NU Bulldogs conquer first-ever Galaxy Gaming Academy X Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Campus

June 25, 2025 | 8:25 pm

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The inaugural Samsung x MLBB — Galaxy Gaming Campus Tournament (Galaxy Gaming Academy X Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Campus Series 2025) has successfully concluded, marking a pivotal moment for collegiate e-sports in Southeast Asia. This groundbreaking tournament brought together the brightest student gamers from Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore in the first-ever inter-country MLBB Campus Series, designed to nurture emerging talent and build a vibrant community of competitive gamers.

The cross-national grand finals, held from June 20-22 at Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta, known as the “e-sports shopping mall,” saw team National University (NU) Bulldogs from the Philippines emerge victorious after intense competition among the top eight elite teams. The tournament attracted over 1,000 participating teams from four countries, through domestic qualifiers, all vying for the $40,000 prize pool.

“Samsung is deeply committed to empowering the next generation of e-sports talent across Southeast Asia,” said Carl Nordenberg, Vice-President, Mobile eXperience Business, Samsung Electronics Southeast Asia and Oceania. “The Galaxy Gaming Academy x MLBB Campus Series reflects our dedication to providing students with the technology, platform, and opportunities they need to excel in competitive gaming. We are proud to support these young athletes as they pursue their e-sports dreams — and we are excited for a fun and engaging competition between Southeast Asian universities!”

NU Bulldogs from the Philippines claimed the championship title and the top prize of $18,000. NU Bulldogs demonstrated exceptional skill, strategy, and teamwork throughout the tournament, proving themselves as the premier campus MLBB team in Southeast Asia.

FAITH NOVUS Bravehearts, settling for second place, took home $8,000, while third placer VL Team from Indonesia won $5,000.

First runners up: FAITH NOVUS Bravehearts team from the Philippines.

Second runners up: VL Team from Indonesia.

“Taking home the championship title is beyond what we imagined when we first registered. Playing against the best campus teams from Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore has made us all better players and shown us the incredible depth of talent in our region.

This tournament proves that student gamers deserve serious recognition and support, and we cannot wait to see how this grows in the future. We hope more students will join us in competitive gaming!” said Patrick Balanquit, coach for the NU Bulldogs.

Eala guns for Eastbourne quarters against Grand Slam winner Ostapenko

June 25, 2025 | 8:19 pm

AND they meet again.

Filipina ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala and Latvian sensation Jelena Ostapenko figure in another gigantic duel for a seat in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Lexus Eastbourne Open in England.

Three months after their first duel that resulted into a stunning upset in favor of Ms. Eala, the two stars were to clash at press time (9:30 p.m., Manila time) in the Round of 16 after sweeping their first-round foes.

Ms. Eala, who came all the way from the qualifiers, bulldozed Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 61 Lucia Bronzetti of Italy in a near shutout, 6-0, 6-1, as the former French Open champion Ms. Ostapenko grinded out a 6-3, 7-6(2) win against WTA. No. 49 Sonay Kartal.

The 20-year-old Filipina currently sits at No. 74 in the WTA rankings while Ms. Ostapenko is at No. 20 while being the No. 4 player in the doubles, making her the heavy favorite in their rematch.

Ms. Ostapenko, 28, is also the No. 3 seed in the $250,000 tournament but Ms. Eala has proven time and time and again that she has what it takes to topple a titan like the Latvian veteran.

Back in Miami, Ms. Eala scored a 7-6(2), 7-5 win over then WTA No. 25 Ms. Ostapenko that ignited her Cinderella run to a historic Final Four finish marked by wins over three Top-10 players and former Grand Slam champions.

That amazing campaign opened the doors for Ms. Eala to enter the WTA Top 100, reaching as high as No. 69, to now become eligible for direct invites in the main draws of all Grand Slam tournaments.

Ms. Eala will certainly bank on that psychological edge to make a deep run in Eastbourne anew serving as her final build-up for the Wimbledon in nearby London on June 30 to July 11.

But Ms. Ostapenko, at all costs, is expected to go for a sweet and emphatic revenge.

