The Philippine government on March 6 said that the El Nino dry spell and drought has cost Philippine agriculture over 1 billion PHP (nearly 19 million USD) while the climate pattern may persist till the second quarter this year.

Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, had bilateral meetings with Indonesian Deputy Minister of Defence Muhammad Herindra and Philippine Undersecretary of National Defence Irineo C. Espino in Luang Prabang, Laos, on March 5.

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the preventive suspension of the National Food Authority (NFA) head and 138 other officials and employees for their alleged involvement in a sale of rice buffer stocks, Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said on March 4.

Facing high cancer rates and late diagnoses, the Philippines is asking businesses to screen millions of workers for early signs of the disease, according to AFP news agency.

The Philippine authorities have seized 336 giant clam shell pieces buried in the shorelines of Bugsuk island in Palawan province.

The death toll from a massive landslide that hit a gold mining village in Davao de Oro, the Philippines has climbed to 92 while rescue work is underway for tens of others, the local government reported on February 15.

The number of people killed by a landslide in Maco town, in the province of Davao de Oro (the Philippines) rose to 54, while the rescue work was underway for more than 60 missing others, the Philippine government said on February 11.

Philippine authorities said on February 7 that rescuers have rescued 45 survivors from a landslide a day earlier that buried estimated 86 people at a gold mine in the southern province of Davao de Oro.

At least 11 people were injured when a rain-induced landslide buried two buses picking up workers from a gold mine in the southern Philippines, officials said on February 7.

The Philippines became Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economy last year, with expansion driven by consumption, services and investment.

Vietnam and the Philippines have issued a joint press statement on the occasion of the State visit to Vietnam by Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.

President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse hosted a banquet in honour of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his spouse, who are on a state visit to Vietnam, in Hanoi on January 30 evening.

President Vo Van Thuong and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on January 30 visited the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, a world cultural heritage site in Hanoi, as part of the latter’s state visit to Vietnam.

Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue met with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. in Hanoi on January 30, describing the latter’s first state visit to Vietnam as a strong impetus to tighten the strategic partnership between the two countries.