By John Legaspi

This might not be the typical expat blog, written by a German expat, living in the Philippines since 1999. It's different. In English and in German. Check it out! Enjoy reading! Dies mag' nun wirklich nicht der typische Auswandererblog eines Deutschen auf den Philippinen sein. Er soll etwas anders sein. In Englisch und in Deutsch! Viel Spass beim Lesen!

YouTube revealed the top 10 music videos in the Philippines in 2025, showcasing diverse songs that captured the country’s attention throughout the year.
Filipino rapper Skusta Clee earned the No. 1 spot with his viral song “Kalimutan Ka,” which was uploaded on YouTube on Feb. 14 this year. The music video has garnered 126.99 million views on YouTube as of this writing.
Other OPM songs also made it to the top 10. Earl Agustin’s “Tibok” ranked No. 4; Nateman’s “IMMA FLIRT” ft. Lucky at No. 5; Ryouji’s “b4 i let u go” ft. CK YG at No. 6; Guddhist Gunatita’s “Sulitin” at No. 9; and Supafly’s “Puff Me Up” at No. 10.



The unique trend this year is the massive success of Sony Pictures Animation's “KPop Demon Hunters.”
Four videos from the film ranked in the top 10 in the Philippines, indicating a rising interest in music connected to animated narratives and the global appeal of K-pop-inspired sounds.
“Golden” (826.18 million views on YouTube to date) garnered second place while “Soda Pop” is at No. 3; “How It's Done” at No. 7; and “Your Idol” at No. 8.
The ranking is “based on in-country views of official music videos that debuted in 2025. Excluding live performance videos and art track videos,” according to the YouTube Global Culture & Trends Report 2025.
The Top 10 Music Videos on YouTube in the Philippines in 2025:
1. Kalimutan Ka - Skusta Clee
2. Golden (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation
3. Soda Pop (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation
4. Tibok - Earl Agustin
5. IMMA FLIRT - Nateman ft. Lucky
6. b4 i let u go - Ryouji ft. CK YG
7. How It's Done (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation
8. Your Idol (KPop Demon Hunters) - Sony Pictures Animation
9. SULITIN - Guddhist Gunatita
10. PUFF ME UP - SUPAFLY ft. Gat Putch, Gaspari, OG Cry, Ghoti scale, Sica
A couple plants a mangrove tree in San Jose town, Palawan province, western Philippines, February 14, 2010. (Reuters/Romeo Ranoco)
MANILA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Often battered by typhoons and floods, protecting the coastline is a priority for the sugar-producing Philippines province of Negros Occidental.
But instead of man-made defenses, local leaders have turned to reviving natural barriers with 100-metre-wide strips of vegetation, including coastal mangroves and beach forest species to counter erosion and protect from storms.
Negros Occidental began setting up its “coastal greenbelt” network in 2022, the first of its kind in the Philippines.
It led to the establishment and protection of more than 1,000 hectares of mangroves, beach forests and wetlands across Negros Occidental, which now serve as living buffers against typhoons, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion, directly contributing to the province’s disaster risk reduction strategy.
The Negros Occidental coastal greenbelt could become a model for the country’s thousands of miles of coastline, which are threatened by climate change, urban expansion and deforestation.
“Local government units are already aware of the benefits of coastal greenbelts in terms of saving lives and properties from destruction,” Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of ocean conservation group Oceana Philippines.
More than 90 local government units have since passed their own policies or ordinances designating parts of their areas as greenbelt zones, according to her organisation.
Negros Occidental is also home to the 89,000-hectare Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area, which hosts several endangered species, such as turtles and dolphins, and was declared as wetland of international importance in 2016.
A 100-metre strip of mangrove can reduce the energy of waves, by up to 66%, a 2012 study by British scientists said.
With 60% of Filipinos living in coastal areas and vulnerable to climate disasters, wetland experts are now pushing for a similar measure nationwide and lawmakers have introduced legislation to establish national coastal greenbelt zones.
The House of Representatives unanimously passed a coastal management bill in 2023 that would require coastal towns and municipalities across the country to create 100-m greenbelt zones similar to Negros Occidental.
But the bill is still waiting approval by the Senate as it has not been considered a priority for debate.
Millions of Filipinos benefit from coastal ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses, mud flats and corals in both rural and urban communities, according to Wetlands International Philippines.
But these coastal protections have suffered for decades.
By the 1990s, Philippines had already lost nearly half of its 450,000 hectares of mangroves. Kisha Muana, policy and advocacy offer of Wetlands International Philippines, said mangroves had been cut down due to “destructive projects along the coasts like reclamation”.
Muana said the bill would help the government monitor where the current greenbelts are and identify areas it could restore.
“There are areas in the Philippines where the stretch of mangroves from the coast to open waters do not reach the 100-metre requirement to block wave energy, so the law can compel territories to supplement them with beach forests,” she said.
Julie Ann Bedrio, the provincial environmental officer of Negros Occidental, said proposed developments in coastal areas such as land reclamation and wind power projects had a bigger impact than individuals cutting back vegetation.
“Cutting mangroves wasn’t really our biggest concern, but the conversion of mangrove areas to fishponds and infrastructure that are being proposed in the mangrove areas without proper planning,” Bedrio told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Aside from development projects, Bedrio said coastlines had also suffered from weak enforcement of coastal laws and pollution from marine litter, including plastics that wrap around mangrove stems and trunks.
Bedrio said establishing a network of greenbelt zones in Negros Occidental also helped encourage dialogue among local leaders, NGOs and environmental experts to monitor, and block if needed, projects that could harm the coastal environment.
As early as 2007, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a conservation group, recognised the importance of greenbelts as a natural solution for some coastal problems, including sea and wind erosion.
In disaster-prone Philippines, the proposed national policy would mandate the designation of coastal greenbelts based on vulnerability to storm surges, tsunamis and other threats, as well as creating a plan to protect coastal biodiversity.
As the Senate sessions resume in June, Oceana’s Ramos said she was confident the bill would be passed soon, with Oceana invited to the technical working group that would look at the current version of the bill.
With local governments using their own limited funding to implement coastal greenbelt policies, Bedrio said it would help them sustain the initiative if the national government supported them with funding or technical assistance.
Still haunted by the thousands killed by the 2013 super typhoon Yolanda, or Haiyan, the environmental officer hopes coastal greenbelts will become a priority for legislators.
“We don’t want another Yolanda to happen again and waste lives of Filipinos living in coastal communities because we failed to protect them by putting up greenbelt zones,” said Bedrio.
Even after retiring as German Consul, I am still accredited as a German translator and interpreter for the German, Swiss and Austrian Embassy as well as for Regional Trial Court Davao City and all courts nationwide. Please pm for via doringklaus@gmail.com further information. I'll be answering your messages as soon as possible. Please be patient. Auch nach meiner Pensionierung als deutscher Konsul bin ich weiterhin als deutscher Übersetzer und Dolmetscher für die deutsche, schweizerische und österreichische Botschaft sowie für das Regional Trial Court Davao City landesweit akkreditiert. Für weitere Informationen senden Sie bitte eine PN an doringklaus@gmail.com. Ich werde Ihre Nachrichten so schnell wie möglich beantworten.

