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The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Zamboanga del Sur is investigating the mining operations of company called TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD) in Bayog town.

It is zeroing in on the firm’s environmental compliance, tax liabilities, and mineral transport transparency.

The provincial board’s Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by 2nd District Board Member Hernan dela Cruz, is examining the operations at TVIRD’s Balabag Gold-Silver Project.

The panel wants to verify the production output of the business enterprise and look into the distribution of benefits to affected Indigenous Peoples (IPs).

Dela Cruz, who also heads the panel on environment and natural resources, clarified that the legislative inquiry aims to enforce regulatory compliance, rather than stop the mining activities.

‘The objective is not to obstruct legitimate mining operations, but to ensure that every obligation imposed by law is properly observed,’ dela Cruz said.

The provincial board wants to be certain that ‘every government revenue due is accounted for, and every affected community receives the benefits to which it is entitled,’ he noted.

To tighten oversight, the panel is proposing the deployment of provincial government monitors during the weighing, documentation and shipment of gold and silver products at the Balabag site.

The proposed local monitoring team will coordinate with national regulators-including the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and Bureau of Customs (BOC).

The action is meant to reconcile production records with declared tax payments and curb potential revenue leakage.

The committee cited preliminary information indicating that TVIRD transports its gold and silver output via helicopter two to three times a month, depending on the volume.

The board members want to independently verify what kind of practices are going on, through official logs and on-site inspections.

Dela Cruz stressed that establishing an evidence-based monitoring mechanism is necessary to resolve questions surrounding output volumes and tax yields through objective records, rather than speculations.

During the inquiry, local officials questioned TVIRD representatives over the proper payment and remittance of the local government units’ (LGUs) shares from the company’s extraction activities.

The officials included Mayor Celso Matias, dela Cruz, and Board Member Roger Saniel.

The discussion focused on clarifying the remittance of mining-related revenues to Bayog and the provincial government, determining whether all required payments had been fully settled.

In response, TVIRD presented an overview of its mining operations and outlined its adherence to the Philippine Mining Act and other applicable laws.

The mining company maintained that it remains fully compliant with its tax and regulatory obligations.

The legislative probe comes amid an ongoing civil suit filed by TVIRD against the municipal government of Bayog over contested local tax liabilities estimated at roughly P2 billion.

While emphasizing that the exact amount, legal grounds, and covered period remain subject to judicial determination, the committee noted that the lawsuit’s outcome carries major financial implications for local government revenues.

TVIRD started initial operations at the Balabag project in 2017 before reaching full commercial production in 2022.

Engr. Noel Manrique, General Manager and Chief Operations Officer of the TVIRD Balabag Gold-Silver Project, clarified that since the matter has reached the court, the company and the Bayog local government unit (LGU) have agreed to abide by whatever judicial decision is rendered.

‘When it comes to taxes, interpretations vary, but it always depends on the National Treasury,’ Manrique explained.

‘There is a law governing this, and we follow a specific rate, such as 37.5 of 1 percent. Naturally, the LGU has a different interpretation,’ he said.

‘Our position was to bring it to court, and our amicable understanding with the LGU of Bayog is that we will wait for the court’s judgment and comply accordingly,’ he remarked.

‘If the court rules that we must pay, then we will pay. The case remains ongoing,’ he added.

Thomas Markle Sr. was always bound to attract attention ever since his daughter, Meghan Markle, became one of the most famous women on the planet by marrying the British royal Prince Harry, the second son of the late Princess Diana. Meghan had achieved some fame as a television actress in the United States, but it was as the newly minted Duchess of Sussex that she became grist for worldwide chatter and controversy.

Among the most scrutinized aspects of her life was her estranged relationship with her father, a retired lighting director in Hollywood. Meghan cut off ties with Thomas in 2018 when, in the run-up to her wedding to Prince Harry, Thomas reportedly tried to exploit the occasion by granting unflattering TV and tabloid interviews and drawing attention to himself with staged paparazzi shots.

The relationship was further damaged when, in 2022, Meghan’s older half-sister Samantha sued for defamation over the Sussexes’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, which Samantha said inflicted on her ‘humiliation, shame, and hatred on a worldwide scale’ – and Thomas sided with Samantha.

In January 2025, Thomas and Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., relocated to Cebu City from Mexico. It seemed to be a move toward a quieter life for the elder Markle, now in his 80s, but he was still never far from the news.

