Philippines

MANILA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 834 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 4,060,960.

The DOH said the number of active cases dropped to 16,489, while 22 patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 65,215.

The number of tested people includes only those using RT-PCR tests. Many opt to use the more affordable antigen tests or forego tests altogether due to the mildness of symptoms.

MANILA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 67 people have died from cholera, an acute diarrheal illness, in the Philippines since January this year as cases rose by 282 percent compared with last year, the Philippine government said Sunday.

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) has tallied 5,860 cholera cases from January to Nov. 26 this year. The agency attributed the increase in cases to natural calamities that buffeted the Southeast Asian country.

MANILA, Dec 13 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines’ total external trade in goods, rose by 12.3 percent in Oct, to 18.70 billion U.S. dollars, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), said today.

Of the total external trade in Oct this year, the agency said, 58.8 percent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods. The balance of trade in goods amounted to minus 3.31 billion dollars, indicating a trade deficit with an annual increase of 13.5 percent.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Hundreds of people marched in the Philippine capital on Saturday protesting what they said was a rising number of extrajudicial killings and other injustices under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The protesters, led by a Philippines-based rights group, gathered at a public square in Manila before marching toward the presidential palace to demand justice for victims. Police estimated around 800 protesters took part in the rally, which coincided with International Human Rights Day.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China’s coast guard forcibly seized apparent Chinese rocket debris that was being towed by the Philippine navy, in the latest confrontation in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine military commander said Monday.

The Chinese vessel twice blocked the Philippine naval boat before seizing the debris it was towing Sunday off Philippine-occupied Thitu island, Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said. He said no one was injured in the incident.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will underscore America’s commitment to defending treaty ally the Philippines with a visit that started Sunday and involves flying to an island province facing the disputed South China Sea, where Washington has accused China of bullying smaller claimant nations.

MANILA, Nov 9 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), today revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, in the second quarter, to 7.5 percent from 7.4 percent. The PSA said, major contributors to the upward GDP revision were growth rates in construction, from 19 percent to 19.5 percent, real estate and ownership of dwellings, from 3.9 percent to 4.4 percent, and manufacturing, from 2.1 percent to 2.2 percent.

07 Nov 2022; MEMO: The Philippines will lift a ban on deploying domestic workers to Saudi Arabia and resume it in November, after Riyadh agreed to boost protective measures for Filipino migrants, officials said, local media reports.

According to the report, deployment resumed on 7 November, a decision that comes after talks between the Philippines' migrant workers department and Saudi's Human Resource Ministry.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities filed murder complaints on Monday against the top prisons official and an aide, accusing them of masterminding the killing of a radio commentator in an elaborate crime they said showed that the country’s prisons system had been turned into a “criminal organization.”

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines lifted a ban on the deployment of workers, including maids and construction workers, to Saudi Arabia on Monday after steps were taken to reduce frequent abuses, officials said.

Labor officials stopped sending workers to the oil-rich kingdom a year ago due to the abuses, including the non-payment of wages to thousands of Filipino construction workers, and the coronavirus threat.