Despite kidnappings, PHL ‘very much’ safe for tourists —DOT chief

The Philippines remains to be a safe place for tourists despite an increase in kidnapping cases mostly involving Chinese nationals, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Wednesday.

“Very much,” she said when asked if the country, which saw 6.8 million international visitors in the first 10 months of the year, remains safe. “We will not promote a place where we know it’s not safe.”

“Kung may mangyari sa isang turista lang, it destroys the whole Philippines. Hindi naman kasi nila nakikita, kunwari may nangyayari dito, akala nila buong Pilipinas na ‘yun,” she said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum.

The Tourism department is in close coordination with the police, the military and local government units to ensure tourists are safe. Tourism cops are also present in tourist destinations, she said.

In the case of Chinese visitors, Puyat said they are vetted by the Bureau of Immigration before they are allowed to enter the country.

The Philippine National Police has registered 75 kidnapping cases so far this year. Forty-two incidents were related to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and casinos.

Twenty-seven of the cases have been resolved and 88 suspects have been arrested.

A recent incident went viral on social media, involving a Chinese woman who was dragged into a vehicle in Makati City on Monday night. Her husband is now considered a person of interest.

Visitors from China make up the second largest international tourists in the Philippines—nearly 1.5 million visitors in January to October 2019. Koreans topped the list at 1.6 million, with Americans accounting for more than 870,000.

Nearly 570,000 tourists came from Japan, while more than 280,000 came from Taiwan, according to the Tourism department.

“It is to our advantage to make sure that the tourists are safe so that when they come to that particular tourist destination, they know that walang mangyayari sa kanila. They’re safe and secure,” Puyat said. —VDS, GMA News

Noli de Castro’s ‘bronze lang’ comment on Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes goes viral

- Noli de Castro once again became the talk of the town online because of his recent statement

- He gave a controversial comment on the performance of Efren “Bata” Reyes in SEA Games 2019

- The much-talked-about incident was caught on the camera and it was aired on national television

- The controversial moment also became one of the most trending topics on social media

Noli de Castro recently created buzz in the online world after he aired his unsolicited comment regarding the performance of Efren “Bata” Reyes in SEA Games 2019.

KAMI learned that the billiards world champion settled for bronze when he competed in cushion carom, an event that he rarely plays in the international level.

He was defeated at the semifinals by Vietnamese contender named Dinh Nai Ngo, and he later on finished third after dominating the representative of Thailand.

During the recent episode of “TV Patrol,” a news correspondent delivered a report about the results of billiards during the regional biennial meet.

After expressing gratitude to the reporter, the former Vice President of the Philippines gave a short but controversial comment about the bronze medal of Efren.

He bravely questioned why the Filipino legend only settled for third place, and the controversial moment was aired on national television.

“We win as one! Maraming salamat, Willard Cheng, live mula sa Clark, Pampanga,” he initially quipped.

“Bronze lang?” he added.

The much-talked-about statement of Noli immediately created noise online and it even became one of the trending topics on Twitter.

In a previous article by KAMI, Efren once again proved his supremacy in the world of billiards as he won the Champions Challenge One Pocket few months ago.

Noli de Castro is a veteran broadcast-journalist and a former politician in the Philippines. In 2004, he held the second highest government position in the country.

Source: https://kami.com.ph/

Duterte rants vs. vaping anew, but fails to cite law banning it

President Rodrigo Duterte maintained there is a law banning the use of vape, but  failed to cite it after being asked a number of times as he ranted about the harmful effects of nicotine during an interview on CNN Philippines.

According to Duterte, as vape products were being banned "all over the world" for its harmful effects, the government had a right to "come out with measures to protect public interest."

"In Australia, in Singapore, it's considered poison. So I have the right to say, 'wag mo ipakita yan, do not sell it, because I have not yet given you - that's government saying it, not me - wag mo ipagbili yan, kasi hindi pa dumaan ng FDA yan," Duterte said.

"I cannot wait for Congress because ang Congress knows that it is nicotine. Congress knows that vaping cannot be used in public, and Congress should know that contraband should not be allowed to be sold because when you use it with other chemicals and nicotine, it produces another chemical of which government does not know," he added.

Although the president acknowledged the harmful effects of cigarettes, he argued that they have already existed for a long time and was not a new product like vaping.

"Ang cigarette dumaan na yan noon pa. This new one, is another form of cigarette. You must be kidding. Don't be an idiot to say that," Duterte said.

He also shared his experience with smoking and expressed that he did not want to be remembered as a president who did not address health concerns.

