Philippines

MANILA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The presence of U.S. military forces and equipment in the Philippines would put the country in danger, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said.

"We are in a bind. If the Americans are here to stay and bring arms ... it would be too pretty naive or stupid for Filipinos to think that the Americans would only bring conventional warheads," Duterte said in a recent interview with a local media SMNI, aired late Wednesday night.

CALBAYOG, Philippines (AP) — Delfina Guiwan’s heart was pounding as she snuck back to her village, now abandoned and eerily quiet, in the fertile foothills of gently erupting Mayon volcano in the northeastern Philippines.

When patrolling police spotted her, they warned that the village is off-limits because of the danger of a violent eruption at any time. Guiwan, 47, said she knew the risks but begged to stay a few minutes more to get her daughter’s school uniform from their shack and feed her pigs.

MANILA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 628 people have fallen ill after being displaced in shelters due to the eruption of Mayon Volcano, the most active volcano in the Philippines, a government agency reported on Monday.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recorded at least 10 kinds of sickness affecting the evacuees aged between 2 to 64, including coughs, colds, fever, gastroenteritis, acute respiratory infection, and skin disease.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — All 120 passengers and crew members aboard a Philippine ferry that caught fire at sea on Sunday were rescued safely and the fire was extinguished, the coast guard said.

The M/V Esperanza Star caught fire at dawn while traveling from Siquijor province to Bohol province in the central Philippines with 65 passengers and 55 crewmembers, the coast guard said. It added that it deployed two vessels for rescue and to help put out the flames, which raged for more than five hours.

MANILA, Jun 17 (NNN-PNA) – A Philippine Senate committee, yesterday kicked off an investigation, into the U.S. request for the country to host Afghan nationals, applying for a special immigrant visa to head for America.

Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” Marcos, the chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, launched the investigation, to shed light on the U.S. proposal. During the hearing, Marcos questioned the reason why the U.S. wanted to involve the Philippines in processing the entry of Afghan nationals, who previously worked with the American agencies in Afghanistan.

MANILA, June 15 (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the Philippines' main island on Thursday, authorities said, halting some railway operations in the capital Manila.

No casualties or major damage were reported after the quake, which struck out at sea at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) and was felt in nearby provinces, the Philippine seismology agency said.

Operations of the three elevated railway lines in Manila were stopped due to the earthquake, the transport ministry said.

MANILA, Jun 14 (NNN-PNA) – An alleged Daesh leader in Southeast Asia was killed in a clash with Philippine troops and police, in the southern Philippines today, the military said.

Lieutenant General Roy Galido, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Western Command, identified the extremist as Faharudin Benito Hadji Satar, also known as Abu Zacharia, the alleged leader of the Daesh in Southeast Asia.

MANILA, Jun 7 (NNN-PNA) – The World Bank said today, it expects the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) to grow six percent this year, and solid domestic demand will drive economic growth.

The World Bank’s Philippines Economic Update (PEU) said, strong domestic demand in the Philippines is expected to propel its economy to a six percent growth in 2023, and 5.9 percent in 2024.

MANILA, June 7 (Reuters) - A Philippine court on Wednesday rejected a bail request by an ex-senator and chief critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte, prolonging her six years of detention on drugs charges that she insists were baseless and politically motivated.

Leila de Lima, 63, was hit by a slew of charges in 2017 within months of launching a Senate inquiry into Duterte's bloody "war on drugs", during which thousands of users and dealers were killed by police or in mysterious circumstances.

MANILA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines looks forward to seeing Chinese investments pouring into renewable energy which remains to be the priority sector of the Philippine government, the Department of Trade and Industry said in a statement released over the weekend.

During a recent forum on offshore wind, Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual expressed hope that the Southeast Asian country would attract more offshore wind power projects, especially from China.