Winner gets to face either Dayana Yastremska (WTA No. 42) of Ukraine or Francesca Jones (WTA No. 125) of Great Britain in the Last 8. — John Bryan Ulanday

Krog tops Under-17 of Tagaytay City Criterium

June 25, 2025 | 8:18 pm

MARITANYA KROG continued to stamp her class in the local field as she ruled the women’s youth (Under-17) in Day One of the PhilCycling Tagaytay City Criterium 2025 that started and finished on Crisanto delos Reyes Avenue in front of the newly inaugurated Tagaytay CT Velodrome.

Ms. Krog ruled her division and checked in 39 seconds ahead of silver medalist Yvaine Osias and a little less than a minute over bronze winner Princess Jaydee Pancho.

It was another triumph for Ms. Krog, who has consistently topped PhilCycling’s national road races as well as the Batang Pinoy Nationals.

For her feat, Ms. Krog earned national ranking points on top of the P3,000 purse courtesy of the MVP Sports Foundation and Philippine Olympic Committee and PhilCycling Chief and host city Mayor Abraham Tolentino.

Ronnel Hualda, for his part, reigned supreme in the men’s masters B (40-up) ahead of Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Marc Galedo and Romeo Camingao.

Daniel Cortero, Jerick Cabael and DJ Perez finished 1-2-3 in the Men’s Youth (under 17) category, while Juan Carlos Barrios, Leonel Dimaano and Joey de los Reyes completed the podium in the Men’s Masters A (30-39) class.

Medals and cash prizes are at stake in the three-day event that also features races in the Men and Women Under-23 category on Thursday and Elite on Friday, besides PhilCycling national ranking points. — Joey Villar

NBA Board of Governors approves sale of Timberwolves

June 25, 2025 | 8:15 pm

FOUR years after starting the process to take over, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are officially in charge of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale on Tuesday of the controlling interests in both the Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx from Glen Taylor, whose ownership of the Timberwolves comes to an end after 31 years.

In a $1.5-billion transaction that is expected to close this week, Lore and the three-time Major League Baseball MVP Rodriguez will serve as co-chairmen. Lore will sit as the Timberwolves’ governor while Rodriguez will become alternate governor. Those roles flip for the Lynx.

Tuesday’s vote concludes a drawn-out process for Lore and Rodriguez to take over the two franchises, a timeline that first began in 2021. In March 2024, with the value of NBA franchises continuing to skyrocket, Taylor attempted to cancel the sale, noting that Lore and Rodriguez failed to meet certain contractual deadlines.

The tandem took Taylor to arbitration, where a 2-1 decision in February favored Lore and Rodriguez.

The NBA signed off on the transaction two other times — in 2021 and 2023 — when Lore and Rodriguez purchased shares of the Timberwolves and Lynx that amounted to around 20%.

Taylor, 84, purchased the Timberwolves in 1994 for $88 million. — Reuters

US strikes may have set back Iran nuclear program only months, sources say

June 25, 2025 | 7:39 pm

Iran flag-Trump — A 3D printed miniature model of US President Donald Trump and Iran flag are seen in this illustration taken June 18, 2025. — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

WASHINGTON — A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has determined that U.S. strikes over the weekend on Iranian nuclear facilities have set back Tehran’s program by only a matter of months, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The initial report was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s main intelligence arm and one of 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, said two of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss classified matters.

The assessment found that Iran could restart its nuclear program in a matter of months, according to the three sources, one of whom said it estimated the earliest restart could be in one to two months.

The classified assessment is at odds with the statements of President Donald Trump and high-ranking U.S. officials – including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They have said the weekend strikes, which used a combination of bunker-busting bombs and more conventional weapons, essentially eliminated Iran’s nuclear program.

Mr. Trump’s administration on Tuesday told the U.N Security Council that its weekend strikes had “degraded” Iran’s nuclear program, short of Trump’s earlier assertion that the facilities had been “obliterated.”

Asked for comment, the White House pointed to a statement by spokesperson Karoline Leavitt to CNN, which first reported the assessment, that the “alleged” conclusion was “flat-out wrong.”

“Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration,” she said.

A U.S. official who read the assessment noted that it contained a number of caveats and “ifs” and said a more refined report was expected in the coming days and weeks.

