Page 5 - Philippines

Storm-weary Philippines evacuates thousands as another typhoon hits

A new typhoon barreled across an agricultural region in the northeastern Philippines on Monday after thousands were evacuated to safety while still struggling to recover from the devastation caused by three successive storms in the last three weeks. Typhoon Toraji slammed into northeastern Aurora province and was forecast to blow over the mountainous Luzon region, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. just the day before inspected the damage from the last storm and led the distribution of food packs to residents in Cagayan and Ilocos provinces. Marcos skipped this week's Asia-Pacific Cooperation forum in Peru to oversee recovery efforts from back-to-back storms. After making landfall in Aurora on Monday morning with sustained winds of up to 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 180 kph (112 mph), the typhoon was expected to barrel northwestward across Luzon, weaken as it crosses a mountain range and then blow into the South China Sea. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remul

At least 115 dead, missing in massive flooding, landslides in Philippines

The number of dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides wrought by Tropical Storm Trami in the Philippines has exceeded 100 and the president said Saturday that many areas remained isolated with people in need of rescue. Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 81 people dead and 34 others missing in one of the Southeast Asian archipelago's deadliest and most destructive storms so far this year, the government's disaster-response agency said. The death toll was expected to rise as reports come in from previously isolated areas. Dozens of police, firefighters and other emergency personnel, backed by three backhoes and sniffer dogs, dug up one of the last two missing villagers in the lakeside town of Talisay in Batangas province Saturday. A father, who was waiting for word on his missing 14-year-old daughter, wept as rescuers placed the remains in a black body bag. Distraught, he followed police officers, who carried the body bag down a .

Tropical storm battering Philippines leaves 23 dead in flooding, landslides

Widespread flooding and landslides set off by a tropical storm in the northeastern Philippines on Thursday left at least 23 people dead, swept away cars and prompted authorities to scramble for motorboats to rescue trapped villagers, some on roofs. The government shut down schools and offices except those urgently needed for disaster response for the second day on the entire main island of Luzon to protect millions of people after Tropical Storm Trami slammed into the country's northeastern province of Isabela after midnight. The storm was blowing over Aguinaldo town in the mountain province of Ifugao after dawn with sustained winds up to 95 kph and gusts up to 160 kph. It was blowing westward and was forecast to enter the South China Sea later on Thursday, according to state forecasters. At least 23 people died, mostly due to drowning in the hard-hit Bicol region and nearby Quezon province but the toll was expected to rise as towns and villages isolated by flooding and roads ...

Saudi Arabia executes Filipino convict despite presidential appeal

Saudi Arabia has put to death a Filipino citizen convicted of murder despite years of efforts by the Philippines to prevent the execution, including a presidential appeal, officials said Monday. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and other officials did not provide details, including the identity of the Filipino and the nature of the case, citing a family request for privacy. A Philippine official with knowledge of the case, however, said the Filipino was arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities in 2020 after being accused of the killing. The death penalty was handed down with finality last year and the execution was carried out on Saturday, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the details of the execution publicly. Asked by reporters for comment, Marcos said the execution was very unfortunate and that his administration would provide help to the executed person's family. We appealed to the better nature, I gu

Powerful typhoon lash northernmost islands of Philippines, schools shut

A powerful typhoon was lashing the northernmost islands of the Philippines on Monday, prompting officials to evacuate villagers, shut down schools and inter-island ferries and warn of "potentially very destructive" damage to coastal villages. Typhoon Krathon was last tracked over the coastal waters of Balintang island off the provinces of Cagayan and Batanes with sustained winds of up to 175 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 215 kilometres per hour, according to government forecasters. The slow-moving Krathon was blowing westward and could strengthen into a super typhoon when it veers northeastward on Tuesday toward Taiwan, they said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The weather agency warned of "moderate to high risk of life-threatening storm surge" in the next 48 hours in the coastal villages of Batanes, the nearby Babuyan islands and Cagayan province and said fierce winds could rip off roofs, topple trees, damage farmlands and whip up high waves. "T

Tata Play expands OTT reach to Philippines through tie-up with Cignal TV

Tata Play's OTT platform Binge will now expand to Philippines as the company has entered into partnership with the country's local media - Cignal TV to launch the Cignal Super app

US missile system will remain in Philippines despite China's alarm

American and Filipino security officials have agreed to keep a US mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely to boost deterrence despite China's expressions of alarm, two Philippine officials said on Wednesday. The US Army transported the Typhon missile system, a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, to the northern Philippines as part of combat exercises in April with Philippine troops and to test its deployability aboard an Air Force aircraft. Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), which places China within their target range. Officials are considering keeping the missile system in the northern Philippines up to April next year, when US and Philippine forces are scheduled to hold their annual Balikatan Tagalog for "shoulder-to-shoulder" large-scale combat exercises, he said. The two officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not ...