"I suffered the consequences of smoking nicotine. Itong mga to, mga bata, itong mga chemicals na sinusupsop niyo doon sa baga ninyo, baga is your lung, it grinds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly small," the president said.

"And I will not- I will not be remembered- I will not allow to be remembered as a president who did nothing to help people in the health issues," he added.

Duterte last week announced a ban on the importation and use of vape products. He also ordered the arrest of those who smoked vape in public. —Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News

DepEd: Policy in place to address ‘teacher-shaming’

MANILA, Philippines — There are procedures in place to address complaints against teachers, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced yesterday amid the controversy involving a public school teacher who was shamed on television after taking disciplinary action against one of her students.

The DepEd said it is looking into Melita Limjuco’s case that went viral on social media last week after television host Raffy Tulfo berated her for allegedly punishing a Grade 2 student by sending the latter out of the classroom.

“It appears that what transpired in the television program was a move for on-the-spot compromise: the resignation of the teacher and revocation of her license in exchange for the non-filing of a complaint against her. Under the DepEd Child Protection Policy, incidents of child abuse are not subject to compromise,” the agency said.

“On the other hand, teachers are entitled to due process, which was not given to her during the program, especially since resignation from her job earlier than her intended retirement will have serious impact on her and her family,” it added.

Duterte says he believes Quiboloy stopped Mindanao quake

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he believed his friend Pastor Apollo Quiboloy when the religious leader said he stopped one of the major earthquakes that hit Mindanao in October.

Duterte said he wished that he could have the same power to stop graft just by telling corrupt individuals to do so.

"I believe in Pastor Quiboloy when he said that 'stop'. Eh, kung nag-stop, eh 'di what’s the trouble? Stop it! Eh kung nagkataon talagang nag-stop," Duterte said.

"If I can only have that power doon sa mga kurakot na stop kasi alam mo dito ang Pilipino hindi mo talaga madala sa pakiusap," he added.

Quiboloy after the spate of earthquakes that hit parts of Mindanao in October claimed that the public ought to thank him for "stopping" one of the earthquakes which hit late October.

"Ako'y umiinom lang ng kape eh, lumilindol. Sinabi ko, 'lindol huminto ka!' Huminto," Quiboloy, the leader of the religious sect called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, said in a televised program.

Claiming that he had witnesses to prove his claim, Quiboloy, the self-declared "Appointed Son of God," added, "Pasalamat kayo sa 'kin, pasalamat kayo sa 'kin. Kasi kung 'di ko pina-stop 'yun, marami kayong magigiba diyan. Mamamatay kayo. Kaya pasalamat kayo ako ang nagpa-stop ng lindol."

Quiboloy would not have even mentioned his role in stopping the quake had it not been for a submitted question which also criticized him.

And it was because of these "bashers" that Mindanao was struck by earthquakes and storms.

"Tingnan mo yung mga lugar ng bashing, kawawa naman. Naawa ako sa kanila, 'di ba? Hindi ko naman, ayoko namang mapahamak ang tao. Pero ang judgment nanggagaling sa Diyos," he said.

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Mindanao on October 29 leaving at least eight people dead.

The quake's epicenter was in Tulunan, Cotabato, which was once again struck by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake two days later.

The latest update showed 16 people have died because of the two earthquakes. —NB, GMA News

Robredo admits hometown Naga, Legazpi have ‘big’ drug problems

Vice President Leni Robredo acknowledged on Friday that her hometown Naga City has a “big” drug problem, according to a report by JP Soriano on "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho.”

"Isa talaga yung drugs sa malalaking problema, lalo yung Naga [at] Legazpi kasi ito yung transshipment kasi, itong malalaking cities," Robredo, newly-appointed co-chair of the Inter Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), said.

Asked about whether the drug problem in her hometown was bigger than that in other areas, the Vice President said that they could not be compared since she did not have data about it.

“Hindi sya comparative sa iba, ang sinasabi ko dito may problema rin, hindi mas malaki yung problema rito over others kasi wala pa kong datos na ganun,” Robredo said.

Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte claimed in a speech before business leaders in Malacanang that Naga City was a 'hotbed of shabu'.

Robredo called for a Naga City meeting with leaders from the Naga City's Dangerous Drugs Board, City Anti-Drug Abuse Council and barangay officials.

Robredo said that she planned to address the drug problem in Naga and in other areas.

She mentioned that her office already submitted a report to Duterte about their proposals in solving the drug problem, as well as initial observations.

"Napadala na namin yung first report. Siguro by middle of next week, maipapadala na namin yung second report. Gusto ko lang na alam ni Presidente yung lahat ng nangyayari," she said.

