The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Boy Villasanta
Actress Kim Chiu is in a quandary.
It stemmed from, at least, two earth-shaking events in her life, one, the legal case she filed against her sister Lakambini Chiu over a multimillion suit for alleged financial discrepancies amounting to about P44.4 million in House of Little Bunny Philippines, Inc. (HOLB-PH), the company where the siblings are co-stakeholders.
Lakam had already posted bail for her temporary freedom and she had been arraigned at the Quezon City Hall of Justice late last week where Kim attended with her ABS-CBN boss Lauren Dyogi.
The pain of dragging her kin to a legal battle has shattered the world of Kim.
In a statement, the younger Chiu said that it saddened her to hear criticisms from all directions fighting her own bloodline.
“Sobrang nasasaktan po ako (It hurts me so much). People may have different opinions with my decision, and I understand that,” she said.
Chiu clarified that the case “was never about my personal money.”
“This is about a business which started in 2023, built with years of hard work, sacrifices, and dreams. A business I poured my heart into, hoping it would become my future when the time comes for me to step away from show business,” she explained.
She qualified, too, that her filing 124 counts of qualified theft against Lakam covered only the period from January to July 2025 although she stressed that “there is so much more to this story that I am choosing not to disclose publicly.”
“This is a business I worked so hard to build, and I believe that going through this legal process should never take away the company’s right to stand up for what is right, protect what the company has worked for, and seek accountability through the proper legal process,” she elucidated.
Meanwhile, Kim’s screen lover Paulo Avelino has obviously defended her through statements he posted on X, the former Twitter.
“I don’t think people understand the value of the ‘amount’ stolen,” said Paulo. “Think about what you would do with that money…That amount can build the life you’ve always dreamed of. Now imagine someone took the life you’re supposed to be living in,” he noted.
Avelino’s post ended with a hanging statement: “Sa company palang yan. Pano pa kaya sa…..(That’s only in the company. What more in…)”
The other predicament the so-called Tsinita Princess is supposedly in is the accusation that she is pregnant although she has not issued a statement denying or affirming about it where netizens have been harping allegedly on her “baby bump” as underscored by photos where her tummy is purportedly protruding.
According to the grapevine, the alleged father of the “baby” is Avelino.
Speaking about Paulo, the actor is the only Filipino winner in the 2026 International Drama Awards, a Seoul-based award-giving body exclusively for television and digital drama series.
He will receive the Outstanding Asian Star—Philippines for “The Alibi.”
The SDA 2026 Awards will be staged on Oct. 8, 2026 at the KBS Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
The event is sponsored by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and TV networks KBS, MBC, SBS, EBS and CBS.
Avelino will attend the awarding.