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Outlet profile

Philstar

Philippine mainstream, pro-business, center-right establishment

Owned byRun by Philstar Global Corp. and PhilStar Daily, Inc. Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan holds a controlling stake through Hastings Holdings, which is tied to MediaQuest and the PLDT/Metro Pacific group. The Belmonte family keeps a minority stake and runs the paper day to day. Reported splits vary by source and by restructuring. One account puts the Pangilinan-linked share at 51% of the print company. Another puts it at 65% of Philstar Global, with PhilStar Daily at 20% and a Belmonte vehicle at 15%.
FundingMainly advertising (print and digital) and newspaper sales, with the backing of a large corporate group. It has no state funding.
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The Philippine Star was founded on July 28, 1986 by journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, Max Soliven and Art Borjal, soon after the 1986 People Power revolution. It grew into one of the country's leading English-language dailies, alongside Tagalog tabloids such as Pilipino Star Ngayon and regional titles such as The Freeman. Miguel Belmonte became president and CEO in 1998. Pangilinan, the PLDT chairman, showed interest in a stake in 2009. In 2014 he raised his holding to a majority of 51% through Hastings Holdings. The Belmonte family kept management and editorial control. Its website operates as Philstar Global, led by Kevin Belmonte. Pangilinan's other media and telecom holdings, and his wider business interests, are a common point of discussion about media concentration in the Philippines. The paper's tone is centrist and pro-business, with a mix of columnists and a heavy focus on business and national politics. Recent coverage of the Trump administration is largely wire-style reporting of tariffs, trade, the Iran sanctions threat, and the Philippines-US alliance. It frames these mostly through their effects on the Philippines. I did not find evidence of a consistent editorial line for or against Trump.

Sources

  1. The Philippine Star (Wikipedia)
  2. MVP gets 51% of STAR (Philstar)
  3. Philstar Media Group (Media Ownership Monitor Philippines)
  4. Trump to fly to Manila for ASEAN summit, first PH visit since 2017 (Philstar)
  5. US slaps new tariffs on Philippines, 59 partners (Philstar)

Profile compiled 2026-10-21; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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