DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Senator Alan Peter Cayetano conceded the vice-presidential race early Tuesday morning, May 10.

"Earlier today, I saw the trend and I congratulate whoever will be number one. That is democracy. We all present ourselves but whoever wins squarely and fairly deserves the support of the electorate," he told reporters in Davao City.

As of 8:21 on May 10, Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo and Senator Bongbong Marcos are neck-to-neck. Robredo leads slightly with 13.18 million votes compared to Marcos' 13.08 million votes. Cayetano was a distant 3rd with 5.4 million votes. (LIVE: #PHVote Live Results)

In the presidential race, meanwhile, Cayetano's standard-bearer Rodrigo Duterte has maintained a comfortable lead. 

Duterte has offered the posts of either Foreign Secretary of Justice Secretary to Cayetano but given election rules, Cayetano has to wait a year before assuming one of the positions.

"It’s one year away. I told the mayor, 'go ahead and form the cabinet.' Give me certain tasks where I can be of help, definitely in formulating his legislative agenda," he said.

Task for Congress

While saying he could not himself dictate to Congress the priority laws of a possible Duterte presidency, Cayetano said there were some "easier ones" that could be tackled first.

"The easier ones is of course the pay of the law enforcers because that is a simple amendment to the Salary Standardization law but we have to work with the new DBM (Department of Budget and Management) secretary to make sure the money is there," he said.

He also thinks amending the Build Operate Transfer law will help better facilitate Public Private Partnership programs and reduce the timeframe of bidding in order to speed up infrastructure projects.

Duterte has previously said he intends to create more railways, including one in Mindanao; continue building transportation infrastructure in Metro Manila as well as farm-to-market roads in the rural areas.

Cayetano said contractualization could be the subject of the efforts in Congress after lawmakers sit down with business owners and employers.

As for the Freedom of Information bill, which Duterte has said he wants passed, the leading presidential candidate has said he can act on his own towards transparency even while waiting for the bill to pass.

"He has stated that we can do it in action and through an executive order if there is a delay in Congress," said Cayetano.

"I think we can come up with a very powerful, meaningful legislative agenda that will enable him to do his job and of course meet his 3 to 6 month (anti-crime) deadline," said the senator.

So far, out of the senatorial candidates Duterte has endorsed, only Manny Pacquiao and Juan Miguel Zubiri has made it to the "Magic 12" as of writing. In the winning circle, half are from the Liberal Party or allied with it, 3 are independent, and two are from the Nationalist People's Coalition. – Rappler.com

FORT MCMURRAY, Canada – Fort McMurray is largely intact despite a week of damage from the wildfires devastating Canada's oil sands region, Alberta's premier said after touring the ghost town on Monday.

Firefighters warned, however, that the tens of thousands of evacuated residents would not be able to return for at least two weeks.

"It was a miracle we got the entire population out safely," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley told reporters.

"Equally miraculous... the fast action and the hard work and dedication and the smarts of the first responders has, it appears, saved 90 percent of the city of Fort McMurray."

Notley commented after getting a first look at damage caused by the inferno more than a week after it began, forcing some 100,000 people to flee. Many are workers lured from around the world by the local oil boom.

But with much work required to restore water, electricity, gas and other key infrastructure, fire chief Darby Allen said authorities would need two weeks before being able to provide a timeline for when the first residents would be allowed back home.

"If that fire had gotten into downtown, we would have lost the downtown area," he said.

Notley said she was "very much struck by the power of the devastation of the fire."

"The city was surrounded by an ocean of fire only a few days ago... It was quite overwhelming in some spots," she said.

"I will also say that I was similarly struck by the proximity of the devastation to neighborhoods that were untouched."

Some 2,000 homes were destroyed by the blaze that began in the forests west of the city but hundreds others were spared -- including the hospital and most of the schools, Notley said. Smoke was still rising from the ruins.

Despite the good news, the fire was still advancing to the east and has ravaged more than 200,000 hectares (494,200 acres) of forest, said Chad Morrison, senior wildfire manager for Alberta.

"We expect cooler temperatures the next two days to continue to help us to have success in the communities and areas," he added.

In total, 700 firefighters were on hand to battle the blaze, as well as 20 helicopters and 27 air tankers.

With the extra help, crews are now expected to turn their attention to the oil facilities that are the economic lifeblood of western Alberta province.

Damages and losses according to initial estimates total some $9 billion.

Thousands homeless

Frustration mounted among evacuees crammed into shelters after a traumatic flight from the oil city.

At the closest evacuation center to the fires, in Lac La Biche, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Fort McMurray, security was doubled overnight and entry has become more tightly controlled. 

"People are tired, they're frustrated, they feel helpless, and sometimes they just lash out," said security guard Mustafa Abraham.

Abraham said half a dozen people had been briefly taken into custody by municipal peace officers and security guards, mostly for drunkenness or unruliness.

Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale urged evacuees to be patient.

"The recovery here is not going to be quick and it's not going to be easy. It will be essential to make sure that can be done safely," he said.

While flames largely spared the downtown area, residential areas, particularly to the west and north of Fort McMurray, have been devastated, said officials. Thousands have been left homeless. 

Financial aid

For thousands forced to clear out from the city about a week ago, university dorms, youth hostels and camp grounds – or even parking lots – are now home, in many cases hundreds of kilometers (miles) from Fort McMurray.

Another problem is providing schooling to the children affected by the disaster, which threatens to continue for weeks and maybe months.

On Monday, Alberta's capital city Edmonton and its largest city Calgary, offered a total 12,000 spots in their schools for children who evacuated Fort McMurray. 

Some five tonnes of vital food supplies were airlifted by helicopter to an indigenous community to the southeast of Fort McMurray. 

In a bit of good news, evacuees were finally set to receive financial aid: $1,250 for each adult and $500 per dependent to tide families over until they can access their own financial resources.

Insurance companies, meanwhile, have said they will also work to make funds available quickly for claims over losses sustained in the disaster. – Michel Comte, AFP/Rappler.com 

NEW YORK, United States – Donald Trump on Monday picked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to lead his White House transition team in the event the billionaire wins the November presidential vote. 

