After retiring from show business and from being a vlogger in the Philippines, Mystica took a shift to her career by working abroad as a chef in Las Vegas.

In her Facebook post on January 3, Mystica shared that she was accepted as an ‘executive sous chef’ at an Italian restaurant in the said state.

“It was a great honor because I was hired,” Mystica said while sharing that she took a five-hour examination to prove her skill as a cook.

She said it was her first time making dough, but she was still hired to a very high position.

“One day, I’m going to be the lead chef as well,” she said.

Despite being a chef, Mystica still didn’t leave her tough personality by answering her fans who were asking her for money.

“Buti ka pa hinihingi mo lang ang pera, samantalang ako, pinagpapaguran ko ang bawat sentimo o dolyar ko!” she stated.

She also took a swipe at her critics, saying that she can work alone without depending to anyone.

“KUNG KAYA KONG TIISIN ANG MAGTRABAHO SA HARAPAN NG MAINIT NA APOY MAGHAPON BILANG CHEF, KAYA NIYO RING MAGTRABAHO PARA DI UMASA SA IBANG TAO!” she said.

Last year, Mystica faced one of the toughest moments of her life after her son, Stanley Villanueva, passed away.

Veteran actor Cesar Montano didn’t want one of the most memorable props he used in his career to be taken by someone else.

During one of the episodes of Jayson Luzadas’ online show, “Pinoy Pawnstar,” Cesar’s nephew, John Manhilot, tried to sell the goggles used by the actor on his award-winning 1999 film Muro Ami.

John said that he wanted to sell the said prop for P1.5-M, justifying the value of the prop in the film history of the country.

It can be recalled that Muro Ami won most of the awards during the Metro Manila Film Festival in 1999, and it was also the highest-grossing entry of the event that year.

Recognizing the importance of the goggles, Jayson called Cesar to personally authenticate the prop as he was the one who used it.

When Cesar arrived, he was surprised as he thought the goggles had gone missing a long time ago.

Due to its sentimental value, Cesar personally offered to buy the goggles for P1.5-M.

“Okay na ‘yan 1M. Hindi na ‘yan tataas sila. Akin na ‘yan. Tulong ko na lang sa ‘yo ‘yon,” he said.

His nephew agreed to sell it, which made Cesar glad.

“Galing ‘to sa frame ko, kasama noong ‘Rizal.’ Natutuwa ako na nakita ko uli ito. Hindi ko alam na buhay pa ‘to. Sa tagal kasi akala ko nawala na, natapon na. Ipa-frame ko ‘to,” he stated.

The episode coincidentally happened 38 weeks after Cesar took a photo with John while announcing the production of Muro Ami 2.

Celebrity pediatrician Dr. Richard Mata highlighted the different reactions received by Filipino-American comedian Joseph Glenn Herbert, professionally known as ‘Jo Koy’ from a Hollywood star and a Filipina TV5 presenter.

It can be recalled that Jo Koy received criticism from millions of netizens for his performance during the Golden Globes and captured the irk of Swifties due to his joke about Taylor Swift.

In a Facebook post, Dr. Richard Mata posted the support received by Jo Koy from five-time Grammy awardee comedian Steve Martin and the criticism that the Filipino-American received from TV5 presenter Gretchen Ho.

Steve, who also hosted the Golden Globes, praised Jo Koy for being brave enough to accept the hosting offer.

“I tip my hat to anyone who steps out on stage to host a live awards show. It’s a very difficult job and not for the squeamish. I know because I’m still throwing up from the last time I did it in 2010,” Steve said.

“So, Congratulations to Jo Koy, who took on the toughest gig in show business, hit, missed, was light on his feet, and now has twenty minutes of new material for his stand-up!” he added.

Meanwhile, Gretchen called Jo Koy’s performance a ‘wasted opportunity’.

Hosts are always, always responsible for their scripts. Whether it’s your own or not, at the end of the day, it’s your face and career on the line. This was such a huge stage and a wasted opportunity,” she said.

