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The Philippine Navy on Thursday said the Philippine Marine Corps has no custody over Orly Guteza, a former Marine sergeant who accused former Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez of receiving kickbacks from government projects.

The denial counters an earlier claim by former lawmaker Mike Defensor that Guteza was under the Marines’ protection.

‘It must be made clear that Mr. Orly Regala Guteza is not under the protection of the Philippine Marine Corps, which has no involvement in his personal affairs,’ said Philippine Navy spokesperson Capt. Marissa Martinez.

Martinez noted that Guteza retired on June 30, 2020.

‘As a retired serviceman, he no longer falls under the administrative authority of the Philippine Navy,’ Martinez said. ‘Any engagements or interactions he may have at present are undertaken in his personal capacity.’

After his retirement, Guteza said he was hired as a security aide of Co in December 2024.

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta has said that Defensor introduced Guteza, who expressed willingness to testify against lawmakers.

Guteza, then introduced by Marcoleta, appeared before the Senate blue ribbon committee in September, claiming that he delivered suitcases of cash to the homes of Co and Romualdez in his sworn testimony. Both lawmakers vehemently denied Guteza’s accusations.

Guteza’s sworn statement also claimed Petchie Rose Espera notarized the document, a claim Espera later denied.

A Manila court found Guteza’s sworn statement to be falsified or containing the forged signature of a notary public.

Guteza has yet to make a public appearance since the Sept. 25 Senate hearing. He also did not show up in court despite being summoned twice in connection with Espera’s incident report.

Former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez has taken her oath as the new chairperson of the National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC), a week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed her to the said post.

Photos sent to the media on Thursday showed Gutierrez taking her oath before Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo in a ceremony attended by her children, including Justice Undersecretary Margarita Gutierrez.

Aside from Gutierrez’ daughters, also present were Assistant Secretary Jomar Canlas from the Office of the Executive Secretary, former Special Prosecutor Atty. Wendell Sulit, and FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe Llamanzares.

Gutierrez, the first woman Ombudsman of the country, has been to different offices over her career. Prior to her Ombudsman post, she used to be the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and held different positions at the Department of Justice-at one point as acting secretary.

The former Ombudsman grabbed headlines recently after she was one of the past and present Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) officials who asked GSIS president and general manager Jose Arnulfo ‘Wick’ Veloso to resign due to ‘poor investment decisions.’

In a letter, Gutierrez, a GSIS board member who chaired the state-run insurer’s legal oversight committee, along with other GSIS officials said that Veloso was pursuing risky investments ‘marked by a disturbing lack of transparency.’

Aside from Gutierrez, the following officials signed the letter: Emmanuel de Leon Samson, chair of the risk oversight committee; Rita Riddle, chair of the audit committee; Evelina Escudero, board member; and former board members Jocelyn de Guzman Cabreza and Alan Luga.

‘Your continued presence at the helm of the GSIS puts the welfare of its 2.6 million members-dedicated public servants who have entrusted their life savings and future security to this institution-in imminent danger,’ they wrote.

‘The primary mandate of the GSIS is to manage its funds with utmost prudence, diligence, and loyalty. Your current trajectory suggests a departure from this sacred mandate, prioritizing transactions that serve interests other than those of the members,’ they added.

Gutierrez, Samson, and Riddle eventually submitted their respective resignations to Marcos, citing deep divisions over Veloso’s investment strategies.

This paved the way for Gutierrez’s appointment to the NCSC, where she said she aims to champion policies and programs that will enhance the lives of senior citizens, while ensuring their voices are heard and their contributions to society are recognized.

Three individuals were arrested after a suspected shabu worth P3.4 million was seized during a joint buy-bust operation on Wednesday in Quezon City, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said on Thursday.

The joint operation conducted by the PDEA, and the Philippine National Police at Alley 10, Barangay Pansol, Quezon City led to the arrest of alias ‘Rich’, 44 years old; alias ‘Pam’, 47 years old; and alias ‘Gibs’, 45 years old, which were all residents of Quezon City.

The authorities confiscated approximately 500 grams of suspected shabu. PDEA said the illegal drug, placed inside a brown paper bag, was recovered along with boodle money, a cellular android phone, and an identification card.

PDEA noted that the suspects will be facing charges for Violation of Section 5, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Matas Buzelis scored 27 points, and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Sacramento Kings 126-113 in the NBA on Wednesday night to remain unbeaten.