Christie, 53, essentially joined team Trump in February, endorsing Trump just after the governor himself dropped out of their party's presidential primary.

"Governor Christie is an extremely knowledgeable and loyal person with the tools and resources to put together an unparalleled transition team, one that will be prepared to take over the White House when we win in November," Trump said.

Trump is now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee after whittling down a crowded field that included Christie as well as final rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich. 

Trump is likely to run against Democrat Hillary Clinton, and she currently leads a two-way race against him, polls show.

"I am honored by the confidence being placed in me by Mr. Trump and lookforward to putting together a first-rate team to assemble an administration to help best serve the president-elect and the nation," Christie said. – Rappler.com

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Are the days of a foul-mouthed, tactless Rodrigo Duterte numbered?

The presidential race frontrunner promised he would be more behaved once he takes his oath of office as the 16th president of the Philippines. Partial election results show him with a comfortable lead over his rivals. (READ: Results of 2016 Philippine elections)

As of 10:39 am Tuesday, May 10, Duterte had 15,245,930 votes based on partial, unofficial results from 90.63% of precincts, according to the the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency server. Administration bet Manuel "Mar" Roxas II was second at 9,183,938 votes.

"Grant me this little [time], to banter with you Filipinos. Pero 'pag presidente na ako, hindi ko gawin 'yan syempre, behaved talaga. Ang problema 'yung barong," he said while a guest at Pastor Apollo Quiboloy's television show early morning on May 10.

(But when I'm president, I won't do that, I'll behave. The problem is the barong.)

He says he has one month to "enjoy" his freedom to speak whatever way he wants. True enough, he did not hesitate to curse profusely during the show.

"I’ll just ask for your understanding kasi my panahon is umiiksi, para magbehave na talaga. Good manners and conduct, bagsak talaga ako diyan (because my time is short, I'll really behave. I failed at good manners and conduct). I’m enjoying my few days, it’s about one month from now, it's June 31st, I will be taking my oath of office if indeed I won the elections," he said. (He probably meant June 30.)

Duterte spoke of his promise to his family as well. His common-law wife Cieleto "Honeylet" Avanceña weighed in on it.

"'Yung character niya during the campaign, it was very appropriate. Kailangan he has to be tough. Pero ngayon, iba na 'yung ano, you notice sabi niya, hindi na raw siya magmumura. Sabi ko sa kanya, 'ay naku magugustuhan 'yan ng nanay mo,'" she told Rappler.

(His character during the campaign was appropriate because he has to be tough. But now, he said, he won't be cursing so much. I told him, 'your mom will like that.')

Avanceña assured Filipinos that though Duterte may appear to shoot from the hip when speaking in public, he won't endanger the presidency with his mouth.

"You know what, Mayor Duterte has so much respect for the position, for the presidency," she said.

Duterte's loose tongue got him in a lot of trouble on the campaign trail, beginning with his Pope Francis curse until his controversial remark on rape. (READ: The rapture of Rodrigo Duterte)

His verbal volleys directed at United States, Australian, Indian, and Mexican ambassadors have also worried some voters.

But throughout the campaign season, Duterte refused to apologize for his foul mouth saying it is part of his identity.– Rappler.com

It's the end of the journey for Senator Chiz Escudero's vice presidential bid. He's in a light mood as he congratulates Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for winning the presidency. He hopes fellow Bicolano Leni Robredo wins as vice president

Jee Geronimo files this VLOG. – Rappler.com

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The end of Election Day found Cieleto “Honeylet” Avanceña exhausted but happy inside the compound of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Davao City.

Her husband, now facing the very real possibility of becoming the country’s next president, is across the room from her surrounded by admirers.

But the decision of the Filipino people will have a profound impact on not just Duterte, but his family life as well. 

No one knows this more than Avanceña who has had to grapple with the possibility of a president husband for the last few months. 

Avanceña, Duterte’s wardrobe manager of sorts, said one of the first things she has to start thinking about is what her husband will wear for his new position.

Duterte, not fond of “itchy” barongs, usually wears collared shirts made of smoother fabric. Avanceña has already hatched a plan.

“Madali lang ‘yun, ifo-fold ko lang ‘yung barong niya, hanapan lang ‘yan ng medyo soft na tela na mukhang barong rin ang hitsura. Basta papiliin ko lang siya ng tela na gusto niya, ‘yung kaya ng skin niya,” she told Rappler.

(That's easy, I will fold his barong sleeves, look for soft cloth that looks like barong. I will make him choose the cloth he wants.)

As for the pants to go with Duterte’s special barong, she said to expect jeans or corduroy.

“Hindi talaga siya puwedeng synthetic, the one that you usually pair with ‘yung barong. Maong or the corduroy or ‘yung black. Ganoon talaga siya. Wala tayong magawa,” she said.

(He can't wear pants made of synthetic cloth, the one you usually pair with barong. He prefers jeans or corduroy. He's really like that. We can't do anything about it.)

Daily Manila-Davao trips 

Earlier that day, Duterte told Rappler that he would most likely make daily trips from Manila to Davao City during a “transitional period.”

“Maybe for 6 months to one year. But I won’t be building a Malacañang in Davao,” he said.

His decision has something to do, not only with his own comfort but with his youngest child, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.

“Kasi ‘yung anak ko ayaw mag-aral sa ano eh, gusto niya dito lang eh. Okay lang sana kung masama ko siya. Hindi ko pa siya ma-convince eh,” said Avanceña.

(My daughter doesn't want to study in Manila, she wants to stay here. It would have been okay if she stays in Manila. I haven't been able to convince her.)

Kitty wants to stay in Davao City to be with friends she’s had since prep school, she added. 

Duterte managing the country from Davao City used to be a non-negotiable for Avanceña. 

“Sabi ko nga nung before, payag ako na tumakbo ka pero ilipat dito sa Davao ang Malacañang…Ewan ko lang kung anong mangyayari, let’s see what will happen,” she said.

(I said before, I will agree to your presidential bid as long as Malacañang will be transferred to Davao. I don’t know if that will happen. Let’s see what will happen.)

