Iris C. Gonzales

Manila

Reporter and Columnist at The Philippine Star

reporter and columnist, @philippineStar EyesWideOpen (T-Th-Sun) Iskolar Ng Bayan/Konrad Adenauer Fellow/UPAA Awardee/USFPA '24/Iceland Writers Alum

Featured in: Favicon

philstar.com Favicon

msn.com

irishtimes.com Favicon

newint.org Favicon

womensenews.org Favicon

exbulletin.com Favicon

asiapacificreport.nz Favicon

onenews.ph Favicon

propertyreport.ph Favicon

ourcommunitynow.com + 3 more

Articles

Ropali Group turns 50

6 days ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

Fifty years or half a century is a long time. Some people don’t make it to that age; some marriages, too, don’t get that far. The same is true in business. Some companies or conglomerates fade into oblivion before they even get near 50. But that’s not the case with the Ropali Group which, just last month, celebrated its 50th year as a business group. The low-key Ropali Group is actually a huge presence in various industries, but especially in agriculture.
Respecting the rule of law

1 week ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

Those familiar with the country’s summer capital, Baguio, know that Camp John Hay, that charming mountain estate, is among its popular destinations. Here, one can stay in pine-scented log cabin homes, enjoy the fairways and – for the kids – ride those quaint and colorful horses for half an hour or so. Unfortunately, this popular Baguio abode for locals and visitors alike is caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between the Sobrepeña-led Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) and the BCDA.
2028 scenarios

1 week ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

With the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte seemingly in limbo after the Senate dribbled the Articles of Impeachment back to the House of Representatives, I can’t help but wonder how this will impact the 2028 elections. The presidential polls are just around the corner, and the impeachment trial could make or break another Duterte presidency.
Celebrating Filipino spirit and sovereignty

1 week ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

Tycoons and businessmen traveled to China last week to join the Philippine embassy in Beijing in celebrating with valiant pride the 127th anniversary of Philippine Independence. Low key snack foods taipan Carlos Chan, Salvador “Buddy” Zamora of the Tranzen Group, Suzan Lim of the Solid Group Inc. and Cherry Mobile’s Maynard Ngu, who is also the country’s special envoy to China, were among Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz’s special guests, the embassy said in a statement.
Injap Sia’s bet

2 weeks ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

Politics in the Philippines is like the rains – heavy, messy and impossibly noisy. Exhibit A: the Senate’s dizzying maneuvering on Tuesday night over the impeachment articles. But that’s just one example. There have been many jaw-dropping moves in the past – threats to scrap a contract, plans to destroy the oligarchs and so much more. For some businessmen, it’s hard to deal with the changing tides.
Agad-agad

2 weeks ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

Our sacred Constitution – framed by some of the most brilliant legal minds – must be trembling not from smudged ink but from deliberate misinterpretations by our current crop of senators, who are now scrambling to dismiss an impeachment complaint in the once-esteemed chamber, once occupied by true statesmen.
#MadeItInChina

2 weeks ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

The first time I visited Fujian some years ago, I saw the famed Gulangyu island where there are mansions of rich Chinese businessmen who made it in the Philippines decades after their forefathers or they themselves migrated from Fujian, China. Indeed, many of the Filipino-Chinese billionaires in the Philippines today are the sons and daughters of Chinese migrants who settled in Manila. But did you know that, on the other side of the coin, many Filipinos also made it big in China?
The indefatigable Francis Lim

3 weeks ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

Around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Francis Lim, the incoming chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, called his soon-to-be predecessor, outgoing chairman Emil Aquino, to congratulate him for all that he had accomplished at the SEC, the country’s corporate regulator. Aquino was presiding over the regular SEC en banc meeting that afternoon in the SEC conference room when he received the call. He put Lim on speakerphone. “Pare, ang dami mong nagawa!” Lim told Aquino.
‘Space for tomorrow’ at Southlinks Estate

3 weeks ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

MANILA, Philippines — Southlinks Estate, a new high-end residential community south of Metro Manila, advances toward its targeted completion in the second quarter of 2026. Located in Las Piñas within the Alabang neighborhood, Southlinks Estate is a flagship project of Height Realty and backed by the Philippine Bank of Communications through a credit facility agreement signed last year.
Razon-Lopez coup and other business deals

3 weeks ago | philstar.com | Iris C. Gonzales

It was quite a boardroom move, indeed, catching some in the business community by surprise. But tycoon Enrique Razon has always had impeccable timing and we saw that again last week after his Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. moved to acquire a 60 percent stake in the gas business of Lopez-led First Gen Corp. for P50 billion. This will no doubt translate to a tectonic shift in the energy sector which will definitely change the game. Will it bring down prices of electricity to households?