His offences came to light after the device fell while the Filipino worker was in the common toilet.

A Philippine official said attackers used multiple IP addresses from cnc.net “located within China”, but needed China’s help to determine if they were the “real perpetrators”.

While the Catholic leaders stood with the Philippines’ fishing folk, they stressed that armed conflict over the hotly-contested sea was not a “moral option”.

The row over an irrigation project is also throwing up allegations that authorities have other hidden agendas behind the development, which is set to be built on ancestral tribal land.

Ex-leader Rodrigo Duterte has called for the independence of his hometown island Mindanao, as his alliance with President Ferdinand Marcos disintegrates.

Japan deployed airborne early warning aircraft and at least one marine destroyer in response to Chinese vessels sailing near disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Rural Rising aims to revitalise the Philippines’ dismal agricultural sector through fair trade by weeding out unscrupulous middlemen.

Vietnam also has the ability to isolate maritime issues from bilateral ones, analysts say, ensuring fewer confrontations with China compared to the Philippines.

Arturo Lascanas said Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, as Davao mayor in 2012, instructed law enforcement to abduct and bury drug suspects to portray them as kidnapping.

A recent survey indicates Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is the most favoured potential presidential candidate for the 2028 Philippine election.

The purchase of the submarines is part of the Philippines’ plan to modernise their military, at a time of growing tensions with China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

The expansion is driven by consumption, services and investment.

Manila says Beijing’s naval presence would not deter the Philippine military from supporting its personnel patrolling the South China Sea.

With Marcos Jnr and Duterte now ‘at each other’s throats’, analysts fear their feud could spill over to the economy or result in civil war.

It comes as tensions have flared recently between Manila and Beijing over a series of confrontations between vessels from both countries, in particular around the Second Thomas Shoal.

A voyage around the islands of Palawan sailing on a traditional Filipino outrigger means no mod cons but includes reef swimming, dining on fresh fish and sea urchin, and nights at beach hideaways.

Macau’s Rua da Alfândega, which hosts at least a dozen Filipino stores right in the heart of Macau, is now informally referred to as Philippine street.

Relations between the Marcos and Duterte families have deteriorated as they seek to shore up their support bases ahead of key elections next year and in 2028.

Army forces clashed with about 15 militants in a series of shoot-outs, with the dead including suspects in the December 3 bombing that killed four Catholic worshippers and wounded dozens.

Apollo Quiboloy, 73, heads a sect in Davao City where it is alleged he repeatedly assaulted young women. He has close ties to Rodrigo Duterte and is on the FBI’s wanted list.

Bryan Jefferson Lising Dela Cruz was arrested after police found Norihiro Takahashi and his wife Kimie with multiple stab wounds at their home.

The Department of Trade and Industry recently approved requests by manufacturers to reduce the size of products while keeping retail prices the same.

The countries’ opposing ideologies amid clashing sovereignty claims could lead to years of militarisation and confrontation in the region if not contained, analysts warn.