Category: Philippine Star

Sen. Panfilo Lacson is open to reassume chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon committee.

Some majority senators, however, might jump to the Cayetano-led minority bloc if he returns, Lacson said.

‘I have discussed this scenario with Senate President Vicente Sotto III when he broached the idea of giving back the chairmanship to me – that if I am elected again to head the panel, we should be ready for consequences and decisions, including losing some members of the majority bloc and consequently, his Senate presidency,’ he said.

Lacson had resigned after some senators blocked his line of inquiry during the flood control probe.

Reflecting on the circumstances surrounding his departure, Lacson said, ‘In retrospect, a simple, practical question crossed my mind when I decided to resign on Oct. 6: What chairmanship are we talking about if we lose the majority to the current Cayetano-led minority bloc?’ the Senate president pro tempore said.

If Lacson accepts the chairmanship again, he said the question of majority alignment ‘will no longer be a factor.’

State officials, contractors and engineers have been implicated in anomalous infrastructure deals nationwide.

Thirty-four business groups have urged the government to empower the Independent Commission for Infrastructure as it probes the flood control controversy.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla told ‘Storycon’ on One News earlier that one year is more than enough to secure convictions.

‘Leave minority out of it’

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said Lacson should leave the minority out of his decision to step down, saying they did not create ‘drama, intrigue or blame’ when they were booted out of their chairmanships when Sotto replaced Sen. Francis Escudero.

‘If the majority is having a disagreement, it’s fine – politics will always have its share of drama. But let’s not turn the Senate into a teleserye,’ Cayetano said.

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon earlier described Lacson’s resignation as a ‘king’s gambit’ meant to preserve Sotto’s leadership amid signs of instability within the majority bloc.

The Office of the Ombudsman has been urged to conduct a thorough investigation into Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds by her office and the Department of Education during her tenure as DepEd secretary.

Tindig Pilipinas, a coalition of pro-democracy groups and civil society organizations, issued the call in a letter submitted by its members to the Office of the Ombudsman.

In its letter, the coalition urged for the immediate investigation against Duterte, based on the articles of impeachment earlier filed against the Vice President.

Duterte was earlier accused of betraying public trust, and committing graft and corruption, in the misuse and malversation of confidential funds of her office as well as DepEd, among other allegations.

‘We cannot allow a culture of impunity to take root, where actions that threaten our democratic stability and public accountability are simply forgotten, or worse, seen as a new, acceptable standard for our leaders,’ the letter read.

‘To leave these matters unexamined would be to sanction the very behavior that your Office is mandated to prevent,’ it added.

According to the coalition, Duterte should explain how the confidential funds were used.

The coalition also cited Duterte’s supposed ‘admission’ of plotting to assassinate President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former House speaker Martin Romualdez.

Tindig Pilipinas said Duterte committed culpable violations of the Constitution and/or committed high crimes in contracting an assassin and plotting to assassinate the President and his relatives.

It called for a ‘comprehensive and impartial’ investigation to uphold the rule of law and to ‘restore public trust.’

Minimum wage earners and domestic helpers in Cagayan Valley are getting an increase in their daily take-home pay starting Nov. 5.

The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said that under a recently approved order, workers in the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors will receive an increase of P20 and P40, respectively, in their daily take-home pay.

The adjustment, as approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, brings to P500 the daily minimum wage rate in Cagayan Valley. The RTWPB also approved an additional P500 in the monthly minimum wage of domestic helpers in the region.

According to the NWPC, the ‘new monthly minimum wage for domestic workers in all cities and municipalities, regardless of income class in Cagayan Valley, shall be P6,500.’

Filipinos are no strangers to political outrage. Social media is flooded with tirades against the Marcoses, the Dutertes and the so-called ‘dilawan’ or ‘pinklawan’ opposition.

We have perfected the art of blaming politicians for everything-from potholes to inflation, from corruption scandals to natural disasters. Often, our anger is justified. Politicians have failed us repeatedly, enriching themselves while ordinary citizens struggle to survive.

Yet the uncomfortable truth is that our politics is not an alien force imposed from above. It is a reflection of who we are and the institutions we have built or allowed to decay.

