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Coco Martin revealed that he received offers to do Philippine adaptations of K-dramas, but declined them, saying he would rather focus on boosting our own entertainment industry.

Martin admitted that he is not a fan of K-dramas in a media con for his joint venture with filmmaker Erik Matti and film producer Dondon Monteverde.

‘Ang nasa isip namin ay buhayin ang pelikulang Pilipino. alam niyo po ba merong projects na ino-offer sa’kin na bakit hindi ka mag-remake ng Korean [drama], sabi ko, hindi ko sinasabi na [ayaw ko], hindi lang ako fan. Nanghihinayang kasi ako sa talento ng mga Pilipino,’ he said.

(What we have in mind is to keep Filipino films alive. Did you know that I received offers to do remakes of Korean dramas? It’s not like I don’t want to do them. I’m just not a fan of them. I feel like Filipino talents may go to waste.)

The actor-director stressed that the Philippine entertainment industry has a lot to offer in terms of storytelling and culture.

‘Napakaraming kwento, napakaganda ng kultura ng Pilipino, napakarami pa natin pwedeng i-share sa buong mundo,’ he said. ‘So kung gagawa akong proyekto, dapat gawang akin, ‘yung orihinal, ‘yung ipagmamalaki. Kasi kung sakaling sumikat ang teleserye, alam nating gawang atin ‘yun.’

(There are a lot of stories. Filipino culture is so beautiful. There are still a lot of things to share with the world. So, if I must do a project, it needs to be my own. It needs to be original. Because if a teleserye gets famous, we know it is ours.) Since Martin is set to star as Andres Bonifacio in the upcoming film ‘Maypagasa: The Battles of Andres Bonifacio,’ the actor expressed his support for the film ‘Quezon,’ a biopic of the second Philippine president, Manuel L. Quezon.

With this in mind, he believes that more films should be made about the country’s historical figures.

‘Natutuwa ako sa success ng ‘Quezon’ kasi dapat natin ginugunita ito. Dapat lahat ng mga bata, pinag-aaralan ang history at kultura natin. Minsan nakakaligtaan na ito, kung paano na tayo bilang Pilipino (I am happy to see the success of ‘Quezon,’ and we have to celebrate it. The children need to learn more about our history and culture. We sometimes forget this, and why we become the Filipinos we are today),’ he said.

The ‘Batang Quiapo’ star reiterated that history needs to be taught through films as well.

‘Kailangan natin malaman ang ating history at kung paano tayo nagsimula, sino ang mga bayani natin, lalo na sa nangyayari ngayon, sa politics natin ngayon (We need to know our history and how we started, who are our heroes, especially with what’s happening now in our current political landscape),’ he said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Vice President Sara Duterte should answer to reports that they received campaign donations from contractors, Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (TAMA NA) convenor, Prof. David San Juan challenged on Thursday.

During a press briefing, San Juan asked why only Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero has explained to the Commission on Elections the P30-M in donations found in his campaign fund, but the president and the vice president have yet to make a statement on the matter.

‘Sen. Chiz Escudero has already explained his campaign donations from contractors, but there are two people who have yet to explain: our president, BBM, and Vice President Sara Duterte – both of them received campaign donations from contractors, according to a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ),’ San Juan, speaking in Filipino, pointed out.

San Juan continued, addressing the president and the vice president, asking: ‘Mr. President BBM, and Madam Vice President Sara Duterte, should also explain. Is the PCIJ report true that you received campaign donations from contractors? And if it is true, is that appropriate?’

The professor also posed that if the campaign donations are true and are unlawful, Marcos Jr. and Duterte must be held accountable. In mid-September 2025, the PCIJ released a report alleging that the president and vice president ‘received tens of millions of pesos in campaign contributions from public works contractors.’ Under the Omnibus Election Code, candidates are prohibited from sourcing contributions ‘for purposes of partisan political activity . directly or indirectly’ from those doing business with the government.

