Television host Vic Sotto admitted that they already have guesses about the possible people who funded the creation of director Darryl Yap’s movie about the life of Pepsi Paloma.
In an interview, Sotto refused to name such personalities, saying they wanted to provide enough evidence before naming them.
It can be recalled that Sotto blocked the premier of Yap’s movie, which he claimed to tarnish his reputation.
Sotto and other individuals were accused several decades ago of taking advantage of Paloma.
There were reports that the movie was politically motivated, as it was supposed to be shown during the campaign period.
As a result of the lawsuit, the court ordered Yap to stop posting any materials about the movie and also hold its premier.
Vlogger and Police Officer Patrolman Francis Steve Fontillas was still being monitored by Quezon City Police District (QCPD) to determine if he was facing mental health problems.
According to QCPD Police Capt. Febie Madrid, Fontillas, has a history of mental health problems in 2023.
“Mayroon na rin naging issue sa mga mood swing niya way back in 2023. May mga naging issue na dito sa previous unit niya two years ago,” Madrid said.
She stated that Fontillas was reassigned to administrative duties as he was still being monitored by the PNP’s health unit.
“Kaya po siya dinetail sa admin at nakafurther detail sa health unit para mamonitor ang kanyang health issue kung mayroon mayroon siyang mental health issue na tinatawag,” she said.
“We have to help our personnel pag ganyan, tinulungan siya,” she added.
Madrid revealed that Fontillas filed for a two-week emergency leave, so his break from March 6 to March 19 was considered an absence.
However, as of writing, Fontillas never stopped posting about his opinion, saying that many men in uniform have the same sentiments as him.
“PILIPINAS, WAG KAYONG MAWALAN NG PAG-ASA. NAPAKARAMI NAMING MGA MEN IN UNIFORM NA LUMALABAN PARA IKAKAAYOS NG BANSA NATIN. NINE OUT OF TEN ANG MGA PABOR SA ATIN. AKO LANG YUNG VOCAL. TAHIMIK LANG ANG MGA IBA PERO SILA MISMO ANG NAGCHA-CHAT SA AKIN PARA IPARATING ANG KANILANG SUPORTA,” he said.
A House Tri Committee member admitted that they have yet to provide a working definition of ‘fake news’ during the continuation of their investigation on the proliferation of disinformation on the internet.
Former Palace Press Officer, Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles, one of the resource persons invited by the House, asked Antipolo Second District Representative Romeo Acop if their committee already provided an exact definition of fake news.
Cruz-Angeles said that one of the challenges of the legislators was to come up with the exact definition of fake news.
“Rep. Ace Barbers proposes regulation, a regulatory framework for social media to combat fake news, and therefore, we have to define what fake news is,” said Cruz-Angeles.
“Wala pa akong nababasang proposal because the proposed bill regarding fake news will come out after this hearing,” Acop responded.
However, Cruz-Angeles expressed confusion as they were already being asked about fake news despite the Tri-Committee’s lack of definition of fake news.
“If we can have a working definition of what you call fake news, for instance, clickbait is fake news, fake ‘yung headline pero nasa body naman ‘yung katotohanan. What about sarcasm sir, kasama po ba siya sa fake news? Paano kung jokes, fake news din po ba ‘yon?” she asked.
Cruz-Angeles proposed that Tri-Comm should also start discussing the possible definition of fake news.
A mother of an alleged EJK victim who went viral on social media after her photo while holding the photo of her son who passed away in 2024 was defended by a human rights lawyer.
In an interview, Atty. Maria Taule, the lawyer of the human rights group Karapatan, explained that ‘Aling Sheila’ was holding the photo of her son, who passed away in 2024 due to EJK happening during the Marcos administration.
According to Taule, Aling Sheila also lost a son during the Marcos administration, but the she was not seen holding his photo in the post published by ABS-CBN.