Perhaps the clearest mirror is our education system. When someone asks, ‘Magalit tayo sa mga politiko, pero maayos ba tayo sa hanay natin?’ it hits a nerve, because our schools and universities reveal the very dysfunctions we condemn in government.

Education is riddled with the same problems that plague our politics: mismanagement, lack of accountability and deep inequities. Just as politicians promise reform but fail to deliver, education leaders unveil policies such as K to 12, blended learning and competency-based instruction without first ensuring that schools have the infrastructure to make them work.

Teachers, much like public servants, are overworked and underpaid, expected to produce miracles with scarce resources and minimal support. Students are pushed through a system that values compliance over curiosity, memorization over inquiry and appearance over substance. The obsession with outputs has replaced the pursuit of understanding. It is the same logic that drives our politics, where spectacle often stands in for service.

The parallels are even sharper when we look at inequality. In politics, the wealthy and well-connected dominate because they control resources and machinery.

In education, elite private schools provide small classes, technology, and global exposure, while public schools make do with overcrowded classrooms, outdated textbooks and overburdened teachers. Politics breeds dynasties; education reproduces deprivation. Both systems keep the poor where they are-on the margins.

We often forget that education is not only about producing workers but about forming citizens. A failing education system produces a misinformed electorate, one that becomes easy prey for fake news, celebrity politics, and patronage.

When schools fail to nurture critical thinking, civic responsibility and ethical reasoning, the damage shows up at the ballot box. The quality of our politics can rise no higher than the quality of our classrooms.

A country that tolerates sixty students per teacher, that drowns educators in paperwork instead of professional development, and that treats science as optional and history as disposable should not be surprised when its politics is shallow, polarized and easily manipulated.

Poor education leads to poor politics, which then neglects education even further. The cycle is vicious, and breaking it requires more than angry rants on Facebook. It requires sustained investment, institutional reform and collective responsibility.

It is easy to demonize Marcos loyalists or mock the DDS base. It is just as easy to dismiss progressives as self-righteous or detached.

But trading insults across political camps does nothing to heal the deeper rot. The harder task is to look inward and ask how we, as citizens and educators, reproduce the dysfunction we claim to despise.

In our classrooms, do we reward obedience more than curiosity? Do we silence dissent rather than encourage debate? Do we teach history as reflection, or do we sanitize it for comfort and convenience? These habits spill over into politics, where questioning authority is branded as destabilization and uncomfortable truths are erased from collective memory.

If we are serious about reform, education must change not only what it teaches but how it teaches. Real transformation is cultural, not cosmetic.

It begins by reducing class sizes so that teachers can actually teach and students can be heard. It continues with professional development that prepares educators to be mentors in civic life, not mere deliverers of content.

It means funding schools adequately and treating education as a national covenant rather than a line item in the budget. Most of all, it means seeing education as a public good rather than a privilege for the few.

When every Filipino child-regardless of wealth, region, or background-has access to quality education, we build citizens who are harder to deceive and more capable of demanding accountability. A well-educated electorate is the most reliable defense against demagoguery. It can tell the difference between promises and propaganda, and between leadership and performance.

Until that happens, railing against politicians will remain a hollow ritual. Our politics will never rise above the quality of our education. We can laugh at the absurdities of our leaders, curse corruption, and mock the factions that divide us, but if we stop there, we only scratch the surface. The more honest work is to admit that our education system reflects the very state of our nation: chaotic, unequal, and underperforming.

If we truly want to fix the country, we must begin by fixing our schools. Only when we educate better citizens can we hope to elect better leaders. The mirror is right in front of us. The question is whether we have the courage to face it.

Social media has been abuzz lately over a post by Cebu Governor Pam Baricuatro on her personal Facebook page. The governor’s post, which I later learned from media commentators was directed at a lawyer-vlogger who had uploaded a video explaining the process of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, has gone viral.

The governor posted, ‘Kahilas nimo y**s. Who do you think you are???’ –which some readers view as LGBTQ-tinged and unbecoming of the office– then added ‘Tatay Digong forever!’ and a fist-bump emoji. The language was sharp, expressing disapproval of what many Duterte supporters perceive as disloyalty to former president Rodrigo Duterte, given that the lawyer-vlogger is widely viewed as pro-Duterte in her video commentaries. As of yesterday, the post has drawn around 9,800 comments and over 3,200 shares.

