Philippines

MANILA, May 5 (Xinhua): An army soldier, two militiamen and four civilians were wounded in an attack Saturday by suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA) insurgents in Camarines Sur province, south of Manila, a military spokesman said Sunday.

Joash Pramis, public affairs chief of Philippine Army's 9th infantry division, said the government security forces and civilians were repairing a busted water pipe in a remote village in Camarines Sur province when at least 10 NPA rebels opened fire at them around 7:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.

Manila, May 1 (AFP) Thousands of Philippine protesters marched in Labour Day rallies on Wednesday, torching a giant effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte as they attacked his economic policies' impact on the nation's poor.

Rows of marchers flew red banners and chanted near the presidential palace in Manila, where they set fire to the horned effigy adorned with Chinese and US flags -- the two competing powers in the Philippines.

PORAC, Philippines (AP) — A new powerful earthquake hit the central Philippines on Tuesday, a day after 6.1 quake hit the country’s north and killed at least 11 people.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of Tuesday’s quake at 6.4, while the local seismology agency said it was a 6.5. The quake was centered near San Julian town Eastern Samar province and prompted residents to dash out of houses and office workers to scamper to safety.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage from the new quake.

MANILA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- "Feilvbin" (the Philippines); "Zongtongfu" (presidential palace); "Xinwenbu" (communications operations office).

For the first time on Friday, some 15 staff members from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) of the Philippines read aloud with zest the three white bond papers that Ms. Meng Guangjie flashed in front of a "special class" at the Presidential Palace in Manila.

BACOLOD, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police said Sunday 14 suspected communist rebels were killed after they opened fire during raids in a central province but rights groups countered the men were farmers and the latest victims of extrajudicial killings.

29 Mar 2019; AFP: Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, a prominent critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, was rearrested on Friday in what press freedom advocates called retaliation for her news site's dogged coverage of the government.

Ressa and her website Rappler have been hit with a string of criminal charges in recent months that have sent shockwaves through the Philippines' media scene, prompting allegations she and her team are being targeted for their work.

MANILA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has dissolved the government panel negotiating peace with the leftist rebels, driving another nail into the coffin of peace talks between the Duterte administration and the insurgents.

The panel was chaired by Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello. In letters addressed to Bello and the four panel members dated March 18, the Office of the President said their appointments are now terminated since Duterte already ordered the scrapping of the talks in November 2017.

MANILA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno as the new governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine central bank, according to news reports.

Philippine Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed that Diokno's appointment was announced during a meeting in Malacanang presidential palace held on Monday.

03 Feb 2019; DW: Philippine troops battled militants in a series of intense jungle clashes on Saturday after a bombing at a cathedral killed 22 people last weekend. The military said that five soldiers and three extremists were killed in the fighting.

The Interior Ministry has said that the man and woman who carried out the bombing were Indonesian nationals. The government of Indonesia has said that it can not yet confirm this report.

29 Jan 2019; AFP: French urban freeclimber Alain Robert was arrested on Tuesday, police said, after he scaled one of Manila's tallest towers in his latest high-risk ascent.

The 56-year old adventurer dubbed the "French spiderman" climbed the 47-storey GT Tower without safety equipment, leaving watchers on the ground staring in amazement.