Team Philippines secured its most impressive overall medal tally in six decades

PH records best Asian Games medal haul in 60 years

Nicole Anne D.G. Bugauisan 
Manila Times
05 October 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Team Philippines secured its most impressive overall medal tally in six decades at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, finishing with 29 total medals consisting of four golds, nine silvers, and 16 bronzes. 

Japan

This stands as the nation’s highest overall medal haul since capturing 42 medals at the 1966 Bangkok Games. Historically, the Philippines achieved its all-time best performances during the 1954 Manila Games with a 14-14-17 medal spread and the 1958 Tokyo Games with eight golds, 19 silvers, and 20 bronzes.

Fielding a 447-athlete delegation—the country's largest representation since sending 524 competitors to the 1994 Hiroshima Games—the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) aimed to break through the four-gold threshold.

The national team matched its four-gold performances from both the 2018 Jakarta and 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Addressing public criticisms over the outcome, PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio clarified that the target of eight golds was set as an inspiring challenge rather than a firm performance guarantee. 

He emphasized the value of the team's achievements, noting that silver finishes represent near-gold performances and urging observers to recognize the significant number of silver medals won.

“That silver is also a gold; we were just unlucky. But the silver, if you compute it. And the thing that we’re talking about the eight golds. We should also count how many silvers we got,” Gregorio said.

“Once a sportsman, always a sportsman. The bashing is part of the culture and social media; it does not only happen in the Philippines, but in the entire world,” he added. 

The 2026 campaign featured several notable milestones alongside narrow misses. The nine silver medals collected in Aichi-Nagoya equaled the nation's silver medal record previously set at the 1970 Bangkok Games. 

The delegation came closest to grabbing its fifth gold on the final day of competition on October 3, when Alexandria Luz Enriquez advanced to the finals of the women’s under-63 kilogram jiu-jitsu event, though she fell short against Thailand’s Orapa Senatham in a tightly contested bout.

This achievement builds upon a long history of Asian Games participation. Following strong shows in the 1970s—including 22 medals in Bangkok 1970 and 14 apiece in Tehran 1974, Bangkok 1978, and Bangkok 1982—the Philippines recorded steady tallies across subsequent decades. 

The country gathered 18 medals at New Delhi 1982, 10 at Seoul 1986, 13 at Beijing 1990, 18 at Hiroshima 1994, and 26 at both Bangkok 1998 and Busan 2002.  Leading into the current era, the nation captured 19 medals at Doha 2006, 16 at Guangzhou 2010, 15 at Incheon 2014, 21 at Jakarta 2018, and 18 at Hangzhou 2022 before reaching its 60-year high in 2026.

Filipino online shoppers emerged as Southeast Asia's "savviest" consumers in a 2026

Filipino shoppers ranked as Southeast Asia's 'savviest' online

Philstar.com
October 4, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino online shoppers emerged as Southeast Asia's "savviest" consumers in a 2026 regional e-commerce report, with more than one in three falling into its top shopper segment.

The 2026 eCommerce Savvy Shopper Report for the Philippines found that 36% of Filipino shoppers qualified as "savvy," the highest share among six Southeast Asian markets covered.

Another 22% were classified as "near-savvy," bringing the combined share to 58%, also the largest pool in the region.

The Philippines was followed by Indonesia, where 28% of shoppers were classified as savvy, Vietnam at 25%, Thailand at 22%, Malaysia at 20% and Singapore at 9%.

Filipino savvy shoppers also stood out for how much more they spent.

Their monthly spending was 47% higher than that of general shoppers, the biggest difference among the six markets.

Vietnam followed with a 44% spending uplift, Malaysia with 36%, Thailand with 27%, Indonesia with 19% and Singapore with 13%.

The report estimated the weighted spending gap associated with savvy shoppers in the Philippines at $3.3 billion in 2026. It said the estimate was based on annual e-commerce marketplace spending in Southeast Asia in 2026.

What makes a shopper 'savvy'?

The report, jointly conducted by e-commerce company Lazada and market data firm Cube, assessed shopper savviness across four dimensions: verification, value optimization, digital fluency, and confidence and protection.

These measured whether consumers choose the right products, get the best value, use available digital tools effectively and feel protected when something goes wrong with a purchase.

Across Southeast Asia, the report found that shoppers were more willing to put in additional effort to secure better value than give up trust-related protections.

Forty-three percent said they were willing to wait longer for delivery, 41% would spend more effort finding a deal and 36% would compare offers.

By comparison, only 14% were willing to give up authenticity signals, while 13% would sacrifice purchase protection.

The Philippines also stood out as the only Southeast Asian market in the report where Gen X and Gen Z shoppers were equally willing to pay more for stronger purchase protection.