Duterte previously said he would likely use Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s private jets to make the daily trips back to Davao City.

Quiboloy, a religious leader who shares a 3-decade friendship with Duterte, allowed the Davao City mayor to use his planes during the campaign season.

Duterte has admitted accepting properties, cars, and shoes from Quiboloy who has maintained these “gifts” don’t come with strings attached. – Rappler.com

PAMPANGA, Philippines – The country’s longest-serving mayor since the ratification of the 1987 Constitution has won his re-election bid against 3 rivals in Mabalacat City, some 83 kilometers north of Manila.

Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales has been serving as local chief executive here for 21 straight years. He was first elected as mayor in 1995 after serving a term as vice mayor.

At around 1 am on Tuesday, May 10, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed Morales the winner of the mayoralty contest with 39,919 votes. His closest rival, Board Member Crisostomo Garbo of the Nationalist People’s Coalition obtained only 17,553 votes. Independent mayoralty candidates Noel Castro and Pyra Lucas got only 10,696 and 5,750 votes, respectively.

In October of 2015, Morales filed his certificate of candidacy for reelection under the local Kambilan political party but withdrew his candidacy after a week. On December 8, Morales surprised his rivals by substituting his uncle, Wilfredo Feliciano, as the official mayoralty bet of Aksyon Democratiko party.

Castro filed disqualification case against Morales, saying the latter was no longer qualified to run for re-election, as he had already served more than three consecutive terms.

“Morales has been the mayor of Mabalacat since 1995 – for 21 years to be exact – making him the longest reigning mayor in the entire country,” Castro said, adding that it was a repeated violation of the Local Government Code.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution and the Local Government Code of 1991 limit the term of local officials to three consecutive terms.

Either due to sheer luck or having good lawyers, Morales was able to skirt the three-term rule. He had been occupying the mayor’s office here since 1995.

The only breaks in his service were when he, together with then-Governor Manuel Lapid, was suspended by the Ombudsman for 6 months over a quarry-related case in 1999 and when he turned over his seat to his vice mayor for 46 days due to an electoral case before the 2007 elections.

After Morales was reelected in 1998, his rival, the late businessman Anthony Dee, asked the court to conduct a vote recount.

On April 2, 2001, the Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 57 ruled that it was Dee who won the 1998 mayoralty contest and ordered Morales to vacate his post.

But due to series of motions and counteractions, the court’s decision became final and executor only on Aug. 6, 2001.

Dee never had the chance to actually serve and perform his duties as mayor.

The court’s decision allowed Morales to seek two more terms, as his second term was declared null and void by the court, though he had actually served the full term.

In 2004, Morales filed his certificate of candidacy for reelection, prompting his political opponents to file a disqualification case against him before the Comelec, arguing that the mayor had already completed his three consecutive terms, as Dee never occupied the mayor’s office despite the Angeles court decision.

The Comelec Second Division initially ruled in favor of the petitioners, saying Morales had actually served three consecutive terms and could no longer run for a fourth term as mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991 which prohibits any person from occupying a local elective office for more than three consecutive terms.

But the Comelec en banc allowed him to file his certificate of candidacy and eventually reversed the second division’s resolution, saying Morales was eligible to run for mayor in the 2004 elections because his term was interrupted when the Ombudsman suspended him for six months in 1999 and because of his defeat to Dee in the 1998 mayoralty race.

When Morales’ rivals elevated the case to the Supreme Court (SC), lady luck gave a bigger smile at him.

Had Morales’s rivals opted to just accept the Comelec en banc’s resolution, the mayor would be eligible to run for reelection only until the 2007 elections, with his lawful term starting in 2001.

Acting on the petitioners’ complaints, the SC issued a decision that allowed Morales to run for reelection until 2013.

On May 9, 2007, only 5 days before the elections, the high court reversed the 2005 Comelec en banc’s resolution and cancelled Morales’s certificate of candidacy for the 2004 elections. The high court ruled that he was not eligible to run in the 2004 as being a fourth-term candidate.

The high court ordered him to vacate his post to then Vice Mayor Prospero Lagman, who acted as the municipal mayor from May 16 to June 30, 2007.

On July 1, 2007, Morales again served as the chief executive of his town after winning the mayoralty race.

The SC decision allowed him to run for reelection in the 2010 for his second term and seek a third term in the May 2013 elections.

The high court also ruled in favor of Morales in a separate electoral case that sought to disqualify him for seeking reelection in 2007.

The SC en banc unanimously ruled on January 30, 2009 that “the assumption by the vice mayor of the office of the mayor no matter how short is may seem (to the petitioner), interrupted Morales’s continuity of service.” “Thus, Morales did not hold office for the full term of 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2007,” the decision stated.

While the SC decision clearly implied that Morales could run for re-election only until 2013, he still filed his candidacy for the 2016 mayoralty race, contending that that he was eligible to run for two more terms because his hometown has changed its status from municipality to component city in 2012.

“Mabalacat’s transformation into a component city made my current term as my first term as a city mayor. Therefore, I’m still eligible to run in 2016. And if I win, I can still run for a third term in 2019 as city mayor,” he said.

Last January 13, the Comelec’s second division dismissed Castro’s disqualification case against Morales due to procedural defects that included "lack of verification, failure to furnish respondent a copy of the petition, and failure to comply with the Efficient Use of Paper Rule (EUPR)." 

The EUPR was issued by the SC and took effect on January 1, 2013. It prescribes the format of pleadings, motions and documents filed in courts.

The rule prescribes that all pleadings, motions and similar papers intended for the court and quasi-judicial body’s consideration and action must be written in single space with 1.5 space between paragraphs, using an easily readable font style of 14-size font, on a 13-inch by 8.5-inch white bond paper, with 1.5-inch left hand margin and an inch right margin, 1.2-inch upper margin and an inch lower margin, and every page consecutively numbered.

The merit of the case was not discussed in the resolution due to the complaints’ basic procedural lapses.