“I was at the press conference where rabid [Duterte] supporters and fake news peddlers attacked Nanay Shiela. They said she was holding a photo of her son killed during the time of Marcos and not Duterte,” she said.
“Wrong, she was holding two photos of her sons here, both killed during the [Duterte] and Marcos admins. Shame on those who mock the victims. May you find a lifetime of misery,” she added.
They believed that the criticism received by Aling Sheila was part of a ‘well-funded’ propaganda to besmirch the credibility of the victims.
Pro-Duterte blogger Krizette Laureta Chu went viral on social media after she made a public apology on her post for calling the government ‘t*nga’ in one of her posts.
During the Congressional hearing conducted by Tri-Comm on the proliferation of disinformation, Manila 6th District Rep. Benny Abante grilled Chu on some of the posts she published online.
Chu argued that she was only trying to exercise her freedom of expression on social media.
“Respectfully, Mr. Chair, those are my feelings,” Chu said.
However, Abante insisted that Chu’s statement could be considered fake news.
Abante then demanded Chu to apologize, which the latter heeded.
“I demand that you apologize,” said Abante.
“I apologize for saying the word ‘t*nga’ on my post,” Chu responded.
Another blogger, MJ Reyes Quiambao, also received a warning from Abante, saying that he would make a motion to cite her in contempt if she would not apologize for calling the EJK cases a ‘hoax.
“If you don’t apologize right now, or I am going to make a motion to cite you in contempt,” said Abante.
The lawmaker even made remarks calling the bloggers ‘t*nga’ during the hearing, but it was already removed from the record as it was considered unparliamentary.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Spokesperson PBGEN Jean Fajardo revealed that they were planning to subject Patrolman Francis Steve Fontillas to a neuropsychiatric exam to know the reason for his posts online.
It can be recalled that Fontillas went viral on social media after he posted several messages against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his superiors over the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
He even encouraged other policemen to show dissent against the PNP.
In a statement, Fajardo said that Fontillas’ post might indicate a sign of a mental health problem.
“Makikita mo naman at mararamdaman sa kanyang mga pananalita na hindi ito ordinaryong police na gusto lang magpahayag ng kanyang damdamin,” said Fajardo.
“He is challenging the duly constituted authorities and ito ang tintingnan natin ngayon … at dinodocument natin lahat ‘yan at para ang isang police na patrolman challenging not only the PNP leadership pati na rin ‘yung ating Pangulo, at hindi natin ito mapapalagpas,” she added.
According to QCPD, Fontillas had been AWOL for a week despite the officer claiming that his leave of absence from March 6 to 19 was approved.
After almost five years since revealing her ties with Arnold Clavio, Sarah Balabagan-Sereno addressed her former boyfriend again because of the criticism made by the Kapuso journalist against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a Facebook post, Sarah reminded Arnold about the power of prayers, saying that she was also saved by it.
It could be traced back to when she faced capital punishment in the United Arab Emirates from 1994 to 1997 for defending herself from the attempt of her employer to take advantage of her.
It can be recalled that due to the collective efforts of the Filipinos and the government, Sarah’s capital punishment was lowered to 1-year imprisonment and 100 cane strokes.
Sarah also openly accused Arnold of grooming and taking advantage of her.
“Arnold Huwag mong maliitin Ang power ng UNITY PRAYERS! “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” is James 5:16. Ako mismo ay bunga ng unity prayers ng mga Filipino. Pero pinagsamantalahan mo lang at inuto!” she said.
Her statement was her response to Arnold’s post, questioning the prayer rallies organized by some groups for a man who doesn’t believe in God.
In 2020, Sarah revealed that Arnold impregnated her when they had a secret relationship.
Arnold was the one who was covering the story of Sarah at that time, which resulted to them to become close.
“Ang ama po ng panangay ko ay, yes, si Arnold Clavio po. Siya po ang ama ng panganay ko. Sa lahat po ng nakakakilala kay Arnold Clavio personally, alam niyo po kung gaano po siya kakengkoy—hindi lamang po yung mukha niya, pati yung talagang sense of humor niya,” she said.