The report described this as an indication that trust cuts across generations rather than being limited to younger online consumers.

The Philippines report, however, did not disclose key survey methodology, including its sample size, sampling and recruitment method, fieldwork period or the scoring thresholds used to classify shoppers as "savvy" or "near-savvy."

Philippines eyed as next wellness destination

Philippines eyed as next wellness destination

Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas 
Philstar Global
04 October 2026

MANILA, Philippines — If you have the means to live longer and better, chances are you would consider Singapore or Hong Kong for your medical checkups.

It’s easy to see why. Both cities have built reputations for advanced health care services that focus not only on treating illness but also on longevity and quality of life.

But Malaysia-based wellness services firm ALPS Global Inc. sees the Philippines as the next big destination for health care and wellness.

ALPS believes that health care services like genomic testing, precision diagnostics, cellular therapy and other biotechnology advancements must not be limited to a small group of wealthy individuals.

Changes in Filipinos’ habits and mindset toward health care make them a good market for advanced and specialized health care services.

Filipinos are becoming more health-conscious and are slowly going beyond traditional concepts of wellness like supplements, showing growing interest in preventative health, personalized medicine and longevity science-backed interventions, according to ALPS.

“Our objective is to make these technologies more accessible and build the infrastructure locally so Filipinos do not necessarily have to travel abroad to access advanced health care,” ALPS chief operating officer Amanda Low told The STAR via e-mail.

“Ultimately, our goal is not simply to help people live longer. It is to help people live longer, healthier and better, by giving them earlier information about their health, more personalized options and access to science that can support better health care decisions,” Low added.

ALPS is seeing a “sophisticated” and “fast-growing” wellness market in the country for its various services such as genomic testing, precision diagnostics, cellular therapy and clinical protocols.

Bonifacio Global City, for example, ALPS said, represents the kind of community ready for such a health care ecosystem since people in the area are “looking beyond conventional medicine and are increasingly interested in preventative, personalized health.”

Some of the services that ALPS wants to bring to the Philippines are genome sequencing, which would analyze an individual’s genetic risks and identify health risks earlier than usual, as well as cellular therapy that involves natural killer cells and stem cells.

Another service is its mRNA research and biomarker development that helps understand biological aging and how individuals respond to medical interventions.

“Instead of approaching wellness simply through aesthetics, supplements, or general health recommendations, we start by understanding the individual at a biological level and then develop a more personalized approach,” Low said.

Low is coordinating with its local partners to establish ALPS’ presence in the country.

Alongside the services, ALPS is also keen to develop the necessary health care infrastructure as part of its local ecosystem, including accredited laboratories, trained clinicians and credible clinical protocols.

ALPS’ local partners Paolo Castro, an interior designer, and Jacob del Rosario, chief executive officer of CJ Medical Innovations Inc., are upbeat about the growth and development of the country’s wellness industry, including preventive health care.

They described Filipinos as more proactive about their health now. Wellness for Filipinos used to be a spa day 10 years ago, but now it has become visiting a specialist even before sickness kicks in.

Likewise, wellness tourism in the country is changing. Tourists used to go to beaches, but today a growing number of foreigners are coming to the Philippines for medical and wellness services, Castro and Del Rosario said.

“So you have two markets moving together - an everyday, urban wellness market driven by locals, and a tourism market built around people traveling here for care. Where those two start to overlap is the most interesting part,” they said.

Citing Global Wellness Institute figures, the two noted that the Philippines’ wellness economy grew from $36 billion in 2019 to $47.3 billion in 2024, with the country ranking 23rd out of 218 countries in terms of wellness economy.

The local partners of ALPS pointed out that preventive and personalized health care offer the biggest opportunities as more Filipinos want to understand what is happening in their bodies before it shows up as a diagnosis.

Biological age testing, genomic screening and hormone and metabolic panels are becoming standard requests instead of novelties, they said.

“The interesting opportunity for the Philippines is the space between traditional health care and traditional resort wellness, where medically guided programs can be combined with recovery, hospitality and a destination experience,” Castro and Del Rosario said.

CJMI, a health care innovation and infrastructure company, is partnering with hospitals to bring advanced health care services closer to the public.

One example is its partnership with Makati Life Medical Center, which brought the United Imaging Healthcare’s first AI-powered PET/CT system in the country. The technology allows Filipino patients to access advanced imaging technology that previously wasn’t available locally and can support more precise cancer diagnosis and treatment planning, according to CJMI.

“Ultimately, our goal is to make advanced health care technologies and newer models of care more accessible to Filipinos without compromising clinical standards,” Del Rosario said.

