Author: Izel Abanilla

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte addressed the plagiarism issues plaguing her self-authored children’s book, “Isang Kaibigan” denying such accusations because writing such books is easy. In a statement released Wednesday, the Vice President said such allegations were simply a form of defamation. “Napakadaling sumulat ng maikling kwento batay sa sariling karanasan, hindi na kailangan mangopya pa,” she said. “Ang proyekto ay para mahikayat ang mga bata na mahalin ang pagbabasa at sumulat ng sariling kwento,” she said. She noted that books aren’t the problem but the weakness in reading. As if a taunt to her critics, Duterte promised…

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Chiz Escudero on Thursday hit the PNP officials for their failure to arrest fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy. Quiboloy’s continuous freedom against a standing arrest warrant is nothing short of a “slap in the face.” “Medyo nakakahiya na ang Philippine National Police dahil isa ito sa mga major na kaso na alam ng buong ng bansa at medyo sampal na sa kanila na hanggang ngayon ay hindi nila maipatupad yung warrant of arrest laban sa apat na tao dahil nakuha na yata yung isa,” Escudero said over Radyo 630. Quiboloy and five others were ordered arrested…

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health debunks all rumors about an outbreak of Mpox, previously called monkeypox in the Philippines. The tenth recorded case in the country is the mild clade and not the deadly strain that caused alarm in other parts of the globe. The country’s most recent case was a 33-year-old Filipino male with no travel history. Herbosa said nine cases of Mpox have been from August 2022 until December 2023, all with travel history to infected countries. Since December 2023, no Mpox case has been identified for a number of reasons. All nine recorded cases were…

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcast journalist Karen Davila called out to lawmakers to stop the blame game on victims of abuse especially in a public forum like a congressional hearing. On Twitter, Davila made an open letter to lawmakers to “stop victim blaming” and “treat victims with compassion and sensitivity.” “Reliving a traumatic experience is horrific, more so in a public hearing.,” she said. Davila retweeted a report about Sen. President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada being criticized for being “harsh” on self-confessed sexual abuse victims Sandro Muhlach and Gerald Santos in the Senate committee on public information and mass media hearing. …

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate will immediately take custody of Shiela Leal Guo, sister of ex-Bamban Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo upon her return to the Philippines, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on ANC on Thursday.  Shiela, together with Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, Lucky South 99 authorized representative, were apprehended at a mall in Indonesia after the Philippine government alerted the Indonesian authorities of the case of Guo and her family last August 20.  Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and Justice Secretary Boying Remulla announced the breakthrough on Thursday. “Shiela has an outstanding warrant here in the Senate so as soon as she…

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Risa Hontiveros said her office has conducted its independent verification of the reported arrest of Shiela Guo, sister of ex Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, Lucky South 99, Porac, Pampanga offshore gaming operator facility authorized representative in Indonesia.  “Thanks to our international contacts, my office has also independently verified the apprehension of Cassandra Li Ong, and Alice Guo’s sibling Shiela Guo,” Hontiveros said in a post on Thursday, August 22.  “We commend the Indonesian authorities for their decisive action in upholding the law and maintaining security. This is a promising development,…

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday has confirmed that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice is now in Indonesia over a month after she left the Philippines. According to BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval, Guo traveled from the Philippines to Malaysia on July 16 and from Singapore sneaked into Indonesia on August 18. “Sa atin pong pagbantay sa mga counterpart intelligence information, nalaman natin nasa Indonesia ngayon. Tumawid siya from Singapore the other day, August 18,” Sandoval said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. The BI is now backtracking Guo’s travel history to determine how she possibly could…

MANILA, Philippines – Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto faces another graft case less than a month after the first one was filed over supposed non-distribution of one-time allowance cash allowance of P1,500 to City Hall employees on the 452nd founding anniversary of the city last month. Among the respondents in the case were Elvira Flores, head of the city’s human resource development office; Jeronimo Manzanero, city administrator; and Josephine Lati-Bagaoisan, head of the bids and awards committee. In the second complaint filed on July 30, private citizen Michelle Gonzales Prudencio alleged that Sotto, along with the other respondents, violated the…

MANILA, Philippines – The search for dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has now been elevated by the Philippine government to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). According to an intelligence report earlier obtained by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the Bureau of Immigration and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the ex-mayor was able to exit the country on July 18, with reports that she headed off to Singapore. The BI also had information that Guo slipped to Indonesia. “I have information that in fact ‘yung Philippine passports ni Guo Hua Ping o Alice Leal Guo kasama na nina Sheila Leal Guo,…

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday called on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to beef up its security following the media coverage of her family departing for Germany during the onslaught of Typhoon Carina and Habagat last July. At the Senate hearing on the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President, Duterte said she and her staff have identified the person who took the video as a media person covering NAIA. “Alam namin kung sino siya. We have footage na kumukuha siya ng cellphone footage,” she said. She said that being covered while departing…