Sex offender

In December 2025, it was widely reported that he had emergency surgery at a Cebu hospital, his leg amputated below the knee due to a blood clot. He then went back to the US for rehabilitation and to be fitted with a prosthetic leg.

It was apparently during his absence that Markle Jr., who had served as his father’s caregiver, discovered some things in the elder Markle’s Cebu residence that shocked him, and that have now catapulted Markle Sr.’s name back to worldwide notoriety.

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Mom Wakes Up Constantly Tired, Tapes Camera to Ceiling and Instantly Regrets Watching the Footage

This is what the camera captured

Tips and Tricks

According to Markle Jr.’s interview with British newspaper The Sun, he found ‘hundreds, if not thousands’ of child pornographic materials in his father’s belongings. So extensive was the collection that ‘it took nine hours to sign all the documentation as I handed over all that stuff, but I was relieved to get it off my hands,’ he said, adding, ‘I think it will take months to check all these items and confirm my father is the disgusting monster I’ve now disowned.’

Markle Jr. turned over four large boxes to the Philippine National Police, which is now doing a forensic investigation of the materials. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has been quoted as saying, ‘Right now, all signs point to a possible sex offender of the grossest kind,’ while National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief Melvin Matibag confirmed that the NBI has received a request for information ‘regarding the possession of materials … of minors, children’ from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Radioactive nature

Markle Sr. denounced the accusations against him as ‘a bunch of lies,’ saying he didn’t possess child sex abuse images. He only admitted traveling to the Philippines ‘at least twice to pay for sex, but … that he had ‘never had sex with anyone under the age of 18,” according to a South China Morning Post report.

In her statement addressing the issue, Meghan said she had learned of similar troubling allegations against her father as far back as 2018, but had thought that the matter was under investigation by the British police. She also said she took pains to ensure that her children would not have any contact with their grandfather. And in December 2025, she sent a letter to her father telling him that she and the authorities ‘knew he had abused young girls.’

Other than the radioactive nature of this sordid story because of the Meghan Markle connection, the investigation into Markle Sr. once again highlights an appalling problem bedeviling the Philippines: The country is an epicenter for the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) consumed worldwide.

Number one buyer

A 2023 report by the human rights watchdog International Justice Mission said nearly half a million Filipino children are forced to participate in sexual content sold online, mostly to Western men. A separate report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council noted that the US was the number one buyer of CSAM from the Philippines, with Americans spending more than $7 million on illegal child abuse content from 2020 to 2022. A particularly disturbing detail: In most cases, the main abusers and exploiters of children were their own parents.

Markle Sr.’s defense that he didn’t abuse minors but did come to the Philippines to pay for adult sex rankles just as badly. The country’s prostitution and anti-trafficking laws have not stopped a reported 60,000 foreign visitors annually from coming over for this exploitative purpose. The latest case now making headlines worldwide should prompt the Marcos administration to intensify efforts against child sex abuse, sex tourism, and the ‘disgusting monsters’ behind them-scourges that are posing grave risks to the country’s health and social well-being.

The Laoag City government had launched the first Dulang Festival to promote Ilocano cuisine and boost food tourism by showcasing the city’s traditional dishes and local food industry.

The two-day festival, which ends on Thursday, brought together city officials, the Liga ng mga Barangay, residents, and food businesses to celebrate Laoag’s culinary heritage and introduce its local specialties to a wider audience.

A highlight of the festival was a communal feast featuring traditional Ilocano dishes, including insarabasab, dinakdakan, poqui-poqui, pansit lusay, fish, shrimp, and seaweed, along with native delicacies such as dudol, busi, and suman prepared by participating barangays.

The celebration culminated in a boodle fight around the city hall, where residents and visitors shared the dishes laid out on a long table, promoting camaraderie and community spirit.

The term ‘dulang’ refers to a traditional Ilocano dining table where family members and guests share the feast.

The city government said the festival was part of its efforts to strengthen food tourism by highlighting local culinary traditions and promoting the city’s food businesses.

Mindanao is on track to achieve a balance between renewable energy (RE) and ‘dirty’ and expensive fossil fuels – mostly coal – by 2030, with the Department of Energy (DOE) announcing the potential delivery of at least 1,000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy within the next three years.

Speaking during the 4th Mindanao Clean Energy Forum here last week, Energy Assistant Secretary Sabine Marie Romero acknowledged Mindanao’s ‘strong renewable energy foundation,’ citing the large combined capacity of state-owned hydroelectric power plants along the Agus and Pulangi rivers, which generate about 1,000 MW.

