MARIBOJOC, Bohol—Insisting that the municipality should handle the distribution of relief to earthquake survivors, Mayor Leoncio Evasco Jr. has told volunteers of the Philippine Red Cross to leave after they refused to hand over their items. Evasco said he was slighted by the “arrogance” of their representative who, he claimed, demanded a list of beneficiaries so they could distribute the relief. “If they want to help, then give,” he said. “Don’t give any conditions.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines ranked 98 in the inaugural Global Slavery Index, which listed countries based on the prevalence of modern-day slavery. The rankings, released by the Walk Free Foundation (WFF) on Thursday, October 17, is based on a "combined measure of three factors": prevalence of modern slavery by population; measure of child marriage; and measure of human trafficking in and out of the country.

Bohol earthquake strongest to hit Visayas and Mindanao in over 20 years

MANILA, Philippines - The energy released by the magnitude -7.2 earthquake that rocked the Visayas and Mindanao Tuesday morning was equivalent “32 Hiroshima bombs,” the country’s top seismologist said. Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the earthquake was the strongest felt in the Visayas and Mindanao in 23 years. Solidum said that the movement of

The Philippine governments said Wednesday that they understood President Barack Obama’s decision to cancel upcoming visits to their countries. The White House announced earlier in the day that Obama was calling off stops in Malaysia and the Philippines on his long-planned trip to Asia because of the partial government shutdown.

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is asking for an additional capital of P150 billion to better perform its functions in promoting monetary and price stability. The additional capital, payable in three years until 2017, is under the BSP’s proposed amendments to its charter, central bank deputy governor Vicente S. Aquino told a forum on Saturday. “The scale and complexity of the responsibilities of the BSP have been magnified by the growth of the Philippine economy and the expansion of its financial system,