She added that she was looking into creating an inventory with data on illegal drugs for the Naga and Bicol regions.

Robredo said that even if she wanted to put an end to the Oplan Tokhang, her power to do so was ‘limited.’

"'Yung sa akin, policy making. Ipapahiwatig yung palagay ko tama, magre-recommend ng mga measures na, palagay ko, ay dapat sundin. But at the end of the day, 'yung ating Pangulo naman ang mag ca-call the shots," she said. —Angelica Yang/LDF, GMA News

Businessman-sportsman Lucio ‘Bong’ Tan Jr. passes away at 52

LUCIO 'Bong' Tan Jr., the man behind the revival of the Tanduay franchise's glory days in Philippine basketball, passed away on Monday morning two days after collapsing in an inter-department basketball game.

He was 52.

A known lover for the sport of basketball, Tan reintroduced Tanduay into the Filipinos' basketball consciousness when he formed a team that joined the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) in 1995 after the family acquired the company from the Elizaldes.

Carrying the brand name Stag and coached by then upcoming mentor Alfrancis Chua, the Pilseners completed the league's first ever grand slam by winning all three conferences behind a team bannered by Marlou Aquino and Bal David.

The franchise later on entered the PBA in 1999 and became a consistent title contender with a roster that included former MVP Eric Menk, Mark Telan, Chris Cantonjos, and the controversial Sonny Alvarado.

Tan, son and namesake of tycoon billionaire Lucio Tan Sr., died while playing the sport dearest to his heart after he fell ill while in the middle of the game during the Pinoyliga Cup finals at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong on Saturday.

He was playing for Philippine Airlines when the incident happened at the 2:56 mark of the second quarter and his team leading Exile, 35-28.

Tan was reportedly unconscious when he was brought to the hospital.

At the time of his death, Tan was newly-named president of PAL Holdings and head coach of the University of the East.

Source: https://www.spin.ph/

Quiboloy claims he ‘stopped’ Mindanao quake

Apollo Quiboloy, an evangelist with ties to President Rodrigo Duterte, claimed that the public ought to thank him for "stopping" a deadly earthquake that struck Mindanao earlier this week.

"Ako'y umiinom lang ng kape eh, lumilindol. Sinabi ko, 'lindol huminto ka!' Huminto," Quiboloy, the leader of the religious sect called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, said in a televised program on Wednesday.

Claiming that he had witnesses to prove his claim, Quiboloy, the self-declared "Appointed Son of God." added, "Pasalamat kayo sakin, pasalamat kayo sakin. Kasi kung 'di ko pina-stop yun, marami kayong magigiba dyan. Mamamatay kayo. Kaya pasalamat kayo ako ang nagpa-stop ng lindol."

Quiboloy would not have even mentioned his role in stopping the quake had it not been for a submitted question which also criticized him.

And it was because of these "bashers" that Mindanao was struck by earthquakes and storms.

"Tingnan mo yung mga lugar ng bashing, kawawa naman. Naawa ako sa kanila, 'di ba? Hindi ko naman, ayoko namang mapahamak ang tao. Pero ang judgment nanggagaling sa Diyos," he said.

The magnitude 6.6 earthquake that struck Mindanao on Tuesday morning left at least eight people dead.

The quake's epicenter was in Tulunan, Cotabato, which was once again struck by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake two days later. 

The latest update showed 16 people have died because of the two earthquakes. 

A longtime friend of the chief executive, Quiboloy actively campaigned for Duterte in the 2016 presidential race but was reportedly eased out of the core group after the former Davao City mayor won. 

Nevertheless, last August, Quiboloy said he believed that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte had been "chosen" by God to be president. 

However, the evangelist has had his share of controversies.

In 2018 he and six others were briefly detained in Honolulu after US customs agents found $350,000 and rifle parts inside a private plane he had boarded. 

In the same year, a Hawaii news outlet reported that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into the Quiboloy church's alleged human trafficking activities. 

The evangelist denied running a child sex ring.  — Nicole-Anne Lagrimas/DVM, GMA News

Cebu City police chief relieved over Navarro slay

POLICE Colonel Gemma Vinluan has been relieved as Cebu City Police Office director over the ambush-slay of Clarin, Misamis Occidental mayor David Navarro.

Central Visayas Police Regional Office (PRO-7) Director Valeriano de Leon said Colonel Giovani Maines will replace Vinluan.

He said he ordered Vinluan's relief effective Wednesday, October 30, "to make her available" for the investigation being conducted on the Navarro killing.