‘Mindanao is where RE can thrive,’ Romero said, noting that the region can lead the way for a clean energy future for the country.

Under the country’s nationally determined contribution to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, Mindanao had set a target of making RE constitute half of the region’s energy mix by 2030, at par with fossil fuels, mainly coal.

The Mindanao target is more ambitious than the national goal of getting RE at 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

According to a study by the multistakeholder Mindanao Renewable Energy Acceleration and Coordination Hub, the region requires 1,400 MW of additional installed RE capacity to achieve the 50:50 goal by 2030.

Romero noted that as of July this year, the DOE had recorded 25 committed RE projects that have a total potential capacity of 1,026 MW, expected to be delivered between 2026 and 2029. Of these, the bulk-or some 675.96 MW-are solar capacities.

She said the DOE forecast RE to reach 56 percent of Mindanao’s energy mix by 2030 ‘if all committed and green energy auction projects come online as scheduled.’

Attracting investments

Based on DOE data, RE share in Mindanao’s total installed energy capacity is 32.5 percent in 2025, while 35 percent in gross power generation, 20 percent coming from hydro.

According to Romero, the agency had put in place policies and programs to further attract RE investments in the country, such as easing foreign ownership limit, preferential dispatch of all RE resources in the wholesale electricity spot market, and coming up with a framework for the development of offshore wind resources.

Throughout the country, the DOE set a 10-year green energy auction plan that will offer a cumulative total of 25 gigawatts (GW) of RE capacity that will deliver power from 2027 to 2035.

For Mindanao, Romero cited the 20 GW integrated renewable energy and energy storage system, 20 MW roof-mounted solar, and 175 MW run-of-river hydro, which will be offered in upcoming green energy auctions.

She emphasized that there is a need to ensure that the energy is ‘reliable, affordable and sustainable’ so that it can power Mindanao’s industrialization, agribusiness expansion, urbanization and the rise of micro, small and medium enterprises.

‘Every megawatt we build must answer’ the needs of the people, she said, adding the need for transmission and distribution assets in the region to be ready to handle the increased generation capacity.

Cheap option

Ben Cyrus Ellorin, project director of Consumers for Renewable Energy Action in Mindanao, welcomed the ‘DOE buy-in’ of the push to accelerate the building of RE capacities in Mindanao and throughout the country.

Ellorin noted that Mindanao became dependent on coal-fed capacities in 2016, when the aging Agus and Pulangi plants could no longer cater to the region’s expanding needs, prompting distribution utilities to forge long-term supply contracts with coal-fired plants that sidelined RE capacities.

The shift to RE acquired a backdrop of urgency as fossil fuel prices had steadily climbed, especially due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, raising electricity rates in the region, he added.

‘Renewable energy is the cheapest option today,’ said energy planner Alberto Dalusung III, energy transition adviser of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities.

Dalusung said that moving forward, energy planning in the region must be sensitive to the needs of industries that support massive job creation, citing, for one, the planned expansion of a steel-making plant in Davao.

Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro, Mindanao Development Authority deputy executive director, emphasized the need for reliable and affordable energy to further drive Mindanao’s ‘phenomenal growth,’ inviting RE investors to locate on the island to help sustain its development

Dalusung noted that several path-breaking efforts for RE were started in Mindanao, such as the first solar power farm and a hydropower plant designed to run in tandem with a solar capacity, all in Misamis Oriental, and a biomass power facility in Maguindanao del Norte.

Ballistics tests have linked evidence recovered from the killing of broadcaster Adrian Loterte in Daraga, Albay, to a .45-caliber handgun associated with an earlier shooting investigation, the Bicol police said on Wednesday.

The PNP Forensic Group’s Firearms Identification Section established the match after examining bullet slugs and cartridge cases recovered from the crime scene and comparing their ballistic characteristics with evidence on record.

The findings gave investigators a concrete lead in identifying those responsible for Loterte’s killing, police said, but did not disclose details of the earlier shooting incident.

Loterte, an anchor of RBN News Television’s online program ‘Rabas Cun Rabas’ and a freelance broadcaster for DWIZ FM, was tending to his bakery in Barangay San Roque, Daraga on Oct. 12 when two unidentified gunmen attacked him. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead later that afternoon.

The motive for the killing is still undetermined.

Investigators are pursuing the lead provided by the ballistics report and are using forensic evidence and intelligence information to identify Loterte’s attackers.

