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NNPCL to resume oil exploration in Borno

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has secured a fresh commitment from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to resume oil exploration activities in the state.

Governor Zulum announced the breakthrough on Wednesday after hosting a high-level NNPCL delegation, led by Board Chairman Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida, at the Government House in Maiduguri.

The strategic meeting focused on bolstering energy development and jump-starting exploratory drilling within the Borno (Lake Chad) Basin.

Governor Zulum noted that Borno possesses enormous commercial hydrocarbon potential and shares borders with three countries.

He expressed optimism that resuming the exploration drive would fundamentally transform the state’s economy and unlock vast regional wealth.

However, this renewed push for exploration in the Lake Chad Basin came at a time when President Bola Tinubu signed Executive Order 9, which halted the NNPCL from deducting the 30% Frontier Exploration Fund at source and redirected all oil and gas revenues into the Federation Account.

The policy shift stripped the national oil company of its authority to manage or retain the 30% profit oil and gas allocation previously designated for frontier exploration under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Critics warn that altering the funding mechanism could slow down capital-intensive projects in northern inland basins, including Kolmani in the Gongola Basin, the Bida Basin, the Benue Trough, and Lake Chad.

While welcoming the renewed oil exploration commitments, Governor Zulum did not shy away from pressing the NNPCL leadership on critical local infrastructure. He voiced deep concern over the protracted delay in upgrading the Maiduguri Emergency Power Plant.

The Governor expressed dismay that despite necessary materials having been on-site for approximately two years, the critical project, designed to stabilize and improve electricity supply to Maiduguri and its environs, remains incomplete.

He urged the NNPCL management to intervene decisively to ensure the swift completion of the plant, underscoring its direct impact on the socio-economic well-being of the state’s citizens.

Responding on behalf of the delegation, Engr. Kida assured Governor Zulum of the company’s readiness to fast-track the resumption of oil exploration in the Borno Basin.

He also promised to address the bottlenecks stalling the emergency power plant project, while commending the Governor for creating a secure and investment-friendly environment in the state.

Planters, labor groups decry low sugar prices

The Sugar Council and labor groups in Negros are calling on the Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Regulatory Administration to urgently address low mill-gate prices of sugar, warning that current market rates are threatening the survival of local farmers.

The council-composed of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations, the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers-issued the call on Monday along with the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and the Democratic Association of Labor Organizations.

‘Unreasonable gap’

The groups noted that market data from the first weeks of October showed average raw sugar mill-gate price in Negros Occidental hovering at around P2,600 per 50-kilogram bag (LKg).

They noted that while this rate was previously approved by producers, rising input costs and diminished farm productivity have made it already unviable.

The group is now pushing for a baseline mill-gate price of at least P2,900 per LKg to help planters cover surging expenses for fertilizer, fuel hauling and farm labor.

‘The current price, in our opinion, reflects an unreasonable gap between prevailing retail prices for raw sugar (a low of P73 per kilo or P3,650 per bag) versus offered price of P2,600 per bag or equivalent to P52 per kilo,’ they said in a joint statement.

‘The P1,050-per-bag disparity between retail and mill-gate prices reveals an exorbitant price gap that remains difficult to justify, even after accounting for the legitimate margins of traders, wholesalers, repackers, and retailers,’ the statement added.

The appeal comes as sugarcane fields struggle to recover from widespread damage caused by red-striped soft scale insect infestations and poor weather conditions. Field reports indicate low tonnage and reduced sugar recovery, compounding financial strain on producers.

According to a comparative study cited by the group, a planter averaging a low yield of 65 net tons of cane per hectare and 1.5 LKg per ton of cane, requires a minimum mill-gate price of P2,900 per bag just to break even under current field conditions.

At the current P2,600 market rate, small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries are operating at a loss, the groups said.

The coalition warned that without government intervention, farmers will lack the resources to finance inputs for the next cropping season.

This ongoing shortfall risks further lowering sugarcane supply for already stressed mills, triggering a cycle of mounting losses across the entire sugar industry chain, the coalition added.