I first saw it on my social-media feed Sunday afternoon. My reaction was one of curious detachment: the governor seemed to be her characteristic self, showing an unguarded candor that many find disarming. I first saw her in a mall one time during the campaign period and observed how the security guards, mall staff, and other people reacted in her presence. There’s a certain disarming charm about the governor that endears her to the masses. I even know a ‘kakampink’ colleague, a fellow critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, who voted for Governor Pam, fully aware that she’s a Duterte loyalist.

But that same down-to-earth candor, the trait that makes her so likable to many, can also make her oblivious to the weight of her words and to how they come across now that she’s the province’s highest official. I don’t really have a firm stance on the matter; I just think our attention is better spent on what actually matters: how she governs.

We tend to get caught up in the noise of social media, but those fleeting moments of tone, phrasing, and emotion rarely define leadership. What matters more are the policies our leaders set in motion, the programs they sustain or neglect, and the results that can be measured –not merely the reactions that trend on social media.

When a public official like the governor expresses raw views on social media, I actually imagine her talking to a group of friends after work in a relaxed, unguarded setting. That also goes to show that I don’t take too seriously what is shared and talked about on social media, given the nature of the medium (I’ve written about this in previous columns). It’s a different matter, of course, when she talks about policy and programs within her realm.

The Supreme Court once reminded judges to be mindful of their posts, noting that even online ‘personal’ speech can carry public consequences. But judges are a different breed of public servant. Their authority rests on the perception of cold impartiality, so even a hint of bias or impropriety can erode public trust in the courts.

Politicians, on the other hand, thrive in an arena where visibility and emotion are part of the job. Studies on ‘mediated authenticity’ show politicians often cultivate rawness to feel real (Enli, 2015). But then audiences tend to over-read those signals. Social media posts are persuasive but often ephemeral. They are good for identity politics, weak as evidence of governance. One study describes social media chatter as ‘inputs to the spectacle economy.’

This is where the role of independent mainstream or legacy media becomes indispensable. Its watchdog function, grounded in data-driven verification rather than engagement metrics, supports our shared goal of good governance.

Better late than never.

After starting slow, Letran has finally lived up to preseason hype as a legitimate title contender after racking four wins in a row, including an 85-82 overtime victory over last year’s titlist Mapua Tuesday in NCAA Season 101 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

Jimboy Estrada and Titing Manalili came through in the clutch to help the Knights seal their fourth straight victory in Group B that had somehow erased the stigma of a disappointing 0-3 start that cast doubts on their championship legitimacy.

Estrada poured in five of his 20 points in overtime, while Manalili hit a pair of huge foul shots late in regulation to send the duel into extra time.

Manalili, a sensational rookie that came from the pontifical school’s high school program, was quick to urge his team to stay grounded.

‘I kept reminding them that we may have won now, but this is already finished and we have to move on to our next opponent,’ said Manilili, who flirted with another triple-double effort before ending up with 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.

‘It doesn’t end here, this will not decide if we will be champions,’ he added.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Cardinals, who had several opportunities to turn things around in its favor.

Clint Escamis, on his final tour of duty before turning pro, missed a potential game-winning shot in the dying seconds of regulation and muffed two of three free throws in the crucial stretch of OT that would have tilted the game on their side had he sunk it.

Mapua dropped to 3-3.

The scores:

Letran 85 – Estrada 20, Santos 17, Buensalida 16, Manalili 14, Cuajao 9, Omega 4, Gammad 3, Rosilio 2, Yusi 0, Gazzingan 0.

Mapua 82 – Nitura 19, Gonzales 17, Escamis 14, Cuenco 10, Sapasap 9, Delos Reyes 7, Recto 4, Concepcion 2, Igliane 0, Lazarte 0, Gulapa 0.

Quarterscores: 25-12; 41-38; 53-62; 78-78 (OT) 85-82

While flamboyance is not his style, tycoon Isidro ‘Sid’ Consunji also has expensive habits – one of which is the penchant for buying and turning around ailing companies.