The Visayas Grid will still be on red and yellow alerts on Thursday, Oct. 29, said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

In an advisory, the NGCP said the Visayas Grid will be placed under red alert from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

However, it will first be placed under yellow alert from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and then later from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

According to the NGCP a red alert is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the grid’s regulating requirement, while a yellow alert means the operating margin is insufficient to meet the grid’s contingency requirement.

To note, the NGCP said the visayas grid’s current available capacity is only at 2,408 megawatts (MW), while its peak demand exceeds this at 2,555MW.

Among the factors cited by the NGCP that contributed to the alert declaration is the unavailability of Visayas’ large coal plants TVI 1, TVI 2, and KSPC 1, as well as the limited power imports from Mindanao due to the planned outages of GNPK 4 and TSI 2.

The NGCP also noted that 10 plants have been on forced outage since October, two more since September, three since August, one plant since June, three plants since May, three other plants since 2025, another one since 2024, two plants since 2023, and one plant since 2021.

Meanwhile, 18 plants are running on derated capacities, for a total of 796MW unavailable to the grid.

Kris Aquino said she would consider pursuing public service if she were healthy, particularly through the Department of Health (DOH) where she hopes to make medicines more affordable and accessible.

Kris spoke about this during her television reunion with her close friend and longtime co-host Boy Abunda, as seen on the episode of the latter’s ‘Fast Talk with Boy Abunda’ on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The show host asked, ‘Given the chance and at sa awa ng Diyos na ika’y maging healthy, papasukin mo ang politika?’

‘Yes,’ the Queen of All Media immediately answered, although she noted, ‘But I’m not healthy.’

Kris shared that it was the path her late father, former Sen. Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquiño Jr., had always thought she would pursue.

‘But we need a miracle, you know. Hindi ibibigay lahat,’ she added.

‘But ako, if ever, sana ma-appoint ako ng kung sino man ang mahahalal na maging DOH, kasi sa experience ko,’ she said. ‘And alam nilang hindi ako magnanakaw. ‘Yung mapababa lang ang cost ng gamot ang laking bagay na.’

‘And maybe by not taxing the importation of medicine so high, we can already make it so affordable,’ she continued.

During the interview, Kris also talked about her costly treatments and medications for her autoimmune diseases.

‘Mahal na mahal siya. And I have to thank my siblings because it’s been a family thing,’ she disclosed. ‘And I was so proud na nung September, may mga endorsements na pumasok. So I said, ‘You only have to share 1/3 na lang kasi 2/3 kaya ko na.”

She further revealed that the property she and her sons are currently leasing belongs to actress Anne Curtis, who gave them a ‘ninang price’ for the lease as Bimby is her godchild.

‘Maswerte kami talaga in that aspect, kasi we need to be within 30 minutes of a tertiary hospital,’ she added.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) reported an 85 percent drop in net income in the first nine months of the year, as weaker gaming revenues and higher remittances for government nation-building projects weighed on earnings.

The state-run gaming regulator said in a statement that net income fell to P2.17 billion in the January-to-September period.

Total revenues declined 23.41 percent year-on-year to P64.41 billion, reflecting softer earnings from gaming operations and related services.

Revenue from gaming operations, Pagcor’s main income source, fell 23.44 percent to P58.13 billion. Electronic gaming, the agency’s largest revenue contributor, fell more sharply by 37.23 percent to P27.63 billion.

Revenue from licensed casinos also weakened, falling 3.22 percent to P23.10 billion.

Pagcor’s Casino Filipino branches posted an 8 percent drop in revenue to P7.28 billion, while income from poker operations fell 4.6 percent to P105.86 million.

Earnings from related services declined 38.59 percent to P3.04 billion, while other income was nearly flat at P3.23 billion.

Meanwhile, a Supreme Court ruling requiring Pagcor to remit 5 percent of its gross revenues to the Philippine Sports Commission–nearly double the previous remittance levels to the sports agency–also weighed on earnings. Data showed Pagcor remitted P3.01 billion to the sports commission in the first nine months.

Overall, the gaming regulator spent P45.28 billion supporting the government’s nation-building efforts and meeting other statutory obligations.

‘We will continue to pursue responsible and sustainable operations while ensuring that the gaming industry adheres to regulatory standards,’ Pagcor chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said.

In August, Tengco told lawmakers that Pagcor may generate nearly P87 billion in income this year, following government efforts to curb online gambling addiction. He also said the war in the Middle East and the resulting inflation flare-up have weighed on gambling activity.

