Ang Probinsiyano party-list Rep. Alfred delos Santos apologized for the actions that made him infamous on social media.

In a statement, the neophyte lawmaker said that he’s full of regret for what happened after he landed his fist to a restaurant crew on July 7 at Biggs Diner located in Legazpi City.

Delos Santos vowed that the incident would not happen again.

“I would like to apologize to Christian Kent Alejo and his family for my action, and to our people for failing in their expectation of a public servant,”

“I have no excuse, only regret and the promise that it will not happen again. This single incident does not represent me or my values, and I will prove it by working hard to deliver our party platform and campaign promises to fellow probinsyanos, and from hereon conduct myself as an exemplary public servant worthy of the trust and confidence our people placed on us the last election,” he added.

“I don’t have any excuse for what had happened. Regardless if I am a public servant or a private citizen, I should have not lost control of my emotions,” he also said.

The first nominee of the Probinsiyano, which endorsed by celebrities Coco Martin and Yassi Pressman said that he’s ready to face the consequences of his actions.

The victim, Christian Kent Alejo refused to settle the complaint against Delos Santos despite the reports that the cops already urged him not to challenge a Congressman.

However, he insisted that he’s a nice person and only carried away.

“I know you are all disappointed and I humbly accept whatever decision that you make in relation to my nomination in the partylist,” he said.

“Hindi po ako siga, astig or sanggano. The people who know me well can attest to that,” Delos Santos added.

Delos Santos revealed that he personally reached the victim to apologize, however, he still didn’t reveal the reason why he suddenly committed a bad act against Alejo.

Ang Probinsiyano party-list started an investigation over the actions of their nominee and they said that they would not tolerate any kind of bad actions among their party.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno gets full support from the Duterte administration.

On Thursday, July 11, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade visited the Manila Mayor at the City Hall for a meeting between Moreno, officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), MARINA, PPA and representatives of JICA.

In the photo published by the Manila Public Information Office, it was shown Tugade and Moreno hugging each other.

While talking to the media, Tugade praised his former colleague for doing a great job for handling Manila City, saying that he would get the full support of the Duterte administration.

“Bumulong ako sa kanya at sinabi ko: ‘Boss, wag kang bibitaw. Nandirito kami at nandirito ang pamahalaang Duterte, nandirito ang Kagawaran ng Transportasyon. Wag kang bibitaw,'” he told reporters.

Moreno as a response was glad that he was visited by someone close to the President.

“Words inspire people but actions speak louder than words. This is just a way of appreciating because I’ve been asking for help and the first secretary who went here, Cabinet, you know he is representing the President technically speaking,” Moreno said.

“So his visit here, it’s something I am happy about. It’s touching,” he added.

Moreno gained the attention of the netizens because of his successful cleanup operations around the major streets of Manila. He even captured the attention of the Duterte administration.

On July 7, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año also praised Moreno for doing his job.

“Manila is the showcase of the Philippines. It is the first place foreigners see when they come to our country, so I’m pleased that in the first weeks of his administration, Mayor Isko has already shown that the challenges of the city are not insurmountable and can be addressed with political will and commitment,” Año said.

“Our young leaders can count on our support to implement their good governance agenda. That is why the DILG is here. We are not only your supervisors, we are also your partners and mentors, your guidance counselors and your cheerleaders. Your success is our success as well,” he added.

Isko Moreno is already a famous figure even before he became Mayor. However, his performance as Mayor boosted his popularity, especially on social media and even his old videos has been searched by the netizens to know more about him.

One of Isko Moreno’s recirculated videos was taken in 2018 by netizen Dan Moreno, a resident of Tondo, Manila.

According to some reports, Isko visited a funeral when he saw that some people are playing games with bet.

Instead of stopping the people from doing betting, Moreno, who also grew in Tondo joined them and even hold the dice.

Several people started shouting in happiness when Moreno threw the dice and won the game.

The video was taken during the time when Isko was a still civilian and not working in any public office.

Betting is a normal scene in every funeral in the Philippines and people argued that it’s a big help to the bereaved family.

The video has gone viral yesterday and received mixed reactions from the netizens.

While some people are worried about what Isko did, most of his supporters didn’t see anything wrong with betting during a funeral.

“Oo nga d papo sya mayor nyan Ska Larawan po yan ng pakikibagay. Bilang batang Tundo. Pero d nya din po kino konsinte yan,” Kim Godino said.

“Wag tayong maging plastik minsan sa buhay natin naglaro tayo nyan,” Jon Lester Lumandog remarked.