More than just a highly respected and successful businessman, the 76-year-old Consunji is a modern-day alchemist of sorts.

‘We buy things in a junkyard, we sell it in Tiffany,’ Consunji jokingly said during a recent conference organized by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.

Describing himself as ‘very ambitious,’ the chairman of diversified engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings said that his group’s business mindset is simple: ‘How can we fix broken corporations?’

‘I had figured out that, like Maynilad for instance, when we acquired it, it was negative equity. And then (we thought), what an opportunity. They have the access to Ipo Dam, they have access to 5,000 kilometers of pipeline and they have access to La Mesa Dam. The only thing that you have to do is make sure that it’s managed properly. So of a small equity, but you can manage a very big amount of asset, (it’s) dramatic,’ Consunji said.

‘If the initial public offering (IPO) pushes through, we’re just computing a few days ago, market value of P120 billion. It’s P120 billion from negative equity 19 years ago,’ he added.

In 2007, DMCI, in a joint venture with Metro Pacific Investments Corp., took over Maynilad after wining a competitive bidding. DMCI currently holds 25-percent stake in the IPO-bound water utility firm.

Such was the same case as for Semirara Mining and Power Corp., which was then known as Semirara Coal Corp. when the DMCI group purchased a stake in 1997.

‘It was negative equity, we acquired it,’ Consunji recalled.

With his appetite for turning corporations around still unsatisfied, Consunji is once again looking to work his magic on Concreat Holdings Philippines Inc., formerly Cemex Holdings Philippines, which his group acquired for $272 million in December last year.

The goal this time around is to make the company profitable in two to three years’ time.

‘Cemex (Concreat), we know the problem already. We are creating the solutions. But the solutions will probably happen in the second year. So we expect full recovery on the third year,’ Consunji said.

The Consunji Group’s investment portfolio now consists of diversified businesses involved in construction, cement, real estate, coal and nickel mining, power generation and water distribution.

‘We try to stay inside our comfort zone. They may look diverse businesses to you, but they are part of the competence that we have in construction. Earthmoving is part of the construction. Mining, essentially 90 percent is earthmoving. Real estate, of course DMCI housing, that’s basically construction,’ Consunji said.

‘I think when you’re part of the process of developing something, I love all of them in different ways – very different ways,’ the tycoon noted when asked if which among his businesses he loves the most.

However, Consunji said that the skills involved in the taking over or turning around a company is very different than the skills involved in growing up the pieces from scratch.

He considers DMCI Homes as the most difficult business they grew to date because it started from zero.

‘We had no name, we had no brand, we had a very small balance sheet. But the most difficult one was creating a team from zero,’ Consunji said.

Old habits die hard

The eldest son of the late construction magnate David Consunji, he admitted that he was in fact more careful when making business decisions when he was younger, simply because he had less experience.

‘When I was younger, there was no second chance. You’re betting your last thing. We were a very small company, and what was given to me by my dad, if I failed, he will never give me another chance to invest,’ Consunji said.

According to Consunji, losing focus in his studies during his early days in college also thought him a valuable lesson in life.

‘My dad said, if you’re not interested in studying, then quit school for a while, because there’s no point in going through the routine of studying and then you’re not going to learn. So he gave me P6 a day. That was the minimum wage. But I had expensive habits. I was smoking and I enjoyed the Johnny Walker,’ he said.

‘So I get my salary on a Saturday afternoon, Tuesday night I have no money anymore. Then I figured out, if I don’t go back to work, it would be impossible to earn a lot of money on your own, and I was too proud to be dependent on my parents, so I decided to go back and study,’ Consunji added.

With the success of his business ventures, Sid has definitely earned himself enough – and much more – to fund his ‘expensive habits.’

‘My father was a very good engineer and an excellent contractor, and even when I was very young, he was really considered one of the pillars of industry. And I was, I wasn’t very serious about life, easy-go-lucky, barely passing grades are fine. So I figured, I don’t think I’ll be better than him as an engineer. So I decided to be a manager,’ he said.

A new meaning to PPP

Over the years, Consunji’s DMCI has been actively involved in various public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the country.