Subsidy hike

In Bukidnon, sugarcane growers are urging local sugar mills to increase trucking subsidies to P250 per metric ton as volatile global oil prices continue to push up farm transportation costs. The call came ahead of the milling kickoff in the province on Nov. 9.

Jude Palmada of the Sugarcane Growers Association of Bukidnon Inc., the province’s largest sugarcane group representing over 12,000 member-planters, told the Inquirer that Bukidnon’s two major sugar mills, Busco Sugar Milling Co. Inc. and Crystal Sugar Co. Inc. (CSCI), had previously granted a subsidy increase from P170 to P200 per ton.

However, the continued global fuel price shocks have prompted the province’s estimated 20,000 sugarcane farmers to petition for an adjustment to P250 per ton to cushion the hike in hauling expenses.

Albert Tutor, planters coordinator and data analyst for CSCI, said the company was considering the request but had yet to issue a formal approval, noting that official notices would be released to planter associations soon.

Aside from soaring transportation overheads, local producers are bracing for potential yield impacts caused by unseasonal rains and the El Niño phenomenon

Appalling problem

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.

Coastal Highway: Female workers protest lack of restrooms, unpaid entitlements

Female workers engaged by Hitech Construction Company on Section 3B of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project in Cross River State have protested alleged poor welfare facilities at the construction site, including the absence of a dedicated restroom for women.

The female workers raised the concern as part of a wider protest by about 600 employees of the company, who have accused management of intimidation, unfair treatment, salary deductions, unpaid entitlements and poor working conditions.

The workers, who commenced the protest on 26 October, gathered on Wednesday at the Hitech construction yard in Awi, Akamkpa Local Government Area, demanding urgent action to improve their working conditions.

The female workers said the lack of a separate restroom for women was unacceptable, particularly given the number of employees working at the construction site.

They alleged that while female Nigerian workers struggled to access basic sanitary facilities, expatriate workers had access to multiple restrooms at the facility.

The workers said the situation had further compounded the difficulties they faced while working for long hours under demanding conditions at the project site.

The complaint formed part of broader allegations by workers that the company had failed to provide adequate welfare facilities for Nigerian employees.

Speaking during the protest, an earth-moving and level-checking worker, Ana Matthew, alleged that workers were also exposed to harsh weather conditions without adequate shelter.

Matthew claimed that workers continued to work during the day and at night despite alleged reductions in their payments.

Another worker, Stephen Oke, a trailer driver, accused the expatriate management of disrespecting and intimidating Nigerian workers, alleging that local employees performed much of the strenuous work on the project but were allegedly underpaid and maltreated.

A Quality Control/Laboratory worker, Esikere Peter, also alleged that workers’ paid hours had been reduced, resulting in significant salary losses.

Peter claimed that workers who previously received payment for four to eight hours were now being paid for only two hours. He also alleged that night shifts had been removed from workers’ bookings despite some employees working until about 11 p.m.

The protesting workers are also demanding the removal of the Project Manager, Mr Boutrous; the Site Manager, Mr Tony; and the Earth-Moving Supervisor, Mr Shabel, over alleged unfair treatment.

They further demanded the reinstatement of the Cross River State Liaison Officer, Mr Asuquo Ukpayang, whom they alleged had been sidelined by some expatriate managers.

Reacting to the complaints, Ukpayang expressed solidarity with the workers, saying he was aware of their concerns over salary deductions, unpaid entitlements and welfare.

He said the wife of the Cross River State Governor, Mrs Eyoanwan Otu, had previously raised concerns about workers’ welfare with the Hitech management and urged the company to ensure equitable treatment of its employees.

Ukpayang promised to engage the company’s senior and local management, the Federal Controller of Works and the Minister of Works to facilitate dialogue and resolve the dispute.

He urged the workers to remain peaceful and nominate representatives for negotiations, assuring them that their grievances would be addressed and legitimate outstanding payments made.

The workers, numbering about 600, vowed to sustain their protest until their demands, including improved welfare and better working conditions, were addressed.

