Commission on Elections Chair George Garcia on Friday leads the launching of the Katapatan at Integridad Para sa Atin project and the signing of its agreement—ahead of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in December—which aims to ensure the integrity of that exercise. Advocates of participatory democracy have called on voters to be more actively involved in all local elections, including the upcoming polls. Voters are urged to know their candidates, their political or business affiliations and the leading issues in their community such as peace and order, public transportation and other basic services. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
PETITION FOR DAMAGES
Relatives of Jon-Jon Soria Alinas and his wife Dain Janica, who were killed in a collision caused by a passenger bus of Solid North Transit, appear on Friday before the Quezon City Hall of Justice to file a civil case seeking P50 million in damages against company president Teodoro Silvallana Merjan and bus driver Gerald Chua. The Alinas family was accompanied by Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon. The May 1 accident in Tarlac City also killed eight other people. A group calling for occupational safety standards has urged the government to look into transport companies where drivers are overworked and underpaid. —LYN RILLON
GOOD, AFFORDABLE SHOES
A customer inquires about shoes and sandals sold at a garage converted into a store run by the Marikina Filipino-Chinese Fire Brigade Volunteers. The shoes are sold at a reduced cost, with some offered at a discount of more than 50 percent. According to the group, the store’s profits cover the operational expenses of the volunteers’ fire station, including their gas and meals. Theirs is yet one more venture affirming Marikina’s distinction as the country’s shoe capital. —LYN RILLON
SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIANS
Human rights activists, including members of the Muslim community, hold a rally on Friday at the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines to express support for the Palestinian people, amid the bombardment of Gaza now on its second year since the Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack by Hamas on Israel’s border communities. It has been a week since Israel lifted its March 2 blockade on the delivery of food into Gaza. But aid agencies have criticized Israel’s plan to limit the distribution of food while the enclave’s 2.1 million people are on the brink of starvation. —LYN RILLON
FUGITIVE NABBED
The National Bureau of Investigation on Friday presents Korean fugitive Jang Seong Woong, who had been wanted in his country for gang violence and had been sought by the Korean Embassy, in connection with an arrest warrant for charges of serious physical injury and kidnapping. The Interpol had also issued a red notice on Jang, who first arrived in the Philippines as a tourist in 2017, according to the Bureau of Immigration. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
