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Philippine immigration authorities have been ordered to tightly screen foreigners at the airports after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alerted Manila over the possibility of extremist groups entering the country.

President Gloria Arroyo finally ended three days of intense speculation over the fate of her most popular Cabinet member, referring to the resignation of Education Secretary Raul Roco from his post as the "loss of a good public servant".

The Philippines has requested Malaysia to allow the return of Filipino illegal immigrants in "more manageable batches", as government officials in Manila map out measures to cushion the social impact brought about by the influx of returning nationals.

Despite the reported rift between President Gloria Arroyo and former Education Secretary, Raul Roco, the ruling People's Power Coalition (PPC) is still not losing hope that the highly popular ex-Cabinet member could still run under its banner in the 2004 elections.

Celia Tuazon and her husband, Ruel, an overseas worker based in Taiwan, have been saving for the past 17 years for the education of their eldest son, Rene.

Officials of the presidential palace in Manila yesterday tried to contain a major embarrassment for President Gloria Arroyo after she wrongly presented a witness in a multi-million peso tax scandal as the suspect.

Manila is arranging a prisoner swap agreement with Indonesia to appease followers of Indonesian militant, Agus Dwikarna, who have threatened to harm Filipinos in Indonesia if the Philippine government continues to detain their leader.

The Philippine government has started a crack-down on firms dodging payment of taxes in an effort to bridge the country's ballooning budget deficit, officials said yesterday.

Filipinos working in Israel were told yesterday to avoid areas at risk from suicide bombers as government officials confirmed the death of two Philippine nationals in last Sunday's bomb blast in a passenger bus in Galilee.

Government agents yesterday arrested members of a dollar counterfeiting ring while confiscating fake American currency and U.S. treasury bills nominally worth quadrillion of dollars, the biggest seizure in the country so far.

Three policemen were killed and a similar number wounded following an ambush by communist guerrillas in northern Philippines' Kalinga province on Wednesday, reports reaching Manila yesterday said.

The Philippines is prepared for the evacuation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Iraq in case the United States pushes through with its plan to launch a military offensive against Saddam Hussain's government, officials in Manila said.