CHICAGO (FAXX/jGLi) —Filipino-American voters went mostly for Administration-backed candidates in Monday’s national elections, according to the Philippine Embassy, which sees this as an affirmation of support for the reforms initiated by President Benigno S. Aquino III.  

The results of the official canvass of election returns from across the United States released by the Embassy on Wednesday show administration candidates taking 10 of the 12 seats that were up for grabs in the Senate.

Administration candidate Francis Escudero topped the Senate race in the US with 9,464 votes followed by Alan Peter Cayetano, 9,174; Grace Poe,9,029; Loren Legarda, 8,696; Aquilino Pimentel III, 8,448; Bam Aquino,8,267; Juan Edgardo Angara, 7,735;  Richard Gordon, 7,291; Ramon Magsaysay Jr., 7,187; Riza Hontiveros, 6,983;  Antonio Trillanes, 6,521 and Juan Miguel Zubiri, 4,908. All were administration candidates except for Gordon and Zubiri.

NEW YORK – Filipino Americans welcomed the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, a Jesuit, as the 266th pope of the Catholic Church as soon as a white smoke appeared at the Sistine Chapel chimney on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m  happy with news! Viva Santo Papa Francisco I - Un Jesuita!,” said Ner Martinez in an email which he sent immediately after knowing the entity of the new pope.  Like other Jesuit-educated Fil Ams in the tri-state area, he is proud of the first Jesuit to take the papal throne. A product of Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, he was previously co-chair of the Ateneo Alumni Association Northeast and is a current board member of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. in New York.

VICTORIA, Australia -- After a much-awaited annual event, more than 40 Filipino Australia community organizations joined the annual Fiesta parade during the 30th Fiesta Celebration at the Exhibition Pavilion, Melbourne Showgrounds.

The parade was led  by the  vibrant Ati-Atihan group of the Samahan ng mga Pilipino sa Gippsland (SPAG) and the officers of the Philippine Fiesta Management Committee,  followed by the different  Filipino-Community associations in Victoria and the Miss and Mrs Philippine Fiesta Beauty Quest candidates.  The parade was also participated in by the officers and members of the Filipino Communities Council of Australia (FILCCA) headed by its chairperson,  Ms. Aida Garcia.

Lome, TOGO --  Sea pirates hijacked a Cyprus-flagged and Norwegian-managed tanker with 14 Filipino seafarers onboard MT Mattheos last Wednesday, Sept. 14.

The Spanish owners of tanker MT Mattheos are hoping pirates just want to steal the crude, rather than hold the 23-member crew hostage for ransom.

Consultores de Navegacion spokeswoman Sheena Campbell said Thursday that the company had not heard from the ship since it was hijacked Wednesday. “The normal case is that the only thing they are interested in is robbing the boat”.

NEW YORK, NY – The Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) climaxes its commemoration this year of the 115th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine Independence with a star-studded Philippine Independence Day on Sunday, June 2, 2013.

On tap for the day are the traditional trio of events:  the all-day Independence Day Street Fair, the 2013 Philippine Independence Day Parade led by Grand Marshal Dr. Rebecca Castro Rivera and the Cultural Festival with appearances and performances by Philippine movie stars and celebrities Aga Muhlach, Sharon Cuneta, Derek Ramsay, Gary Valenciano, Marian Rivera, Rafael Rosell and Bong Revilla, among others.

Also at the lead of the Parade, along with other important guests are specially invited guests re-electionist Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who will be accompanied by Heart Evangelista, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, two-term PIDCI President Fe Martinez and Philippine Consul General in New York Ambassador Mario Lopez  de Leon, Jr.

MANILA — Malfunctioning PCOS machines have stalled voting and caused long queues across Metro Manila, electoral fraud watchdog Kontra Daya reported.

Reports of PCOS technical malfunctions from Kontra Daya’s volunteers on the ground have poured in since voting precincts opened this morning. The most common problems reported are PCOS machine shutdowns and jams, rejected ballots, back-up memory loss and printer malfunctions, Kontra Daya reported.

The fraud watchdog warned that these technical malfunctions could disenfranchise close to thousands of voters if not immediately resolved.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- It is springtime here and everyone is gearing up for the 30th anniversary of the Philippine Fiesta of Victoria Inc. (PFVI) which will be held on November 24-25, 2012 at the Pavillion Exhibition Hall, Melbourne Showgrounds just before summertime begins. The annual celebration has brought countless excitement, happiness and joy to the Filipino-Australian Community since its formal inception in 1982.  This year's theme is Bukas –Bisig (Open arms or Welcome!)

From its humble beginnings at the Carribean Gardens in Knox City, the Fiesta has grown into a bigger proportion and becomes the much-awaited event of the year. Though it has changed its venues over the years, the Fiesta has been attended by thousands of people from all walks of life sharing its amicable and vibrant atmosphere.

MANILA–SOME 35 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) boarded the chartered boat by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that will take them out of tension-gripped Libya, the Dept. of Foreign Affairs reported.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said August 25 the boat picked up foreign workers, including Filipinos, from the port of Tripoli to take them to the city of Benghazi–an area being controlled by pro-democracy groups.