PCIJ cited that Radulfo Hilot Jr., owner of Rudhil Construction and Enterprises Inc. in Zamboanga, contributed P20 million to Marcos Jr.’s 2022 campaign, while Jonathan Quirante, owner of Quirante Construction Corporation in Cebu donated P1 million.

According to PCIJ, the two contractors allegedly ‘benefited from a steep increase in the value of government contracts awarded to their firms,’ such as when Quirante Construction’s contracts reached P3 billion in 2023, and when Rudhil’s contracts reached P3.5 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, Duterte was reportedly a beneficiary of Glenn Escandor, owner of Genesis 88 whose company was awarded several public works contracts during the administration of the vice president’s father.

Escandor, through his realty company, paid for P19.9 million campaign advertisements for Duterte in 2022, the PCIJ reported.

Former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos on Thursday denied the accusations of Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco Kiko Barzaga that he and his nephew, 4Ps Party-list Rep. Jonathan Clement ‘JP’ Abalos, are involved in flood-control anomalies.

‘Dear Congressman Kiko Barzaga, I wish to clarify that during my tenure as Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), I had no involvement in any flood control projects. Furthermore, my nephew, Congressman JC Abalos, was not involved in any such undertakings,’ the older Abalos said in a social media post.

Abalos then pointed out that Barzaga ‘hurled unfounded and malicious accusations’ against them after the Cavite congressman failed to appear at an Ethics Committee headed by Cong. Abalos. During the Ethics Committee panel, Rep. Abalos discussed the possibility of Barzaga’s expulsion from Congress and prompted an inquiry into the Cavite representative’s alleged misconduct.

The ex-DILG secretary also gave advice to Barzaga, saying: ‘As public servants, our foremost responsibility is to the people. It would be proper to address the issues being discussed in the committee instead of resorting to baseless accusations.’

Abalos wished in prayer that Barzaga be ‘guided in the actions [he] will undertake moving forward.’ Through a video posted on social media on October 14, Barzaga accused the Abalos family of corruption and called for an investigation into them.

He alleged that Rep. Abalos has ‘plenty of involvement with the 2024 flood control budget anomalies.’

Barzaga also cited that Benhur Abalos was the DILG secretary ‘during the time when hundreds of billions of pesos were stolen from local DPWH projects.’ ‘I call for the investigation on the possible corruption of the Abalos family and their imprisonment if found guilty,’ he added.

Aiah Arceta of P-pop girl group BINI visited the Philippine Red Cross-Cebu Chapter’s emergency operations center to show support for the families affected by the recent earthquake in the province.

The Philippine Red Cross gave a glimpse of Arceta’s visit through a post on Facebook on Thursday, Oct. 16, describing the gesture as a ‘true bayanihan spirit.’

‘Aiah of the P-pop girl group BINI showed a true bayanihan spirit as she visited the Philippine Red Cross Cebu Chapter’s Emergency Operations Center, meeting and encouraging Red Cross Youth volunteers who have been tirelessly repacking and distributing relief goods for quake-affected families,’ read the post.

Along with her visit, Arceta donated 783 pieces of 2-meter sakoline, durable waterproof sheets used as temporary roofing and ground cover for families who lost their homes in the earthquake.

The P-pop idol previously organized a donation drive under her initiative Aiahdvocacy and was able to raise over ?440,000 in funds for earthquake victims in Cebu.

Arceta had already been engaged in charitable work even before the earthquake. Through her Aiahdvocacy project, she had conducted outreach initiatives in various communities.

On Sept. 30, a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of Cebu, with its epicenter near Bogo City. At least 76 people were killed, and more than 1,271 were injured. The quake damaged nearly 112,900 homes.

Following the calamity in Cebu, a magnitude-7.4 earthquake also struck off the Mindanao region on Oct. 10, which triggered tsunami warnings. Aftershocks are still being observed as of this writing.