Other winning candidates proclaimed as poll winners in Mabalacat City were Vice Mayor Christian Halili, Board Members Cherry Manalo and Benny Jocson, and Councilors Geld Aquino, Rox Peña, Dwight Morales, Eddie Sotto, Bok Tiglao, Jeng Yumul, Carlo Rivera, Jerry Basilio, Dan Bayani, and Win-Win Garbo. – Rappler.com

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Rodrigo Duterte’s executive assistant Christopher “Bong” Go confirmed that President Benigno Aquino III called him on Tuesday, May 10, to begin talks on the transition process between his administration and Duterte’s.

Go told reporters that Aquino began his call by expressing his best wishes for Duterte and his team.

“Pinaparating lang niya yung pagbati para kay Mayor Duterte at nangangamusta lang siya,” said Go. (He just extended his greetings to Mayor Duterte and he asked how he is doing.) 

Aquino then told Go of his intention to issue an Executive Order to facilitate the transition. It’s similar to a move by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. 

In 2010, she issued an order creating the Presidential Transition Cooperation Team. Led by her then executive secretary Leandro Mendoza, the team’s job was to ensure a smooth transition between her administration and Aquino’s on June 30, the day of his oath-taking.

Duterte’s camp is also moving on their end. Select members of his campaign team are set to meet on Wednesday, May 11, to form a transition committee. 

Go revealed that he will be attending the meeting together with campaign manager Jun Evasco and lawyer Salvador “Bingbong” Medialdea.

Duterte is not expected to attend the meeting. Go said the presumptive president has decided to take the next few days off and will “probably” make his next appearance to the media on Monday, May 16.

“Hinihiling niya na kung puwede this week makapagpahinga siya (He’s asking if he can rest this week), he’s not feeling well,” said Go.

But he stressed that Duterte is suffering, not from any illness, but from extreme fatigue given the events of the last few days.

{source}

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Duterte assistant Bong Go, Senator Alan Cayetano unwind with a game of basketball in Davao City <a href="https://t.co/0T0oPo8Kjp">pic.twitter.com/0T0oPo8Kjp</a></p>&mdash; Pia Ranada (@piaranada) <a href="https://twitter.com/piaranada/status/729982013986381825">May 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
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While he recuperates, Go and Duterte's running mate Alan Peter Cayetano, faced off in a basketball game in Davao City. Both are known basketball enthusiasts.

In fact, the two also played the game together some 7 months ago when Cayetano came over to ask Duterte if he could be his running mate. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos is holding on to a possible win in what is an exhilaratingly close vice presidential race.

"I am not conceding. In the [internal] polls, I am ahead… It's very clear in my mind," Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr told Rappler on Tuesday evening, May 10, a day after the elections.

The senator said the rise of administration vice presidential bet Leni Robredo in the partial, unofficial tally amounts to "strange developments."

"It was a very measured increase in the votes that doesn't seem to follow what our internal surveys are saying," he explained. 

Marcos consistently led in the unofficial tally within 10 hours after polling precincts closed, but Robredo edged ahead of him at 3:29 am on Tuesday, with over 80% of precincts reporting.

Robredo has since had a steady marginal lead over Marcos, who now claims his camp expressed concerns with the transmission of votes even before Robredo took the lead.

"I felt that even as we went past almost 10% of the precinct count, the numbers were slowing down already," Marcos said.

Robredo of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) has been likened by her supporters to the late democracy icon Corazon Aquino, whose loss in what oppositionists regarded as a rigged 1986 Philippine snap elections led to the People Power Movement that ousted Marcos Sr. 

Outgoing President Benigno Aquino III is the democracy icon's son and has campaigned against Marcos, who alleged in a pre-election speech that only massive cheating by the Aquino-led LP will keep the vice presidency from him.

With the race now neck and neck, Pulse Asia research director Ana Tabunda told Rappler that it is best to wait until 99% of the transmission has been completed.

Appeal to Comelec

But Marcos, concerned with a possible discrepancy, has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to stop the unofficial count.

He said initial tallies in the past did not reach 100% anyway, adding that a discrepancy between the unofficial and official counts might affect perceptions of legitimacy for the winning candidate.

Marcos cited alleged anomalies, including the possibility of dagdag-bawas (padding and shaving of votes), especially in Mindanao.

Robredo's rise in the quick count is "completely counter to the trend that has been established in the last few hours, in the last few days," he reiterated.

"All of these things really require an explanation [from the Comelec]," the senator said.

Sociologist Nicole Curato said any such suspicions need to be addressed by the poll body, regardless of the personalities involved. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – At least 9 senatorial candidates appear to be assured of their slots in the Magic 12 while 6 others are fighting for the last 3 seats, based on Rappler estimates of the unofficial tally.

The 9 are incumbent senators Franklin Drilon and Vicente Sotto III, returning senators Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Francis Pangilinan, and 3 newcomers to the Senate – former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) chief Joel Villanueva, Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao, and former Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros.

13th placer Francis Tolentino, who has roughly 12.4 million votes in the ongoing tally, can no longer catch up to the Top 9 with less than 2.7 million votes left to be transmitted as of 10 pm on Tuesday, May 10. 

This estimate is based on the 81% turnout among 55 million voters and a transmission rate of 94% as of 10 pm.

6 bets fighting for last 3 seats

But Tolentino can still make his way to the Magic 12 if he gets enough votes to displace candidates ranking 10th to 12th.

Six candidates have statistical chances to win the last 3 seats. Ranking 10th to 12th are Valenzuela City Representative Sherwin Gatchalian (14.5 million votes), incumbent senator Ralph Recto (13.7 million votes), and former justice secretary Leila De Lima (13.6 million votes). (READ: Senate race shows signs of 'junking' – Pulse Asia)

Aside from Tolentino, incumbent senator Sergio Osmeña III (12.2 million votes) and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez (11.9 million votes) also still have statistical chances of making it to the winning circle. (READ: 3 reelectionist senators in danger of losing seats)

But it will not be easy for Tolentino, Osmeña, and Romualdez to pull off victories. Aside from getting almost all of the remaining votes, Gatchalian, Recto, and De Lima will also have to get small percentages of the votes still to be transmitted.

