Philippine STAR

The Philippine STAR was founded a few months after the EDSA Revolution in 1986, by almost the same group of people who gave birth to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of its competitors today. The paper is run by Philstar Daily, Incorporated.

Originally put up as an administration paper, the broadsheet’s yellow color was meant to show support for then president Corazon Aquino. Philstar Daily president and chief executive officer Miguel Belmonte said the paper supports the current Duterte administration, regardless of the color.

“Let's not try to sell our paper at the expense of our president's image,” Belmonte said.

Miguel’s father is Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., a member of the House of Representatives and former House Speaker, while his sister is Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte. Both are Liberal Party members. However, Miguel said they do not interfere with the editorial policies of the paper, even if they are part owners.

The late matriarch of the Belmonte family, Betty Go-Belmonte, was one of the founders of The Philippine STAR. She is the daughter of Go Puan Seng, publisher of the Chinese-language daily The Fookien Times that was founded in 1926, but was closed when martial law was imposed.  

“They know that credibility and integrity are the lifeblood of the paper. Once those are gone, what happens? This is the livelihood of our family. We're not a billionaire family that runs a newspaper only to protect its other businesses, or uses the paper for influence. No. This is our family business. This is where our family earned its wealth, from the success of the Philippine STAR,” he said.

Today, only 20 percent of Philstar Daily belongs to the Belmonte family. Representative Belmonte has 4.8 percent shares while his children Isaac, Kevin, Miguel and Joy each own 3.8 percent.

Majority of the shares-- 51 percent-- are owned by Hastings Holdings, Incorporated, which belongs to Manuel V. Pangilinan’s (MVP) group of companies. Miguel said MVP first approached him in 2006, but it was only in 2011 that the telecom mogul first bought 20 percent of shares.

The Philippine STAR has several sister publications: tabloids Pilipino Star Ngayon and Pang-Masa which are published in Pilipino; Freeman, which is printed in Cebu; Banat, a Visayan tabloid, and magazine Starweek, which started as the Sunday issue of the broadsheet. It publishes online at www.philstar.com. In 2015, BusinessWorld was added to the Star Group, with Miguel also as its president.

Philippine STAR has a partnership with Jollibee, one of the largest fast food companies in the Philippines, which gives out free copies of the newspaper with an order of a breakfast meal. The STAR president said it greatly increases the circulation of the paper, since 20,000 copies are distributed daily in Jollibee branches in Metro Manila alone.