A man was killed in a crocodile attack in a mangrove area along the Marabajay River in Barangay Rio Tuba, Bataraza town, Palawan, authorities confirmed on Wednesday.

According to the Coast Guard Station Southern Palawan, the body of the victim, identified as Leonard Casio, was recovered after an extensive search operation led by personnel from the Coast Guard Sub-Station (CGSS) Rio Tuba.

At around 2:49 a.m. on Wednesday, Joebel Fuentes, a resident of Barangay Calauag, Taytay, reported to authorities that Casio-his companion-had been dragged by a crocodile while they were in the mangrove area.

A search and rescue team was immediately dispatched, but the high tide, poor visibility, and warnings from residents about the dangerous presence of crocodiles in the area hindered their efforts.

The team temporarily suspended the search for safety reasons.

Operations resumed at 5:30 a.m., and after several hours of searching, Casio’s body was eventually found and retrieved later that day. The remains were brought to Barangay Rio Tuba, where family members positively identified the victim. His body was later transported to a funeral home in Brooke’s Point.

In a move to transform the way Filipino students receive their daily meals, Rep. Brian Poe of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-List has filed House Bill No. 2191, or the ‘National School Feeding Cloud Kitchens Act.’

The bill proposes a centralized, professionally managed system called the National School Feeding Cloud Kitchen System (NSFCKS)-to prepare and deliver safe, nutritious meals to schools nationwide, relieving teachers of non-teaching duties like cooking and procurement.

Currently, many public school teachers are burdened with food preparation, procurement, and even cooking for the School-Based Feeding Program, tasks that fall far outside their core responsibility of teaching. HB 2191 addresses this by establishing strategically located School Feeding Cloud Kitchens that will handle meal production at scale, ensuring consistent quality, food safety, and cost efficiency through economies of scale.

The bill also creates a National School Feeding Council, composed of key agencies-including the Department of Education (DepEd, Department of Health (DOH), DSWD, Department of Agriculture (DA), and DOST-FNRI, as well as local government units, parents, teachers, and private sector partners. This council will develop a national master plan, set nutrition and safety standards, and foster public-private partnerships to ensure long-term sustainability.

As Poe emphasized in his sponsorship speech: ‘Teachers will be fully relieved from food preparation and procurement. Their role will be to supervise meal distribution and integrate nutrition education into their teaching, allowing them to focus on what they do best: educating our children.’

The Cloud Kitchen System is not just about food, it’s about building a modern, efficient, and accountable national feeding program that supports both student health and teacher effectiveness. HB 2191 complements House Bill No. 1193, which expands the National Feeding Program to include secondary school students. HB1193 amends the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa sa Batang Pilipino Act to ensure that undernourished learners from kindergarten through Grade 12 receive at least one fortified meal daily for 120 days each year.

As Rep. Poe notes in his speech, ‘According to the World Bank, childhood undernutrition cost the Philippine economy around USD 4.4 billion, equivalent to 1.5% of our GDP in 2015,’ and ‘the Expanded National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute reveals that adolescents aged 10 to 19 years old, especially those in rural areas and poor households, show higher rates of stunting and malnutrition than their urabn counterparts.’

He added, ‘This period-adolescence-is a critical stage for growth, learning, and emotional development. Yet, many of our secondary students attend class hungry, struggling to focus, and unable to perform to their full potential.’

Together, these bills ensure that ‘every Filipino learner-from kindergarten to senior high school-has access to nutritious meals that support both body and mind.’

Britney Spears’s former husband Kevin Federline made several claims against the pop singer through his memoir ‘You Thought You Knew,’ including allegations of her cheating on him with a woman as well as the apparent concerning behavior she has exhibited toward their sons.

In an excerpt from the book-set to launch on Oct. 21-released by foreign media outlets, Federline narrated how he allegedly caught Spears ‘making out’ with one of her female staffers during a concert tour in Europe.

Federline said he decided to leave and fly back to the United States because of what he witnessed, but that Spears begged him to stay. After the fight, he noted that their relationship changed as the singer became ‘more intentional, more thoughtful’ about them.