It also appears that incumbent senator Teofisto Guingona III has failed in his bid to return to the Senate. He has about 9.9 million votes as of 10:55 pm on Tuesday.

(See below for the latest rankings and tally of votes in the senatorial race.)

– Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – The daughter of former ambassador Roy Señeres, who withdrew from the presidential race shortly before his death last February, has shared her thoughts on why her late father still managed to get thousands of votes.

There were 24,784 votes for Señeres in the partial, unofficial tally as of 10:55 pm on Tuesday, May 10.

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In a public Facebook post, Hannah Señeres answered some social media users' questions about her father, including why she thought people still voted for him.

"One can only surmise. My guess is that these are tribute votes from his loyal friends and supporters who wish to honor his memory, particularly the OFW families he was able to help during his lifetime. Other votes could be due to his political party who fielded and campaigned for a substitute although this was still being resolved by the Comelec," she wrote.

A former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and representative of the OFW party list Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka, Señeres was an advocate of labor rights. He was particularly opposed to contractualization.

His name stayed on the ballot even after he withdrew from the race because, as his daughter explained: "Our family requested the Comelec to remove his name from the ballot to which they replied that it was too late as printing was already underway."

Hannah also appealed to the public "for respect at this point that we are just 3 months into the grieving process."

"We are grateful to everyone who honored his memory," she added.

Here is Hannah's post in full:

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– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – More winnerrs in the local races were proclaimed by local election boards across the country on Wednesday, May 11, two days after the polls.

Rappler consolidates reports of proclamation for the positions of governor, vice governor, board member, district representative, mayor, vice mayor, and councilor from our correspondents, citizen journalists, partner organizations, and media reports.

(For the earlier proclamations, see LIST: Proclaimed local winners, May 10.)

Below are the proclaimed winners as of May 11:

• Marilyn Pentecostes - mayor of Gonzaga, Cagayan
• Lolita Garcia - mayor of Sta Teresita, Cagayan
• Evelyn Diaz - mayor of Ilagan City, Isabela
• Bernard Faustino Dy - mayor of Cauayan City, Isabela 
• Joseph Tan - mayor of Santiago City, Isabela 
• Jesus Laddaran - mayor of Ramon, Isabela
• Nestor Uy - mayor of Gamu, Isabela 
• Kervin Uy - mayor of Burgos, Isabela 
• Charlton Uy - mayor of Cabatuan, Isabela
• Christopher Mamauag - mayor of Cabagan, Isabela
• Arnold Bautista - mayor of Tumauini, Isabela

This page is constantly updated as reports come in.– Rappler.com

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The reins of power at Cebu City Hall will soon change hands.

Former mayor Tomas Osmeña of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) was proclaimed Tuesday dawn as the winner in this year’s mayoralty race, defeating Mayor Michael Rama.

This is Rama’s first loss in the 24 years he has been in politics. Had he won, he would’ve served his third and last term.

But while BOPK clinched the city’s top post, Team Rama now has the majority of the 17-member City Council.

This is a switch in the current set-up where Team Rama has the mayorship while BOPK has the majority in the city’s legislative body.

All the winning candidates in the city were proclaimed by the City Board of Election Canvassers by 4 am Tuesday but only some BOPK candidates went to the canvassing center at the Social Hall of City Hall.

All Team Rama winning bets were not around.

Rama plans to file an election protest to question Osmeña’s win. He said he is not convinced with the result.

“It’s highly improbable and unbelievable. It has to be fought,” Rama said.

Rama said votes gathered by Osmeña should be his votes, based on the survey they conducted prior to the May 9 election.

He said it is also impossible that the votes of Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who won over Councilor Nestor Archival, should not reflect on him since they campaigned as a team.

Team

“The vice mayor and I were fighting as a team. My survey had been very clear that it will be 11-0. It’s highly improbable that I will not benefit from their scores. In fact, it’s always been that they will benefit from my scores because it has been too obvious (that I will win), accepting and conceding will not be the right thing to do,” Rama said.

A vigil attended by the Team Rama supporters was held past midnight Tuesday while a prayer rally was also held Tuesday at Plaza Sugbo, in front of City Hall.

“We strongly question the results of the vote and counting machines, we need to look at this first. For me, the result is statically improbable because we campaigned as a team,” Labella said.

Other Team Rama candidates who lost to the candidates of the opposition also shared the same sentiments.

Former mayor Alvin Garcia, who ran as congressman in Cebu City north, appealed to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to look into the matter the soonest possible time.

Based on the final and official results reflected in the certificate of canvass issued by the Comelec, Osmeña won the mayorship by a margin of 34,036 votes.

He earned a total of 267,222 votes compared to Rama’s 233,186 votes.

During the 2013 elections, Rama won over Osmeña by a margin of 6,367 votes.

In an interview after he was proclaimed, Osmeña thanked the people who stood by him and the groups and different sectors that supported him.

He thanked his running mate Councilor Nestor Archival, who lost to Vice Mayor Labella, his wife reelected Councilor Margarita Osmeña, the Iglesia Ni Cristo and the entire BOPK slate.

“You have a big part of my victory… I feel that I have accepted a major responsibility and challenge and I owe it to the people who have not lost faith in BOPK,” he said.

Asked what he would first do once he occupies his post on July 1, Osmeña said he intends to consult the different sectors and listen to them.

“I know what I want. I’ve been mayor before. But I have to reconcile and evaluate what their sentiments are because the success of a project would always be dependent on the people implementing it. People want leaders who know how to listen, not leaders who know how to talk,” he said.

He also want to go back to the barangays and check on their priority programs and projects.

Father

“For those barangays who did not vote for me, I also have to assure them that I am the father of everybody,” he said.

Asked if there will be major revamp at City Hall, Osmeña said there will be and he would prefer to call it “ethnic cleansing.”

On working with a council that is not his, Osmeña said he can very well work with Labella, an ally of Team Rama.

“I don’t have problems with him. I have problems with Rama. But that is not a problem anymore. He’s gone,” he said.