Meanwhile, Jo Koy admitted that he was affected by the criticism thrown against him.

Aron Manalo, popularly known as ‘Tatay Elon,’ reacted to the statement made by his daughter with Toni Fowler, Tyronia Fowler.

It can be recalled that the 11-year-old Tyronia went viral on social media after she criticized her biological father and urged her to stop chasing other women.

She also said that Aron was treating his current partner, Venus, badly.

“Tigilan mo na po ang pagkakalat sa Laguna. Panindigan mo naman po si Nanay [Venus]. Huwag ka na pong mambabae. May CCTV ‘Tay, kaya hindi ka makakapag-deny. Hindi po all the time mapoprotektahan ka po ng mga taong nagmamahal sa ‘yo,” Tyronia said.

“Tigilan mo na po ‘yung ginagawa sa akin at saka sa Toro family na ginagawa mo rin ngayon sa labas. Kapag nakaka-inom ka po, nagmama-maoy ka po. Okay na po ako ‘yung nakakita, basta huwag po ‘yung kapatid ko. Ayaw ko pong lumaki sila na merong takot,” she added.

Tyronia clarified that she didn’t intend to discredit her father and that she only wanted the best for him.

Meanwhile, Aron couldn’t hide his emotions while responding to his biological daughter, saying that all the accusations thrown against him by Tyronia were false.

“Hindi ko alam ba’t ganyan. Huma-hustle ako para sa pamilya ko. Walang masisirang pamilya dito dahil bago ‘to masira, mamatay muna ako bago ito masira. Hindi ko hahayaan yun. Kaya nakakagulat yung mga pinagsasabi ninyo. Kung may pagkakamali din pala ako, tap nyo lang ako. Wala namang perpekto dito, guys,” he stated.

“Mahal ko ang pamilya ko, mahal ko ang asawa ko.  Sa nilabas ninyong video andaming magre-react na naman sa akin. Dun ba kayo masaya? Gagamitin nyo pa yung anak ko. Nanahimik kami ng pamilya ko, nagtatrabaho,“ he added.

Aron said that he decided to keep his silence despite his knowledge against Tyronia’s family.

“Hindi nga namin kayo pinapakialaman. Andami kong nalalaman sa inyo. Pero wala namang kayong naririnig sa akin…Andami kong nalalaman kahit ultimo diyan sa nakapaligid diyan sa’yo pero wala akong sinasabi,” he stated.

The P299 engagement ring issue went viral last week after a confession from a netizen circulated on social media.

In the said confession, an anonymous sender said that she questioned her worth after receiving a cheap engagement ring from her boyfriend.

The post sparked a debate among the netizens and discussed if it was only right for a man to give a cheap ring to his soon-to-be-wife.

However, a netizen claimed that she was the one who originally published the said confession and gave an update about the aftermath of her relationship with her partner.

In her post, Eliza Garcia shared with the netizens that she already married her partner a long time ago.

“Matagal ko na yan natanong ang worth 299 pesos ring na yan ngayon lang napost at pinag-usapan. Wala na, kasal na kami,” she said.

She also showed photos to prove that she indeed married her partner despite receiving a cheap engagement ring.

“A ring’s value doesn’t solely determine the depth of one’s feelings or the potential success or stength of a relationship. What’s essential is the intention and the genuine love behind the proposal. A 299 pesos ring can still symbolize love and commitment beautifully. Still, the couple’s mutual understanding and connection truly matters in a proposal,” she wrote.

According to some netizens, they also saw Eliza’s confession last year and it was only reposted by pages, which resulted in it becoming viral again.

After Sarah Lahbati unfollowed all the members of the Gutierrez family, the show business family quickly retaliated by unfollowing the actress on Instagram.

On January 9, 2024, eagle-eyed netizens noticed that the members of the Gutierrez family were already removed on Sarah’s following list, including her husband, Richard Gutierrez, and mother-in-law, Annabelle Rama.

Sarah also changed her Instagram name, removing the initials ‘SLG,’ which means Sarah Lahbati-Gutierrez.