De Leon, at the same time, welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte's instruction to turn over the investigation to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

"It will provide a perception of impartial investigation sparing us of suspicion of possible whitewash. It will allow my organization and my personnel to focus on the more important functions of anti-criminality and protecting the communities from crime," he said.

Duterte ordered the NBI to take over the investigation from the police as he questioned the police's failure to retaliate and pursue the gunmen who ambushed and killed Navarro.

Navarro, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was in police custody when he was killed on October 25, 2019.

BODY OF MISSING TOURIST FOUND!

Amelia Bambridge: Body of backpacker, 21, missing in Cambodia found 30 miles out to sea

The body of missing British backpacker Amelia Bambridge has been found in Cambodia, authorities have confirmed.

Emergency services have been scouring the island of Koh Rong after the 21-year-old disappeared more than a week ago.

Her disappearance sparked a huge search operation, with cops, soldiers and divers combing the area to find her.

The body was reportedly found in the sea by fishermen near the Thai-Cambodian border more than 30 miles from where she vanished. 

It has been brought to shore where a post-mortem will be carried out, according to local media.

“We found the body of the missing British woman,” Major general Chuon Narin, police chief for Preah Sihanouk province, said.

A total of 147 police, navy and military personnel were joined by volunteers who searched both the mainland and sea for the student.

Her family have travelled to the area to help the emergency services with the search.

They are yet to comment on the discovery.

Deputy Navy Commander Tea Sokha told The Phnom Penh Post that while the body was decomposed, distinctive tattoos led to the conclusion that it was that of the 21-year-old Bambridge.

“So far we do not know the cause of death. It is too early to conclude whether she died from drowning or another reason,” Sokha said.

He said local fishermen had supplied the information as to the location of the body.

The police chief for Preah Sihanouk province, the area where the 21-year-old was last seen, previously said he believed she has drowned.

Amelia, from Worthing, West Sussex, was last seen at a party on Police Beach, a nightspot popular with tourists, around 3am last Thursday.

Her handbag, containing her purse, phone and bank cards, was later found on the beach.

Amelia’s passport was left at the Nest Beach Club hostel, where she had been staying, and her family were alerted to her disappearance when she failed to check out.

A vigil for Ms Bambridge was held at St Michael's Church in Worthing last night.

Six men who work at restaurants, hotels and guest houses on the island were questioned by police and released without charge on Tuesday evening.

Officials said the men were taken into custody because of complaints by Western tourists that they had acted badly towards visiting women.

A fundraiser launched by Ms Bambridge's sister Sharon Schultes to cover the ongoing search has raised more than £16,000 since Friday.

Her local MP Tom Loughton tweeted: "Devastated to hear the terribly sad news about Amelia Bambridge this morning-the thoughts and prayers of everyone in Worthing are with her family and friends".

Source:https://www.mirror.co.uk/

Woman bumps into 'dead' ex-bf

Woman thought her boyfriend had died - then she bumped into him at a restaurant

It sounds like a plot straight out of an Agatha Christie novel.

A woman is told her ex-boyfriend has died and grieves the loss, only to come across him a few years later, very much alive and working in a local restaurant.

What?!

This utterly unbelievable scenario is one that an Australian woman known only as Rachel is said to have found herself in.

The young woman recently opened up to ABC.net.au about the bizarre situation she experienced with her former flame.

Rachel was just 18-years-old when she started dating a chef from her local pub.

The relationship seemed like any other teenage romance and she described him as being "really nice".

However things took a bit of a turn when her boyfriend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lost his job and asked to borrow hundreds of pounds from her to live on.

He paid some of the money back, but when they broke up a few months later, she claims he refused to pay the rest and stopped replying to her messages.

Things got stranger when his friends informed her that furniture had started going missing from his houseshare.

"Furniture was gone, bed was gone, everything was gone," explains Rachel. "The initial story was he'd gone to rehab in Queensland."

She wasn't completely convinced by this, but before she had time to investigate, her ex's mum messaged her to say her son had died.

"It sounds stupid in retrospect, but you don't have any reason to question it. If I called you and told you my mum had died, you wouldn't be like, 'give me a death certificate'."

Rachel grieved the loss "in her own way" and eventually moved on.

Then two years later, the whole story unravelled.

While back in her home town with a friend, she stopped by a restaurant where she was stunned to discover her ex-boyfriend, very much alive and working there.

"I just went into shock," she recalls.

But before she could confront him about it all, Rachel was asked to leave the restaurant.

Unsure of the best course of action, she decided to talk to the police.

However they weren't able to help as they said it was "her word against his".

Later that same night, her ex's mother got in contact once again, this time to complain that Rachel had caused a scene at the restaurant and gotten her son fired.