There are also members of Team Rama councilors whom he can get along with but he begged off from naming them.

For the vice mayoral race, Labella won by 29,768 votes against Archival. He got a total of 222,702 votes while Archival earned 252,470 votes.

For the seat in the House of Representatives, BOPK incumbent officials got reelected.

In the north district, Representative Raul del Mar got 134,940 votes while Team Rama’s Alvin Garcia got 64,348.

In the south district, Representative Rodrigo Abellanosa earned 149,259 votes while Councilor Gerardo Carillo got 97,491 votes.

As for the city councilors in the north district, BOPK had 4 councilors who won and all are incumbents.

They are Councilors Alvin Arcilla (103,219), Mary Ann delos Santos (101,590), Sisinio Andales (100,803) and former vice mayor Joy Young (96,993).

Four candidates

Team Rama, for their part, also had 4 candidates who got in. They include Jerry Guardo (96,414), Kamputhaw Barangay Councilor Raymond Garcia (95,392), Jun Alcover (92,940) and Tinago Barangay Captain Joel Garganera (92,660).

For south district councilors, Team Rama had 6 candidates who won.

They are Councilors Dave Tumulak (145,013), Edu Rama (139,758), Joey Daluz (133,401), Hanz Abella (132,877), James Cuenco (119,608) and Joy Pesquera (117,210).

Cuenco, in an interview, said Team Rama bets refused to be proclaimed yesterday dawn because of the results on the mayoralty race.

“I join Mayor Mike in condemning the result of the vote count. I, along with my other teammates, will refuse to to be proclaimed until a random manual audit of the ballots cast is done by Comelec,” he said.

Councilors Margarita Osmeña (143,460) and Eugenio Gabuya Jr. (129,695) are the only ones who won from BOPK in the south.

Osmeña, in an interview yesterday, said she is grateful to the people for reelecting her but she is more happy for her husband who is making a comeback at City Hall.

“It would’ve been so much more complete if all people we are running with won but they would always be part of our family,” she said. – Rappler.com

This article is republished under Rappler's content sharing agreement with the SunStar network in the coverage of the 2016 national and local elections.

NEW DELHI, India – An Indian woman who gave birth at the age of 70 said Tuesday, May 10, she was not too old to become a first-time mother, adding that her life was now complete.

Daljinder Kaur gave birth last month to a boy following two years of IVF treatment at a fertility clinic in the northern state of Haryana with her 79-year-old husband.

Kaur said the couple, married for 46 years, had almost lost hope of ever having a child and had faced ridicule in a country where infertility is sometimes seen as a curse from God.

"God heard our prayers. My life feels complete now. I am looking after the baby all by myself, I feel so full of energy. My husband is also very caring and helps me as much as he can," Kaur told AFP from the northern city of Amritsar.

"When we saw the (IVF) advert, we thought we should also give it a try as I badly wanted to have a baby of my own," she said.

Kaur put her age at about 70, a common scenario in India where many people don't have birth certificates, while the clinic said in a statement that she was 72.

The baby was conceived using the couple's own egg and sperm and was now "healthy and hearty" after weighing just two kilograms (4.4 pounds) at birth on April 19, the National Fertility and Test Tube Center said.

Kaur's husband, Mohinder Singh Gill, who owns a farm outside Amritsar, said he was unfazed about their age, saying God would watch over their child whom they named Armaan.

"People say what will happen to the child once we die. But I have full faith in God. God is omnipotent and omnipresent, he will take care of everything," he told AFP.

Anurag Bishnoi, who runs the fertility clinic, said he was initially skeptical about going ahead with in vitro fertilization (IVF), but tests showed Kaur was able to carry the unborn baby.

"I first tried to avoid the case because she looked very frail. Then we made her undergo all the tests and once all the results were okay we went ahead," the doctor told AFP.

The case is not the first in India, with a 72-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh state reportedly giving birth to twins in 2008, also through IVF. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON, USA – The US government has suspended millions of dollars in funding to several organizations providing aid for Syria after discovering they were systematically overpaying Turkish companies for basic goods with the collusion of some of their staff.

The US Agency for International Development's independent government auditor said it had "established grounds resulting in the suspension of 14 entities and individuals involved with aid programs from Turkey."

Among the revelations, it said in a statement Friday, May 6, was "a network of commercial vendors, NGO employees, and others who have colluded to engage in bid-rigging and multiple bribery and kickback schemes related to contracts to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria."

USAID did not identify any of the charities, but among those affected are the International Medical Corps (IMC), the Irish charity Goal and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), headed by former British foreign minister David Miliband, humanitarian sources told AFP.

All the allegations relate to buying goods in Turkey, with NGOs systematically overpaying.

A senior USAID official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said among the largest problems was product substitution – with Turkish private companies selling goods to NGOs at inflated prices and then providing vastly cheaper quality goods and pocketing the difference.

Examples included blankets and other basic materials for Syrians, humanitarian sources said.

The NGOs are accused of failing to monitor their procurement, while some NGO staff are accused of direct involvement in the overcharging.

The IMC confirmed to AFP it had fired a number of staff after the allegations emerged.

"What became clear in the course of this investigation was this was a pretty sophisticated operation," the USAID official said.

In 2015, the US donated $397 million to aid groups working in Syria, according to the UN's Financial Tracking Service.

USAID did not say how much the suspended aid was worth, but a source within one of the NGOs put the figure at tens of millions of dollars.

Syrians hurt

War-torn Syria is among the hardest places in the world for aid organizations to work, with a plethora of armed groups including the Islamic State organization and its jihadist rival Al-Qaeda constant threats. The Syrian government has also been accused of bombing hospitals in rebel-held areas.

However the USAID allegations concern only the way goods were purchased inside Turkey, before being delivered to Syrian refugees or to those still inside Syria.

USAID's Office of the Inspector General confirmed 14 "entities and individuals" had been suspended.

"As a result of the suspensions, these parties are no longer able to receive US government awards."

International Medical Corps is among the largest providers of medical aid to Syrians, both inside the country and to refugees in neighbouring countries, with the NGO saying more than 6 million patients have been treated in the past 5 years in the 430 health facilities it supports.

