The Philippines initiated a vaccination campaign on October 14, 2019, nearly a month after Manila declared a polio outbreak on September 19. 

The Philippines initiated a vaccination campaign on October 14, 2019, nearly a month after Manila declared a polio outbreak on September 19. 

Bayanan village in the Philippines is trying to tackle the scourge of plastic waste by offering rice to residents in exchange for their trash. Villagers can get 1kg (2.2lbs) of rice for every 2kg (4.4lbs) of plastic waste, which is handed over to the government for proper disposal or recycling.

In Manila, Philippines, emergency workers say patients die en route to hospitals because of the capital city’s notorious traffic jams. 

Israel is preparing to deport children who were born and raised in Israel, along with their Filipino mothers who work in the country, with removals to begin in the summer of 2019. 

The Philippines has issued a national alert because of a severe outbreak of dengue fever.  The mosquito-borne tropical disease has caused around 115,000 infections and nearly 500 deaths, mostly among children, since the beginning of 2019.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said during his State of the Nation address on July 22, 2019, that he allows Chinese fishing vessels to operate in Philippine waters to avoid war.

Philippine youth detention homes are known as “Houses of Hope”, but former inmates say that they endured sexual and physical abuse. Former detainees are describing how they are still struggling to recover from their experiences.

Police killed a three-year-old girl on June 29, 2019, during a drug raid in Rizal province, east of the Philippine capital Manila. Myca Ulpina is the youngest person to be killed in the government’s three-year-long crackdown on illegal drugs. A senator who oversaw the most violent period in the country’s so-called drug war has dismissed the toddler’s death as collateral damage.

Water levels have reached a critical low in Angat Dam, the principal water reservoir for Manila. 

A teacher in the Philippines has created the cutest system for greeting her students in the morning. Girlie Dela Cruz allows her primary school pupils to choose their welcome, by touching a corresponding emoji on the wall.

The Philippines has sent 69 containers loaded with trash back to Canada after a court determined that the waste was improperly labelled as recyclable.

Canada has failed to meet a May 15, 2019, deadline to retrieve tonnes of rubbish it dumped in the Philippines in 2013-2014. Manila says at least 72 containers of trash were falsely labelled as recyclable waste. After the deadline was missed, the Philippines recalled its ambassador and consuls from diplomatic missions in Canada.

A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the northern Philippines on April 21, leaving at least several dead in collapsed buildings. Thousands fled shaking buildings in Manila, while the town of Porac, northwest of the capital, five people were reported crushed to death after a four-story building collapsed. At least dozens are still missing, according to employees from the ground-floor supermarket. Rescue workers, including Red Cross volunteers, police and soldiers have been pulling survivors out of the debris.

Filipino martial artist Meggie Ochoa, who gained a jiu-jitsu world championship title and national fame in her home country last year, is turning her training towards a new opponent: the Philippines’ rampant child sexual abuse problem.

More than 6 million people in the Philippines have been hit by water shortages in capital Manila and nearby Rizal province. Water supply has been cut off for at least six hours each day, and authorities have appealed to hospital patients to limit visitors to reduce water use. Many water-dependent businesses have also closed temporarily.