Philippines now has worst COVID-19 outbreak in Southeast Asia
Despite imposing the longest, strictest lockdown in Southeast Asia, coronavirus cases in the Philippines have now surged to almost 120,000, eclipsing Indonesia to become the region’s biggest outbreak. The country re-imposed this week a second lockdown on Manila and nearby areas to curb infection spread, ...
Dozens of doctors' groups on Saturday warned that the Philippines was losing the coronavirus fight, urging President Rodrigo Duterte to tighten a recently eased lockdown as cases surged and hospitals turned away patients. Eighty medical associations representing tens of thousands of doctors signed the open ...
Rodrigo Duterte paying Filipinos to move from Manila to country
The coronavirus pandemic is giving Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte a reason to reduce overcrowding in Manila, which in recent decades has swelled into one of the most heavily populated areas on Earth. Duterte is offering cash and goods to induce city-dwellers to move out of ...
Philippines closes off capital for the next month as number of coronavirus infections doubles
Police began closing off access to the Philippines' sprawling and densely populated capital of Manila on Sunday, imposing a quarantine that officials hope will curb the nation's rising number of coronavirus cases. Officers armed with rifles blocked off main roads into the city of some ...
Japanese men detained in Manila over alleged ¥1.5 billion phone scam brought to Japan
Nine of 36 Japanese men detained in Manila over alleged phone scams were transported to Japan and arrested by Tokyo police on Monday. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said Ryo Imaizumi, 27, and eight other men were members of a fraud syndicate that may have ...
Thousands evacuated after Philippines' Taal volcano sends up ash cloud
A volcano near Manila spewed a massive cloud of ash into the sky on Sunday, forcing the precautionary evacuation of thousands of residents, authorities said. Government seismologists recorded magma moving toward the crater of Taal, one of the country's most active volcanoes located 65 kilometers ...
Typhoon Phanfone pummeled the central Philippines on Christmas Day, bringing a wet, miserable and terrifying holiday season to millions in the mainly Catholic nation. Tens of thousands were stranded at shuttered ports or evacuation centers at the height of the festive season on Wednesday, and ...
After months of delay, Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte signs $71 billion national budget
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed a 3.7 trillion peso ($71.5 billion) budget for this year, its largest ever, ending months of impasse that forced the Southeast Asian country to cut its growth target. The Philippines last month cut its 2019 growth target to 6-7 ...
Over 10,000 Philippine bikers stage protest against newly introduced license plate regulation
More than 10,000 motorcycle riders staged a motorcade Sunday in the main highways of Manila to protest at new regulations forcing them to display bigger license plates, saying the measure will not solve the crime problem. Cases of murders, robberies and other crimes perpetrated by ...
Japan loans Philippines ¥38 billion for Manila railway repairs
Japan and the Philippines signed an agreement Wednesday for up to ¥38 billion ($336 million) in assistance from Tokyo to rehabilitate a mass transit railway in Manila that has fallen into a state of disrepair. Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda ...
Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada sues Tiger Resort, seeks reinstatement of all titles
A lawyer representing casino tycoon Kazuo Okada said Sunday his client filed a lawsuit against his former gaming firm, Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc., and is seeking intervention from a Philippine court for his reinstatement as chairman. Lawyer Rean Balisi said the suit against ...
Japanese father and son face trafficking and child abuse charges in the Philippines
A Japanese man and his son face human trafficking and child abuse charges involving the mistreatment of 13 compatriots on a small island in the southern Philippines, police said Wednesday. They said Hajime Kawauchi, 61, and his son, Yuya, 34, have been detained since May ...