TCS signs deal with McDonald's Philippines to digitise ops at 760 outlets

Indian company will implement an advanced upgrade of McDonald's IT systems in the Philippines

Fierce storm blows out of northern Philippines leaving 14 people dead

A fierce storm was blowing out of the northern Philippines Tuesday after leaving at least 14 people dead in landslides, floods and swollen rivers, disaster-response officials said. Tropical Storm Yagi swept past Paoay town in Ilocos Norte province into the South China Sea with sustained winds of up to 75 kilometers (47 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 125 kph (78 mph), according to the weather bureau. It was forecast to strengthen into a typhoon as it barrels northwestward over the sea toward southern China. Storm warnings remained in most northern Philippine provinces, where residents were warned of the lingering danger of landslides in rain-soaked mountain villages and floodings in the farming lowlands of Luzon, the country's most populous region. Locally called Enteng, Yagi enhanced seasonal monsoon rains and unleashed downpours across Luzon, including in the densely populated capital region, metropolitan Manila, where classes and government work remained suspended Tuesday. A

Storm sets off floods, landslides in Philippines, leaving at least 9 dead

A slow-moving storm unleashed pounding rains that flooded many northern Philippine areas overnight into Monday, prompting authorities to suspend classes and government work in the capital region and warn thousands of residents to prepare to evacuate from flood-prone villages along a key river. Tropical Storm Yagi was blowing over the coastal waters of Vinzons town in Camarines Norte province, southeast of Manila, on Monday with sustained winds of up to 75 kilometers (47 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 90 kph (56 mph), according to the weather bureau. The storm, locally called Enteng, was moving northwestward at 10 kph (6 mph) near the eastern coast of the main northern region of Luzon, where the weather bureau warned of possible flash floods and landslides in mountainous provinces. A resident died after being electrocuted in Naga city in eastern Camarines Sur province, where floodwaters swamped several communities, police said. Authorities were verifying if the death was ...

Philippine authorities detain over 160 people over cybercrime operation

Philippine authorities raided a suspected illegal online gaming and cyberscam complex in a central province and took into custody more than 160 people mostly Chinese and Indonesians who were committing internet-based crimes, officials said Sunday. The raid on Saturday by more than 100 government agents, backed by military intelligence, on a resort compound in Lapu-Lapu city was part of an ongoing crackdown after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a ban in July on widespread and mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations that cater mostly to clients in China, where illegal gambling is banned. Marcos said then that the massive illegal gambling operations have ignored Philippine laws with largescale violations of regulations and also committed other crimes, including financial scams, human trafficking, torture, kidnappings and murder. The raid at the Tourist Garden Resort, which has 10 buildings with swimming pools, karaoke bars and restaurants, came after the Indonesian Embas

US military open to escorting Philippine ships in South China Sea: Official

The US military is open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday amid a spike in hostilities between Beijing and Manila in the disputed waters. Adm. Samuel Paparo's remarks, which he made in response to a question during a news conference in Manila with Philippine Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., provided a glimpse of the mindset of one of the highest American military commanders outside the U.S. mainland on a prospective operation that would risk putting U.S. Navy ships in direct collisions with those of China. Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships regularly clash with Philippine vessels during attempts to resupply Filipino sailors stationed in parts of the South China Sea claimed by both countries. As these clashes grow increasingly hostile, resulting in injuries to Filipino sailors and damage to their ships, the Philippine government has faced questions about ...

