Philstar Media Group

The Philstar Media Group is the umbrella term for the prominent and influential media companies (Philstar Daily, Inc., Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc., and PhilStar Global Corporation) under the Philstar brand in the Philippines. It is mainly composed of the two companies PhilStar Daily, Inc. and Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. They are under the control of the Belmonte family, as well as Manuel V. Pangilinan through the media conglomerate MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.
From the tabloid Pilipino Star Ngayon followed by the flagship broadsheet The Philippine STAR, both established in 1986 by the Belmonte family matriarch, Betty Go-Belmonte, it has grown into a multimedia enterprise through the leadership and influence of her children, Miguel and Kevin, who have continued her legacy in news publishing.
From its two pioneering publications, the Philstar Media Group now includes BusinessWorld, The Freeman, Pang-Masa, Banat, People Asia, and online platforms, Philstar.com and Interaksyon.
In 2009 significant shares in the papers were acquired by MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., chaired by business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan. Over time, MediaQuest Holdings, through its subsidiary Hastings Holdings, Inc. took control of the Philstar Media Group.
Today, the PhilStar Media Group operates under Hastings Holdings, managing three companies: Philstar Daily Inc., PhilStar Global Corporation, and Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc.
Despite this change in ownership, the Belmonte family retains management and editorial control over the group.
PhilStar Daily, Inc. is the publisher of the broadsheet The Philippine STAR. Based on the company’s General Information Sheet (GIS), PhilStar Daily, Inc. is majority-owned by Hastings Holdings, with a 50.998 percent stake. The Belmonte family retained a 20 percent stake, with Feliciano Belmonte owning 4.8 percent, and his children Miguel, Isaac, Kevin, and Joy each with a 3.8 percent stake.
Philstar Daily’s subsidiary, PhilStar Global Corporation, runs Philstar’s online platforms, Philstar.com and Interaksyon. According to the company’s GIS, Philstar Global is owned by three companies: Hastings Holdings, Philstar Daily, Inc., and Azurra Prime Ventures, Inc.
Aside from the broadsheet and online website, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. handles STAR’s tabloids Pilipino Star Ngayon and Pang-Masa, STAR’s business newspaper BusinessWorld, regional newspapers, The Freeman and Banat News. Just like the other Philstar companies, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. is majority-owned by Hastings Holdings with 80% shares, while the Belmonte family retains 20%.
As part of their management roles, Belmonte brothers Miguel and Kevin serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors in the three Philstar companies. The two brothers sustained the success and influence of Philstar, contributing to the vibrant tapestry of the Philippine media landscape in shaping public opinion and fostering civic engagement.
Mother Company
MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Stock Corporation
Individual Owner
Pangilinan is the individual known to exercise control over this media empire although that does not happen through ownership of shares.
The majority shareholder of the companies Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. and PhilStar Daily, Inc. for which Philstar Media Group is the umbrella term is MediaQuest through Hastings Holdings.
Hastings Holdings, Inc. owns 80% in Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. and 50.998% of Philippine Star Daily, Inc.

Other Print Outlets
The Philippine Star (3.03%)
Pilipino Star Ngayon (1.93%)
Banat News (0.41%)
The Freeman
Pang-Masa
PeopleAsia
BusinessWorld
Other Online Outlets
philstar.com (13.8%
Interaksyon
General Information
Founding Year
1986
Affiliated Interests Founder
is the Belmonte family’s matriarch that currently controls and operates the STAR Group of Publications. She was one of three journalists who established the broadsheet The Philippine STAR during the EDSA People Revolution. Before founding the broadsheet, her family (the Gos) had already been in the newspaper business.
was a Filipino journalist who founded the broadsheet The Philippine Star and served as its publisher until his death.
was a lawyer, a legislator, and a journalist who founded the broadsheet The Philippine STAR. He served as the “recruiting officer” who interviewed applicants for reporters, deskmen, and editors during its founding. He won an array of awards from distinctive award-giving bodies. He served as Executive Director of the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP), now known as the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), for more than two years. He was also appointed by then-President Corazon C. Aquino as the Sectoral Representative for the Disabled in the Eighth Congress. He is known as a lawyer who fought for the dignity and rights of Filipinos with disabilities.
Employees
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Contact
21/F Marajo Tower, 26th West cor. 4th AvenueBonifacio Global City, Taguig
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Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
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Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
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Advertising (in % of total funding)
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Management
Executive Board
is the President of Hastings Holdings, Inc. He also sits as the president and CEO of The Philippine STAR. He is the third son of the broadsheet’s founder Betty Go-Belmonte. After taking the lead in 1998, Miguel grew his mother’s company exponentially, both in terms of size and influence. Now, the PhilStar Media Group is a multimedia enterprise that includes People Asia, BusinessWorld, The Freeman, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Pang-Masa, Banat, and InterAksyon.
is the president and CEO of Philstar Global Corporation. He is also the son of Philippine Star founder Betty Go-Belmonte who led the newspaper into the digital age, which he developed during his time with SGV and Co., where he was a partner-in-charge of the revenue enhancement and strategy services practice of the business consulting division. Aside from his involvement in media, Kevin is also the Vice Chairman of the boutique real estate company Nuvoland, which developed the Infinity Tower in Bonifacio Global City and Nuvo District in Quezon City. He has also been a director of IP Ventures, Inc., Coal Asia, Casa Europe, Inc., the Nationwide Development Corporation, and People Asia.
is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Philstar Daily Inc., Philstar Global Corporation, and Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Maynilad Water Services, Inc. He also served as Director of PLDT Subic Telecom, Inc. and PLDT Clark Telecom, Inc., President and Member of the Board of Trustees of the First Pacific Leadership Academy, Trustee of the MVP Sports Foundation, and IdeaSpace Foundation, and President of the PhilPop Music Fest Foundation. He has also worked in senior roles at Union Carbide, Pepsico, Colgate Palmolive, and Citigroup.
is the Executive Vice President of Philstar Media Group. He heads the Sales and Marketing of The Philippine Star, Business World, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Freeman, Banat, and PM. He also oversees The Philippine Star's multimedia platforms.
is one of the stockholders and a member of the Board of Directors of Philstar Daily Inc. and Philstar Global Corporation.
is one of the stockholders and a member of the Board of Directors of Philstar Daily Inc. and Philstar Global Corporation.
is one of the stockholders and a member of the Board of Directors of Philstar Daily Inc. and Philstar Global Corporation.
is the Chief Finance Officer of Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc., Philstar Global Corporation, and Philstar Daily Inc. He was a former Chief Financial Officer of PLDT Global Corporation.
is the Corporate Secretary of Philstar Daily Inc. He served as the broadsheet’s editor-in-chief until 2012.
is the Assistant Corporate Secretary of Philstar Daily Inc and Pilipino Star Ngayon. She also sits as the Corporate Secretary of Philstar Global Corporation and JS’ Publications (The Freeman) Co., Inc.
Non-Executive Board
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Supervisory Board
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Further Information
Meta Data
The ownership shares in PhilStar Media Group are only proxies.
The shares are computed based on the ownership stakes in the group’s two major companies — PhilStar Daily, Inc. and Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. — of the Belmonte family and Manuel “Manny” V. Pangilinan, through Hastings Holdings, Inc. and its mother company MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.