The Philippines Saturday rejected Taiwan’s allegations that Filipino coastguards had intentionally murdered a Taiwanese fisherman whose death has triggered a major diplomatic spat. The 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead by Philippine coastguards who said his vessel intruded into Philippine waters. Chen Wen-chi, head of the Taiwan team investigating the May 9 incident, said most of [...]

Philippine Labour Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz and Saudi deputy Labour minister Mufarrej bin Saad Al-Haqbani signed a labour agreement Sunday on the hiring of Filipino household service workers (HSWs). Al-Haqbani signed on behalf of Labour minister Adel Fakeih. “The agreement is historic and today is a very significant day in Philippine-Saudi bilateral relations,” said Baldoz. The [...]

The sun will not be setting anytime soon on this sunshine industry. The Philippines has already become the world leader in business process outsourcing (BPO) and the industry still continues to grow, according to Jose Mari Mercado, president and chief executive officer of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). Usage and learning of [...]

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) A Taiwanese delegation will again soon visit the Philippines to investigate the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine government patrol boat, after both sides finalise details on how they will cooperate, Foreign minister David Lin said Sunday. Both sides have to establish a communication mechanism and agree on [...]

The Taiwan investigation team, tasked with conducting a probe into the fatal shooting of a Taiwan fisherman, has returned to Taipei from Manila. On arrival, the team held a press conference at Taipei Airport. The team has called on the Philippine government to conduct a joint investigation with Taiwan into the incident. It’s accused the [...]

Voters in the Philippines appear to have delivered a resounding victory to President Benigno Aquino in midterm elections. The son of former President Corazon Aquino looks set to control both houses of Congress, giving him a mandate to continue his reform policies. His biggest worry now is making them stick. In the first half of [...]

A clan whose chiefs are on trial for the Philippines’ worst political massacre secured big wins in local elections this week, results showed Friday, deepening fears that justice may never be served. Leaders of the Ampatuan family and their gunmen are accused of massacring 58 people, including 32 journalists, in the southern province of Maguindanao [...]

The Philippine envoy to Taiwan on Friday advised thousands of Filipino workers there to eat at home and avoid the streets while emotions run high on the island over the shooting death of a fisherman by the Philippine coast guard. Philippine representative Amadeo Perez said after returning to Manila from Taipei late Thursday that his [...]

The long-awaited labour agreement on Filipino household service workers (HSW) will finally be signed by the Kingdom and the Philippines tomorrow. Labour minister Adel Fakeih and his Philippine counterpart Labour Secretary Rosalinda Dimapiliz-Baldoz are scheduled to ink the bilateral labour agreement. Baldoz arrives today with key Filipino labour officials for the signing, said Labour Attache [...]

Shortly after my piece on the Philippines’ continuing structural economic vulnerabilities, which generated considerable controversy and heated discussions among experts and observers alike, the country’s stock markets managed to record new historic highs – breaching the 7,000 mark and beyond. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, following in the footsteps of Fitch Ratings, has just [...]

The fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fishing boat by a Philippine government vessel may involve criminal conduct and violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. A joint patrol of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources shot up a [...]

The Philippines on Thursday braced itself for the fallout a day after Taiwan enacted a second wave of sanctions against the country to show dissatisfaction with Manila’s responses to its demands involving the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino coast guards in the Bashi Channel last week. President Aquino formally apologised on Wednesday for [...]

Philippine lender Asia United Bank Corp jumped as much as 9.5 percent on its market debut on Friday after an oversubscribed public offer, the first listing since the country won investment rating upgrades from two agencies this year. The medium-sized bank’s overseas public offer, five times oversubscribed mainly by Asian investors, highlighted the country’s rise [...]

Sitting in Taipei’s main commercial centre as office workers filed out for lunch, Y.S. Liu mourned the collapse of her import business. Her president, she said, had failed to deliver. The 60-year-old blamed Ma Ying-jeou, whose approval rating is 14 percent, for an economy that grew at one of the slowest rates in Asia last [...]

A coin toss has decided the lucky winner of mayor for a small Philippine town, after rival candidates were tied at the end of the vote count, an election official said Thursday. The dramatic conclusion to the contest for San Teodoro, a farming town of about 16,000 people in the central Philippines, took place in [...]

Taiwan and the Philippines are fighting, with Taiwanese furious over the killing of a local fisherman by the Philippine coast guard in disputed waters, so Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has found an easy target to show voters he can stand up for them: Ma is punishing young women from the Philippines who work in Taiwan [...]

As in the 2010 election, the machines divulged the winners of this year’s election in record time although there is no official proclamation yet as to the winners of the senatorial race, allegedly because of “transmission” problems. And like what happened in 2010 the people are amazed at the speed in which the results are [...]