But given the massive corruption scandal crippling flood control and infrastructure projects in the Philippines at present, Sid is hoping to give PPP a new meaning.

‘My prayer is PPP – peaceful, prosperous Philippines,’ the tycoon said.

‘I think if there is too many poor people in the country, I think it’s bound to happen that there will be social unrest,’ he added.

Consunji said he is one with the Filipino people in eagerly anticipating what would be the final outcome of the ongoing investigations on the corruption anomalies.

‘Of course we don’t want corruption because the country is suffering,’ Consunji said. ‘What we want are those involved to be punished. That should not come without consequences.’

Much like an intensity 10 earthquake, this impertinent and irreverent young guy is rocking the boat. He is openly challenging the gods. He is like the child Jesus debating with the Pharisees, scribes, and teachers of the law right there in the Temple. He is driving away the corrupt moneychangers transforming his father’s house into a den of thieves.

This young man from the peripheries of Cavite has transformed himself into a modern Don Quixote de la Mancha now fighting against the windmills of corruption and legislative manipulations. At first, they called this Gen Z legislator from Cavite somewhat crazy. In fact, his former partymate and close ally of his late father, Congressman Ronnie Puno called on the Ethics Committee to discipline him. He was reprimanded by Congresswoman Janet Garin and not taken seriously by the former Speaker and his deputy speakers. But today, he is the hottest copy for the people and the media.

Congressman Kiko Barzaga is the darling of the media, the toast of the town, and the only member of the House who goes viral whenever he opens his mouth. He has become more popular than Sandro Marcos who hasn’t done anything monumental, much less earthshaking despite his direct access to the vortex of power. Barzaga is more popular than any deputy speaker. He has more speaking engagements and TV interviews than Speaker Bojie Dy himself. He outshines the senior congressmen from Cebu like Duke Frasco, Edu Rama and Edsel Galeos who have never delivered any eloquent speech before the plenary.

Barzaga has nothing to lose and everything to gain with his unorthodox approaches, his spontaneous answers to reporters’ questions, and his nonchalant but articulate repartees on fundamental issues are making him the latest darling of the multi-media. He isn’t a lawyer but is a college dropout and yet, he can easily make any lawyer in the House look like a babbling kinder tot. He can challenge anyone to a parliamentary debate. He is well-informed and well-read. Kiko knows the issues, he masters the nuances and the ramifications and intricacies of top issues are in his fingertips. If Kiko were in the Senate, he could outshine Marcoleta and give the Tulfos a run for their hackneyed audacity.

Kiko can be likened to Spartacus who defied all odds and ultimately defeated legions of Roman warriors. Kiko is like the Martin Luther who dared to fight the high, mighty, and powerful Roman Catholic Church. With his famous 95 theses and charges against the Church, his stand against the abuses of the Church spread like wildfire in 1517. He dared to translate the Bible into German and democratized, socialized if you will, the teachings of Christ.

This rebel Kiko is like Galileo Galilei who first brought forth the Heliocentric Theory that it is the earth that revolves around the sun and not the other way around. He openly challenged the geocentric theory advocated by the Catholic Church and he was proven right by science. Kiko is using the strategy of Mahatma Gandhi which is peaceful resistance, called “satyagraha” and passive defiance with sprinklings of irreverent attacks and even vitriolic criticisms against the status quo. Kiko is going to win as he is gaining a lot of followers. He is inspiring the Gen Z’s and the millennials.

There is a streak of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the antics of Kiko, aggressive, fearless, and daring, not too reckless but unorthodox, not too impulsive but defiant and doesn’t hold any authority sacrosanct. Kiko has the makings of Malcolm X who dared to challenge the white supremacist and the Klu Klux Klan in defense of the oppressed and exploited blacks. Kiko is an unarmed non-conformist, a rebel with a cause, a defiant renegade who sees injustices and refuses to succumb to the path of least resistance. He is a young warrior for change who has a vision for a better world, unseen by his peers in a House full of blind conformists.

Kiko will continue his fight no matter if he is hated by the scoundrels, imbeciles, rascals, and morons, reprimanded by contented cows like Garin and even threatened with expulsions by the self-appointed guardians of the establishment like Puno. Kiko is the hope of the nation and the liberation of the beleaguered and plundered nation.