“If we do that well, it becomes normal for someone in Manila to get the kind of preventive, data-driven care they’d currently have to travel abroad for,” he added.

First Filipino inducted into Explorers Club

Call of the wild: First Filipino inducted into Explorers Club

Gillian Villanueva 

Inquirer.net

04 October 2026

MANILA, Philippines — For Gregg Yan, a 43-year-old communications consultant and founder of environmental nonprofit Best Alternatives, one does not need to have formal training as a scientist to be able to write academic articles about animal conservation.

His experience traveling the world and being exposed to the wonders of wildlife is what informs his writing.

“I had written hundreds or maybe thousands of stories about wildlife and people,” he told the Inquirer. “I’m really a journalist, but because I grew up seeing wildlife and my personal interest was about animals … I never let a lack of academic qualifications [stop me].”

After 20 years of working in the field where he photographed and wrote about some of the world’s most endangered animals, Yan became the first Filipino to be inducted as a fellow into the 120-year-old international society The Explorers Club.

The group, whose members include the likes of astronaut Neil Armstrong and primatologist Jane Goodall, is a “multidisciplinary society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation.”

Yan is also a longtime contributor to the Inquirer.

“Being a fellow is essentially securing a seat at the table to allow more Filipinos to be part of The Explorers Club in the future, and we do not have a lack of great explorers,” he said.

An observant farm boy

His interest in wildlife began when he was a young boy growing up on a farm in Bulacan.

“In the 1980s, me and my brother, because we did not have any neighbors, would go exploring the farm every day after school. We had all sorts of animals, not just farm animals. We had different types of insects, snakes, frogs and birds,” he said.

Yan and his brother later left for Manila to study, but returned to the farm after graduating from college. This time, however, Gregg noticed that the beasts and critters that fascinated him as a child had largely disappeared.

“It was because surrounding areas started developing and farms started using pesticides. And the river beside our house was the most polluted river on planet Earth, which is the Meycauayan River,” he said.

‘Localized extinctions’

The sad observation made him realize that “localized extinction can happen not just in one’s lifetime, but in the blink of an eye.”

“I thought that, if this is what’s going on in our backyard in Bulacan, what more is happening across the planet?” he said.

While in college, Yan worked on his communication and writing skills as a journalism student at Ateneo de Manila University and as an intern at the Inquirer. His thesis, not surprisingly, was about the wildlife that had managed to take refuge within the Ateneo campus.

Finding green options

“I spent so many nights and mornings alone, looking for snakes and birds and stuff,” he recalled.

After graduating, Yan worked with the World Wide Fund For Nature as a communication officer for 12 years, immersing himself in conservation issues.

“One of my favorite adventures was finding the pangolin in Palawan, or studying the seabirds of the Tubbataha reefs, also in Palawan. My core expertise was about fish … I write academic journal articles about fish conservation,” he said.

In 2015, Yan founded the nongovernmental organization Best Alternatives, which promotes environment-friendly products.

“Let’s say, in [making] traditional Chinese medicine, they like to use endangered wildlife like tiger bones, rhinoceros horns, or dried seahorse,’’ he said. “At Best Alternatives, we do research to find out what can be the alternatives to these illegal or unethical [materials] that are being used.”

Mindoro to East Africa

Parallel to this advocacy, Yan also stays in touch with indigenous communities who play an important role in wildlife conservation. These include the Tawbuid people of Mindoro.

“I’ve written stories about them. In many ways, they are simpler and better than so many people we see right now … and they live right beside the tamaraw up to this day. So, every time I go there, I essentially see how conservation works,” he said.

Outside the Philippines, Yan had encounters with the Maasai tribe in Tanzania and Kenya, taking part in a tradition where his skin was ritually marked with a heated stick covered in cattle dung. Being herders, the tribe believes the animal’s waste can work as a disinfectant, he explained.

“To remember those adventures, I only have to look at my arms … because they are seared into my flesh, literally, and into my memory.”

Yan hopes that his fellow travelers and adventurers will be mindful enough and help the places they visit stay clean or unspoiled. It can be as simple as picking up trash while mountain climbing or scuba diving.

“We need to make sure that future generations of Pinoy and Pinay explorers will still have something to explore and protect,” he said.

Filipino craft Bucket Bag makes it to Tory Burch

Proudly Pinoy: This handcrafted abaca bag is now available at Tory Burch

Andrea Posadas
When In Manila
01 October 2026

Local enterprise LIKHÂ is taking Filipino talent and craftsmanship to a world-class degree this year. The brand’s new Ella Hand-crocheted Bucket Bag is now officially a design under high-profile lifestyle brand Tory Burch, set to make a statement and a lasting impression on artisans and fashion connoisseurs worldwide.