Analysts said that, if the assessment was based on satellite imagery, the extent of damage to the deeply buried Fordow uranium enrichment facility would not necessarily be revealed.

Mr. Trump has said the attacks were necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies it is seeking such a weapon and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Assessing the damage at the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites is expected to be a difficult task, and the DIA is not the only agency tasked with the job. One source said the assessment was not universally accepted and had generated significant disagreement.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. did not yet know the true extent of the damage.

Still, the initial assessment indicated the strikes may not have been nearly as successful as the Trump administration has claimed.

HEGSETH REITERATES STANCE

The sources said that the report found that the U.S. attack had caved in facility entrances and destroyed or damaged infrastructure. However, one added, the strike did not collapse underground buildings.

Restarting operations would basically depend on “how long it takes them to dig out and build or repair” power and water supply facilities, said the second source.

The Washington Post, citing a person familiar the report, said some centrifuges for enriching uranium were intact.

The Pentagon disputed the notion that the damage was insignificant, though it did not dispute that the DIA assessment exists.

“Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons,” Mr. Hegseth said in a statement to Reuters.

“Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.”

One source, however, said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated.

David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear inspector, said that based on post-strike commercial satellite imagery, he believed the U.S. attack effectively destroyed Iran’s uranium enrichment program for now, but failed to eliminate the longer-term threat.

“Iran retains an ability to break out and produce weapon-grade uranium,” said Mr. Albright, the head of the Institute for Science and International Security, in a post on X.

He noted that Iran’s stock of near-weapons grade highly enriched uranium – enough for about nine warheads – is unaccounted for as are advanced centrifuges for a new enrichment facility that Iran this month told the IAEA it was preparing.

Initial military assessments can change as more information comes to light and it is not uncommon for opinions to vary across different U.S. intelligence agencies.

Democrats have previously said Mr. Trump’s claims that the weekend strikes eliminated or seriously set back Iran’s nuclear program were not yet backed by evidence.

“There’s zero evidence that I’ve seen that the nuclear program was completely and totally obliterated as Donald Trump has claimed,” House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday.

Classified briefings on the matter for members of the House of Representatives and Senate were canceled on Tuesday. — Reuters

UK to buy fighter jets capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons

June 25, 2025 | 7:37 pm

A LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A FIGHTER JET — REUTERS/BENOIT TESSIER

THE HAGUE — Britain said it would buy a dozen F-35A fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons in what it described as the biggest expansion of its nuclear deterrent in a generation.

The purchase of the Lockheed Martin jets would allow Britain’s air force to carry nuclear weapons for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Downing Street said.

“In an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

Britain’s nuclear deterrent is currently limited to the continuous deployment of at least one nuclear-armed submarine patrolling at sea.

Mr. Starmer’s government is increasing defense spending and upgrading its military forces, including its submarine fleet, as it faces increasing hostility from Russia and as the United States retrenches from its traditional role as a defender of Europe.

The announcement by Britain on expanding its nuclear deterrence was made at a NATO summit in The Hague where European members are set to agree on an ambitious new target to spend 5% of national income on defense and security.

The US will supply B61 tactical nuclear weapons for use on the planes as part of a plan for Britain to take on more responsibility for European security, said a British official who declined to be named.

Britain said the purchase of the jets would allow it to contribute so-called dual-capable aircraft to NATO to carry nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: “This is yet another robust British contribution to NATO.”

NEW CAPABILITY
The cost of each F-35A jet is about £80 million ($109 million), putting the total bill for the 12 planes at just under £1 billion, according to another British official, who asked not to be named.

Britain’s nuclear deterrent currently rests solely on the Trident submarine-based system, which misfired during a test last year, the second successive test failure after one veered off course in 2016.

The last time Britain possessed an independent air-launched nuclear capability was in 1998 when the WE-177 free fall bomb was withdrawn from service, according to Britain’s parliament.

Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for battlefield use, as opposed to strategic weapons designed to be fired across vast distances.

By purchasing the F-35A fighter jets, Britain would be able to diversify its military options and align more closely with NATO allies such as France, and the United States, which maintains land, sea, and air-based nuclear capabilities.

The United States withdrew its last nuclear weapons from Britain in 2008, in a sign at that time that the threat of conflict following the end of the Cold War was receding.