As long as the House of Sodom has a soul like Barzaga, that chamber should not be burned like Gomorrah, at least not yet, anyway.

Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has filed plunder complaints against Sen. Bong Go, members of his family, and detained former president Rodrigo Duterte over their alleged involvement in the diversion of billions of pesos in infrastructure projects in Davao.

Trillanes filed the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, October 21, accusing the respondents of violating the Plunder Law, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Also implicated were Go’s father and half-brother, who allegedly own the construction firms CLTG Builders and Alfrego Builders.

Alleged P7-B scheme. Trillanes alleged that the Go family’s construction firms were awarded nearly P7 billion worth of government infrastructure contracts from 2016 to the present, mostly in Davao City and other areas in the Davao Region, where members of the Duterte family have served as mayors and in various other positions.

He said that of the total amount, P816 million came from joint ventures between CLTG and Alfrego Builders and St. Gerrard Construction, owned by contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya.

Trillanes alleged that these contracts were funneled through political connections and government influence, describing the pattern as a clear case of plunder.

Earlier complaints and alleged cover-up

This is not the first time Trillanes has filed similar charges. In July 2024, he lodged plunder and graft complaints against Duterte and Go over the continuous awarding of P6.6 billion worth of government contracts to firms linked to Go’s family from 2007 to 2018.

The former senator said the earlier complaint was buried by a former prosecutor general, who allegedly defied the justice secretary’s directive by forwarding the case to the Ombudsman without investigation.

The former senator claimed the former prosecutor general’s move led to his dismissal, but publicly, the prosecutor resigned from his post “to pursue other endeavors.”

‘Ang ginawa nung dating prosecutor general, against the order nung SOJ (Secretary of Justice), sinubmit niya dito and that eventually led to his dismissal or relief doon sa position niya,’ Trillanes said. (What the former Prosecutor General did was, against the order of the SOJ, he submitted it here, and that eventually led to his dismissal or relief from his position.)

‘Kaya anong ginawa rito, ni hindi inimbestigahan. Not even a day or an hour was devoted in investigating it. Talagang binaon nila pero without prejudice yan, nagkaroon pa tayo ng pagkakataon na dagdagan yung una nating finile,’ he added. (So what they did here was, they didn’t even investigate it. Not even a day or an hour was devoted to investigating it. They really just buried it, but that was without prejudice, so we still had the opportunity to add to what we initially filed.)

Actor Raymart Santiago responded to claims by Estrella “Inday” Barretto, matriarch of the Barretto family, that he allegedly abused his ex-wife Claudine Barretto, Inday’s youngest daughter.

Inday was interviewed by showbiz reporter Ogie Diaz on the latter’s YouTube channel where she accused Raymart of physically and emotionally hurting Claudine.

She even claimed that the former couple’s son Santino witnessed the supposed abuse, and that Raymart took the properties initially intended for their children.

Raymart quickly fired back with the aid of legal representatives from Calleja Law in a statement which Ogie posted on his social media accounts, strongly denying Inday’s allegations.

“It is very unfortunate that Mrs. Barretto opted to resort to publicity to spread this untruthful and slanderous narrative,” Raymart’s statement said, adding that Claudine also “repeatedly exploited social media and sought recourse through trial by publicity” to discredit him.

According to Raymart’s lawyers, Inday’s frustrations stem from the conjugal land Claudine sold three years ago without Raymart’s knowledge.

They further stated that Raymart does not want to take part in any dispute involving or irregularity that Claudine may have committed.

The Calleja Law lawyers reminded the Barrettos about a September 2023 gag order from a Mandaluyong City Family Court which Raymart “faithfully complied with, having kept peace all these years.”

They called on Claudine and her family to do the same out of respect for the rule of law and for the former couple’s children.

“Let this be a final warning that any utterances in contravention of the law shall be dealt with before the appropriate forum to protect our client’s rights and to preserve his interests,” the statement ended.

Claudine and Raymart married in 2006 but filed for annulment in 2013. Santino is their only biological child, though Claudine later adopted kids Sabina, Quia, and Noah.