Dismissed Special Action Force (SAF) commander Getulio Napeñas filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) with the Commission on Elections on Friday, October 16, under the banner of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance led by Vice President Jejomar Binay. Removed from his post after the death of the SAF 44 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, Napeñas said he is running to seek justice for his men. Besides Napeñas, others who filed their COCs Friday morning were pork barrel scam lawyer Levito Baligod and Overseas Filipino Worker advocate Susan Ople.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A related story on Baligod filing his COC is also on Rappler, as is the story on Susan Ople.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is seeking reelection and is not running for president in the 2016 elections. His chief of staff Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go filed Duterte’s certificate of candidacy for mayor on Thursday, October 15, in Davao City. Duterte told reporters in Davao, “Look, I never talked about running when I traveled about federalism. There should never be an expectation because I never promised one.” The local chief executive had previously announced on Monday, October 12, he was certain about not seeking the presidency, but supporters remained hopeful he would.

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A candidate who has filed a certificate of candidacy (COC) can withdraw it and file another one for another position. The poll body however prohibits the filing of multiple COCs. If applied to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who filed his COC for mayor on Thursday, October 15, it means that he cannot run for mayor and president at the same time. Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista said they are not inclined to extend the October 16 deadline for the filing of candidacies.

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Asia should create its own identity by helping its poor, some of the region’s premier philanthropists said during a panel discussion at the Forbes Global CEO Conference 2015 on October 14. Philanthropists with entrepreneurial skills could be harnessed to create businesses directed at social transformation, said Laurence Lien of Asian Philanthropy Circle, an initiative that convenes Asian philanthropists to collectively act. Billionaire Vincent Tan, for his part, emphasized the need for an effective socialized housing scheme, the absence of which should invite private institutions to create something like the Philippines’ Gawad Kalinga. The program bridges government and the private sector to provide housing for the poor.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A former Canadian envoy who hid American diplomats after the US embassy in Tehran was stormed by Iranian student radicals in 1979 has died. Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor was 81. The Iranian students took 52 Americans hostage, spending 444 days in captivity. The 6 who got away were however hidden by Taylor and were later able to escape in less than 3 months under false Canadian passports. The caper inspired the Hollywood movie Argo by actor-director Ben Affleck.

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Tropical Storm Lando is now a typhoon. State weather bureau PAGASA said on Friday morning, October 16, it is threatening the Aurora-Isabela area. Located 670 km east of Baler, Aurora, it has maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 150 km/h. Moving westward at 15 km/h, it is bringing heavy to intense rainfall estimated within its 550-km diameter.

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South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is expected to move out of prison to house arrest on October 20 after serving a year for killing his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day two years ago. But he could soon be put back behind bars after prosecutors filed an appeal against the culpable homicide verdict and argued that he should instead have been convicted of murder. If found guilty, he faces at least 15 years in jail. Known as “Blade Runner” for the prosthetic legs he wore on the track, Pistorius became famous after racing against able-bodied competitors in the 2012 London Olympics. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in October 2014 for killing model and law graduate girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A related story is on the BBC. 

Patients undergoing surgery or chemotherapy face fearful consequences of antibiotic resistance, a study published in medical journal, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, says. A 30% reduction in the efficacy of preventive antibiotics undergoing these procedures could result in 120,000 infections and 6,300 infection-related deaths each year in the US alone, the study says. In the US, up to half of infections after surgery and over a quarter of infections after chemotherapy are said to be caused by organisms resistant to standard antibiotics. These antibiotics are routinely given to prevent infection in patients undergoing surgery and cancer treatment. The study warned that “if antibiotic resistance is not tackled urgently,” a lot of common surgical procedures and chemotherapy will be virtually impossible.

Read the full story on Rappler. 

Starting January 2016, Volkswagen (VW) will recall 8.5 million diesel vehicles in Europe, following a global pollution-cheating scandal. In a statement, the company announced the recall will cover all 28 member-nations of the European Union, as police raided on Thursday, October 15, VW offices and placed 6 executives under investigation. The raids came after Codacons, an Italian consumer rights group, filed a fraud suit on behalf of 12,000 Italian owners of the VW vehicles. The German auto giant was found to have fitted 11 million of its diesel vehicles with software designed to cheat official pollution tests.

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Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a new video that shows how a Filipina named Marissa is harnessing the power of Internet.org to fulfill her dreams by opening a business of her own. A factory worker, Marissa uses Internet.org to find good sales that can help her build her business. In his Facebook post, Zuckerberg says, “Being connected means having opportunity. We’re connecting the world so one day everyone can fulfill their dreams – just like Marissa.” A Facebook-led initiative, Internet.org provides free access to Internet-enabled services that allows among others, getting information that can affect lives.

Read the full story on Rappler.