Downing Street said buying the new jets would support about 20,000 jobs in Britain and underline its commitment to NATO.

The government has pledged to boost overall defense and security spending to 5% of economic output by 2035 to meet a NATO target and said on Tuesday it must “actively prepare” for war at home for the first time in years. — Reuters

Trump tells Congress that Iran had nuclear program, contradicting US spy agencies

June 25, 2025 | 7:36 pm

WASHINGTON — US President Donald J. Trump told Congress this week that the Iranian sites bombed by the US housed a “nuclear weapons development program,” even though US spy agencies have said no such program existed.

Mr. Trump’s claim raised questions whether US intelligence backed up his decision to order the strikes on Iran on Sunday.

The Republican president made the assertion in a letter dated Monday to House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a key ally, and it was posted on the White House’s website.

“United States forces conducted a precision strike against three nuclear facilities in Iran used by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its nuclear weapons development program,” Mr. Trump wrote.

The most recent US assessment, presented to Congress in March by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, said Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had not ordered the restarting of a nuclear-weapons effort shuttered in 2003.

A source with access to US intelligence reports told Reuters last week that the March assessment had not changed.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful uses.

President George Bush justified the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by saying intelligence showed the country had weapons of mass destruction. This was later discredited and prompted a political backlash.

Mr. Trump first cast doubt on intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program last week, when he repudiated the assessment that Ms. Gabbard delivered to Congress.

“I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,” Mr. Trump told reporters, referring to a nuclear weapon.

Ms. Gabbard herself on Friday disputed media accounts of her March testimony, saying on X that US intelligence showed Iran could make a nuclear weapon “in weeks to months” if it chose.

According to unclassified US intelligence reports compiled before the strikes, Iran closed a nuclear weapons program in 2003 — a conclusion shared by the UN nuclear watchdog — and has not mastered all the technologies required. But Tehran does have the expertise to build a warhead at some point, according to the reports.

The US attacked three Iranian nuclear sites — Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow — on Sunday. It hit deeply buried Fordow, where advanced centrifuges could produce low-enriched uranium for nuclear reactor fuel and highly enriched uranium for warheads, with “bunker busting” bombs.

Mr. Trump and other top officials said the sites were obliterated. But a preliminary US intelligence assessment found the attack set back Tehran’s program by only months, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

A US official who read the assessment said it contained a number of caveats and a more refined report was expected in the coming days and weeks. — Reuters

Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary launched on first space station mission

June 25, 2025 | 7:35 pm

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Axiom-4 crew of four astronauts lifts off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on a mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., June 25, 2025. — REUTERS/STEVE NESIUS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson was launched on the fifth flight to orbit of her career early on Wednesday, joined by crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary heading for their countries’ first visit to the International Space Station (ISS).

The astronaut team lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at about 2:30 a.m. EDT (6:30 a.m. GMT), beginning the latest mission organized by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in partnership with Elon Musk’s rocket venture SpaceX.

The four-member crew was carried aloft on a towering SpaceX launch vehicle consisting of a Crew Dragon capsule perched atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket.

Live video showed the towering spacecraft streaking into the night sky over Florida’s Atlantic coast trailed by a brilliant yellowish plume of fiery exhaust.

Cameras inside the crew compartment beamed footage of the four astronauts strapped into their pressurized cabin, seated calmly side by side in helmeted white-and-black flight suits as their spacecraft soared toward space.

“We’ve had an incredible ride uphill,” Ms. Whitson radioed back to the SpaceX mission control near Los Angeles as Falcon’s upper stage delivered the crew capsule to its preliminary orbit about nine minutes after launch.

Dubbed “Grace” by the Axiom crew, the newly built Crew Dragon launched on Wednesday was making its debut flight as the fifth vehicle of its kind in the SpaceX capsule fleet.

It also marked the first Crew Dragon flight since Mr. Musk briefly threatened to decommission the spacecraft after US President Donald J. Trump threatened to cancel Mr. Musk’s government contracts in a high-profile political feud earlier this month.

TWO WEEKS IN ORBIT
Axiom 4’s autonomously operated Crew Dragon was expected to reach the ISS after a flight of about 28 hours, then dock with the outpost as the two vehicles soar together in orbit some 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth.