Despite the love of the Manila Mayor in playing the said dice game, it doesn’t mean that he would let betting prevail in his city.

When he became the Mayor of Manila, Moreno quickly ordered the confiscation of several video karera machines in his City and personally hammered it.

“Ayaw ko nang video karera, ang video karera tindahan nang droga ‘yan…Bawal, bawal. Fruit game, video karera bawal. Bawal at bawal. Kahit sinong pulis pa nagpatong diyan, bawal,” he said.

In 2013, Moreno who’s a Vice Mayor during that time faced trouble after he was accused of promoting betting by holding a Bingo game in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

However, the charges were dismissed and Moreno said that the accusations against him are just politicking.

A newly-elected lawmaker may face an ethics complaint after he handled his temper poorly towards a waiter working at a restaurant in Legazpi City on July 7.

Ang Probinsyano party-list Rep. Alfred delos Santos was spotted in a CCTV footage after he tried to hit a waiter identified as Christian Kent Alejo, 22, a worker of Biggs Diner.

According to the victim, he said that the neophyte lawmaker told him that he didn’t like the attitude shown to him by the waiter.

But according to Alejo, he’s only fixing the placemats in front of the lawmaker and he sees nothing wrong with it because it’s part of his job.

“Bakit ang sama mong makatingin?” the congressman told Alejo based on a sworn statement.

In the CCTV footage, it was shown that the congressman threw his fist towards the head of the service crew. Alejo only partially evaded the hand of the lawmaker.

Some reports also said that the cops gave advice to Alejo not to file a complaint because he’s facing a Congressman.

As of writing, Congressman delos Santos is not yet giving a statement on the incident.

Delos Santos is the first nominee of the “Ang Probinsiyano” party-list which endorsed by actor Coco Martin and actress Yassi Pressman.

It won the election as 5th placer with 752,468 votes.

The party-list name is the same as the popular tv series “Ang Probinsiyano”.

“Ang Probinsiyano” aims to represent the Filipinos living in the provinces, but it seems that their representative didn’t like treating probinsiyanos at all.

Mayor Isko Moreno is lucky enough to step in an unusual thing while inspecting the Andres Bonifacio Monument, the historical place that became the “bathroom” of animals and homeless people.

The Monument, which is very near the Manila City Hall was checked by Moreno itself and his team and he was shocked to see the dirty environment around the place.

Moreno is known for respecting historical sites and monuments around Metro Manila so he was saddened to see that even the monument of Andres Bonifacio.

In his live video, Moreno showed to his followers how unclean the monument and the park is.

While roaming around the area, the team was surprised after Moreno said that he step in the wrong place despite being careful many times.

“Sino swerte? Yayaman o ayan t**, swerte daw yan, magkakapera ako,” Moreno said while showing his shoes after stepping on a jackpot.

He also described the area as a “gold mine” of human waste and biggest comfort room in Manila.

“Ayan minahan oh, madaming ginto. Dito pala tinago ng katipunan ang ginto,” he said.

While talking to the reporters, Moreno revealed that the Andres Bonifacio Monument can be seen thru the windows of the Office of the Mayor, however, some people lived in the area illegally for six years.

After seeing the current condition of the monument, Moreno ordered MPD chief Vicente Danao to relieve Police Community Precinct (PCP) Commander of Lawton Area.

He also ordered the removal of vendors around the monument so they could start cleaning the area.

“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa mga vendors, kasi nakisuyo tayo sa kanila na ibalik na yung park sa taumbayan, kaya lang.. disheartening hindi lang vendor, kundi naging pinakamalaking banyo itong kartilya ng katipunan,” he said.

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno bared his plan to revive the famous ‘Nutribun’ program in his jurisdiction as part of his feeding program.

Aside from giving Nutribun, Moreno said that he’s also considering giving free milk to all students of kindergarten from Grade 6.

According to Moreno, he wanted the program to push thru because he also experienced going to school hungry because of being poor.

Moreno is a former garbage collector before being discovered by a talent scout that urged him to become an actor.

“Marami sa mga mag-aaral natin na pumapasok sa paaralan na walang laman ang tiyan at gutom, dala na rin siguro ng hirap ng buhay. Alam ko po ang pakiramdam na iyon sapagkat isa rin po ako sa mga batang pumapasok na walang laman ang tiyan,” he said.

“Kaya po ang pangarap natin sa lungsod ng Maynila ay maibalik ang nutribun at gatas sa loob ng paaralan,” he added.

The Mayor said that the P4.3-B cash deficit of Manila City would not stop him from looking for another source of funds for his feeding program.