Isha Ponti, Andrea Gutierrez ready to prove they’re ‘The Next Ones’
Jerry Donato - The Philippine Star
October 31, 2025 | 12:00am
Emerging artists Isha Ponti and Andrea Gutierrez come together for their first-ever concert, “The Next Ones,” on Dec. 13, 8 p.m. at the Music Museum. Isha is a singer-songwriter, while Andrea is a singer. Pop is the former’s choice of genre, and bossa nova is the latter’s.
Isha and Andrea promise music enthusiasts a showcase of their strengths and potential as performers and not a showdown.
Although both have already recorded and released songs, Isha and Andrea will introduce themselves and their music to the public. The show’s director is Calvin Neria, while the musical director is Adonis Tabanda.
“It’s mixed emotions,” said Andrea of her initial reaction upon learning of such a career endeavor in a recent chat with The STAR. “Siyempre, may takot po kasi first time namin gagawin ‘to and then siyempre, happy and thankful (of course, there’s fear because we will be doing this for the first time and then there are feelings of happiness and gratefulness).”
As for Isha, she agreed to the idea because it’s “like a way for us to pave (the) way for other artists because we started out as front acts and guests. Sila naman po yung i-ni-encourage ngayon (they are the ones being encouraged to share and show their talents this time).”
Isha was referring to their singer-friends who, like them, carry on in chasing their singing dreams.
The two Pinay singers got to know each other when they attended voice lessons. They also participated in the same singing competition, “Asia’s Best,” and became grand champions. Years ago, they met again and graced shows of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) artists such as Marco Sison and Nonoy Zuñiga. And another OPM legend and songwriter, Rey Valera, will also grace their concert.
“There are duets and production numbers,” said Andrea about what the audience can look forward to aside from the solo segments. “And the songs that we haven’t sung before, we’ll get to do them.” As front acts, their choices of songs were limited and based on the show’s theme.
Isha added that they’re “more on modern” songs, but old tunes are also part of their repertoire. They will give them a contemporary touch.
According to director Calvin, the concept for “The Next Ones” is to showcase the artists’ versatility, “but I also want the people or their audience to get to know them through their music and genres.” With that, the show will be somehow story-driven, which means “there’s a takeaway” after one watches it, added he. “The main focus is their artistry and the repertoire. There are more than 17 songs.”
They might also sing songs of their music influences. Isha said she has grown up listening to the records of Sarah Geronimo, Kyla, Nina, Regine Velasquez and Sharon Cuneta. Andrea likes Lani Misalucha and Sitti, the local recording scene’s Queen of Bossa Nova.
Andrea has recently launched the ditty, Mestizong Gwapo. The most recent singles of Isha, on the other hand, are Dyahe and You Loved Me First. She has two more to release this year: They are Kabanata and Kung Maalaala Mo Ako.
After “The Next Ones,” they see themselves recording new songs, releasing an album and topbilling shows, plus content on their social media platforms.
“I do my storytelling when it comes to the songs I write, the lyrics I write,” Isha gave her two cents on singers as storytellers. “With the sounds, you can feel the emotions through sounds. When you like interlock all of them, it becomes (or they produce) a whole story that people can interpret and they can feel a lot of emotions, a lot of meaning behind it.”
“From there, I’d also see myself as a storyteller. I feel like it’s because of the way other artists deliver their performance or music (that also makes them a storyteller),” added she.
That’s why Andrea needs to “feel the emotions, the story (of the song). Minsan, diba, kapag na-a-areglo, nawawala yung essence nung song (sometimes, the song arrangement affects its essence). I want to feel the lyrics and the story.”
Since their show is timed during Christmas season, they consider it their gift to family, friends and fans and those people who believe in and trust them.
As they unwrap the musical gift, Isha and Andrea will show what they’ve got as artists in “The Next Ones.”
They are also game to the idea of guesting in the OPM countdown show, “Vibe,” on TV5, which airs weekdays, weeknights and weekends. They can talk about their songs, music and journey as artists in the segment “Uprising.”
For ticket inquiries, visit https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/shows/show.aspx?sh=NEXTONES25.
By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

By Ivy Tejano

From high-energy anthems to intimate solos, Blackpink delivered a show that showcased both growth and gratitude









