Philippines

MANILA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Philippine troops on Wednesday killed two suspected rebels in a clash in Negros Occidental province in the central Philippines, a military report said.

The report said that the fighting between the troops and around five rebels from the New People's Army (NPA) occurred in La Castellana town around 6:45 a.m. local time.

The troops recovered an AR-15 rifle, a homemade shotgun, a .45-caliber pistol, and ammunition from the encounter site.

MANILA, Jan 14 (NNN-PNA) – Approved investment projects in 2023, amounted to 1.26 trillion pesos (roughly 22.5 billion U.S. dollars), 73 percent higher than in 2022, Philippine Department of Finance (DOF) said, today.

Citing an updated report of Board of Investments (BOI), the DOF said in a press release that, the approved investments comprised 311 projects, mainly on renewable energy, telecommunication infrastructure, and the export of copper, gold, and other metals. These projects would produce over 49,000 jobs, if fully operational.

MANILA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and Indonesia on Wednesday agreed to strengthen energy cooperation to safeguard energy security.

Energy ministers of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy cooperation at the presidential palace in Manila, where Indonesian President Joko Widodo was received by his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos.

Widodo arrived in Manila on Tuesday night for a three-day official visit.

MANILA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Tuesday her country is ready to work with other Southeast Asian nations to finalise a long-delayed code of conduct for the South China Sea, where many of its neighbours have overlapping claims with China.

MANILA, Jan 1 (NNN-PNA) – Two people died due to a house fire, in Taguig City in Metro Manila yesterday, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.

The bureau said, the two victims were trapped in the house that went into flame. The victims’ names, gender and other personal details were not made available.

Firefighters have extinguished the fire, the bureau said.

Further investigation is ongoing, it added.

MANILA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Philippines is not provoking conflict in the South China Sea, its military spokesperson said on Tuesday, responding to China's accusation that Manila was encroaching on Beijing's territory.

It was the latest salvo amid rising tension as the two have traded accusations in recent months over a series of maritime run-ins, including China allegedly ramming a ship this month carrying the Philippines' military chief.

"The Philippines is not provoking conflict," Medel Aguilar told state broadcaster PTV.

MANILA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Philippines condemned China's "illegal and aggressive actions" in the South China Sea on Saturday, saying its coast guard had fired water cannon at a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel conducting a regular resupply mission.

The Philippine task force for the South China Sea, an inter-agency government body, called for China to stop its "aggressive activities" in the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both countries.

MANILA, Dec 6 (NNN-PNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB), said today that, it has approved a 250-million-U.S. dollar-loan, to improve Indonesia’s flood management capacity.

The Manila-based bank said, the financial project will help reduce flood risk in the northern coastal area of Java island, and strengthen the local community’s socioeconomic resilience.

MANILA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 29 persons were killed on Tuesday when a passenger bus plunged off a cliff in Antique province in central Philippines, local authorities said.

The bus, carrying 53 passengers, was traveling west from Iloilo City to San Jose de Buenavista in Antique province when it crashed into a concrete road barrier before plunging into a ravine of 15-meter depth around 4:30 p.m. local time in Hamtic town.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — France and the Philippines are considering a defense pact that would allow them to send military forces to each other’s territory for joint exercises, the Philippine defense chief said Saturday after holding talks with his French counterpart.

Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in a joint press conference with French Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu that they were seeking authorization from their heads of state to begin negotiations.