Chicago improved to 4-0, its best start since 2021-22.

Josh Giddey had 20 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Chicago. Kevin Huerter added 18 points for the Bulls, who shot 53.8% from the field.

Sacramento’s Zach LaVine scored 30 points in his return to Chicago. He played for the Bulls from 2018 until he was traded to the Kings before the All-Star break last season. The Bulls played a video tribute to him during the first quarter.

DeMar DeRozan, another former Bull, scored 19 points for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Kings, who lost their third straight. The Kings shot 53.1% from the field but made just 7 of 28 3-pointers.

Sacramento visited defending champion Oklahoma City on Tuesday night and left with a hard-fought 107-101 loss. The Kings had enough energy to lead 64-62 at halftime, but the Bulls outscored the Kings 64-49 after the break.

The Bulls used a 39-27 third quarter to take a 101-91 lead. They shot 65.4% from the field in the period and had 14 assists. Giddey had five assists in the quarter.

The Bulls extended their lead to 17 points in the fourth.

Alex Eala bowed out in the round of 16 of the Hong Kong Open after falling to No. 3 seed Victoria Mboko of Canada, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, on Thursday.

Eala blew a 4-1 lead in the third set, as Mboko caught fire and won five straight games to advance to the quarterfinal against No.6 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

The 19-year-old Mboko, currently the world No. 21 player with a Women’s Tennis Association 1000 title at home in the Canadian Open, admitted it was tough to beat her friend in front of the predominantly pro-Filipino crowd.

‘I wanna first congratulate Alex for an amazing match. It’s never easy to play one of your friends. And I’ve known her for such a long time, so that made it a little bit emotional,’ said Mboko.

‘I also wanna thank those who came to support today. I know that there’s so many Filipinos here to support Alex, and this is what this sports is all about. I love the support you came today and made the match more intense and super tough for me. I think I really had to fight for every single point. And I think it was an unbelievable match.’

In her final tournament of the season, the 20-year-old Alex absorbed her fifth three-set loss in her last six singles exits across Jingshan, Suzhou, Wuhan, Japan, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.

Still, it was a breakthrough year for Eala, who climbed into the world’s top 75 after a dream semifinal run in the Miami Open and achieved a career-best ranking of No. 51.

Eala also competed in Grand Slams, including the Philippines’ first-ever US Open main draw win when she took down Clara Tauson in the first round and got her first WTA title in the Guadalajara 125 open.

Eala started strong in the first set, racing to a 3-0 lead before Mboko tied it at 3-all. The Rafa Nadal Academy product held her composure to take the set before the Canadian rallied back.

Earlier, Eala advanced to the round of 16 after Katie Boulter of the United Kingdom retired midway through the second set, 6-4, 2-1, on Tuesday evening.

On Monday, Eala also exited the Hong Kong Open doubles event after she and Hao-Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei fell to Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia and Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, 6-3, 1-6, 7-10.

A driver and a cyclist clashed in a now viral video of road rage in Marikina City, police confirmed.

An incident report obtained by Inquirer showed that the event transpired at approximately 8:30 a.m. on October 28 along Gil Fernando Avenue, Brgy. Sto Niño in Marikina City.

The drivers involved were identified as 41-year-old Lord Wally Miranda Pangan and 40-year-old Enrico Paulo Turya, both residents of Marikina.

‘Based on the investigation conducted by this office, at approximately 8:30 a.m., while responding officers were patrolling along Gil Fernando Avenue, they were approached by a delivery rider. The rider informed the officers that two motorists were engaged in a fistfight in front of Suzuki Motors on Gil Puyat,’ the report reads.

Shortly after this, the officers proceeded to the scene, intervened, and spoke with both parties – discovering that the two motorists wanted to file formal charges against each other.

‘Given their initial decision, the responding officers resolved to escort the individuals to the Station Vehicular Traffic Investigation Unit. However, the responding officers were later summoned back and advised that the incident should be endorsed to the Investigation and Detective Management Section because there was no actual collision between the vehicles,’ the report states.

The involved parties were then interviewed by the assigned investigator. Following the consultation with the investigator, both the driver and the cyclist decided to settle the matter amicably and reach an agreement.

In a text message to the Inquirer on Thursday, Eastern Police District Public Information Officer Police Major General Cherry Agtarap said the road rage incident transpired merely because the car driver honked at the cyclist, which made the latter angry.

