Daily News Highlights – January 10, 2016 Edition

January 10 marks the official start of the Philippines’ election period, which includes a nationwide gun ban and other election-related bans. Policemen are also manning checkpoints throughout the country, with all police stations expected to have at least one checkpoint in their area.

 Get more details about the election period here – what’s not allowed and what to expect.

The camp of Senator Grace Poe called on Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista to “put the house in order,” following the disagreement between Bautista and Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon. Their disagreement stems from the supposedly “unauthorized” comment that Guanzon filed with the Supreme Court regarding Poe’s petition against the Comelec. Poe’s camp said they are alarmed by what’s happening to the poll body.

Read the full story on the statement of Poe’s camp.

The procession for the Feast of the Black Nazarene – attended by millions of devotees – took around 20 hours. It began before 6 am on January 9 and ended 2:06 am on January 10. Two devotees died, while hundreds were given first aid for wounds, abrasions, dizziness, and bruises.

Watch the return of the image of the Black Nazarene to the Quiapo Church. 

Tributes are pouring in for the late German “Kuya Germs” Moreno. At his wake, celebrities like Dawn Zulueta, Coco Martin, Rita Avila, and Billy Crawford shared their memories of the Master Showman, with all of them recalling his kindness and generosity.

Here is a look at some of the stars’ messages for Kuya Germs.

The cycling community joins the family of Lorelie Melevo in calling for justice. Melevo, who was laid to rest on January 9, died after being hit by a dump truck at a Marikina City bike lane on January 5. Her family and fellow cyclists are urging drivers to respect bike lanes. They also want officials to implement stricter rules.

Read about the appeal of Melevo’s family and the cycling community here.

Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan hopes the next administration would allow private firms to invest in more power plants and other critical infrastructure. “We always batted for more power plants because we create pricing pressure,” said Pangilinan. He added that it is better for the Philippines to have more power supply than less.

Find out more about Meralco’s wishlist here.

Rival presidential candidates and their supporters took to the streets of Taiwan for so-called “super weekend’ rallies. It is the last weekend of campaigning before the Taiwanese people vote for their next president on January 16. Opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen is projected to win.

Check out what Tsai Ing-wen said during her rally.

Music streaming service Spotify has to deal with another court case – this time, a $200-million lawsuit filed by an indie folk singer from Massachusetts. Spotify is accused of taking “a now familiar strategy for many digital music services – infringe now, apologize later.”

Get more details about the lawsuit here.

Mexican authorities will begin the process of extraditing drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to the United States. The attorney general’s office said it received two US extradition requests last year, for charges ranging from drug trafficking to murder.

Here is the full story on the “El Chapo” case.

Rain or Shine now leads its best-of-7 PBA semifinals series against San Miguel, 2-1. The Elasto Painters survived another dominant scoring performance by June Mar Fajardo, who had 40 points. But it wasn’t all good for Rain or Shine – the team lost key player Jericho Cruz to an injury.

Check out more highlights of the game on Rappler.