Federline also spoke about incidents which their sons Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19, supposedly experienced under the care of Spears.

‘They would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep – ‘Oh, you’re awake?’ – with a knife in her hand. Then she’d turn around and pad off without explanation,’ Federline reportedly said in the book.

Downward spiral for Spears

Speaking about why he made a tell-all, Federline said he has done so because the pop star’s ‘situation’ is ‘racing toward something irreversible.’

‘Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces,’ he stated, expressing concern for Spears.

‘Now, more than ever, [our children] need your support. I’ve been their buffer for years, but now it’s bigger than me. It’s time to sound the alarm,’ he said. In a separate interview, Federline further disclosed that the night prior to their wedding, Spears allegedly reached out to her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake and gave him a ring for closure.

‘Constant gaslighting’

Spears responded to Federline via a statement on her Instagram page on Thursday, Oct. 16, explaining her relationship with her sons.

‘The constant gaslighting from ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting. I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys,’ she said.

‘Relationships with teenage boys is complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life,’ she continued. ‘Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by own father for me. They need to take responsibility for themselves.’

Spears then slammed Federline’s memoir and the apparent ‘white lies’ in it.

‘Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here,’ she said.

‘I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same,’ she added. A representative for Spears also earlier released a statement on the matter, accusing Federline of ‘profiting off her.’

‘With news from Kevin’s book breaking, once again he and others are profiting off her and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin. All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James and their well-being during this sensationalism. She detailed her journey in her memoir [The Woman in Me],’ it read.

Trina Legaspi and her non-showbiz husband Ryan Jarina were joined by their loved ones and celebrity friends as they welcomed Karis Rinnah, the couple’s second child, to the Christian world.

The former ‘Goin’ Bulilit’ star gave a glimpse of the intimate gathering through her Instagram page on Tuesday, Oct. 14, saying they held both a Roman Catholic and Christian baptism for their daughter.

‘Our miracle baby – Karis, which means Grace of God finally welcomed into the Christian world through both her Catholic and Christian baptism,’ the actress said in the caption. ‘So grateful for this beautiful day filled with love and joy.’

Legaspi expressed her gratitude to those who celebrated the occasion with them, among them were fellow celebrities Rocco Nacino, his wife Melissa Gohing, as well as Dianne Medina. Legaspi and Jarina tied the knot in a church wedding in November 2021, then welcomed their firstborn Kaela in March 2023.

The couple announced their second pregnancy in December 2024, around six months before the actress gave birth to Karis.

Around 400 Alternative Learning System (ALS) learners were awarded micro-certificates from the Department of Education (DepEd) in the past week, recognizing that they have real-life skills for employment, DepEd announced.

ALS is an alternative form of instruction for out-of-school youth, adults, and senior citizens that aims to provide formal credentials for essential competencies needed in further education and employment.

During the awarding ceremony of the Micro-Certification Program, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara commended the ALS learners, saying they are ‘proof that achieving life goals doesn’t have to be quick,’ he was quoted in the statement on Thursday. According to DepEd, the ALS Micro-Certification for Life Skills Program assesses the learners’ life skills through self-ratings, teachers, and the community.

The agency has partnerships with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and local government units to ensure that the alternative program is grounded on employability and community participation.

Studies from DepEd, Unicef, the Australian Council for Educational Research and the University of Melbourne from 2022 to 2025 validated the ‘reliability of assessing life skills through micro-certifications,’ DepEd said. DepEd also shared that a total of 2,854 ALS learners have received micro-certificates following pilot implementations in school division offices (SDOs) in Manila, Aurora, Batangas, Iriga, Lapu-Lapu, Misamis Oriental, Davao City, and South Cotavato. Additionally, DepEd stated that it plans on ‘expanding certification tools, scaling up to other SDOs, and integrating results into ALS improvement frameworks.’