The whole saga left the poor woman reeling and to this day there's still so much she doesn't understand about it all.

Her biggest wish is that she could have had a chance to sit down with him properly and talk it through.

"I would have had questions," she adds. "One or two."

Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/

Sunog sa Boracay

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A fire broke out Thursday at a Muslim community in Station 3, Boracay, the holiday island's most densely populated area, prompting authorities to raise the highest fire alarm. 

Fire Marshall Supt. Nazrudin Cablayan of the Malay Fire Station said the blaze is now under control at 10:33 a.m., about 2 hours after it first erupted in Sitio Ambulong, Barangay Manoc-Manoc.

Duterte feeling 'much better,' says Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte is “feeling much better” now, Malacañang said Thursday, as his doctor ruled out any surgical procedure to address his back pain.

Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President was diagnosed to be having muscle spasms and was advised by his doctor to rest, avoid standing or walking for long duration as well as to take medicines that will relieve him of the pain caused by the muscular spasms.

“His doctor ruled out any surgical procedure for the President,” Panelo said. “The President is presently feeling much better.”

The Palace spokesman said the President underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and medical evaluation on Wednesday after cutting his trip to Japan on Tuesday due to “unbearable pain” in his spinal column as a result of a motorcycle mishap last week.

“As the public already knows, the Chief Executive suffered from a motorcycle accident several years ago, and from another minor mishap involving the same type of motor vehicle just last Wednesday, October 16,” Panelo said.

“The attending doctor said that there is a strong likelihood that these incidents may have caused or possibly aggravated the current pain he is suffering from in his lower back.”

However, Panelo said the public “need not worry“ about the President's health.

He said the President will even meet with China’s Vice Premier Hu Chunhua on Thursday to discuss, among others, certain infrastructure projects in the country under Chinese financing.

“Despite the President’s somewhat impaired physical profile, he will continue to perform his presidential duties which include attending to local and foreign engagements in the following days, with the same passion and dedication, in obedience to the constitutional command to serve and protect the Filipino people,” Panelo said. —KBK, GMA News

Demi Moore rapist revealed as L.A. club landlord

Editor’s Note: This article tackles subject matter that young and some sensitive readers may find unsettling. Microsoft News advises reading this story with caution and proper guidance.

The man who allegedly raped Demi Moore when she was just 15 years old has been revealed as Los Angeles club landlord.

Demi made the revelation in her memoir Inside Out, claiming her mother Virginia 'Ginny' King would take her to bars to help get attention from men, and alleging she returned home one night to find an older man, who had a key, in the house.

According to the actress, he raped her before saying: "How does it feel to be w**red out for $500 (£400)?"

The Ghost star identified the man as family friend Val Dumas - real name Basil Doumas - who was the Greek-born landlord of the popular La Cage Aux Folles club. While Val died in 1997 at the age of 68, George Germanides, who ran the Mirabelle restaurant with Doumas, spoke to Britain's The Sun newspaper about his former pal.

"His real name was Basil and his nickname was always Val. He was a sort of silent partner of mine from 1974," he shared. "He had a lot of money. I bought him out after seven years."

George added he has "no idea" if the allegations are true.

Speaking on Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer last month (Sep19), the G.I. Jane star admitted she blames her mother for the ordeal, explaining: "I don’t think it was a straightforward transaction, but she still did give him the access and put me in harm’s way."

Source: https://www.covermg.com/

Palace insiders close to ex-Malaysian King slam his Russian beauty queen ex-wife for divorce demands of '£8m London home, £1.2m Moscow flat and £24k-a-month'

The former King of Malaysia and his ex-wife Oksana Voevodina are locked in a bitter divorce after their short-lived marriage lasting only one year.

Speaking for the first time, sources close to the Sultan of Kelantan has rounded on his Russian beauty queen ex-wife over her 'astronomical' divorce demands.

The former beauty pageant winner is seeking a £1.2m Moscow apartment and a £24,000-a-month allowance to cover the son born during their marriage - and later an £8m London home, they say, though MailOnline have not been able to establish whether his ex-wife accepts this is correct.

The British-educated ex-king asked courtiers: 'Who does she think I am... Bill Gates?'

A source commented of the couple's son, Leon: 'Is he attending Eton next year that she needs to much for an infant?' 

They also say he lavished on her a glittering wedding ring she craved, believed to be a Jacob Arabo creation worth £203,000.

He also bought her a Porsche Cayenne which in Russia can cost up to £117,500.

The former Miss Moscow wed the 49-year-old sultan in a secret Islamic ceremony in the Malaysian state of Kelantan on June 7 last year. 