For 2027, the gaming regulator aims to generate P88.33 billion in income and would earmark about P63 billion for nation-building programs.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp on Thursday dismissed discussions about her possible replacement as ‘premature’ and called them a ‘distraction’ from the ‘serious issues’ surrounding her impeachment.

Duterte’s camp made the statement after several senators raised the issue, including Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who recently urged his colleagues to reject any offer from Malacañang to take over the country’s second-highest post should the vice president be convicted.

‘Discussions on possible replacements for the Vice President are not only premature, they are a distraction from the serious issues hounding the impeachment,’ Duterte’s spokesperson Atty. Paolo Panelo Jr. said in a statement.

Panelo said these issues include the Senate Impeachment Court’s alleged lack of fairness and impartiality, the supposed unconstitutionality of lowering the threshold for conviction, and other due process violations such as the alleged denial of Duterte’s fair opportunity to refute Articles I and IV, as well as what he described as the Senate majority’s lack of outrage over the time and public funds purportedly wasted when the prosecution withdrew the two articles.

‘These issues raise grave doubts as to whether a conviction by the Senate Impeachment Court, and any consequent attempt to install a replacement, would rest on any solid legal and moral foundation,’ the lawyer claimed.

Panelo, in the same statement, also reiterated that replacing the vice president would not solve the country’s most urgent crises such as the soaring inflation, the worsening effects of the Super El Niño and the sharp slowdown in economic growth.

According to Panelo, the impeachment proceedings have only made it clear how the current administration prioritizes political maneuvering over issues ‘that matter most to ordinary Filipinos: putting food on the table, keeping the economy afloat, and securing the nation’s future.’

Meanwhile, the Palace also earlier tagged discussions on who should replace Duterte ‘too premature.’

The Department of Education (DepEd) is mobilizing teachers, tutors, and parents nationwide to strengthen mathematics learning recovery through the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Mathematics Program.

Under DepEd Memorandum No. 060, s. 2026, ARAL Mathematics will be implemented in public elementary and secondary schools for grades 1 through 10 beginning in the school year 2026-2027, according to a DepEd statement on Wednesday.

The program uses assessment results to identify students who require support and provides structured, practice-based, and self-paced tutoring to help them achieve grade-level mathematics proficiency.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized the value of using assessment results.

‘Children don’t experience the same difficulties in mathematics,’ he said in Filipino.

‘For some, basic counting is hard. For others, it’s arithmetic operations. And there are also more complicated concepts. So it’s important that we identify where they need help and allow them to learn at their own pace, with sufficient guidance and support,’ he added.

To support the implementation, DepEd conducted a nationwide online seminar on Oct. 19 to orient teachers, tutors, school heads, and ARAL focal persons on implementation guidelines, tutoring sessions, and learning materials.

The webinar drew more than 26,000 live viewers nationwide. Learners are identified through the Rapid Mathematics Assessment (RMA), with priority given to those assessed as ‘not proficient’ or ‘low proficient.’ Schools may group students according to their identified needs and adjust interventions as their skills improve.

Based on the beginning-of-school-year assessment results, more than 11 million learners nationwide were identified as requiring additional support in mathematics, underscoring the importance of targeted intervention in numeracy and coordinated support from schools and families.

ARAL Mathematics uses structured worksheets that build mathematical skills through manageable, progressively challenging activities.

Sessions are designed for small groups, with a recommended tutor-to-learner ratio of 1:10 or a maximum of 1:15, ensuring more focused and personalized support.

Tutors serve as facilitators, guiding students through questions, hints, and feedback rather than relying on conventional lectures.

The program also uses Individual Mathematics Intervention Plans to monitor learner progress and adjust support according to identified learning needs.

Schools may conduct ARAL Mathematics through face-to-face, online, or blended sessions, depending on their resources and local conditions.

Sessions may also be scheduled during class hours, before or after classes, or through other arrangements, as approved at the division level and subject to the guidelines.

DepEd is also encouraging schools to engage parents in monitoring their children’s progress and reinforcing positive learning habits at home. Through school orientations and regular communication, families can better understand the support their children need and work with teachers and tutors throughout the intervention.

According to DepEd, it will continue supporting schools and field offices in implementing ARAL Mathematics through learner assessment, appropriate learning resources, tutor guidance, and progress monitoring, consistent with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen foundational learning.

It’s important that children who are having difficulty in math do not lose confidence. With the help of teachers, tutors, and parents, we can give them more opportunities to practice, inquire, and learn not to be afraid of hard questions. Every small improvement is a valuable step towards building a stronger foundation for learning,’ Angara said