Seventy-five basketball players will try their luck to make a name in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) as they threw their hats into the league’s rookie draft, the league announced on Sunday. La Salle’s sweet-shooting forward Balti Baltazar and high-flying guard Kurt Lojera were among those who formally declared for the May 15 event right on the final day of application on Saturday. The PBA initially set the draft deadline on May 2, but it was eventually moved to May 7, paving the way for the likes of Baltazar and Lojera to join even if their team is still playing

At least 10 health specialists have lost lives in Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia, Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Liashko said early Sunday. At a joint press conference with the WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the capital Kyiv, Liashko said 10 health workers have been killed and 40 others wounded in the war. He said as many as 40 hospitals have been razed to the ground and 500 others stand damaged to the extent that it has become impossible to offer health services there anymore. Ukrainian health minister discussed the developments with regards to the ongoing

Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc imposed a province-wide curfew starting Sunday at 9 p.m. to Monday at 4 a.m., hours before voting starts. Executive Order 183-22 dated May 8 on the imposition of curfew further strengthens the Commission on Election’s implementation of two-day liquor ban until Monday polls. As stated in the order, the temporary curfew the night before elections is also meant to ensure security, as the Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office has confirmed “reports on the presence of guns-for-hire in the province.” The election campaign ended on May 7 with rallies and a shooting incident in neighboring

President Rodrigo Duterte will step down from office in less than two months with landmark programs from which Filipinos will reap benefits way beyond his term. Among those is the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa Program” (BP2) that encourages return to the provinces, with beneficiaries armed with sustainable livelihood opportunities among other incentives. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the BP2 applicants are those who lost jobs or residing in slum areas. Jocelyn Carlom, among the recent BP2 claimants, is back in Cebu. She left Metro Manila with PHP20,000 for food allowance and PHP50,000 capital to start a new business. “Applying

The Southern Police District (SPD) reported that the three campaign rallies under its jurisdiction on Saturday had no untoward incidents. UniTeam, led by Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte, held its final miting de avance in Parañaque City where the SPD dispatched 1, 556 personnel — 1,093 from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and 463 from other agencies and allied forces. At the Makati City central business district rally of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis Pangilinan, there were 1,139 personnel composed of 740 PNP personnel and 399 from the Joint Task Force, Bureau of Fire Protection, Metro

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año on Sunday appealed to the voters to report to proper authorities immediately any vote buying or vote selling activities in their communities. “Kung may nakita tayo na kakaiba, ireport kaagad natin. Wag kayong mangimi sa pagrereport (of election irregularity) at para maaksyunan natin ora mismo (If you see something suspicious, report it immediately. Do not hesitate to report so that authorities can act on it as soon as possible),’’Año said in a radio interview. Año said that starting May 8 until the actual election day on Monday, it is