This wedding was followed by a glittering reception in Moscow in December which Oksana's camp announced their unlikely union to the world.

But sources close to the private royal says the marriage was doomed as soon details of the reception appeared in the Russian media and he was ill prepared for the avalanche of publicity that followed.  

In November last year, the then king had believed the Russian reception was a strictly private gathering with a limited number of relatives including her parents, and friends.

The reclusive but domestically popular ruler had not been prepared for his stunning bride, the daughter of a provincial Russian orthopaedic surgeon, going public, and believed she had understood his strong desire for 'discretion'. 

Relatives say he was noticeably 'uncomfortable' when the reception turned into a 'glitzy showbiz event' with singers and performers.

'The turning point was the publication of photographs from the Moscow reception,' said a source.

But worse rapidly followed in the days after the reception. 

Suddenly footage of Oksana' clutching a Champagne glass during her clinch with actor Elisey Polischuk, 29, flashed around the world causing deep concern in conservative Malaysia.

The facts of this tawdry TV show remain in dispute, but Oksana's friends say she was entirely open with the monarch about her past personal and professional life.

Royal sources strongly denies this, and one said: 'If he had known about that pool video, he would never have married her.

'No responsible person would. You don't need to be a sultan to make that decision.' 

But sources say he now knew she was 'not fit to be queen' and indeed even after their wedding he didn't introduce her to his parents.

The king left her in Moscow when Oksana was four months pregnant and abdicated his throne within a month, although the two events are not linked, insist palace sources. 

He has still never met the couple's son, Leon.

This summer the sultan used the harshest Islamic divorce known as Triple Talak to break the marriage.

When the breakdown came, Oksana refused an 'amicable split' despite an 'extremely generous' offer, claim sources close to the palace.

Oksana has denied this saying there is scant progress in the divorce settlement.

It is also claimed that Oksana twice refused DNA tests on the son she gave birth to in May. Oksana denies this is the case.

The led to the sultan's Singapore lawyer issuing a statement 'there is no objective evidence as yet as to the biological father of the child'.

A royal source said: 'Perhaps she first wanted to see what the child looked like. Maybe she wasn't sure herself who was the biological father.'

Insiders mischievously wondered why Oksana had named the boy Leon which matches a close longtime Russian male friend of Oksana's called Leonid Zasukhin.

This businessman in his late 30s - photographed in bed with Oksana some years ago (IMAGE) - has boasted that he was a student in Vladimir Putin's FSB intelligence service academy in Moscow.

However, there is no suggestion the child is Zasukhin's, and is now known to have a distinctly Malaysian appearance.

Oksana's social media postings of their intimate moments also enraged the royal circle.

'She likes to take selfies all the time…he didn't expect her to use them against him like this,' said an aide.

'It's clear she has no respect for the royal family. It's really sad.'

It was her Instagram campaign - aimed at her half a million followers - that triggered a statement from the palace last month regretting 'the personal choices made in his private life' in marrying Oksana, while accusing her of defaming the royal family with her 'lies on social media'.

They also felt she was 'disrespectful' to the royal family for waging her campaign at a time when the sultan's father was terminally-ill, they add.

One declared: 'Why was she not content with just being a wife and remaining discreetly in the background?  

'She was the first woman in history of Malaysia to declare herself the wife of the sultan to the media, and to her Instagram followers, without official palace recognition.

'This rubbed many people the wrong way, including the sultan's family members.' 

She was criticised for denying a divorce had taken place, when a letter exists from a lawyer Alexander Dobrovinsky who had represented her vouching for this fact, claim the palace sources. 

Oksana has said she had no agreement with this lawyer.

And they questioned why she used Arkhangelskoye Palace near Moscow as background prop for pictures with and without her tiny son, which they feel gives misleading the impression she is still living in royal surroundings with the sultan, they say. 

While the sultan is no longer king, he remains ruler of the Kelantan state close to the Thailand border and a respected royal figure in Malaysia.

Royal sources said that the ex-monarch provided Oksana with a place to live in Russia for her and the child, and would make a 'generous' divorce settlement 'given they were only married for a year' and separated after six months.

'It won't be a huge sum' compared to amounts she has demanded.

Oksana last week denied to MailOnline in an exclusive interview that he had asked for a DNA test.

She also insisted there was no doubt the royal had fathered her child, and said she was ready for a DNA test if it was requested.

She said her son Leon is the spitting image of his father and she is willing to agree to a DNA test for the boy.

Appealing directly to her ex-husband to start being a father to Leon, the former Miss Moscow said: 'Faris, wake up! You have a son, and you are a father.