Philippine says China biggest disruptor of peace, seeks stronger censure

The Philippine defense chief said Tuesday that China is the biggest disruptor of peace in Southeast Asia and called for stronger international censure over its aggression in the South China Sea, a day after China blocked Philippine vessels from delivering food to a Coast Guard ship at the Sabina Shoal. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr spoke at an international military conference organized in Manila by the US Indo-Pacific Command amid a spike in clashes between China and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea and in its airspace. China is the biggest disruptor of international peace in Southeast Asia, Teodoro told the conference, which was attended by military officials and senior diplomats from the US and allied countries. He later told reporters on the sidelines of the conference that international statements of concern against China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters and elsewhere were not enough." "The antidote is a stronger collective ...

Philippines says 'excessive force' of Chinese ships blocked food delivery

China deployed an excessive force of 40 ships that blocked two Philippine vessels from delivering food and other supplies to Manila's largest coast guard ship in a disputed shoal in the latest flare-up of their territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said Tuesday. China and the Philippines blamed each other for the confrontation on Monday in Sabina Shoal, an uninhabited atoll both countries claim that has become the latest flashpoint in the Spratlys, the most hotly disputed region of the sea passage that is a key global trade and security route. China and the Philippines have separately deployed coast guard ships to Sabina in recent months on suspicion the other may act to take control of and build structures in the fishing atoll. The hostilities have particularly intensified between China and the Philippines since last year and Monday's confrontation was the sixth the two sides have reported in the high seas and in the air. The confrontations have sparked

Amid tensions, Philippines demands China to halt actions in South China Sea

The escalation in the South China Sea raises concerns of a conflict that could draw in the United States

Chinese, Philippine ships collide in disputed water, both sides trade blame

China's coast guard accused the Philippines of deliberately crashing one of its ships into a Chinese vessel early Monday near Sabina Shoal, a new flashpoint in the increasingly alarming territorial disputes between the countries in the South China Sea. Two Philippine coast guard ships entered waters near the shoal, ignored the Chinese coast guard's warning and deliberately collided with one of China's boats at 3:24 a.m., a spokesperson said in a statement on the Chinese coast guard's website. Philippine authorities did not immediately comment on the encounter near the disputed atoll in the Spratly Islands, where overlapping claims are also made by Vietnam and Taiwan. The Philippine side is entirely responsible for the collision, spokesman Gan Yu said. We warn the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringement and provocation, otherwise it will bear all the consequences arising from that. Gan added China claimed indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, known in Chine

Philippines opposes Chinese jets' firing flares in patrol plane's path

The Philippine government said Tuesday it has filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing after Chinese jets flew dangerously close and fired a volley of flares in the path of a Philippine air force patrol plane over a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. The Chinese air force jets' hostile actions against the Philippine military's NC-212i light transport plane Thursday over the Scarborough Shoal was the first such aerial encounter since high-seas hostilities between Beijing and Manila in the busy seaway started to flare last year. Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. did not report any injuries or damage but condemned the Chinese actions, which he said could have had tragic consequences. If the flares came into contact with our aircraft, these could have been blown into the propeller or the intake or burned our plane, Brawner told reporters. It was very dangerous. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said without elaborating that a diplomatic prote

Philippines, Vietnam holds joint exercises amid South China Sea tensions

This collaboration follows an agreement between Manila and Beijing to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea, specifically regarding Philippine resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal.

Hero MotoCorp starts ops in Philippines, partners with Terrafirma Motors

Hero MotoCorp on Thursday said it has commenced operations in the Philippines. The strategic expansion marks a significant milestone in the company's efforts to strengthen its global presence, it said in a statement. Terrafirma Motors Corporation (TMC), a part of the Columbian Group of Companies, one of the leading automotive groups in the Philippines, will serve as the exclusive assembler and distributor of the company's products and services, it added. "The commencement of operations in the Philippines will bolster our overall global presence...Partnering with TMC, a distinguished entity within the Columbian Group, we are poised to swiftly establish and expand our presence in this vital market," Hero MotoCorp CEO Niranjan Gupta said. An assembly unit and parts warehouse has been set up at Terrafirma Motors Corporation in Laguna, Philippines. Spanning over 6,000 square metre, the facility boasts an annual capacity of over 150,000 units. This new assembly facility will produce Xp

EU to give Euro 2.4 mn aid for flood victims in India, B'desh, Philippines

The funding will help provide cash assistance, food, access to clean water and sanitation, and other essential services in the hardest-hit areas