IMC confirmed its USAID-funded procurements in Turkey had been temporarily suspended and that it had fired a number of staff over alleged malpractice.

"International Medical Corps has been actively cooperating with the USAID Inspector General, and we have also mounted our own internal investigation," IMC's Chief Compliance Officer Ambassador William Garvelink said in a statement.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and corruption and have fired staff members who were suspected of involvement."

The suspension has left the organization with a huge funding shortage, with around a third of its more than 2,000 personnel working on aid for Syria being made redundant.

A number of programs run by the International Rescue Committee have also been suspended.

The IRC did not respond to requests for comment.

The Irish charity Goal confirmed to the Irish newspaper The Journal last month parts of its program had been suspended.

The knock-on effect for some of the world's neediest people has been significant.

A major Syrian charity, which provides medical care to thousands of Syrians, received huge proportions of its funding from the IMC and the IRC, though there has been no allegation against the NGO.

Speaking on condition the charity not be identified, a spokesman said it had been unable to buy medicines and other vital goods with US funding since January.

The suspensions are temporary, and provided USAID is given assurances of new safeguards funding will resume.

The United Nations has asked for more than $7 billion to fund its Syria aid programs for 2016. – Rappler.com

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan on Tuesday, May 10, executed a former college student who killed 4 people in a random stabbing spree on a subway two years ago, in an attack which horrified the generally peaceful island.

Cheng Chieh, 23, was anaesthetized then shot 3 times by a firing squad at a jail outside Taipei a little before 9 pm (1300 GMT), deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told reporters.

"Death was the only way to show publicly that justice had been served and to relieve the sorrow and pain of victims' families," he said.

Cheng was sentenced to death last year for killing 4 people and injuring another 22, in the first fatal attack on the capital's subway system since it launched in 1996.

His execution surprised many, however, as it came less than 3 weeks after the supreme court upheld the death sentence despite last-ditch efforts by rights groups.

Among the victims of the attack in May 2014 was a man named Hsieh Ching-yun. His mother said she was "glad" Cheng had been executed.

"Losing my son is a pain that will last forever, for the rest of my life," she told the TVBS cable news network.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Cheng, saying psychological evaluations showed that he was not suffering from any mental disorder when he committed the crime.

Cheng, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was expelled by his university after the attack and was described by prosecutors as "anti-society, narcissistic, immature and pessimistic."

Local media said he had been obsessed with gory online games and had written horror stories.

Cheng's parents had asked for him to be sentenced to death, calling their son's actions "unforgivable."

The incident shocked Taiwan, otherwise proud of its low levels of violent crime, and resulted in several minor injuries as edgy commuters fled trains over false alarms in the following week.

There are currently 42 prisoners on death row in Taiwan, all of whom will face a firing squad when they are executed. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran basketball coaches Franz Pumaren and Aldin Ayo brought their success from the court to the poll booths as both won their respective electoral campaigns. 

Pumaren, who was recently named coach of the Adamson University men’s team, is on his way to his second term as councilor of Quezon City’s third district, having 56,616 votes as of 11:55 pm on Tuesday, May 10, which is good for fifth most with 6 council seats up for grabs.

Pumaren had previously steered De La Salle University to 5 UAAP championships, including a 4-peat feat from 1998 to 2001. 

Known for implementing the full-court press defense on opposing teams, Pumaren is set to make his return to collegiate basketball with Adamson after coaching the Air21 Express in the PBA for 3 seasons.

Meanwhile, Ayo won for the third time as councilor of Sorsogon City’s west district, garnering 9,232 votes.

Ayo, 38, was supposed to give up his bid for a third term in office, but he later had a change of heart regarding his decision and still ran for councilor.

Ayo, who led Colegio de San Juan de Letran to win its first NCAA basketball championship since 2005, was named as the new head coach of La Salle following Juno Sauler's resignation in 2015. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON, USA – Barack Obama will this month become the first sitting US president to visit atomic bomb-struck Hiroshima, but the White House said he will not offer an apology for the devastating attack on the Japanese city in 1945.

Obama, accompanied by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will make the deeply symbolic visit on May 27, after attending a G7 summit in south-central Japan, his spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday, May 10.

The White House described the trip as an effort to highlight the US "commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing around 140,000 people, including those who survived the explosion itself but died soon after from severe radiation exposure.

Three days later, the US military dropped a plutonium bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing some 74,000 people.

The announcement comes after months of speculation in the US and Japan that the president, a Nobel peace laureate, would make a visit to the city.

The bombings remain controversial in the United States and across the world, with opinion sharply divided on whether their use ended the brutality of World War II and avoided a bloody US invasion of Japan, or whether dropping atomic weapons on civilians constitutes a war crime.

A Pew poll last year showed 56% of Americans think the bombing was justified, while 14% of Japanese do. In both countries, approval of then US president Harry Truman's order has waned dramatically over the years.

In Hiroshima, Obama will visit the once ruined city's Peace Memorial Park "where he will share his reflections on the significance of the site and the events that occurred there," said senior Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes.

Last month, Secretary of State John Kerry became the highest ranking US political figure to visit Hiroshima.

Kerry said he was "deeply moved" by the experience and called a museum at the site a "gut-wrenching display that tugs at all your sensibilities as a human being."

"Everyone should visit Hiroshima, and everyone means everyone," he added, fueling speculation that Obama would go.

No apology

Abe welcomed the White House announcement, saying: "We want to make this visit an opportunity for both Japan and the US to mourn all the victims."

"It is significant for him to send a message of his determination for a nuclear-free world. For a US president, it was a big decision," he said.

Japan has long urged world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see the horrors of the atomic bombings and join efforts to eradicate nuclear arms.

But some have been concerned that Obama's visit would be seen as an apology for events of 7 decades ago.

A presidential visit will rile Obama's opponents and some in the military, whose predecessors carried out presidential orders to drop the bombs.

The visit would come at a particularly sensitive time. This December marks the 75th anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, in Obama's home state of Hawaii.

But the White House was eager to stress that Obama's visit is not an apology.