Citing the now-viral video, Agtarap said the car driver got angry and honked because the cyclist was in the middle of the road, even though there was a designated bike lane.

Ahead of Undas, or the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, graves, mausoleums and columbariums are cleaned by their plot owners.

Those who can’t visit their loved one’s graves, or clean up the burial site of their loved ones, however, hire the help of caretakers.

Among these caretakers are 70-year-old ‘Nanay Baby’ (mother Baby), who withheld her last name; two of her children, three grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Nanay Baby has been cleaning gravestones all over Manila South Cemetery since 1991. She was in tandem with her husband but he died in 2020.

‘It was my husband and I who used to clean up here. But he died about 5 years ago already. Lung ailment. I let go of those graves that are far away,’ Nanay Baby said.

After 34 years of cleaning, she no longer remembers the number of plots they handled since they began this kind of work.

Since her husband died, she had let go of cleaning many of the graves.

Now, she and her family are in charge of eight to nine gravestones in Street B of the Manila South Cemetery.

This year, Nanay Baby and her family traveled all the way from Bulacan to Manila to take care of the plots in time for Undas.

They arrived in Manila on October 13 and are set to travel back on November 3.

For a little over half a month’s worth of work, and a few more days throughout the year, Nanay Baby said she is paid P1,000 to P1,200 per gravestone in a year.

The cleaning materials are bought out of their own pockets.

‘This is now our only source of income,’ she said.

Nowadays, the rate of caretakers can be as high as P300 per month or P3,600, triple of what Nanay Baby charges.

According to her, she doesn’t ask for more payment since she’s been caring for the graves for a very long time – some of the plots she has been cleaning since 1991.

During these days, her work has become a family affair.

Even in the middle of rain, her great-grandchildren – the youngest is 7 years old – were sweeping the leaves on top of the gravestones.

‘They are my companions every year as I clean up – my grandchildren, great-grandchildren’ she pointed to them with a smile.

Ironically, her husband remains in an urn at their house in Bulacan.

Nanay Baby wants to lay him to rest at a cemetery, if it were up to her.

It will be good if he is in a cemetery. But my children are against it. They want to just be with their father,’ she shared.

The exclusive contracts of NewJeans – composed of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – with ADOR were ruled valid by the Seoul Central District Court, citing ‘insufficient grounds’ for the girl group to end their ties with the label.

The court decision ruled in favor of ADOR by the 41st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday, Oct. 30. It stated that it was ‘difficult to conclude’ that the label ‘breached the exclusive contract’ with the K-pop quintet.

‘It is difficult to conclude that ADOR breached the exclusive contract solely by dismissing former CEO Min Hee-jin,’ the court order said, per reports. ‘Even if Min Hee-jin was removed from the CEO position, she could have performed producer duties as a director on the board, and it was not necessary for her to remain CEO to do so.’

‘Even after dismissing former CEO Min Hee-jin, ADOR continued efforts to carry on management work with the defendants and considering preparations for album releases, performances and fan meetings, and advertising and tour plans, it is difficult to conclude that the plaintiff (ADOR) neglected its management obligations,’ it added.

The court was referring to former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, who was dismissed in August 2024 following a clash with the top executives of HYBE (ADOR’s parent corporation), regarding the management of NewJeans’ activities.

It was also pointed out that Min’s dismissal had ‘no clause’ in the girl group’s contract that constitutes grounds for validity in the latter’s ties, noting that their ‘great trust’ in the former CEO is not ‘grounds to terminate the exclusive contract’ as well.

The court also stated that Min’s exposé alleging that ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM were copies of NewJeans’ concept was made with ‘the purpose of achieving independence,’ instead of protecting the ‘Super Shy’ hitmakers. At the same time, it also didn’t accept the ‘Attention’ singers’ claim of them suggesting alleged workplace harassment in the company.

‘Based on the evidence submitted alone, it is difficult to conclude that Hanni heard remarks from a manager of ILLIT – such as ‘ignore her’ – that rose to the level of infringing her personality rights. ADOR took sufficient steps to verify Hanni’s account including promptly requesting that HYBE review relevant CCTV footage after the issue was raised,’ it said.

NewJeans to appeal decision

Following the court’s decision, NewJeans’ legal representative Shin and Kim LLC said it is ‘impossible’ for the quintet to return to ADOR due to ‘completely collapsed’ trust.

