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Outlet profile

Philstar

Philippine center-left

Owned byMajority (51%) owned by Hastings Holdings, Inc., a holding company under Manuel V. Pangilinan's MediaQuest Holdings, the media arm of PLDT — the Philippines' largest telecom company. The founding Belmonte family retains a 20% stake and holds management and editorial control.
FundingPrimarily advertising revenue, with corporate backing from the PLDT-linked MediaQuest conglomerate through Hastings Holdings
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The Philippine Star was founded on July 28, 1986, just months after the People Power Revolution that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Its founders — Betty Go-Belmonte, Max Soliven, and Art Borjal — were veteran journalists who had previously co-founded the Philippine Daily Inquirer and participated in anti-Marcos underground press known collectively as the 'Mosquito Press.' A dispute over finances and editorial priorities led the trio to leave the Inquirer and launch The Philippine Star under Go-Belmonte's motto 'Truth Shall Prevail.' After Go-Belmonte's death in 1994, her son Miguel Belmonte rose to lead the paper, becoming president and CEO in 1998. Between 2009 and 2014, Manuel V. Pangilinan's media arm MediaQuest Holdings — funded through the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund — gradually acquired a controlling 51% stake via Hastings Holdings, though the Belmonte family kept editorial and management authority. The digital arm, Philstar.com, is operated by Philstar Global Corporation, which is itself majority-owned by Hastings Holdings. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the outlet as left-center with mostly factual reporting, noting a tendency toward emotionally charged language but no major sustained inaccuracy record. The Philippine Star is among the Philippines' most prominent English-language news brands, covering national and international affairs with particular focus on how global events — including U.S. trade policy — affect the Philippines.

Sources

  1. The Philippine Star — Wikipedia
  2. Philstar Media Group | Media Ownership Monitor
  3. The Philippine STAR | Media Ownership Monitor
  4. Philstar.com | Media Ownership Monitor
  5. Philippine Star — Bias and Credibility | Media Bias/Fact Check
  6. PLDT acquires 51% stake in Philippine Star | Inquirer Business
  7. About The Philippine Star | Philstar.com
  8. Trump sets 20% US tariffs on Philippine goods | Philstar.com

Profile compiled 2026-07-22; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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