Party-list canvassing nears completion

MANILA -- Canvassing for the party-list groups is almost complete as 95 percent have already been canvassed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).

Comelec Commissioner Grace Padaca said the NBOC has already completed the canvassing of all local Certificates of Canvass (COCs).

Blast injures 5 troops, 3 civilians

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Eight people, including five soldiers, were injured after suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels set off two improvised bombs along the Tagum-Mawab highway linking the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, military officials said Wednesday.

The wounded soldiers were identified as Private First Class (PFC) Lovie Joy Semillano, PFC Joseph Mendio, PFC Erwin Cordero, PFC Bai Johana Durado, and PFC Ryan Torena – all members of the Army’s 66th Infantry Battalion (66th IB).

P25-M worth of fake medicines seized

MANILA -- The Bureau of Customs has seized illegally imported fake medicines worth P25 million in a Manila port.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, who inspected on Wednesday the confiscated items, said that one 40-footer container van was seized at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

Youth group to ask SC to stop tuition increases

MANILA -- Youth leaders will ask the Supreme Court on Friday to stop the implementation of freshly approved tuition increases in 343 universities and colleges, the names have yet to be disclosed by the Commission on Higher Education (Ched).

Specifically, the Kabataan party-list will raise the constitutionality of Ched Memorandum Order No. 3 series of 2012, which lays down guidelines regarding tuition hikes.

Philippines sympathizes with victims of Oklahoma tornado

MANILA -- The Philippines joined other nations in expressing sympathy and grief for the residents of Oklahoma City suburb of Moore in the United States that was struck by a gigantic tornado on Monday.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte expressed sadness over the "loss of young lives in this catastrophe" and offered prayers for the victims, their families and friends.

NBI off to Taiwan to complete shooting probe

MANILA (2nd update, 6:29 p.m.) -- A team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) may leave for Taiwan on Friday to inspect the vessel and interview companions of a fisherman recently killed by the Philippine Coast Guard, an official of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) said.

Belmonte, Romualdez to face off in speaker race

MANILA -- Allies of reelected Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will meet with congressmen allied with the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) in a bid to unseat Quezon City Representative Feliciano Belmonte Jr. as leader of the 287-member House of Representatives.

Belmonte, a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP), was reelected as representative of Quezon City's fourth district in the May 13 polls. He is the House Speaker of the current 15th Congress.

Rescue teams search for mountaineer in Mayon

LEGAZPI CITY -- The Albay government sent two search and rescue teams on Wednesday morning to look for a foreign mountaineer who sent a message through his cellphone to a villager saying he got lost and broke his leg while climbing Mayon volcano.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) chairperson, identified the missing foreign mountaineer as Mark Yuchagaev, reportedly a Russian, but authorities are still confirming his true nationality.

Social worker seized in Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Updated 1:46 p.m.)– Four gunmen believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits abducted Wednesday a government social worker in a remote village in Basilan province, said a police official on Wednesday.

Basilan Police Director Mario Dapilloza identified the victim as Jenelyn Enpera, who was abducted around 9 a.m. Wednesday in the village of Ulitan, Ungkaya Pukan town.

State media shows North Korea has new military chief

PYONGYANG, North Korea — A North Korean state media dispatch shows that leader Kim Jong Un has named a hardline general as his new military chief.