Several hours after she unfollowed them, some members of the Gutierrez family also unfollowed Sarah, including her husband.

The said activities between Sarah and the Gutierrez family were a big sign that the situation was worsening.

Sarah’s unfollow spree also coincidentally happened after Richard was spotted with actress Barbie Imperial.

As of writing, the Gutierrez family nor Sarah have yet to give any statement on the issue.

Meanwhile, several entertainment reporters already hinted that the issue between the actress and her husband might reach the court for a possible custody battle.

Actress Yasmien Kurdi couldn’t stop herself from giving her opinion over the exaggerated reaction made by thousands of netizens to a post about a P299 engagement ring.

In her Facebook post, Yasmien said that the netizens were overreacting to the said issue, saying that she didn’t receive any engagement ring from her husband, Rey Soldevilla, but they’re still happy.

“P299 na ring issue… medyo OA. Ako nga wala naman ako engagement ring, tapos wedding rings namin di naman nasosoot kasi di kami sanay. Kasal namin 20k lang,” said Yasmien.

She said that it would be better for planning couples just to invest the money they initially wanted to spend on a piece of ring.

“In my opinion, iinvest niyo nalang pera niyo sa lupa at bahay. Para di kayo mamulubi sa renta at di puro porma. Laking tipid ng hindi nagrerenta ng bahay. Ang material na bagay nadadala lang yan. Minsan nagmumukhang mahal kapag proud mo siya sootin. Minsan naman ang mahal ng soot ng isang tao, pero di naman mukhang mahal. Di ko din alam kung bakit,” she stated.

The post received mixed reactions from the netizens.

“Minsan Lang mag propose ang lalaki . Accept the cheapest ring or high cost ring . Kasi wala ng pupupose sa iyo pagdating ng araw. Attention mga girls mag propose ang bf ninyo ng ring mahal man ito or low cost accept it with your humble heart Big Yes agad. The Most important ring is wedding ring. Perfect said Yasmine,” said netizen Magdalena.

It can be recalled that an anonymous netizen posted a ‘confession’ and questioned her worth after she received a P299 engagement ring from her boyfriend.

However, there was a possibility that the story was false as there was also a woman who received a P299 engagement ring several years ago, but they’re still married.

Netizens couldn’t find the interview conducted by Luis Manzano with Claudine Barretto after Raymart Santiago’s legal team reminded the public about the gag order imposed by the court on the former couple.

It can be recalled that Claudine accused Raymart of running away with their money worth hundreds of millions of pesos.

“Ngayun since malaki na yung mga anak ko, Sabina wants to study abroad, Santino is in Brent, and alam naman natin kung gaano kamahal non, so parang… since hindi nya nabibigay yung support na inorder ng court, hindi nasusunod, parang yun yung sinasabi ng Mom mo ipaglaban mo,” said Claudine. “So this time malaki na yung mga anak ko inexplain ko na ok we have to… kukunin ko na ulit kung ano yung akin, we’re talking about hundreds of millions eh,” she said.

However, Raymart’s legal team said that it would be illegal for Claudine to speak about the case.

“We will not address, dignify, or respond to any statements made by Ms. Barretto regarding our client, for doing so is a breach of the Gag Order issued by the Honorable Court where the parties’ case for nullity of marriage is undergoing trial,” Raymart’s legal team wrote.

“The Gag Order dated 20 September 2023 of the Honorable Court directed that the parties refrain from expressing in any form, making any defamatory statement or comment, or answer questions pertaining to the other party, and from publicizing the same through print, broadcast media, or digital media. This Gag Order remains to be binding upon the parties,” they added.

They also urged Claudine to follow the gag order.

“We will ensure that all legal actions will be taken to protect our client’s rights. The truth regarding the matter will come to light in the proper forum. We continue to put our trust in the judicial system of our country, where due process, justice, and the rule of law have always prevailed,” dagdag warning pa ng mga abogado,” they said.

Meanwhile, Luis has yet to give any response to the statement made by Raymart’s camp.