Korina Sanchez slams Davao, rep. Paolo Duterte reacts

Congressman Paolo “Pulong” Duterte did not let slide news anchor Korina Sanchez’s aria against Davao.

In a recent aria in an online show with Willard Cheng, she said she went to Davao.

“Sabi ko, eto na ba ‘yun? Parang sinauna pa rin kasi naging reporter na ako noong 80’s, 90’s doon,” Sanchez said. (I said, is this it? It’s like it’s ancient still because I was a reporter in the 80’s 90’s.)

Noting how progress in Davao is slow, she said: “Parang ganon pa rin. Kung hindi lang dahil sa ilang mga hub because of Ayala or because of Megaworld, hindi mo makikita sa ibang lugar ang progreso. Ganoon pa rin, napag-iwanan.” (It’s like the same still. If not because of some hubs like Ayala or Megaworld, you will not see progress in other parts. It’s still the same, it has been left behind).”

Representative Duterte immediately parried Sanchez’s claim in a Facebook post.

“Kung ang tingin mo sa progreso ay puro sosyalan, high-rise buildings, malls at party-party, dyan ka na lang sa sosyalan ninyo (If you think of progress as high class, high-rise buildings, malls and party-party, just stay there in your high class living),” he initially wrote.

“What we’re talking here in Davao is if the government works for the ordinary people - 911, emergency response, peace and order, health services, disaster response, roads and basic public services,” he wrote in Filipino.

For Duterte, Davao need not be a copycat of Makati or BGC for it to be considered progressive, stressing that the progress of a city should not be measured by the number of Ayala or Megaworld projects.

“Napag-iwanan? Hangover ka pa ata sa last champagne party niyo ah. FYI lang madam, ang ekonomiya ng Davao City ang pinakamalaking ekonomiya sa Mindanao at Visayas at P601.68 billion (Left out? Seems like you still have a hangover from your last champagne party. FYI, the economy of Davao is the biggest economy in Mindanao and Visayas at P601.68 billion pesos),” he wrote.

“If you want to criticize Davao, go ahead. But the measure should be the service to the people, not how many parties you have attended or how many luxurious establishments you have seen,” he wrote, stressing that a good economy and work is what they’re looking for in Davao and “not applause from Manila.”

Some netizens agree with Duterte as one guy said: “Yes, it’s not at the level of Singapore or even Manila but it’s quite unfair to label the region as “not progressing” when economic indicators say otherwise and just because they heavily lean politically towards the Duterte’s. Objectivity matter here. Davao is still a vital economic hub towards national economic development besides CDO.”

“As much as I hate DDS, hindi ako agree dito kay Korina. I’ve been visiting Davao na for a quiet some time pero they are really progressive city with a little crime na hindi kagaya ng Cebu (based on my experience). But I am not saying na mayaman ang city more likely upper average,” another guy wailed.

Kira Balinger’s camp denies inviting JM Ibarra for a drinking session

A day after a Gandang Gabi Vice episode was shown where Fyang Smith claimed an actress reportedly invited JM Ibarra to accompany her to her hotel room after the Star Magic Ball, Kira Balinger’s camp denied with seeming vehemence that the blind item alluded to the alabaster-skinned actress.

“We are writing this to address the ongoing discussions and widespread rumors on social media about the blind item concerning ‘the leading man of a popular love team being invited to a hotel room by an actress’. While we acknowledge that the incident mentioned in the blind item did occur, we are issuing this statement to set the record straight regarding who was involved,” the statement read

“To end the unwarranted harassment, false accusations and baseless speculations immediately: it was not Kira Balinger,” came the outright denial.

“In respect to all the artists involved, their management and their respective fanbases, we won’t be dropping any names or adding fuel to the fire. BUT we will not stand by while Kira’s name is dragged into false claims,” the statement added.

“It’s already 2026 so we encourage everyone to be more responsible and do fact-check before making damaging assumptions online. If you have watched the full video, both the host and the guests specifically emphasized not to make assumptions since no names were ever dropped,” the statement concluded, asking everyone to “let’s create a healthier digital space for all fandoms.”

Did Charlie Fleming snub a male fan?

Charlie Flemimg just celebrated her 18th birthday and already an issue surfaced when a short video made its way to social media where she declined a male fan a photo op.

The reel showed Fleming walking in the lobby when a male fun immediately panned his cellphone camera for a selfie. She instantly dodged him and walked away.

Fans felt Fleming did what is right.

“She looks uncomfortable. In this video, without any additional context provided, it seems that the guy is very pushy even though Charlie has already declined, and you can see from her body language that she’s trying to be respectful even though she’s not comfortable. Just understand that it’s not a public event but a birthday of a person. She’s entitled to have her own space and time,” one supporter said.

“Not even a fan, but is it just me, or I don’t find this that big of a deal lol. Tao parin mga celebs, they can say no to taking pics if they don’t want to. This is such a non-issue,” another fan said.

“Good. You aren’t entitled to a celebrity’s time outside of their working hours. Stop pestering people you don’t know and let them have their personal time to themselves,” still another fan wrote.