“Gagawan natin ‘yan ng pondo para maisakatuparan ‘yung commitment natin to address malnutrition for elementary students,” he said.

The revival of the program would help thousands of kids who don’t have enough money to feed themselves.

Nutribun usage reached its peak during the 1970s after the Marcos administration tried to address the increasing rate of malnutrition in the country.

The government took over the production of the bread in 1975 which originally came from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

The said program was considered as a success after the rate of malnutrition in the Philippines fell drastically.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is planning to invest in renewable sources of energy to save money and resources, especially during times of crisis.

In an interview, Moreno said he’s planning to put solar panels and rainwater collectors on the rooftops of all public schools in Manila City.

“Nowadays, we’re having challenges with our water in our dams. While it is true na mayroon naman tayong pag-ulan, we are still in below comfortable water level in our dams,” Moreno said in a press briefing.

“Having said that, I am now encouraging the board to come up with environmental projects, programs to harness renewable energies,” he added.

Aside from saving money because the schools are just going to get their energy from renewable resources, Isko also pointed out that the children would also learn how to take care of the environment.

“Subconsciously, we are teaching our children inside educational institutions to care for the environment without saying it because if they are seeing these types of facilities, and it can be done since it’s not even rocket science, they will know how to care for the environment,” Domagoso told reporters after the board meeting.

“When they would be given the opportunity in the future, they will do the same kapag malalaki na sila,” he added.

Aside from improving the energy sources of his city, Mayor Isko also bared his plan to give allowances and food to students as part of his nutrition program.

The Mayor said that he’s still looking for funds so he might not implement the said program this year.

Former Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada downplayed the efforts being made by his successor Isko Moreno on cleaning Metro Manila from illegal vendors.

Estrada, in an interview with DZMM, said that he can also do what Mayor Moreno is currently doing in Manila. However, he’s also considering the welfare of the people that might lose their source of income because they’re operating their businesses in illegal places.

He also boasted his political background, to prove that he can also perform like current Mayor of Manila.

“Madali lang naman yung linisin mo lahat ‘yan. Pero kawawa naman yung ilang bibig, ilang bata… madaling magpasikat eh, madali yan. Isang utos ko lang, meron yan.” Estrada said.

“Ilang taon na ak naging Mayor sa San Juan, sa Maynila — naging President pa ako. Madali ‘yan i-utos pero titignan mo yung kapakanan ng mga kapwa tao mo lalo na ‘yung mahihirap,” he added.

In the interview, the former Manila Mayor also said that the claim of Moreno that an “organizer” presented him P5-M as a bribe to let illegal vendors in Divisoria operate is not true.

As of writing Moreno is not yet giving any response on Estrada’s statement.

Since Moreno became the Mayor of Manila, he quickly ordered the cleanup of major streets along his City including Divisoria.

However, several of his critics including the daughter of Erap, Jerika Ejercito, questioned the actions of Isko.

Like her father, Jerika also urged Isko to think about people who would be affected by his cleanup operations.

“A viral video showing Isko Moreno with a group of policemen conducting a “dialogue” with the vendors is yet to be weighed as truly democratic and humane since these are not the majority of the people affected but is just a captured number of vendors promised of relocation in other parts of Manila,” Jerika said.

“We recognize that the issue of bribery and corruption among barangay officials has to be addressed, but immediate displacement has never been a clear solution especially when opportunities for the poor to make money is close to none,” she added.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa said that he would favor the legalizing of medical marijuana as long as the country would provide strict rules to regulate it.

In an interview, Dela Rosa said that the people who got sick should be given a chance to be cured by medical marijuana, which claimed to be a medicine for some severe illness.

“Provided we have enough safeguards on the use of medical marijuana, that there would be an agency that would make sure this would not be abused, I am OK with it,” he said.

“Why do we deprive our countrymen of the chance to be cured of their illnesses with this simple marijuana?” he added.

He said that marijuana is a downer which not turning its user to become vicious, unlike shabu.

However, cannabis is still dangerous if its user already addicted to it.

“The problem is not [with] the effect of marijuana turning a person violent. If you become addicted to marijuana, the violence would come in if you are deprived of it … That’s when you will become violent, so it’s still dangerous,” he said.

Last year, Dela Rosa admitted that he already tried using marijuana during his days at the Mindanao State University.

“The effect to me when I tried marijuana was having a feeling of (being) high, having red eyes and wanting to listen and sing folk songs due to its good vibes,” Dela Rosa said.

Medical Marijuana advocates tried to push the bill in the 17th congress but fail after not getting enough support from the lawmakers.