If all goes according to plan, the Axiom 4 crew will be welcomed aboard the orbiting space laboratory Thursday morning by its seven current resident occupants — three astronauts from the US, one from Japan and three cosmonauts from Russia.

Whitson, 65, and her three Axiom 4 crewmates — Shubhanshu Shukla, 39, of India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, 41, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, 33, of Hungary — are slated to spend 14 days aboard the space station conducting microgravity research.

The mission stands as the fourth such flight since 2022 arranged by Axiom as the Houston-headquartered company builds on its business of putting astronauts sponsored by private companies and foreign governments into Earth orbit.

For India, Poland and Hungary, the launch marked a return to human spaceflight after more than 40 years and the first mission to send their astronauts to the ISS.

The Axiom 4 participation of Shukla, an Indian air force pilot, is seen by India’s own space program as a kind of precursor to the debut crewed mission of its Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft, planned for 2027.

The Axiom 4 crew is led by Whitson, who retired from NASA in 2018 after a pioneering career that included becoming the US space agency’s first female chief astronaut, and the first woman to command an ISS expedition.

Now a consultant and director of human spaceflight for Axiom, she has logged 675 days in space, a US record, during three NASA missions and a fourth flight to space as commander of the Axiom 2 mission in 2023.

Wednesday’s blast-off marked SpaceX’s 18^th human spaceflight since Musk’s privately funded rocket company ushered in a new era for NASA five years ago, providing American astronauts their first rides to space from US soil since the end of the space shuttle era in 2011.

Axiom, a nine-year-old venture co-founded by NASA’s former ISS program manager, is one of a handful of companies developing a commercial space station of its own intended to eventually replace the ISS, which NASA expects to retire around 2030.

NASA, besides furnishing the launch site at Cape Canaveral, assumes responsibility for astronauts venturing to the space station once they rendezvous with the orbiting outpost. — Reuters

Rising from the ashes of Taal Volcano’s 2020 eruption

June 25, 2025 | 5:32 pm

“Club Balai Isabel was one of the tourist spots hardest hit by Taal Volcano’s 2020 eruption.

But with the support of friends, employees, and volunteers, they recovered swiftly, say owners Cecille and Nelson Terrible.

Interview by Edg Adrian Eva
Video editing by Arjale Queral

BusinessWorld Economic Forum 2025: Unlocking Philippines’ Potential Highlights

June 25, 2025 | 4:29 pm

“Catch the highlights from BusinessWorld’s Economic Forum 2025 with the theme “Unlocking Philippines’ Potential” held last May 22, 2025 at Grand Hyatt Manila.

A look back at conversations exploring the country’s capacity for economic progress.

SAI Philippines leads international meet on global trends in public debt management and the role of SAIs

June 25, 2025 | 3:00 pm

Cordoba-OL — CoA Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba (center) led the 2025 Annual Meeting of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Working Group on Public Debt (WGPD) held in Bucharest, Romania during the third week of June.

The Commission on Audit (CoA), the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of the Philippines, led the 2025 Annual Meeting of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Working Group on Public Debt (WGPD) held in Bucharest, Romania during the third week of June.

CoA Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba led the hybrid meeting, which focused on the theme “Global Trends in Public Debt Management Practices and the Role of SAIs.”

This year’s meeting aims to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among SAIs and partner stakeholders. It also highlighted best practices and initiatives that enhance public debt and debt management and how SAIs should respond, emphasizing and adopting a proactive approach driving innovation and initiating change.

Hosted by the Romanian Court of Accounts, the event was participated by officials and experts from the SAIs of Qatar, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Kuwait, Pakistan, China, Thailand, Austria, Brazil, Türkiye, Egypt, Georgia, Portugal, Zambia, India, Kenya, Moldova, Seychelles, Jordan, Argentina, Ukraine, USGAO, and the Philippines, as well as guests from Governments of the Philippines and Romania, and experts from the International Monetary Fund.