“Kahit umiiyak ako, nalulungkot ako, napapatawa niya ako. Just imagine na galing ako sa kulungan kung gaano ako ka-vulnerable noon. Pero hindi ko po idya-justify kung anong nagawa ko po,” she added.
GMA News journalist Mariz Umali admitted that she was the reporter who could be heard in a viral video taken when former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea was being brought to the hospital.
The video circulated on different social media platforms had a caption included that transcribed what Mariz was saying as ‘Tignan mo ‘yung Matanda.’
However, Mariz said that she didn’t refer the former Executive Secretary and legal counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte as ‘matanda.’
The journalist also said that the video was taken while they were reviewing the footage they took when Medialdea was being carried to an ambulance, showing the lawyer peeking at Mariz before closing his eyes again.
“A certain vlogger has circulated a post containing my voice, claiming that I referred to Former Executive Secretary Medialdea as “matanda” while he was on a stretcher. This interpretation is inaccurate. What I actually said was, “Tingnan mo yung ‘mata niya’ (Medialdea), nakabukas siya nung una pero nung nakita niya ako, pinikit.” Mariz said.
“At that time, I, along with our stringer, was reviewing an exclusive footage of Former Executive Secretary Medialdea being taken out of the penitentiary on a stretcher. My observation was purely about his eyes—how they were initially open but closed upon seeing me during my attempt to interview him,” she added.
Mariz’s followers also believed that the journalist was only misheard and the subtitles included on the video added to the spread of misinformation.
“I want to be clear that no disrespect was intended toward Former Executive Secretary Medialdea. I hope this clarification helps set the record straight,” she stated.
Two individuals were in hot water after they were caught trying to put foreign objects on the food served to them by the restaurant they visited.
The CCTV footage captured by Leann’s Tea House showed the two customers putting wet tissue in their side dish as part of their alleged plan to make it look like the food they were served was dirty so they could demand a refund.
According to the owner of the restaurant, the two customers even told them that they would report them to the authorities if they did not heed their demands.
Fortunately, the CCTV captured the sneaky actions of the two customers.
“They demanded that if we did not provide a “solution,” they would report us to the DOH. However, when they saw us reviewing the CCTV footage, they immediately made a scene and quickly left, claiming they had to be somewhere,” the establishment’s statement read.
“This act is not only dishonest but also harmful to our team and our commitment to serving high-quality, safe, and delicious Korean food. We will not tolerate any fraudulent attempts to damage our reputation,” they added.
As of writing, the two individuals have yet to be identified.
Sarah Balabagan-Sereno gave her thoughts after former President Rodrigo Duterte was brought to The Hague to face the trial of the ICC.
In her post, Sarah expressed her support for the former President, calling him a ‘great leader.’
According to her, Duterte’s critics should be reminded that they also committed a sin.
“Some people said, he is not a good man, which I agree naman because for me he is a great man and a great leader! I know he is not perfect, he has flaws, he is a sinner but hey, sino ba ang hindi nagkasala? in John 8:7 “They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” said Sarah.
“Hindi matatawaran ang Magagandang nagawa niya sa pilipinas at Ang mamamayang Pilipino Ang nakinabang. Hindi lang ang pagiging fanatic Ang Nakakabulag kundi maging Ang pag kagalit mo sa isang tao ay nakakabulag din dahil tanging Ang mga Mali at masasama lang Ang makikita mong ginawa niya. Kaya kung ikaw ay galit at ayaw mo sa kanya, huwag mo na akong idamay,” she added.
Sarah’s stance on the issue of Duterte differed from the opinion of her ex-boyfriend, Arnold Clavio.
It can be recalled that Sarah admitted that Arnold impregnated her when she was still 17 years old.
However, Arnold refused to speak about the said issue.