'And you are a royal. And no matter what happened to our marriage, I want my son to have both parents. Just think about your son.'

She declined to comment on other claims in this article from palace sources.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

MMDA's Pialago slams 'bashers'

‘Puro reklamo lang ang kaya niyong gawin,’ MMDA’s Pialago tells ‘bashers’

As the nationwide transport strike concluded on Monday night, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) spokesperson Celine Pialago penned a message for her “bashers” in a post on her official Facebook page.

Pialago became a hot topic on social media for her defense of the administration’s planned Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program, which was the subject of the Sept. 30 protests.

"The government will never allow them to be successful," Pialago said of the PUV operators who had taken part in the strike.

The reaction online to her words included the resurrection of a viral clip of Pialago as a contestant in the 2014 Miss Earth Philippines competition, when she said that a fellow candidate had "passed away," instead of passed out.

Anakbayan also took part in the snark, saying in a statement that the MMDA's empathy for drivers, operators and commuters "has passed away."

In her Facebook post, Pialago doubled down on her words.

“What's wrong with not letting your transport strike being successful? We won't let you be successful because your intentions are wrong,” she said.

Pialago also claimed that the MMDA was able to "normalize" the situation during the transport strike.

However, GMA News found long lines of commuters struggling to hitch a ride home at the height of rush hour.

In her Facebook statement, Pialago also said that the transport strike participants were holding commuters' comfort.

“We are after the welfare of the people, at sa pagkakataong ito, mahalaga sa amin na hindi na kayo dumagdag pa sa araw-araw ng hirap na dinaranas ng mga commuters,” Pialago said, referring to the drivers and operators who participated in the strike.

“Despite the good intentions of the government, puro reklamo lang ang kaya niyong gawin. Nasasanay kayong gobyerno ang mag-aadjust sa lahat ng reklamo niyo particularly dito sa PUV Modernization Program,” she added.

Members of various transport groups nationwide participated in the strike to protest some contingencies in the PUV modernization program, such as the cancellation of franchises and “impossible” to obtain requirements. — Julia Mari T. Ornedo/BM, GMA News

Albayalde got SUV after questioned drug op in 2013, says Magalong; PNP chief denies

PNP chief Oscar Albayalde was reported to have been one of the Pampanga police officials who acquired a sport utility vehicle shortly after a questionable anti-drug operation in the province in November 2013.

Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, a former head of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said he was ordered by then PNP chief Alan Purisima to investigate why the police officers in the drug operation suddenly had SUVs.

“Actually nabanggit niya pati ‘yang provincial director nila meron din siya,” Magalong told the Senate inquiry into the alleged resale of confiscated drugs by corrupt police officers.

Albayalde the director of Pampanga police at the time of the police operation.

He quickly denied the allegation, saying that what he had during that time was an old pick up truck he bought from a neighbor.

“I really don’t know what personal gripes Mayor Magalong here has against me because this happened in 2013," Albayalde said.

"What I have in 2013 was a pick-up truck, model I don’t know, an old model one, and I can even say that I bought that from a neighbor,” he added.

The 13 police officers in the questioned police operation didn't follow the rules, leading to suspicions that they made money from the confiscated illegal drugs.

They were recommended for dismissal in 2014 but eventually were only demoted by a rank.

“Hindi ko po alam why this is being again… lumalabas after six years. I really do not know the motive of Mayor Magalong ," Albayalde said.

"And again, sabi ko nga, if he has anything against these people, even against me, it could have been done way back 2014, 2015 not during my time as chief PNP,” he added.

Earlier in the hearing, Magalong said Purisima ordered him to conduct an investigation as he received intelligence reports that police officers of Pampanga have newly acquired SUVs. 

“Sabi niya (Purisima) sa akin, 'Benjie, imbestigahan mo nga ito. Just recently may operation sa Pampanga 30 kilos ng shabu. Biglang nagkaroon ng sasakyan nang sabay-sabay,'” Magalong said. —NB, GMA News

Barrameda family appeals to Duterte for justice in Ruby Rose case

The family of Ruby Rose Barrameda has appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte for justice after a Malabon court junked the murder and parricide charges against her estranged husband and father-in-law.

In a report by Cecille Villarosa for Saksi on Monday, Robert Barrameda, the bereaved father of Ruby Rose whose remains were dumped in Navotas waters in 2009, lamented the suffering his daughter endured.

“Biro mo patayin ka nang ganyan, babae ka, nakaposas, walang kalaban-laban, sakalin ka nang ganyan,” he said.

“Umaapela kami kay Presidente Duterte na sana po ay bigyan mo kami ng pagkakataon na makamtan namin ang hustisya,” he added.