"He will not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. Instead, he will offer a forward-looking vision focused on our shared future," said Rhodes.

The visit is likely to have regional reverberations, at a time when North Korea, a short distance away, is aggressively pursuing its nuclear and ballistic missiles development program.

At a 4-day Communist Party confab that ended on Monday, May 9, Pyongyang's enigmatic leaders vowed to continue building weapons systems that have already prompted deep international sanctions, opprobrium, and isolation.

Japan's neighbors in China and South Korea will also be watching the visit closely, always eager to make sure that their once hyper-aggressive foe is not allowed to play the role of a World War II victim.

Before his visit to Japan, Obama will head to Vietnam for talks on advancing cooperation on trade, security, and human rights, the White House said.

Obama will deliver a speech on US-Vietnam relations in Hanoi and also visit Ho Chi Minh City. – Andrew Beatty, AFP / Rappler.com

WASHINGTON DC, USA – The United States said Tuesday, May 10, it was keen to work with whoever wins the presidential election in the Philippines, after populist Rodrigo Duterte claimed victory.

"We look forward to working with and congratulating the winner," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said, after the 71-year-old firebrand declared himself the winner of Monday's (May 9) voting.

Trudeau stressed that official results had not yet been confirmed, but said the United States would work with whichever candidate emerges on top.

"Washington respects the choice of the Philippines' people. We will gladly work with the leader they've selected," she added, without being drawn on some of Duterte's more controversial statements.

Duterte, who has vowed a fierce crackdown on crime and corruption, has made no secret of his involvement in running vigilante death squads as mayor of Davao and waged an incendiary campaign.

Duterte dominated campaign media coverage and generated international headlines with his relentless gutter talk, branding the pope a "son of a whore" and boasting repeatedly about his Viagra-fueled affairs.

He caused further disgust in diplomatic circles by joking that he would have wanted to rape an Australian missionary who was killed in a 1989 Philippine prison riot.

Duterte was enraged when the US and Australian ambassadors criticized his comments and even threatened to break ties with Washington, one of the Philippines' closest allies.

On Tuesday, he said it was up to US officials to repair relations with him and indicated that he was prepared to hold direct talks with Beijing over a sensitive territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

This, at least, did not cause offense.

"The United States has consistently expressed support for nations to exercise peaceful means to resolve territorial or maritime disputes without the use of force, intimidation or coercion," Trudeau said. – Rappler.com

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff launched a last-minute bid Tuesday, May 10, to block impeachment proceedings against her in what could be her final hours in power.

Her lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court to annul the proceedings before the Senate gathers Wednesday, May 11, to vote on whether to suspend her from office and launch an impeachment trial.

The result of what is expected to be a marathon voting session may not be final until Thursday, May 12.

If Brazil's first woman president is pushed out, her vice president-turned-enemy, Michel Temer, will take over.

Ever-defiant, Rousseff made a fiery last stand ahead of the Senate session, vowing to serve out her full term.

"I am going to fight (impeachment) with all my strength, using all means available," she told a women's forum in Brasilia.

Repeating her oft-used line that the impeachment process is a "coup," she said Brazil was entrenched in "a fight for democracy."

"These people can't win the presidency through a popular vote, because we're not going to vote for their project, which is a project to dismantle Brazil," she said, lauding the social gains made under progressive programs launched during 13 years of rule by the left-wing Workers' Party.

In an already chaotic week in which the interim speaker of the lower house tried to order the upper house to halt impeachment proceedings – only to back down hours later – there was no patching over the sprawling South American country's deep divisions.

Lawmaker Jose Guimaraes, a Rousseff ally, said that despite almost certain defeat in the initial Senate vote, the impeachment trial itself would be an all-out fight.

"We will have 180 days in the Senate, talking with every one of them, to get them to change their minds," he told journalists, warning that "our main fight today will be in the streets."

Security and shadow cabinet

Police responded to heightened tension by building a huge metal barricade outside Congress to separate rival groups of protesters during the Senate vote. A separation corridor 80 meters (yards) wide and more than a kilometer (half a mile) long will also be enforced.

A square where major government institutions are located will be declared a "national security zone" and made off-limits to the public, Brasilia security authorities announced.

Huge anti-government protests and smaller but still significant pro-Rousseff rallies have been a regular feature in Brazil over the last year, but so far have passed off peacefully.

As Rousseff prepared for her Senate showdown, the man who would replace her continued to work on assembling a new government.

Temer is a veteran center-right politician but has rock-bottom popularity and would inherit the crumbling economy, now in the deepest recession Brazil has seen for decades.

He has made no public pronouncements in the immediate runup to the Senate vote, but Brazilian media reports suggest he is negotiating with allies on ministerial posts and measures that Congress would pass to try to breathe some life into the economy.

Stocks in Sao Paulo rose more than 4% as the overwhelmingly anti-Rousseff markets bet that Rousseff was on her way out.

Corruption and 'coup'

The Senate impeachment trial could last months, running through the Olympics, which open in Rio de Janeiro on August 5 – a first for South America.

Fears over the Zika virus, high crime in Rio, pollution in the sailing and some swimming venues, along with a budget crunch, are already hurting preparations for the Games, and there are worries that political instability could overshadow the event.

Rousseff is accused of using accounting tricks and unauthorized state loans to boost public spending during her 2014 re-election campaign.

She argues the same accounting techniques were used regularly by previous governments and fall far short of an impeachable offense.

Further complicating the outlook for Brazil is the huge, ongoing corruption scandal centered on state oil company Petrobras.

Dozens of high-ranking politicians and some of the country's richest businessmen have been implicated in the multibillion-dollar bribery and embezzlement scheme, which flourished under Rousseff's predecessor and mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Rousseff is being probed for alleged obstruction of justice, Lula faces money-laundering charges and some of their fiercest opponents, including the runner-up in the 2014 elections, have also been investigated.

A probe has not been opened against Temer, but a key witness, Senator Delcidio do Amaral, has accused him of taking part in the scheme. – Damian Wroclavsky, AFP / Rappler.com