In his last Labor Day message as the Philipppines’ leader, President Benigno Aquino III saluted the country’s workers, citing their sacrifices to give a good life to their families and their contribution to the economy.

But while the Philippines has taken strides to improve its labor situation, it is still plagued by various complaints, ranging from low minimum wages and high cost of living, to workplace safety and unstable employment. It is one of the issues in the 2016 national and local elections. 

Read more on Rappler.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista said the poll body aims to transmit 90% of votes from more than 90,000 vote-counting machines this year. This comes after the Comelec on April 23 tested the transmission of votes from polling precincts to canvassing centers across the Philippines. 

Poor Internet signals and the geography of the Philippines’ 7,107 islands will prevent the Comelec from transmitting 100% of votes for the May 9 elections, Bautista explained.

Read more on Rappler.

Davao Mayor City Rodrigo Duterte maintained his comfortable lead over his rivals in the latest ABS-CBN survey, despite his controversial joke on the rape of an Australian woman. With 33%, Duterte still enjoys a commanding lead over Senator Grace Poe (22%), Mar Roxas (20%), Vice President Jejomar Binay (18%), and Senator Miriam Santiago (2%).

Meanwhile, the same ABS-CBN poll shows Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr continuing to lead the race for the vice presidency, with 31% voter preference. Trailing Marcos was Liberal Party (LP) vice presidential bet Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo with 26%, Senator Francis Escudero with 18%,  Senator Alan Peter Cayetano with 15%, and Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Gringo Honasan with 3% and 2%, respectively.

Read the results of the ABS-CBN poll for president and vice president on Rappler.

Security forces in the southern Philippines have killed two members of a local extremist organization sympathetic to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, a police report said Saturday, April 30.

Police commandoes raided a hideout of the Ansar Khalifa Philippines (AKP) group in the coastal town of Maasim on Thursday, killing two fighters, a police report said.

Read more on Rappler.

Thousands of angry protesters broke into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone area on Saturday, April 30, and stormed the Iraqi parliament building after lawmakers again failed to approve new ministers.

Jubilant crowds, most of them supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, invaded the main session hall, shouting slogans glorifying their leader and claiming that they had rooted out corruption.

Agence France-Presse reports from Baghdad.

The world’s most powerful particle smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, went offline after a weasel caused a short circuit on a high-voltage transformer. The collider suffered a “severe electrical perturbation” at 5:30 am (0330 GMT or 11:30 am Philippine time) Friday, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said, citing a “short circuit caused by fouine (weasel)” on a 66-kilovolt transformer.

CERN spokesman Arnaud Marsollier told the BBC it would take a few days to repair the damage caused by the weasel, which did not survive its high-voltage encounter.

More details from Agence France-Presse.

The importance of, and threats against, cybersecurity became an important issue overnight in the country due to the recent Commission on Elections data breach that resulted in personal information of about 55 million voters being leaked.

Cyberattacks have been attempted not just in the country, but globally for years now. What are the important facts about cybersecurity around the world and in the Philippines should you know? Rappler breaks them down in numbers.

Mt Hamiguitan, one of the Philippines’ newest UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is a highly-restricted area, based on the government’s efforts to preserve it. But don’t worry: Those wanting to experience this place need not to worry anymore as the Davao Oriental provincial government here built a beautiful museum fit for the grandness of the mountain.

Located in the town of San Isidro, the Mt. Hamiguitan Natural Science Museum is an interactive facility that not only showcases the wonders of Mt. Hamiguitan but also advocates for people’s participation in the mountain’s conservation efforts.

 Read more on Rappler.

Entertainment figures have played a key role in the local political scene. Though showbiz personalities may not decide elections, their endorsements – or even just voicing out their support on social media – have a tangible effect on public opinion.

Here’s a breakdown of the 5 presidential candidates’ – Jejomar Binay, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Rodrigo Duterte, Grace Poe, and Mar Roxas – celebrity support base, on Rappler.

The De La Salle University Lady Spikers climbed back to the mountain top of UAAP volleyball after defeating the Ateneo Lady Eagles in 4 sets in Game 3, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-16, in the Season 78 women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday, April 30, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

 After losing to Ateneo in each of the past two UAAP Finals, La Salle finally attained revenge against its rival in their fifth consecutive championship series.

Read more about the action-packed game on Rappler.