In an August 15 order, the Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 170 dismissed the parricide case against Barrameda's estranged husband, Manuel "Third" Jimenez III, for supposed failure to establish probable cause that he had masterminded the killing of his wife.

The same court dismissed the murder case against Third's father, Manuel Jimenez, Jr.;  Lennard "Spyke" Descalso, and Norberto Ponce on July 10 upon finding that the prosecution was unable to establish their "direct participation" in Ruby Rose's death.

The dismissal of the charges outraged the family of Ruby Rose, sister of former beauty queen Rochelle Barrameda. They claimed that the Jimenezes never cooperated with them in the investigation.

“Nung time na nawawala nga ‘yung kapatid ko, ni hindi siya tumulong para hanapin, ilang beses kaming nagmakaawa sa kanila na baka pwede naman kalimutan muna namin 'yung problema namin, ng pamilya nila, ng pamilya namin. Ang importante, mahanap lang 'yung kapatid ko. Pero hindi ho sila nakipagtulungan, tapos ganito na lang na ma-di-dismiss.”

Meanwhile, the Barrameda family also called on Manuel Montero to surface.

Montero directed authorities to the location of Ruby Rose’s body and identified the suspects. He was turned into a state witness but he took back his statements in 2013. He has since gone missing. 

“Manumbalik uli sa’yo na ikaw makonsensya, sana bumalik ka na rin sa amin Montero,” said Ruby Rose’s father. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BAP, GMA News

'Used and dehumanized': Dozens of boys found chained in Nigeria

ADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - More than 300 boys and men, some as young as five and many in chains and bearing scars from beatings, have been rescued in a raid on a building that purported to be an Islamic school in northern Nigeria, police said on Friday.

Most of the freed captives seen by a Reuters reporter in the city of Kaduna were children, aged up to their late teens. Some shuffled with their ankles manacled and others were chained by their legs to large metal wheels to prevent escape.

One boy, held by the hand by a police officer as he walked unsteadily, had sores visible on his back that appeared consistent with injuries inflicted by a whip.

Some children had been brought from neighboring countries including Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana, police said, while others had been left by their parents in what they believed to be an Islamic school or rehabilitation center.

"This place is neither a rehab or an Islamic school because you can see it for yourselves," Kaduna state's police commissioner, Ali Janga, told reporters. "The children gathered here are from all over the country... some of them were even chained. They were used, dehumanized, you can see it yourself."

Kaduna police spokesman Yakubu Sabo said seven people who said they were teachers at the school had been arrested in Thursday's raid.

"The state government is currently providing food to the children who are between the ages of five and above," he said. It was not clear how long the captives had been held there.

Read more at yahoo.com

Guia Gomez Castro denies ‘drug queen’ tag, says suspects get killed even sans proof

The barangay chairperson accused of dealing illegal drugs sourced from corrupt police officers has denied the allegations against her.

According to Ivan Mayrina's report on "24 Oras", Barangay 484 chairman Guia Gomez Castro also took a jab at the Duterte administration's war on drugs, saying suspects nowadays get killed even if there was no proof against them. 

"Hindi ko alam kung saan saan nila pinagkukuha yang mga sinasabi nilang link sa akin. God knows ni hindi ko kilala yang mga yan," Castro said in a statement coursed through someone close to her.

“Kahit anong sabihin ko at depensang gawin ko hindi rin naman ako paniniwalaan ng mga taong hindi naman ako kilala dahil sa isip nila ay hinusgahan na nila ako,” she added.

“Kung ang pananahimik kapalit ng kaligtasan ko sampu ng pamilya ko, mas nanaisin kong manahimik hindi ko na priority ang iisipin ng iba kung guilty ako sa paningin nila so be it," Castro said.

"Iba ang sistema ngayon wala nang pagkakataong idepensa ang sarili bigla na lang babarilin ang tao ngayon kahit wala pang napapatunayan," she added.

The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed that Castro left the country recently because she had no pending warrant of arrest.

A barangay official said she went to the United States.

Castro won the chairperson's seat in Barangay 484 in the 2018 barangay elections.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Aaron Aquino stood by the agency's information that Castro was buying drugs confiscated by corrupt policemen and bring them back into the market.

It was also alleged that the same policemen protect her by preempting anti-drug operations against her.

"Everything is intelligence based. So, kahit anong pag-defend niya sa sarili niya hindi niya made-defend talaga kasi lahat ng nakalap naming information ay binalidate at kinonfirm," Aquino said.

"Bumalik siya ng pilipinas at harapin niya lahat ng pinagagawa niya," she added. —NB, GMA News