‘For the lawsuit filed by ADOR against the members for the confirmation of the validity of their exclusive contracts, the Seoul Central District Court ruled at the court of first instance today that the exclusive contracts are valid,’ their statement read.

‘The members respect the court’s decision, but given that their relationship of trust with ADOR has completely collapsed, they believe it is impossible to return to ADOR and continue their activities in the entertainment industry in a normal manner,’ it continued.

As a result, Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein plan to appeal the first-instance ruling.

‘They hope the appellate court will once again comprehensively review the facts to date and the legal principles governing termination of the exclusive contracts and render a wise judgment,’ it said. ‘Lastly, we would like to express sincere gratitude to the fans who are waiting and showing support for this long period of time.’

Since their contract dispute in late 2024, the girl group has remained inactive – although some would make brief appearances at brand launches – in the entertainment industry.

They also announced earlier this year that they would rebrand as NJZ. However, their appearance at the ComplexCon show in Hong Kong last March was their last performance as a five-member unit thus far.

It appears that the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) is also haunted by ghosts – not by ghosts like the flood control projects, but by actual ghosts spooking out visitors and residents alike.

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. was interviewed on a DZMM radio program on Thursday to discuss the agency’s e-dalaw initiative, which allows inmates to virtually visit the resting places of their departed loved ones for the commemoration of All Souls’ Day.

But instead of the discussion focusing solely on the program, the conversation turned into a Halloween special after Catapang revealed that they would be holding a Holy Mass at the NBP cemetery, as many ‘souls’ roam the grounds.

‘Of course, there are souls whom we need to pray for also [.] that’s why on Sunday, we will hold Mass at our cemeteries, including all those in our penal colonies, so that we can celebrate their lives,’ Catapang said in Filipino. ‘Because you know, BuCor is very famous for ghost stories.’

Catapang then said that even his residence, dubbed the ‘White House,’ has been haunted so badly that a priest refused to bless the area alone, saying he needed reinforcements.

‘In the area where I reside, there is a White House inside BuCor, with its own quarters [.] it is literally a White House because you cannot turn off the lights. Once you turn the lights off, the ghosts will come out,’ Catapang noted.

‘There was even a priest who visited because of several incidents. The priest said, ‘Sir, there are many souls here,’ since he seemed to be experienced in exorcism. But then the priest said, ‘Sir, I can’t do this alone, I need two more priests to calm down the spirits here.’ That’s true, no joke – you can even ask the priest we talked to,’ he added, speaking in Filipino.

The advice given to him, Catapang said, was to spray holy water over his bed before sleeping.

‘There are many lost souls in our cemetery at BuCor. You know, of course, a lot of people died there, for reasons we can’t always explain. Some said they just suddenly died because of COVID, remember?’ he said.

‘That’s the reason – one of my housemates once turned off the light, even though we warned him not to. When he did, he saw someone staring at him. That’s why when I sleep, I follow the advice: ‘Sir, get some holy water and spray it on your bed for protection,” he added.

Ghost stories have long been tied to the observance of All Souls’ Day due to its connection with Día de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead, which is celebrated in Mexico.

But the Roman Catholic Church has frowned upon the proliferation of ghost stories during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, believing that such practices undermine the solemnity of the commemoration.

Just this Sunday, Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy called on Catholics to reclaim the ‘true Christian meaning’ of Halloween by celebrating holiness instead of ‘horror.’

In his pastoral message titled ‘Children of God, Not of Darkness,’ the Cebu prelate urged parents, teachers, and parish leaders to guide children in choosing costumes and activities that reflect Christian virtues.

‘Let us guide our children to dress as saints, not as demons; as angels, not as monsters,’ Uy said. ‘Let their joy reflect the beauty of holiness, not the ugliness of sin.’

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines as early as 2019 has called on Filipinos to focus on the solemnity of commemorating All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day – ruing the public ‘gimmick’ in lieu of celebrating ‘Undas.’

Aboitiz Power Corp. announced on Thursday its decision to invest $220 million to acquire 25 percent interest in a Vietnamese firm that operates a 1,320-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power facility.

The equity stake in Van Phong Power Co. Limited (VPCL) would be purchased from Sumitomo Corporation.

‘This marks a pivotal moment in AboitizPower’s history as it represents the company’s first significant investment outside of the Philippines,’ the company said in a statement.

According to Aboitiz Power, the power plant has an existing 25-year power purchase deal with Vietnam’s national utility, Vietnam Electricity.