LIKHÂ’s Ella Bucket Bag turns abaca straw into simple but stylish pieces that thoroughly capture the Philippines’ history and culture. The brand’s artisan partners have added a variety of details to the bag that highlight its intricate hand-knotted patterns, bringing a unique touch to its globally recognized story.

“For us, seeing the finished bag at Tory Burch is also about seeing the people behind it represented on a global stage,” the LIKHÂ team wrote on Instagram.

The Ella takes on a distinct form and rich color thanks to its twisted fibers, making it an ideal choice for casual city strolls and beach getaways. The bag’s success is a major step in the right direction, especially in fulfilling LIKHÂ’s long-term goals of preserving heritage craft, supporting sustainable designs and livelihoods, and bringing locally made goods to the global market.

It took LIKHÂ two and a half years to hone their craft as a team and create a bag that seamlessly blends style, convenience, and unapologetically Filipino elements. That’s why its international presence means everything to them and the brand’s founder, Natalie Llorente-Lim, who’s also a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow.

“Behind [the Ella’s] seemingly simple form are years of sampling, refining, problem-solving, and learning what matters most: the hand of the artisan,” LIKHÂ explained. “We’re proud to see the work of our artisan partners represented on this stage.”

The Ella Hand-crocheted Bucket Bag by LIKHÂ is now available in the U.S. at Tory Burch.

Heart Evangelista ranks no. 1 in New York Fashion Week celebrity voices

Heart Evangelista ranks no. 1 in New York Fashion Week celebrity voices

GMA Entertainment 
01 October 2026

Heart once again claimed the number one spot in Top Celebrity Voices during NYFW Spring/Summer 2027, reaffirming her dominance in the global style conversation.

According to fashion analytics firm Launchmetrics, Heart brought in $7.6 million worth of Media Impact Value (MIV). MIV is an industry-standard metric that calculates the value of a brand or public figure's reach across digital channels.

Joining her on the list of influential names in Top Celebrity Voices are American personality Paris Hilton and South Korean actor Jung Hae In.

On her social media accounts, Heart generously shared her journey to New York with her fans and followers—highlighting her time with longtime friends, her jewelry designs, fittings, the shows she attended, and all the little things in between.

Coming straight from New York, Heart also graced Milan Fashion Week with her high-fashion, chic, and sexy outfits that wowed netizens.

Speaking of global reach, Heart was seen with various international stars, such as K-pop idols Taemin of SHINee and Yunho of Ateez, sharing interactions that can only happen at events like these.

Amid her continuous international engagements, Heart also continues to appear on the original GMA Network game show, The People Have Spoken.

For more stories about the Kapuso Network, visit www.GMANetwork.com. Follow Kapuso PR on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube.

TIME includes Alex Eala among world's most influential rising stars

Eala among world's most influential rising stars -- TIME

Ralph Edwin Villanueva
Philstar Global 
01 October 2026

MANILA, Philippines -- She got next. 

Alex Eala has been named one of Time Magazine’s TIME100 Next, which is a list of “the world’s most influential rising stars”. 

The Filipina tennister joins the list, which includes basketball players Olivia Miles and Tyrese Maxey, American comedians Ashley Padilla and Druski, and advocates Shabana Basij-Rasikh and Wawira Njiru, among others. 

Tennis legend Rafa Nadal wrote the entry on  Eala, sharing that the Filipina tennister was the first player he shared a tennis court with after his retirement. 

“One day, she asked whether I felt like hitting with her for a while. For the first time in many months, I picked up a racket and played again,” he said. 

Nadal, who owns the Rafa Nadal Academy where Eala graduated from after being a full scholar for five years, looked back with fondness on the Filipina sensation's beginnings, as well as her meteoric rise in tennis. 

“I’ve been lucky enough to know Alex since she began her journey at Rafa Nadal Academy, and have closely followed her tremendous career. At just 19, Alex beat three Grand Slam champion players at the 2025 Miami Open. This year, she won the WTA 500 tournament, becoming the first player from the Philippines to break into the world’s top 20,” the article read. 

“And she still has plenty of room to grow. One of her greatest strengths is precisely her ability to listen, learn, and keep improving.” 

Still, Eala “remains a wonderful person—warm, approachable, and humble.” 

“It isn’t easy to handle becoming a true phenomenon at such a young age, and she deserves a lot of credit for keeping her feet on the ground. Now, all that remains is to keep enjoying watching her progress.” 

Eala, now ranked 18th in the world, has been one of the fastest rising stars in the sport. 

Now, she is in the midst of an Asian Games run in Japan, where she is set to compete in the semifinal round Thursday afternoon.