The Philippines on Wednesday apologised to Taiwan after coastguards shot dead a Taiwanese fisherman sparking tensions that saw Taipei threaten a naval exercise near Philippine waters. Taiwan foreign minister David Lin told reporters that “the Philippines has voiced deep regret and apology for the incident” after a closed-door meeting with Antonio Basilio, the de facto [...]

Ousted as the president of the Philippines more than a decade ago, Joseph Estrada has been elected mayor of the capital, Manila. A movie-star turned politician, Estrada became president in 1998, but was overthrown in 2001 in the midst of a corruption trial. He was later convicted, then pardoned. Estrada told supporters he was delighted [...]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it is not satisfied with the Philippine government’s response to the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine personnel aboard a state vessel, Foreign minister David Lin said at a press conference this morning at around 1 a.m. The Taiwan government had called on Manila to issue a [...]

Taiwan on Wednesday suspended the hiring of Philippine workers and recalled its envoy to Manila in protest at the killing of a fisherman, rejecting an apology for the incident as inadequate. Philippine coastguards shot dead the 65-year-old fisherman last week after they said his vessel strayed into Manila’s territorial waters, sparking outrage in Taiwan at [...]

Taiwan has recalled its ambassador to the Philippines and announced it has frozen the hiring of Philippine workers to protest against the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman, rejecting an apology over the incident as inadequate. Taipei said earlier that the Philippines had apologised over the incident, but that President Ma Ying-jeou insisted on Wednesday that [...]

The Philippine Navy (PN) will continue to monitor the country’s territorial waters in Batanes despite Taiwan’s declaration that it will launch for the first time a naval drill near the area if Manila will not officially apologise for the killing of one of its fishermen by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel last week. Aside from [...]

Media discuss the Philippines’ response to the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman, a human rights white paper and suicides and domestic violence among migrant workers. Media in Taiwan and mainland China hit out at the Philippines’ offer to send an envoy to Taipei to apologise for the death of the fisherman – shot by [...]

Taiwan stepped up pressure on Manila Tuesday, saying it would conduct a naval drill in waters near the Philippines if Manila did not officially apologise for the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman. Taiwan has demanded the Philippines apologise by midnight Tuesday (1600 GMT) over the killing of the 65-year-old fisherman by coastguards last week or [...]

Philippine President Benigno Aquino appeared set to win control of the 24-member Senate with vote counting under way in legislative elections, a result that would bolster his plans for an expanded anti-corruption drive. Nine Senate candidates backed by Aquino are leading among the 12 seats up for grabs with about 54 percent of precincts reporting, [...]

Washington, May 13 (CNA) The United States regrets the tragic death of a Taiwanese fisherman during a confrontation at sea with a Philippine vessel on May 9, and it has been in touch with both sides, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday. “The United States has been in touch with the Philippine government [...]

An estimated 76 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in local and senatorial elections in the Philippines, election officials said Monday. The Philippine National Police said the 2013 campaign season ended more peacefully than others in recent years, despite a series of ambushes and explosions during the weekend that left at least two people dead, [...]

Angry Taiwanese fishermen burned Filipino flags in protest Monday after the Philippine coastguard fired on a Taiwan fishing boat killing a crew member. Philippine President Benigno Aquino called for calm as tensions escalated between the two countries over last week’s incident in which the 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead. Hundreds of fishermen wearing yellow headbands [...]

Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada was leading in the vote-count for mayor of Manila on Tuesday in what could be his first elected post since he was ousted in a 2001 revolt on corruption charges. In other partial results following Monday’s congressional and local polls, nine senatorial candidates backed by President Benigno Aquino III took [...]

Philippine President Benigno Aquino called for calm Monday amid an escalating dispute with Taiwan over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman in a confrontation with the Filipino coastguard. Aquino said Manila’s de facto embassy in Taiwan was in talks with Taiwanese foreign ministry officials and had assured them an investigation was being carried out into [...]

The Philippines held elections on Monday seen as crucial for President Benigno Aquino’s bold reform agenda, as deadly violence and graft-tainted candidates underlined the nation’s deep-rooted problems. Aquino has called for the mid-term polls, in which thousands of local leaders plus national legislators will be elected, to be a referendum on his efforts to transform [...]

Taiwan Sunday dispatched four coastguard and naval vessels to beef up patrols in waters near the Philippines following public outrage over the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino coastguards. “The government is determined to protect our fishermen,” cabinet spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen said in a statement as a Lafayette-class naval frigate and coastguard vessels set [...]

