, and being willing to endure inconvenience.

This is not, of course, about self-destruction for its own sake, but rather about self-restraint and mercy even while suffering injustice. That way, our response to injustice would not become another act of harm and would thereby end the cycle of counter-attacks.

We have to learn to overcome evil with good, a very intriguing part of Christian charity. Not only should we love our enemies, as Christ taught us, but we also need to drown evil with an abundance of good.

We have to try our best to erase whatever disbelief, doubt or skepticism we can have as we consider this teaching, since most likely, our first and spontaneous reaction to it would precisely be those conditions. We can ask, even if done only interiorly, “Is Christ really serious about this? Can this thing that Christ is telling us, possible, doable?”

When these reactions come to us, it is time to remind ourselves that we just have to follow our faith that definitely contains a lot of mysteries and supernatural things that we are not expected to understand fully. Like Our Lady and all the saints, we should just believe and do what we are told because it is Christ who said so, and because it is the Church that teaches us so.

That’s what faith is all about. By believing first, then we can start to understand things that are hard to explain or articulate in human terms. As they say, that’s how the ball bounces. We should not waste time trying to understand everything at once or at the beginning. Let’s be game enough to go through some kind of adventure that, no matter how the outcome would be, we know that God is in control of everything.

We should just beg for God’s grace.