Chairperson Cordoba, of SAI Philippines and as Chairperson of the INTOSAI WGPD, emphasized the contributions of SAIs in enhancing transparency, accountability and protection of the public interest. “This year’s agenda has been carefully structured to foster discussion and collaboration around emerging trends in public debt management and the evolving role of SAIs. We hope to raise awareness of new practices and developments, encourage knowledge sharing, and strengthen cooperation both within and beyond the SAI community,” he said.

President of the Romanian Court of Accounts Mihai Busuioc highlighted the critical function of the audit of public debt. “Through independent and well-founded audits, we can warn ahead of time about imbalances and contribute to the growth of fiscal discipline,” he noted.

The discussions and presentations promoted awareness on new and evolving trends and practices that has impact on public debt and debt management, such as climate change and public debt; climate finance and its instruments; sustainability reporting; integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in public debt management and in SAIs’ audits; and leveraging innovation and advanced technologies in strengthening public debt management and its audit, among others.

Assistant Commissioner Lito Q. Martin of the Professional and Institutional Development Sector; Director Ma. Theresa B. Ferreros, Co-Lead of the WGPD Technical Working Group; along with Ma. Theresa A. Mariano and April Ann R. Magpantay, members of the WGPD Secretariat, joined the Philippine delegation.

The WGPD’s mandate stems from one of the three Goal Committees of the INTOSAI Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Services. It is tasked to prepare and publish guidelines and other materials for use by SAIs to encourage the proper reporting and sound management of public debt; identify key issues for the development of responsibilities and procedures for auditing and evaluating public debt commitments; and exchange knowledge with other institutions dealing with public debt issues, among others.

Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by publishing their stories on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.

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5 must-know safety tips for every motorcycle rider

June 25, 2025 | 1:45 pm

With motorcycle-related accidents on the rise, Pioneer Insurance emphasizes that safety is a must as it shares essential tips to help riders go on road trips confidently.

“For thousands of Filipinos who rely on motorcycles for work, travel, or daily errands, safety starts even before hitting the road. It begins with awareness, preparation and, through Pioneer RideSure, protection that goes the extra mile,” said Por Requinto, head of Motorcycle Insurance at Pioneer.

The Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) reported around 31,000 road accidents across the country in 2024, 15,690 of which involved motorcycles. In 2023, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) cited that these accidents are commonly caused by reckless driving, mechanical defects, calamities, and other factors.

This highlights the urgent need for better road awareness and safety practices among riders.

Mr. Requinto emphasized five tips every motorcycle rider should remember.

The first basic yet crucial step is to wear proper motorcycle gear. Whether it’s a jacket, gloves, or a helmet, it should fit well, feel comfortable, and allow free movement.

Second is routine maintenance. Before every trip, riders should check their tires, brakes, lights, controls, and fluid levels, preventing mechanical failures that could lead to accidents.

Third, Mr. Requinto stressed the importance of defensive driving, “Riders shouldn’t assume that they are always visible to others. Maintain safe distances, avoid blind spots, and stay alert.”

Fourth, riders should stay updated on traffic rules and ordinances. Violations like using bike or bus lanes or ignoring traffic signs could result in hefty fines, especially with the newly enforced single ticketing system.

Lastly, riders should always be aware of their physical and mental state. Riding while distracted, drunk, stressed, or emotionally unwell increases the risk of accidents — for both the rider and those around them.

Pioneer RideSure

While safety measures go a long way, unexpected events can still happen. This is where insurance becomes essential.

Pioneer RideSure is a comprehensive motorcycle insurance designed to empower riders to ride to life’s adventures with full confidence.

“Each rider is unique. That’s why RideSure offers customizable benefits and is fully available online via Pioneer InsureShop, so riders can choose the coverage that fits their lifestyle and budget,” Mr. Requinto shares.

Compared to the LTO-required CTPL, Pioneer RideSure offers broader coverage for motorcycle damage, theft, third-party property damage and bodily injury, personal accidents, and even natural calamities like typhoons or floods.

Riders can also receive their claims in cash, enabling them to choose their trusted casa for motorcycle repairs.

“Motorcycle safety is about protecting yourself and the people that matter to you. Insurance is one more way to make every ride more secure. Get your RideSure Comprehensive Motorcycle Insurance quote instantly at https://insureshop.ph/motor,” he concluded.

Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by publishing their stories on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.

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