Abia: NAFDAC secures five-year jail term for businessman over fake olive oil

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has secured the conviction of a businessman, Innocent Okoye, for manufacturing and selling counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Aba, Abia State.

Okoye, Managing Director of Chikason Industrial Nigeria Limited, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, with an option of a ?5 million fine, after being found guilty on two counts relating to the production and sale of counterfeit olive oil.

NAFDAC said Justice K. O. Ogundare of the Federal High Court in Umuahia delivered the judgment on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

The conviction followed an investigation launched after an enforcement operation by the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate in April 2026. During the operation, officials reportedly uncovered a facility in Aba allegedly used to manufacture and distribute counterfeit Goya oil.

The Abia businessman was arrested, while samples of the recovered products were sent to NAFDAC’s laboratory for analysis. The findings formed part of the investigation that led to the criminal proceedings and his conviction on both counts.

The case follows an earlier warning by NAFDAC in January 2026 about counterfeit Goya oil packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and sold as genuine imported products.

At a media briefing in Lagos, the agency’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Dr Martins Iluyomade, disclosed that officials had uncovered an illegal production operation at Oke-Arin Market, Idumota, Lagos.

According to NAFDAC, operators at the facility allegedly processed palm oil with colouring agents before packaging it as Goya olive oil.

Iluyomade said genuine Goya oil sold in Nigeria was imported in its original glass bottles through approved distribution channels. He warned consumers to be wary of products bearing the brand name in PET plastic bottles, which the agency had identified as counterfeit.

NAFDAC has warned that counterfeit food products may contain undeclared ingredients or be produced under unhygienic conditions, exposing consumers to potentially harmful substances.

The agency urged consumers and traders to buy regulated products from reputable outlets, check packaging carefully, and report suspected counterfeit goods or illegal manufacturing activities to its offices or official reporting channels.

It also reiterated its commitment to investigating suspected cases of food adulteration and prosecuting individuals and businesses found to be involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit and substandard products.

LPA trough to bring rains to parts of Visayas, Mindanao on Oct. 30

The trough of a low-pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) is expected to bring scattered rains and thunderstorms to parts of the Visayas and Mindanao on Friday, Oct. 30, the state weather bureau said.

In its 4 p.m. weather advisory on Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the LPA trough may bring cloudy skies with scattered rains and isolated thunderstorms over the Negros Island Region, Central and Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao and Caraga.

As of 2 p.m., it was monitored 825 kilometers (km) east of Eastern Visayas. Pagasa said it is unlikely to intensify into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Typhoon In-Fa’, which is outside PAR, was spotted 3,355 km east of Central Luzon outside the PAR.

It had a maximum sustained winds of 175 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 215 km per hour.

The weather bureau reported that the typhoon is moving west northwestward at 30 km per hour.

The shear line is expected to bring cloudy skies and scattered rains over Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora, Quezon and Camarines Norte.

The northeast monsoon, or amihan, may bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains over the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region and Batanes.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country may experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with localized thunderstorms.

Amihan, sheer line to bring rain to parts of Luzon Thursday

Overcast skies and rain are expected to persist over several parts of Luzon on Thursday due to the effects of the northeast monsoon (amihan) and the shear line, the state weather bureau said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the shear line will bring cloudy skies and rain over Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Aurora, the Bicol Region, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro.

‘Samantala itong amihan naman ang magdadala ng mahihinang pagulan partikular na sa malaking bahagi ng Cagayan Valley, Cordillera at lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija,’ said Pagasa weather specialist Obet Badrina.

(The amihan will bring light rains, particularly over much of the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, and the province of Nueva Ecija.)

Meanwhile, the rest of Luzon will have relatively fairer weather conditions with chances of light rains due to isolated thunderstorms.

Partly cloudy to overcast skies with rain due to localized thunderstorms are then forecast over Visayas, while hot and humid weather conditions are expected in Mindanao.

No tropical storms or low pressure areas, on the other hand, are so far being monitored within and outside the Philippine area of responsibility.