The Philippines’ Imelda Marcos has a dream – to restore her family to what she sees as its rightful place in Manila’s Malacanang presidential palace. But standing in the way is President Benigno Aquino, the scion of another Philippine presidential dynasty, who is determined to bury the Marcos myth once and for all. The authoritarian [...]

Five people were killed in separate ambushes in the volatile southern Philippines, police and the military said Sunday, and a radio reporter was kidnapped by armed men on the eve of mid-term elections. Two men armed with short firearms abducted radio journalist Melinda Jennifer Glifonea at dawn on Sunday at a restaurant in Candelaria, a [...]

The body of a Taiwanese fisherman, killed in a shooting incident by Philippine coast guard on the sea, was taken back to Taiwan early Saturday morning. The body was taken home with the fishing vessel “Guang Ta Hsin 28,” which was fired upon by Philippine coast guard on Thursday morning in a sea area 160 [...]

The explanation Philippine authorities have offered on Thursday’s killing of a fisherman from China’s Taiwan region is utterly untenable. In a statement delivered a day after the incident, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) admitted that its officers were responsible for the shooting death of 65-year-old Hung Shih-Cheng. However, the first yet belated official response not [...]

The Philippines goes to the polls Monday to choose thousands of local leaders plus national legislators in what is seen as a referendum on the presidency of reformist Benigno Aquino. Police and the military have been placed on heightened alert for expected poll-related violence that has already claimed about 60 lives since campaigning began in [...]

Syrian rebels Sunday freed four Filipino peacekeepers five days after seizing them in the Golan Heights, the Philippines said as it called on combatants to respect United Nations personnel. The four were turned over by a Syrian rebel group which calls itself the “Yarmuk Martyrs’ Brigade” to the head of the Filipino contingent five days [...]

From Imelda Marcos to Manny Pacquiao, familiar names of political clans and celebrities dominated the ballots in the Philippines’ congressional and local elections Monday, making them a contest of popularity first and reform second. Despite scattered killings and fears of fraud, the polls were expected to be relatively peaceful after authorities took steps to prevent [...]

Police are investigating seven deaths related to campaigning in the lead up to Monday’s mid-term elections in the Philippines. Police are investigating seven deaths related to campaigning in the lead up to Monday’s mid-term elections in the Philippines. Philippines voters will go to the polls for the country’s congressional and local elections. A policeman escorting [...]

The Philippines admitted Friday that its coastguard fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat in an incident that authorities in Taipei said left a crewman dead and triggered widespread outrage on the island. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou demanded that the Philippines apologise for Thursday’s shooting, which the Taiwanese government said killed a 65-year-old fisherman and badly [...]

Another Benigno Aquino is set to become one of the Philippines’ most powerful politicians next week thanks to his name, part of what analysts warn is an increasingly destructive system of dynastic rule. The 36-year-old nephew and namesake of the current president is one of the front-runners to be elected to the Senate in mid-term [...]

Manila is determined to pursue arbitration through the United Nations in the dispute over maritime territory in the South China Sea because it is “the last resort”, the Philippine foreign minister said yesterday. China formally rejected the UN arbitration on February 19. A Chinese diplomat had told the South China Morning Post that Manila was [...]

Beijing and Taipei united in their condemnation of the Philippines on Friday for the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters. The killing of Hung Shih-cheng, 65, injects a volatile new element in ongoing conflicts over the South China Sea, where fishermen and authorities from competing nations often play dangerous games of chicken [...]

The Philippines said Friday it may quickly withdraw from a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights because of security concerns, following the abduction of four Filipino troops. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said he had recommended to President Benigno Aquino to pull out the more than 300 troops from the area, [...]

The Philippines admitted Friday that its coastguard fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat in an incident that authorities in Taipei said left a crewman dead and triggered widespread outrage on the island. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou demanded that the Philippines apologise for Thursday’s shooting, which the Taiwanese government said killed a 65-year-old fisherman and badly [...]

Two soldiers and one pro-government militia were killed when communist rebels launched two election-related attacks in northern and southern Luzon, raising to 60 the number of people slain ahead of the May 13 mid-term polls, sources said. A local militia was killed and two soldiers were wounded when New People’s Army (NPA) attacked a government [...]

Taiwan demanded compensation from the Philippines Thursday over the killing of a crew member of a Taiwanese fishing trawler which allegedly came under fire from a Philippine government boat. The “Guang Ta Hsin 28″ fishing vessel carrying four crew – three Taiwanese and one Indonesian – was fired on early Thursday some 164 nautical miles [...]

The United Nations on Wednesday pulled peacekeepers back from an observation post in the Golan Heights ceasefire zone where four Philippine troops were abducted by Syrian rebels, a spokesman said. The move came as countries which contribute troops to the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) expressed renewed concern about security in the zone between Israel [...]