The temperature range in key cities/areas across the country for Thursday are as follows:

Metro Manila: 25 to 33 degrees Celsius

Baguio City: 17 to 26 degrees Celsius

Laoag City: 23 to 34 degrees Celsius

Tuguegarao: 23 to 33 degrees Celsius

Legazpi City: 26 to 32 degrees Celsius

Puerto Princesa City: 24 to 33 degrees Celsius

Tagaytay: 22 to 29 degrees Celsius

Kalayaan Islands: 26 to 32 degrees Celsius

Iloilo City: 24 to 31 degrees Celsius

Cebu: 27 to 33 degrees Celsius

Tacloban City: 26 to 32 degrees Celsius

Cagayan De Oro City: 25 to 32 degrees Celsius

Zamboanga City: 25 to 34 degrees Celsius

Davao City: 24 to 34 degrees Celsius

Classes suspended in Surigao Sur town after magnitude 5.9 earthquake

Classes at all levels in public and private schools in Lingig, Surigao del Sur were suspended Thursday at noon after a series of earthquakes, including a magnitude 5.9 tremor, jolted off its coast.

Lingig Mayor Elmer Evangelio issued Memorandum No. 15 halting classes until further notice as a precautionary measure against potential building damage and ongoing aftershocks.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded the magnitude 5.9 tectonic earthquake at 11:19 a.m. off Lingig’s coast. The quake was followed by several aftershocks throughout the day, with magnitudes ranging from 1.7 to 4.3.

Local disaster authorities and Phivolcs advised residents to monitor official advisories and remain vigilant for further ground movement

Marcos urges firms to invest in PH electric vehicle industry

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday urged foreign manufacturers to invest in the Philippines’ electric vehicle (EV) industry as the government aims to have EVs account for 50% of the country’s vehicle fleet by 2040.

He made the call during a visit to the manufacturing and assembly plant of Sazgar Philippines Inc. in Biñan City, Laguna.

Established in 2026, Sazgar Philippines Inc. is a subsidiary of Pakistan-based Sazgar Engineering Works Ltd. The company operates in Laguna and offers passenger and commercial three-wheelers, including electric vehicles.

‘As of 2026 August, the DOE [Department of Energy] has reported over 420 accredited EVC providers and discovered operators, service providers, and suppliers. These initiatives seek to build an industry that serves the needs of our people while creating greater value for the Philippine economy,’ the President said in his speech.

‘So, to our stakeholders: Invest in the Philippines. Build partnerships with our suppliers. Explore opportunities to expand manufacturing activities in our shores,’ he added.

Marcos also reiterated his push for greater local production of EV components, urging Sazgar to reduce its reliance on imported parts and expand its local supply chain.

‘So, to Sazgar: I offer both our thanks and the challenge. At present, many of your parts still come from abroad. I ask you to grow your Filipino supply chain year after year,’ he said.

‘They are anticipating that they will be able to produce all the parts locally. In other words, it will be 100% locally manufactured parts within the year or so. So, that every tricycle that will leave the plant is made by Filipinos. The government will work hand in hand with you to make that happen,’ Marcos continued.

The government is also working to strengthen energy security, encourage innovation, and attract investments in emerging technologies, Marcos said.

‘Efforts such as these, bring us closer to our target of achieving 50% EV fleet share by 2040,’ the President said.

Police arrest 2 over alleged plot to kidnap village head

Two men have been arrested by the police in Kano State for allegedly plotting to kidnap the village head of Bangare in Gezawa Local Government Area after threatening him over the phone, the police said on Wednesday.

The suspects, Aliyu Naziru Garba, 20, and Bashir Alhasan, 20, were arrested following an intelligence-led operation triggered by a report from the traditional ruler, Mallam Idris, who received the threat on October 24.

The police spokesman, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said in a statement that the village head reported the incident at the Gezawa Divisional Police Headquarters on October 26.

According to the statement, the caller threatened to abduct the village head at about 9:33 pm, prompting police operatives to launch an investigation that led to the arrest of the two suspects.

The suspects have allegedly confessed to the crime, while investigations are ongoing ahead of their arraignment, the police said.